Healing the Widower's Heart. Susan Anne Mason
in her being too distracted by the others to bother him.
“Some arrived today. A few will come tomorrow morning in time to register.” She paused for a moment to adjust the brim of her Wyndermere cap to block the sun. Even her sunglasses couldn’t reflect the glare off the water. “Are you looking forward to moving into the cabins?” Zach had been staying in Nathan’s suite at the inn, but would be joining the rest of the campers tomorrow at the two cabins near the woods.
“Yeah. As long as the kids aren’t lame.”
Paige hoped the scowl lines weren’t permanently grooved into the boy’s face. “No one is lame, Zach. And I’ll tell you right now that everyone is expected to get along. You may not like every boy or girl you meet, but you will treat them with politeness and respect. And they will treat you the same way.”
Zach pressed his mouth into a thin line and shrugged. “Whatever.”
Paige bit back a rebuke and decided to change focus. “You ready to try paddling?”
He nodded and she handed him a paddle. She positioned his hands on the tool and gave him some basic pointers on how to use the blade. Soon he had mastered the technique and was moving the canoe forward.
“You’re doing great,” she told him. “Next time I’ll teach you how to steer.”
They floated along in silence for several minutes until Paige figured they’d better start heading back. “I’ll turn us around. The sun will almost be down by the time we get back.”
“All right. I guess it is too far to get to the island.”
She smiled. “It’s a lot farther than it looks.” Expertly she guided the canoe around. “So where do you live, Zach?” Paige opted to begin the counseling by asking a few harmless questions to get Zach used to talking with her.
“In New York.”
“Do you like your school?”
“It’s okay.” He turned his face slightly and stared over her shoulder.
“What do you do for fun? Play any sports?”
His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “In the summer, I play baseball and soccer. Except this year I won’t because I’m here.”
Sheesh. Every question was like entering a minefield. “Don’t worry. We’ll be playing a lot of sports, too.”
He shrugged and kept staring at the horizon. Farther out, a speedboat flew by, creating a ripple of waves.
“While you’re here, you and I are going to spend some time talking.” If she were lucky, Zach wouldn’t dive overboard.
The paddle splashed the surface of the water, sending a spray of moisture over them. “Talking about what?”
She exhaled slowly. “About your mom and your relationship with your dad. I noticed you don’t seem to be getting along too well.”
Zach fumbled and nearly dropped the paddle over the side. Paige reached out to steady it.
The boy’s eyes glinted with anger. “I don’t want to talk about that stuff.”
Paige dipped her paddle into the water, grateful the Wyndermere dock was now in sight. “I understand it’s difficult. We’ll take it really slow, a little at a time, until you feel more comfortable.”
With a grunt, Zach lurched to his feet and heaved his paddle out into the lake. The canoe shuddered with the sudden movement, and before Paige could counter the momentum, the boat flipped, sending her tumbling into the water.
* * *
What was Zach doing standing in the canoe? From his position at the end of the dock, Nathan watched in horror as Zach teetered, waving his arms in a futile attempt to regain his balance, and then plunged into the water with a large splash. The boat quickly followed suit, upending Paige and the equipment into the lake.
Nathan checked the strong urge to dive into the water and rescue them, realizing that this was part of the woman’s job. Surely it wasn’t the first time a camper had capsized a canoe.
In seconds, her dripping head broke the surface. Nathan was gratified to see that she swam directly to Zach and made sure he was all right, before righting the canoe and salvaging the paddles and a flotation device. She helped Zach back into the craft and then swam beside it, effectively towing them until her feet reached the bottom and she could stand.
From the angry scowl on Zach’s face, Nathan surmised the outing had not gone well. Paige headed to the beach. Nathan made his way down from the dock to help her drag the canoe onto the sand. She pushed wet strands of hair off her forehead, avoiding his eyes.
“What happened out there?” Nathan asked, lending Zach a hand to climb out. His son’s clothes were drenched and his cap was missing.
“Nothing.” Zach pushed away from him as soon as his feet hit the sand, and he trudged up the beach, leaving wet footprints in his wake.
“Not nothing.” Paige’s head snapped up and she took off after Zach. “Wait a minute, Zach.”
He kept going. Nathan followed, a feeling of dread dogging his footsteps.
Paige ran in front of Zach and put a hand on his shoulder, her mouth turned down. “That was a very foolish thing to do. You could have been badly hurt if that canoe had landed on you.”
Zach wrenched his arm away, glaring.
Nathan held back a groan of frustration. Camp hadn’t even begun and already Zach had alienated the director. “What did Zach do?”
Paige straightened and looked at Nathan. “He stood up and caused the boat to tip. A common mistake made by first-time canoers.” She turned her gaze back to Zach, who shivered in the cool evening breeze. “I just want to make sure he understands the dangers involved, so he won’t do it again.”
Zach lowered his head. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
Paige’s posture relaxed. “That’s okay. You’d better go get changed. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow for the start of camp.”
Zach nodded, and for the first time looked at his father. Nathan held back the reprimand on his tongue. He’d save that for later. “Go on up to the room and start the shower. I’ll be right there.”
Without another word, Zach turned and headed toward the inn.
Nathan followed Paige back to the canoe and helped her dump out the water. They left it upside down on the beach to dry.
She folded her arms across her chest, a worried expression darkening her eyes. “I’m afraid we didn’t get off to a great start.”
His instincts had been right then. “What really happened?”
She bit her bottom lip. “When I told Zach that I would be talking to him about his mother, he got upset.”
“And?”
“He jumped up and threw one of the paddles out into the lake.” She sounded apologetic as if she was the one who had done something wrong. “Maybe I brought it up too abruptly.”
She shivered, and he realized she must be freezing. The sun had dipped below the horizon of the lake and even in dry clothes, he was aware of a cool breeze off the water. “You should go get changed yourself.”
She nodded. “Hopefully things will go better tomorrow.”
He gave her one last look and shook his head. “From past experience, I wouldn’t count on it. Good night, Miss McFarlane.”
She let out a soft sigh. “Good night, Mr. Porter.”
* * *
Monday morning, Paige bit down on her pen as she double-checked the list of names on her clipboard. All the campers except one had arrived. She glanced at her watch. Nine