Page 84 of Lady and the Camp
“Yeah. We’ve got campers here this week. How would that work?”
“We do too. Bring the kids over. We’ll do an all-camp competition. Split into age groups. Campers and staff.”
“Is this some angle to sell our kids on your flashy camp?”
A soft laugh came from the other end. “It’s not a recruitment effort, no. Something in our schedule shifted and we thought it would be fun to host the games during the week where the campers could be involved. That’s it. Your campers are welcome here. No strings.”
That was the thing. This was all too welcoming. Our campers would experience the slick Trail Blazers’ way of life and then complain the rest of the week at Camp Junebug.
Even if we beat them at the games, we couldn’t compete camp against camp. It would be like the Terminator going against well, a literal junebug.Squish.
When I didn’t respond, Brycen continued. “Look. I know I play a heavy hand teasing you guys, but I’m thinking I went too far. You actually believed we sent a tactical scout tospyon you. Even after we caught you on our side, we wouldn’t send someone over in retaliation.”
Now I said nothing. My trust had been lost with Brycen, and I wouldn’t put anything past him.
“I’m sorry, Lucas,” he said. “I never meant for things to turn out like this. I wanted you with the Trail Blazers. You were my first pick. You were my partner.”
Partner was questionable. Even when we were friends, Brycen ran things the way he wanted. Brycen had taken what he wanted and ran with it. He took our staff and our land. I was bitter over it.
“It wasn’t what your dad wanted for the camp,” I finally said. “Your parents built this camp from scratch with the belief that camp was for everyone. Your dad wanted those values to continue.” He knew this already, of course he did. “I only wanted to carry out his wishes.”
Brycen had his own vision and he wouldn’t be satisfied until he put his vision into action. Even if it meant going against his family’s values. Even if it meant no longer talking to his parents. I didn’t agree with his vision of an elite camp that excluded less wealthy or unathletic kids, so I couldn’t partner with it.
But I couldn’t argue that he had a purpose and acted on it.
“My dad started treatment for memory care,” Brycen said. “For his Alzheimer’s. My biggest regret is that I didn’t clear the air with him sooner. I begged him to hear me out. Lucas, it’s gotten bad.”
I hadn’t talked to the old man in a few weeks. He couldn’t have turned for the worse that quickly. But I didn’t know much about the condition. Maybe it was true he’d worsened.
Back when Alan would pop into camp regularly with Brycen in charge, he’d sometimes repeat things he’d already said. A few times he’d comment sharply, seeming irritated or even confused by basic things. Mostly, he’d seemed in his right mind. Perhaps I saw him on good days. I didn’t know what his daily life was like.
When Brycen’s father pulled me aside one day, distraught that his only son wanted to gut the camp of its core values, I believed him. I believed him over my friend.
What if that wasn’t the full story?
“Thanks for the apology,” I said. Brycen seemed sincere, but I had a lot to work through before I’d forget how much he’d hurt his family and Camp Junebug. “I’ll ask my staff about Wednesday.”
“Sounds good. Take care, Lucas.”
Chapter 28
Hudson
Maggiereturnedtocamppink skinned with more freckles across her nose. Despite her rested and refreshed appearance, she immediately focused on business. “I see Lucas installed more secure locks in the bunkhouses. Did he review lock and key protocol with the counselors?”
I’d been fielding questions from her all morning.
Meanwhile, Lucas confirmed regular patrols by the sheriff and let us know the Trail Blazers had counselors doing rounds across camp grounds reaching to the property lines. We’d spoken a handful of times, always brief, since the weekend. I could tell he was stressed.
A camper named Vera, a quiet one with incredible artistic skills, approached Maggie and me as we rotated groups from volleyball to craft stations. The older girls could do more advanced crafting and some of them were seriously talented. I’d been “helping” them all morning in between Maggie drilling me for updates.
Vera held up her phone. “Miss Hudson, I was online—on our morning break, with permission,” she said quickly to Maggie, whose six-foot presence was new and imposing to campers who hadn’t been here before. “And saw this.”
She faced her phone at me. It was a message forum thread and the topic was…me. I gulped.
Before I could formulate a response, Maggie took the phone and started reading. She looked between me and Vera, and to the phone again. She snorted. “What a load of hooey. Imagine that—one of our camp counselors dating a celebrity billionaire.”
An uncomfortable silence followed.
