Page 20 of From Ice to Home
“I know,” I say, flooding with relief. “Thank you, Harry.”
Harry points a finger at me, his tone turning sharper. “Walker, you better come back with your head on straight and ready to play. This team needs you. You’re the guy they look to when the pressure’s on. Don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t,” I promise.
He doesn’t look convinced, but he turns toward the door, muttering again as he goes. “My starter. Married in Vegas…unbelievable.”
As the door swings shut behind him, I let out a harsh breath. The hardest part is still ahead, but at least I have a chance to make things right.
5
HANNAH
This week has been the longest and most gut-wrenching week of my entire life. I’ve spent my days with the kids at Camp Grace, enduring all kinds of pranks while trying to keep up with an endless stream of physical activities. I didn’t realize how out of shape I’d gotten until I was halfway through the obstacle course, trailing behind my team of nine-year-olds.
Now, clutching my knees and gasping for air, I try to catch my breath after finishing our Saturday afternoon activity. Parents will be picking up their kids in a few minutes, and then—thankfully—I can rest. At least until tomorrow.
“You look rough, sis.” Micah’s voice cuts through my wheezing as he approaches with a bottle of water in hand, his grin far too smug for my liking. “You do know there are three weeks left, right?”
I straighten up enough to grab the bottle from him and gulp down several mouthfuls, the cool liquid barely soothing the fire in my legs and lungs. Swiping my hand across my brow, I glare at him, but he’s just standing there, looking entirely too amused.
“You try running after a bunch of kids who think sabotaging their team leader is a sport.”
Micah chuckles and leans against a nearby tree, arms crossed over his chest. “Nah, I’ll leave that to the overachiever who decided she needed to come back home for this. Tell me again, why are you here?”
“Oh bite me,” I mutter, rolling my eyes.
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Relax, I’m not Essie. Your reasons are your reasons, just know that our little sister is on to you.”
Essie and a few of her friends are standing not too far away, eyeing me with suspicion. Most of the groups are just finishing up with their physical activity for the day. The theme for today is ‘forgiveness’, which means the younger kids were put through a very unforgiving obstacle course, while the older ones got a lesson from the Bible. Although something tells me my little sister won’t be so forgiving once she finds out the nature of my secret.
She’s been on my case this entire week, catching up with me whenever she can, coming to my room after dinner and constantly prodding and asking more questions that I can ever handle.
“She’s relentless,” I say, sighing as I take another sip of water.
“Yeah, and she’s also smarter than she looks.” Micah’s grin widens. His dark eyes sparkle with humor, showcasing the similarities between him and Essie even more. Some people have mistaken them for twins before, especially when she decides to dress up, which automatically makes her look older than fourteen.
“Of course she is,” I mutter.
The campsite is buzzing with campers taking their thirty minute cool down with sweet tea and snacks before their parents will arrive. The older kids will share dinner in the messhall before moving to their cabins and starting the evening bible study and worship sessions.
I loved being here every summer. My dad has always found a way to make the themes work in such a way that it spoke to my heart and my spirit. This week however, I’ve felt nothing but conviction from the Holy Spirit no matter what the theme was for the day.
My phone buzzes in my pocket once again. Digging it out, I glance at the screen to find another message from Lucas.
Sanders, please just call me back. I know this is big, but it’s something we can handle.
I sigh, trying to swallow the knot in my throat, but the expression on my face must give me away because Micah’s eyebrow quirks up as he looks at me.
“What’s going on, Han?” he asks, his voice full of concern.
“It’s nothing,” I say quickly, shoving my phone back into my pocket. The way he’s looking at me tells me he’s not buying it.
“Sure, nothing,” he echoes, his tone mocking but his eyes narrowing slightly. He looks over his shoulder again to where Essie is leaving with her friends. “You’re not exactly subtle, you know. We all know something major is going on, so at some point you’re going to have to ‘fess up.”
I hesitate, debating whether or not to deflect or to just be honest for once. I’ve always encouraged my siblings to share, since we’re such a close family and it’s not every day you find friends built into your life. But for me it’s always been a bit different for some reason. I don’t know if it’s because I kind of feel responsible for them. There were a lot of times where I didn’t feel like I was a kid, or their big sister. I felt more like another parent.
But looking at him now, I can see the genuine concern my little brother has for me. I’m not his mom—I’m his sister. And I want to be someone he can depend on and trust.
