The Little Things

Chapter 5

Sleep didn't come easily for Grace. She tossed and turned all night thinking about what Miles said. She realized a part of her wanted to be him. Wanted to take his declaration and wrap it around her heart but another part of her was afraid.

He'd hurt her once. He could do it again. And maybe it wouldn't be Miles doing the hurting. After all, if they became involved and she left, well, that was a recipe for disaster. She should keep a safe distance from him. That was the smart thing to do. However, a small voice inside of her whispered that doing the smart thing wasn't always doing the best thing.

When the sun rose that morning, Grace wanted to pull the sleeping bag over her face and go back to sleep, but the girls wouldn't let her.

"You should make breakfast," Corrine told Ash.

"Why me? I made dinner. It's your turn."

"You burnt dinner. This is your chance to redeem yourself."

"Grace did that, remember?"

"You can fool Pacey, but you can't fool me. I know it was you."

"Girls—" Grace moaned, but they ignored her and kept fighting. Guess habits died hard, and bridges couldn't be mended in a day.

"Fine. It was me," Ash admitted. "Are you happy now?"

"Immensely. Now, how about you go make breakfast?"

Grace wasn't going to get any more sleep, so she tossed off the sleeping bag and sat up. "How about you both make breakfast and make me an oatmeal while you're at it?"

A mischievous look entered Ash's eyes as she shook her head. "Can you believe this, Corrine? So lazy. Wants us to do everything for her."

"Probably wants us to bring it to her too and call her Your Highness."

"These old people have no respect nowadays. Expect to be served hand and foot."

Grace picked up her small pillow and threw it at them. "I'll show you old and lazy!" She reached around and grabbed their pillows and started pelting them. The girls laughed as they retaliated and soon it became an all out pillow fight.

"Hey!" Miles yelled. "Some of us are trying to eat in peace."

"Yeah," Pacey and Hugo yelled in agreement.

Grace motioned for the girls to gather around. "You know who we should get to cook breakfast for us?"

Ash and Corrine exchanged glances. "The boys."

Grace tapped her temple. "Bingo."

"Hey, boys," Grace called out.

"Yeah?" Miles answered warily.

"You have any hot water left?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"We're hungry," Grace responded.

"Well then it's a good thing I made you all breakfast," Miles replied.

Could he get any sweeter? If he did, Grace was afraid her heart would melt into a puddle. "Thank you. We'll be right out."

"Good because after you eat, you three are on clean up duty."

The girls complained, but Grace reminded them it was only fair. After breakfast, they cleaned up and broke down their tents and packed everything away.

The three-mile hike back wasn't difficult since most of it was downhill. The hours passed in a relaxed atmosphere, which was vastly different from the day before. Grace intermingled with all the teenagers, spending time with each one. She liked hearing about their interests and lives.