Everlasting Love by Valerie Hansen Page B

“Would you say it’s working now?”
    The boy backed away with a shrug of his thin shoulders. “Beats me. I don’t know nothin’ about plumbing.”
    â€œWell, I do. And it looks to me like that valve is only partly open. Maybe that’s why I ran out of hot water in the shower this morning.”
    Another shrug. “Maybe.”
    As he bent to check the water heater, James said, “Just so you’ll know, in case this problem comes up again, if you shut off the intake instead of the outflow, you can run the holding tank dry and maybe burn out the heating element. If that happened, by accident of course, we’d all be taking cold showers.” His voice lowered. “Understand?”
    â€œHey, why tell me? I don’t have nothin’ to do with keeping this dump running.”
    â€œNo, but I do.” James stood and laid a hand on the boy’s bony shoulder. “The next time you think something needs fixing around here, I want you to come tell me, not take matters into your own hands. Okay?”
    â€œOkay. Sure. No sweat.”
    Shepherding Zac out of the laundry room and back to the dorm, James was thankful the prank hadn’t caused any lasting damage. He knew he should reprimand the boy, but no real harm had been done. There would undoubtedly be plenty of other instances when Zac would need his wings clipped. James figured he’d save any show of serious displeasure for a more important infraction.
    Besides, he mused, there was no way a kid as sharp as that really believed he’d gotten away withthe prank. He knew full well the camp director was on to him. And he also knew James had accepted being given a cold shower. It was all part of the unofficial game they played while feeling each other out, trying to find a common ground without having to give in too much.
    James knew the game well. He’d played it for years on the side of the underdog. Now that he was the authority figure, he didn’t want to lord it over the boys. He’d decided long ago that the best way to prove he deserved respect was to earn it by being fair rather than insisting on absolute obedience. All the rules, all the threats in the world weren’t going to make a kid like Zac behave for long unless he truly wanted to. There was a very fine line between being the boy’s mentor and his jailer. That was the line James intended to walk.

Chapter Five
    W hen Megan arrived back at Camp Refuge she was pulling a loaded stock trailer.
    She parked by the cabin, helped Roxy move the rabbit hutches into the shade so the animals wouldn’t be stressed by the heat, then headed down the hill to report their arrival to James.
    He almost flattened her when he threw open the door of the main hall and burst out.
    Off balance, Megan staggered back at the edge of the top step, arms windmilling. “Ahhhh!”
    â€œOops.” James caught her neatly. Steadied her. “Sorry. I thought I heard somebody drive in. I was on my way to see if it was you.”
    â€œIt’s me, all right.” She straightened, disengaged his hold and smoothed her shirt over her clean jeans. “I just wanted you to know we’d arrived.”
    â€œHave you looked at the cabin yet?”
    â€œNot closely. Why?”
    â€œNo reason.”
    His expression was hard for Megan to interpret. One moment he looked smug and the next almost embarrassed. The swing from enigmatic to endearing unsettled her almost as much as his brief but necessary touch had.
    She gave him a nervous smile. “What did you do—rig it so I’d get a bucket of water dumped on my head when I opened the door or something?”
    â€œMe?” He made an obvious pretense of wounded feelings. “I assure you, I never play practical jokes, Ms. White.”
    Megan hesitated an instant, then said, “Okay. Sorry. It shouldn’t take me long to get my animals settled in. You can bring the kids up later, after