Campfire Cookies (2 page)

Hannah wasn't ready for another phone discussion. “Let's go say hi to your parents, Emma. Olivia, can you show your mom and dad the way to Flowerpot Cabin? I'll see you in the dining hall for lunch.”

Olivia said, “I know the way to Flowerpot Cabin.”

Emma grabbed Hannah's hand and tugged her across
the lot. Her parents—dad a doctor, mom a lawyer—were friendly but a little distracted, and as rumpled as Olivia's were glamorous. Hannah had just finished saying hello and pointing them toward Flowerpot Cabin when someone tapped her on her shoulder. She turned at the same time Emma squealed,
“Grace!”

“Hello, Hannah. Hello, Emma. Have you noticed that it's awfully—” Grace Xi's question was stifled by Emma's big hug.

Looking at them, Hannah smiled. Her campers were delighted to see each other; didn't she deserve some credit for that? She was good at being a counselor. Maybe coming back this summer wasn't a mistake.

Last year the Flowerpot girls hadn't gotten along at first. Then, inspired by a dream about her late grandfather, Hannah had come up with the bright idea of having them make a batch of cookies one night after lights-out.

She had hoped the baking project would bring them together, and it had. In fact, they had all wanted to share Flowerpot Cabin again this summer.

“This way to Flowerpot Cabin.” Hannah pointed for Emma and her parents. “And I'll see you in a few minutes in the dining hall. Come on, Grace. Your turn.”

Grace was from Massachusetts, and her mom and dad both worked in high-tech firms near Boston. Mrs. Xi wore khakis, a white polo, and Top-Siders. Her light brown hair was pulled back with a headband.

Mr. Xi was Chinese, shorter than his wife and rounder, too. He had been born in Singapore, Hannah remembered. Last year Grace had gotten letters with foreign stamps.

Hannah shook hands with Mr. and Mrs. Xi and asked about their trip. Like most of the other families, they had flown into Phoenix the day before, spent the night in a hotel, and then rented a car for the ninety-mile drive northeast to Moonlight Ranch.

“You know where you're going?” Hannah asked for the third time that morning. “Flowerpot Cabin?”

“Grace will show us,” said Mr. Xi.

Three down, one to go,
thought Hannah, and she looked around for her last camper, Lucy Ambrose from
Beverly Hills, California. In the crowd, Hannah recognized a few young faces from the summer before and said hello, but there was no Lucy.

Should she worry? She knew Lucy's family was eccentric and—in spite of their fancy address—not as well-off as most of the others who sent campers to Moonlight Ranch. She also remembered that Lucy's mom's outfit—green short shorts with red cowboy boots—had caused a stir at the farewell lunch last year.

But none of that explained why Lucy was late.

•  •  •

At Moonlight Ranch there are fifty cabins laid out behind split-rail fences on either side of a dirt road—girls' cabins to the right, boys' to the left. The dining hall and kitchen are near the entrance gate. The pond, horse barn, playing fields, show ring, campfire pit, and outbuildings are over a hill where the road dead-ends.

Beyond that, cattle graze, each one bearing the Moonlight Ranch laughing moon brand on its flank.

At lunch the Xi, Baron, and Rosen families sat around
a long table, ate sandwiches and drank milk, chocolate milk, or iced tea.

“I'm sure the summer will pass quickly,” said Mr. Baron. “In fact, it doesn't seem so long ago that we were all here together. But aren't we missing someone?”

“Are we?” Dr. Rosen looked around.

“Yes, honey. We're missing Lucy,” said Mrs. Rosen.

“
And
Vivek,” said Olivia, looking at Grace.

Mr. Xi looked at his daughter. “Who's Vivek?”

When Grace didn't answer, Hannah said, “I remember Vivek. He was in Lasso Cabin. I think I saw his name on the list for this summer. Do you guys know for sure if he's coming back?”

“He wrote to Lucy after the coyote and everything,” Emma said. “So yeah, he's coming back. But I haven't seen him.”

Olivia looked around. “Me neither. Have you seen him, Grace?”

“Come on, O, give her a break!” said Emma.

Olivia grinned, and Hannah remembered something about Grace having a crush on Vivek. To help her out,
she changed the subject. “Wasn't that awesome about Lucy and the coyote?” Hannah asked. “Did you all hear that story?”

“Oh, yes, but I don't think I learned the details. Can you remind us?” asked Mrs. Xi.

Olivia said, “I can! What happened was a
really, really, really
huge wolf with
really, really, really, really
long teeth was getting ready to ambush a chubby little boy Lucy babysits so—
pow!
—Lucy kicked a soccer ball and nailed it, and it was half dead but slunk off into the underbrush. Meanwhile, the little boy was
totally
fine, not eaten at all, and afterward Lucy was on TV because she was a hero!”

“It was a coyote,” said Grace.

Olivia shrugged. “Same thing.”

Emma said, “The point is that Lucy's a hero.”

Olivia asked, “Where is she, anyway, Hannah?”

“She'll be here soon,” said Hannah, hoping she was right.

While the campers and their families ate, Buck had been making the rounds. Now he came to Hannah's table. “Welcome back. Welcome back. It's a pleasure to
have you girls here again. Flowerpot Cabin, I think?”

“It's the
best
cabin in the whole camp!” said Olivia.

Buck smiled. “Well, I don't know about that. But I'm sure glad you think so. Hannah,” he went on, “I count one, two, three campers. Are we missing somebody?”

“Lucy Ambrose,” said Hannah.

Buck frowned. “I'd better look into that. Excuse me, won't you? Good to see you all.”

When lunch was over, it was time for the parents to leave. The three families trekked out of the dining hall down the path and under the Moonlight Ranch entrance gate, which was topped with a rendering of the laughing moon brand, and back to the makeshift parking lot. In central camp, there were cottonwood trees for shade, but out here the midday sun blazed full force, turning parked cars into solar ovens.

To give the families space for their good-byes, Hannah walked a few paces behind. She was feeling better about her decision to return to camp. Like the other counselors, she had arrived four days earlier for O & T—orientation and training. Up till now it had
been nice to have Flowerpot Cabin to herself, to fall asleep to the songs of owls and crickets.

But she didn't think it would be so bad to fall asleep to the sounds of girls giggling and whispering. She had missed them.

Hannah gave herself a pep talk: It was going to be a good summer.

Even though she would learn absolutely nothing about art.

Even though she'd never once get to the beach.

Even though she missed Travis a whole lot already.

It was going to be a good—

Wait. What was that noise? Was she imagining it? It was something from the city, not something you expected at camp.

She looked around . . . and realized she wasn't crazy. Other people heard the noise too.

But what was a siren doing in the middle of the Arizona desert?

Along with everybody else, Hannah turned to look in the direction of the siren—down the gravel drive that led to the state highway half a mile away.

Soon she saw what looked like a puff of dust illuminated by flashes of red and blue. . . . The puff of dust became a smudge shimmering in the heat. . . . The shimmering smudge became a white police cruiser, moving fast, its lights whirling, siren blaring.

About fifty yards out, the driver must've let up on the gas, because the cruiser slowed, until finally, just as it reached the entrance to the dirt lot, it rolled to a stop. At the same time, the sound of the siren dropped in pitch and volume from shriek to moan to sigh and then, finally, silence.

The blue-and-red lights went dark. The cruiser sat. The assembled parents, campers, and counselors watched and waited. Nobody said a word.

Then came the
click-thunk
of a latch, and the back passenger door opened, and a petite girl with a snub nose and tousled blond hair climbed out, yawned, blinked twice, and looked around.

“I guess I fell asleep,” she said.

“Lucy-y-y-y!”
Olivia cried. And all in a rush, she and Emma and Grace ran toward the car. Soon they had half smothered their friend in a group hug. At the same time, Lucy's mom alighted from the front passenger seat, and after her, the trooper who 'd been driving climbed out too.

By this time, Buck had hustled over from the camp
office. Speaking to the trooper, he kept his voice low, but Hannah could see he was pretty revved up—red-faced and gesturing broadly.

“Lucy, how are you?” Hannah said. “Girls, give her some air! Hello, Mrs. Ambrose. I'm Hannah, Lucy's counselor—remember? Great to see you. I hope everything is okay.”

“Oh, Hannah—yes, of course.” Lucy's mom had a movie-star shape and a movie-star smile. At least, Hannah thought, she was dressed perfectly normally that day in capris, a T-shirt, and sneakers. “What a nightmare!” she said. “But now we're fine, aren't we, Lucy? Thank merciful heaven for kind Officer Leonard here. What would we have done without him?”

“I'm really sorry,” said Hannah. “It must've been terrible. But what exactly happened?”

Lucy's mom shook her head and then looked at the sky as if she were looking at God. “What
didn't
happen?” she replied.

Hannah waited a second for more, but that seemed to be it. “Well, okay then,” Hannah said. “Do you have Lucy's
stuff for her? We should grab that for move-in and—”

“Yes, yes. Go ahead,” said Lucy's mom. “Officer Leonard? Excuse me? Hello, Mr. Cooper. I'm Karen Kathleen Ambrose—KK for short. Yes, I thought you'd remember me. It's thrilling to be here at last, let me tell you. Could I borrow Officer Leonard? Just to get Lucy's things from the trunk?”

The next few minutes were hectic as Grace, Emma, and Olivia tried simultaneously to say good-bye to their parents and hello to Lucy and her mom. Eventually, Emma's, Olivia's, and Grace's parents all drove off, waving.

As for Lucy, she gave her mom a hug that was more dutiful than affectionate, and then her mom left the same way she had arrived, minus the lights and sirens.

With some help from Buck, Hannah and the girls hauled Lucy's stuff to Flowerpot Cabin. In the doorway, Buck said, “Everything good here? Lucy? You good?”

Lucy was kneeling on the floor by her footlocker, studying one of the latches.

“Lucy!”
Emma got her attention. “Mr. Cooper is talking to you.”

“What?” Lucy looked at Emma, then at Buck. “Oh! I'm well, Mr. Cooper. How are you?”

Olivia cracked up and then Grace did, too. Buck said, “I'm fine too, Lucy. So, I, uh, guess I'll leave you girls to settle in.”

Buck generally wore a big ivory-colored cowboy hat around camp, a hat that would have looked silly on anyone else but looked practical on him, the same as his boots and jeans. Now he touched the brim of the hat and ducked through the doorway and out onto the flagstone walk that wound among all the girls' cabins.

Hannah followed. “Buck,” she said, “excuse me, I was wondering, uh . . . is there anything I should know about what's going on with Lucy? The police and everything?”

Buck said, “Car broke down and no cell phone. I'm no fan of the things, but they are handy for emergencies. Anyway, somebody called in the car on the side of the highway, and the troopers responded.”

“What about the siren?” said Hannah.

“That seems to have resulted from
somebody's
flare for the dramatic,” Buck said.

“Lucy's mom, you mean?”

Buck nodded. “I chewed the officer out. To my way of thinking, that's no reason to alarm the herd. I'm confident that next time Officer Leonard will think twice before offering sound effects as a public service.”