looked up then. “Thank you, Juanita. Thank you very much.” After the woman scurried away, Blythe eyed him, one perfectly arched brow raised in question. “Has she always called you Mr. Daniel?”
“No, that’s something new. I guess because I’m her boss. She never used to do th—”
“Excuse me, Daniel.” Teri, one of the female counselors, or camp companions as he preferred they be called, looked from him to Blythe. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I thought you should know that Felicia is sick.”
“Oh, no. What’s wrong?”
“Nausea. Vomiting.” Teri glanced at their plates. “Sorry.” She wrinkled her nose. “The doctor is with her now.”
He looked at Blythe. “I need to go check on her.”
“Yes, of course.” She set her napkin on the table. “I’ll go with you.”
Not exactly what he’d had in mind, but he wasn’t about to argue.
He burst out the door into the cool morning air and half jogged across the grass, heading in the direction of the cabins, until he noticed Blythe couldn’t keep up. Yes, she was speed walking, but her legs were considerably shorter than his. Though those heeled booties weren’t helping.
He slowed his steps to match hers.
“What if she’s contagious?” Blythe glanced his way as they continued onto the tree-lined path. “We can’t risk any of the kids getting sick. What if she has to leave? Do you have backups? Someone you can call on to fill in for her?”
Now he wished he’d kept running. “You sure ask a lot of questions.”
“The board needs to know how you intend to handle these sorts of issues.”
“Fine, then, I’ll let you know after I find out what’s going on with Felicia.”
Blythe didn’t respond, and he wasn’t about to look at her to see her no doubt annoyed expression.
Fortunately, Felicia was in the nearest cabin.
He knocked, waiting until they were invited to enter. When they did, it was Joel Brandt, the camp doctor, known to everyone as Dr. Joel, who met them.
“Daniel, the good news is she isn’t contagious.” The doctor looked down at Felicia who was lying on the bottom bunk, her face pale against her dark blue pillow case. “She’s pregnant.”
The young wife sent Daniel a sorrowful look. “I had no idea. I mean, we’re not even trying.”
“Based on her symptoms, we did a test.” Dr. Joel turned Daniel’s way. “The bad news is that this morning sickness is apt to keep her down for a few weeks. I’d recommend you find someone else to fill her position.”
“Yes, of course.” Daniel smiled at Felicia. “Don’t be upset. This is happy news.”
“I know.” She pouted. “I guess I should call my husband.”
“For sure.” Daniel stepped forward, reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You concentrate on yourself and that baby, and don’t worry about us. We’ve got you covered.” Or they would just as soon as he made some phone calls. Then whoever took her place would have to be brought up to speed and undergo a crash course with the medical staff, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. She’d only feel worse.
“Thank you.”
With that, he escorted Blythe outside.
As they started up the path in the direction of the chow hall, he could feel Blythe watching him. Wait for it...
“Do you have someone who can take her place?” she finally asked.
“We have a list of alternates, yes.” Overhead, wind blew through the trees as he looked down at her. “I’m going to have to make some phone calls, though. So, if you’ll excuse me—”
“I can do it.”
Call him clueless. “Do what?”
“Serve as counselor in Felicia’s stead.”
He knew it was wrong to judge, but Blythe didn’t strike him as the outdoorsy type. On the contrary, she came across as a city girl through and through.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Actually, I prefer to call them camp companions, not counselors. And each companion is assigned to two campers.”
“All right, then, I’m willing to serve as a camp companion.”
Blythe as a camp companion. Just the thought made him cringe, making him eager to find a way out of this dilemma.
“Are you allowed to do that? Wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest or something?”
“I don’t see how. I’m here to make sure Camp Sneffels is worthy of the Ridley Foundation’s ongoing support. Serving in this new capacity would only expand my knowledge. I’ll simply tell Jack you were short a couns—companion, so I’m stepping in.” As if it were that simple.
“Do you realize what that will entail? Campers will be arriving in three days. Everyone else has already completed extensive training. You’ll be looking at an intense couple of days just to get caught up.”
Her steps slowed, her gaze narrowing on him. “You think I can’t handle this?”
While he had no doubt she was smart, how would she manage all of the adventures? After all, there was no spa at the camp.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” He started to walk away, then thought better of it.
“But you’d better get the okay from Jack first.” And if the man happened to nix the idea, then that would be fine with Daniel, too.
Minutes later, Blythe directed a satisfied grin in Daniel’s direction. “Great! I’ll see you in a few weeks. Thanks.” Ending the call, she glanced at the ruggedly handsome camp director standing nearby. Daniel Stephens was definitely not a bum. On the contrary, he looked more like one of those action heroes in the movies. The type that managed to maintain his good looks even when the bad guy was getting the best of him.
Not that Daniel’s appearance had anything to do with her decision to step in and take Felicia’s place as a camp companion. No, it had been an image of her younger self that did that. The one of the girl who couldn’t wait to go to camp, try new things and make new friends. If she’d had a counselor who was as determined to see to it that her charges had fun, then maybe Blythe’s camp experience would have turned out differently.
While she couldn’t change the past, she could make a difference in another young girl’s life.
“We are good to go.” Satisfaction filled her as she tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. Serving as a companion would make her privy to all of the goings-on here at Camp Sneffels. Meaning it would be tough
