Camp Antler Point

Chapter 7

"Now this here's a red maple," drawled Mr. Brown. The old man gazed up at the tree with a warm fondness that left more than a few people wondering if he should be left alone with it for a while. "Can any of you kids tell me what's so special about these?"

The rest of the adults supervising the hike and the gaggle of children groaned as they took yet another pit stop for Mr. Brown to yammer on about trees. "If he keeps this up, the leaves'll turn by the time we're done," Carson grumbled. He pushed an errant tree branch out of his way as he went off to help a boy tie his shoelaces for the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

Lucas rested a hand on Amy's shoulder. "Carson and I are gonna ditch for a bit so we can chill by the lake. You in?"

She pushed his hand away, her gaze shifting to her dad. He stood at the front of the group with a camera in hand as he snapped pictures of squirrels scrambling through the branches overhead. He noticed every twitch of their tails, every dropped nut. Why couldn't he ever pay attention to how much she could do for a change? "You bring anything?"

"Chocolate, my dad's old slingshot," he lowered his voice to a whisper, his breath hot on her ear, "and enough of the good stuff for all of us to have a good time."

"If you guys can get us out of here without getting caught, I'm in."

"You're on. Carson?"

Carson glanced over his shoulder before giving a slight nod and jogging over to Mr. Brown. "Hey, did you know moose have horrible eyesight?"

While Carson peppered the chaperone with facts about the local fauna, Lucas slipped behind the group and gestured for Amy to follow.

He led her deep into the undergrowth where the earthy funk of fresh mushrooms clung to her as tightly as the wet leaves coating the bottom of her shoes. "Could you slow down a little?" she asked as she picked her way through nature's minefield. One misstep, and she'd crash to the ground, potentially adding yet another battle scar to her knees.

"Alright, but don't blame me if we get caught." He slowed his pace to match hers, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to make sure she hadn't snuck back to rat him out.

At last, the telltale honking of geese told them they'd reached Lake Murgenthal. Amy groaned as she massaged her aching legs at the base of the rocky slope leading to the water.

"You alright?" Lucas asked

Amy flopped down onto a fallen log with a sigh. "Just gotta sit a sec."

"Those rocks really are a bitch. I'll be back real quick, okay?" He retreated back up the slope with surprising nimbleness despite his wide frame, waving down at her from the top before disappearing.

###

By the time Lucas returned with Carson and a bulging bag covered in splotches of mud, the aching in Amy's muscles had eased to a slight tightness. "Sorry it took us so long," Lucas said. "Somebody was enjoying talking to Mr. Brown a little too much."

Carson flushed. "Hey, he's actually pretty cool. He used to work at Yellowstone and said the algae here—"

"Bores people there to death. Are we here to talk about plants, or to actually have fun?"

"I'm here to make sure you don't do anything too stupid."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Just show us what you brought."