Lighting the Flames (2 page)

She stepped back, out of his reach, and grabbed her
hair with both hands, shaking the rest of the snow away. They
almost looked like responsible staff members when a red SUV stopped
in front of them.

Scott, the camp director, lowered the window, and
Gen saw his smile freeze with a coating of horror when he felt the
cold air hit his skin.

“
Ready for Winter Camp?
”
Scott
’
s voice was as
awkward as the grin on his face.

“
Think so.
”
Jeremy casually formed a snowball in his gloves
as he looked toward the camp gate, a large metal barrier that kept
people out more than it kept the horses and children inside. It had
closed automatically behind the Jiffy Latrine truck and
wouldn
’
t open again until it was triggered.

“
Don
’
t even think about it, Jeremy,
”
Scott said, glancing
at Jeremy
’
s hands.

“
Me?
Throw a snowball into your nicely appointed and very attractive
car? After you made a special trip out to get snacks for our cabin?
Never. I
’
d
never
do such a thing.
”

Jeremy tossed his snowball from one hand to the
other, grinning at Scott.

“
Did
you get the heat to come on?
”

Jeremy
’
s grin didn
’
t falter, but he
stopped playing catch.
“
Yup. All cabins
closest to the dining hall have heat, and the thermostats are set
to keep them warm. I have it on my schedule to check them every few
hours.
”

Scott nodded, glancing out the windshield as he
pressed a button on the remote attached to his visor to open the
gates. The metal arms of the gate made slow progress through the
snowdrifts, but they were slow moving in the summer, too, when the
road was clear beneath them.

“
Gen, I got your supplies for s
’
mores.
”

“
Thanks.
”

“
You
are such a chocolate snob.
”

“
Sure am.
”

Jeremy looked between
them, confused.
“
S
’
mores?
”

“
I
’
m staying in your cabin,
”
Gen replied.

“
Our
cabin?
”
Jeremy
’
s eyes widened, like he was horrified. That did
wonders for her confidence, but she didn
’
t let it show in her
voice.

“
Water pipes burst in the girls
’
bunkhouse.
Everything is soaked.
”

“
One
more thing to fix,
”
Scott said to no one in
particular.

Jeremy still looked aghast at the idea.

“
Why, is something wrong? Did you have someone coming to
stay with you?
”

“
Stay? What? No. No one.
”
Jeremy tugged off his cap and rubbed
the top of his head with one hand. Then he smiled, bright and
eager.
“
This
’
ll be great. Assistance in pursuit of merriment and
Jiffy!
”

“
Jiffy? You need peanut butter, too?
”

“
No,
not peanut butter. Don
’
t worry about it,
Scott.
”
Gen moved in front of Jeremy and when Scott looked away,
she elbowed him in the side.

He opened his mouth to protest, but the low rumble
and creak of the gates stopped, and the silence interrupted him.
They all turned to look. The gates stood only half-open, but high
ridges of snow had collected beneath each arm.

“
Well, that
’
s not good,
”
Jeremy said, his voice
dry.

“
Come on, Mr. Snow Man.
”
Gen pushed past Jeremy, but took his
arm to pull him along with her. They started clearing the
snowdrifts from beneath the metal bars with their hands, kicking
the heavy gates open bit by bit. When the gates were finally
pressed into the snowbanks on the side of the road, they were both
breathing heavily, but the gate motor didn
’
t
restart.

Scott drove through but then parked his car in the
road and got out. He stood, looking toward the top of the hill,
where the dirt road hit the blacktop that eventually curled through
the nearest town, then at the silent gate.

“
Can
you fix it?
”

Jeremy
shrugged.
“
Probably. But we
’
re supposed to get
more snow tonight or tomorrow, so they
’
d likely get stuck
again. They
’
re not meant to open against snow and
ice.
”

“
They
’
re meant to withstand impact from a vehicle. Snow
shouldn
’
t be a problem,
”
Scott answered, rubbing his hand on
his face.

Jeremy wandered closer
to the gatepost, examining the enclosure that housed the motor and
the remote sensor.
“
I can take a look at it, but it
’
ll have to be later,
since
—”

Scott
’
s worry interrupted him.
“
If the families drive
into camp and the gates are open and no one
’
s here,
that
’
s a terrible first impression.
”

“
We
’
re already here to welcome them,
”
Gen replied,
incredulous. Did Scott think they were hanging out by the road for
fun, that they didn
’
t each have a to-do list with fourteen million
things on it?
“
We
’
ll send the buses straight in, then close the gates
manually. They won
’
t notice.
”

Jeremy looked over his shoulder at her, his eyebrows
raised in surprise. He was trying to pry the black metal cover off
the motor, with little success.

“
And
we don
’
t need to leave once we
’
re
here,
”
Genevieve continued.
“
If
there
’
s an emergency, we can take the fire road, but we
shouldn
’
t have to leave camp more than once this week. The gates
usually stay closed anyway.
”

Scott looked at Gen,
then at the gates. He nodded slowly, and climbed back into his
car.
“
The buses should be here in a half an hour or
so.
”

“
Aye, sir!
”
Jeremy saluted as Scott started his car and drove
away from them.

After
Scott
’
s car disappeared around the bend and the silence
surrounded them once more, Gen followed Jeremy back to their
chairs, which, thanks to their battle, were covered with fist-sized
tufts of snow. Gen tried to brush it off but ended up smearing
white all over the canvas.

“
He
’
s uptight about something,
”
Jeremy said
quietly.

“
He
’
s always uptight about something. Comes with the job, I
think.
”

Jeremy sat down,
undisturbed by the cold clumps of ice on his chair. He folded his
arms across his chest, one hand pulling at his beard. Gen watched
his hand, her eyes following the line of his profile as he frowned,
deep in thought. When he glanced over and caught her staring, he
turned and faced her. His expression was serious, thoughtful in a
way she hadn
’
t really seen him before.

“
The
gate not working shouldn
’
t be that big of a
deal. He was really wigged about it.
”

“
The
gate
’
s important. It keeps us safe, and sends a message that
we
’
re paying attention to security.
”

Jeremy
shrugged.
“
There
’
s a cop outside our synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, too.
He doesn
’
t do much. Not sure what message that sends, other
than,
Hey,
we
’
re watching. With one dude.
”

“
That
’
s the point.
”
Gen repositioned her chair alongside
his but didn
’
t sit down.

“
Few
people know we
’
re here in the summer,
”
Jer
continued.
“
No one expects us to be here in the winter.
What
’
s the big deal?
”

“
No
idea. But either way, we
’
ll operate the gate
manually. It
’
ll be our workout for the day.
”

“
Yes!
”
Jeremy
’
s roar made her look at him, and his silly grin
made her smile instantly, like a reflex. After months apart, every
summer they fell into the rhythm of the previous year. Maybe this
week wouldn
’
t be so difficult. If she could stop herself from staring
at him so much.

“
My
manly strength shall protect us all!
”

“
Just keep the heat on, big guy,
”
she said, shoving
him in the shoulder.

“
Wench! I have not forgotten!
”
He grabbed her arm
and pulled her onto his lap. Even with layers of clothing, parkas,
ski pants, and more between them, she could feel the firmness of
his body, and without thinking about it, she grabbed onto his
shoulders, holding tight.

His grin took over his
entire face, and the muted sunlight behind the clouds
didn
’
t stop the gold and brown in his beard from catching her
attention. Then his smile began to slip, just a little. She forced
her eyes up to his.

He was staring at her mouth.

She wet her lips with
the tip of her tongue before she spoke.
“
You
haven
’
t forgotten what?
”

He shifted suddenly,
almost like a flinch, and leaned away from her, his happy
expression back in place.
“
You. Me. Sign. We
must complete our mission!
”

“
That
’
s your mission, dude.
”
She pushed herself
off his lap and moved to her own chair, telling herself that the
cold wasn
’
t that bad, that it hadn
’
t really been that
much warmer in the moment when she
’
d been on his lap, or
beneath him in the snow.

“
It
is our mission.
”
He nodded with the kind of confidence told Gen he
wasn
’
t about to forget.

Jeremy never forgot anything.

*

A little while later,
Gen tossed her duffel inside the door of the room
she
’
d chosen and started to unpack. Her wardrobe for eight
weeks in the summer was easy: shorts, T-shirts, a few sweatshirts,
a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray. Winter meant three times as many
clothes for less than a week, including base layers, leggings,
pants, long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, and socks so thick she could
only wear them with boots.

She pulled off one of
her shirts and tossed it over a chair, one of the only pieces of
furniture in the room. She and Jeremy had several physical layers
between them now, in addition to the awkwardness that she felt
lurking beneath their otherwise normal conversations. Maybe she was
the only one who sensed the way they didn
’
t fit so easily
together anymore. Maybe the awkwardness only existed for her
because she still thought about the last time
they
’
d been together at Meira. Last year, when
he
’
d
worked half a summer then left before the second session
began.