Page 8 of You Know You Wanna

“Awesome,” I said. “How old is the new girl?”

“Twelve.” Jenna scrunched up her freckled nose as she blew out a breath through her nostrils. “Going on thirty, if you ask me. She’s one of those city kids who doesn’t really seem to know what it means to be a child.”

I nodded slowly, wondering if it was the same girl from the diner yesterday. I wasn’t sure if they’d ever checked in or if they only stopped over here for lunch or something, but when I saw a head of gleaming red hair in the park outside the indoor area, my suspicions were confirmed.

It was the same girl who’d seemed so surprised when I’d just waved at her yesterday.

Smiling, I walked over and folded my arms on the platform of the climbing frame she was sitting on, staring absently into the distance.

“Hey, there,” I said, making sure to be extra friendly. “I’m Birdie. What’s your name?”

“Laurene,” the girl said, barely glancing at me before she turned her gaze back to the mountains. “It’s okay. I get that this is the Kids Club, but you don’t have to entertain me. I’m not a child and I’m just fine on my own.”

I looked at her little face, taking in the sadness that was much too profound for her age. Then I climbed up the small ladder and sat down with her, used to having to break down the barriers with some kids. “Well, I guess that’s good news for me, then. If I don’t have to entertain you, that means we can just hang out.”

She was quiet for a moment before she slowly turned her head to look at me. “You want to hang out? With me?”

“Sure,” I said. “Why not? If you’d like, I can even show you around so you can get the lay of the land. The property is pretty big and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything while you’re here.”

Wariness crept into her eyes, like she wasn’t sure if she could trust me or I had some kind of ulterior motive. Wow. Someone has really done a number on this kid.

“That’s okay,” she said reluctantly, turning back to the view instead. “I don’t want to waste your time.”

“That’s impossible. It’s never a waste of time to walk around this property. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do. It soothes my soul. You’d be doing me a favor if you keep me company while I walk, really. I need to check on a few things anyway.”

The girl didn’t seem convinced but she got up and hopped off the low platform, dusting off her butt once she had her feet on solid ground. “I know you’re lying, by the way. You don’t have anything to check on and you probably hate having to show people around, but it’s your job, so you’ve got to do it and pretend to love it.”

Yep. Some grownup has definitely done a number on her. I shook my head as I followed her down and then led her to the path heading to the main part of the resort. “I wasn’t lying and I’ll prove it to you. Part of my job as someone who works here is showing people around, sure, but technically, I’m a yoga instructor, not a part of the welcoming team. Also, around here, there’s always something to check on.”

“Like what?” she asked, cautious but genuinely curious.

“Uh, well, just yesterday, I got caught in the rain, but as we were running back up here, I saw that one of the signposts on the hiking trail was dangling. It must’ve come loose somehow, and if it falls, a guest might get lost, and like I said earlier, it’s a big property. The last thing we want is a hiker not making it back before sunset. It’s so much paperwork.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes, and I shot her a grin to show her I had been joking. Laurene looked away but I was pretty sure I saw the first hint of a smile.

She finally fell into step beside me instead of trailing. Her pretty blue eyes regarded me with an intellect she seemed too young to possess. “Are you sure it won’t bug you if I walk with you?”

“Absolutely sure,” I said cheerfully, kind of excited about the opportunity to get to know her. She seemed so guarded and I had a feeling she hid behind their obvious wealth for some reason. In my experience, kids like her needed this place more than they knew “Okay, so while we walk, I’ll tell you a bit more about the resort. That way, you can figure out what you’d like to do later. How does that sound?”

“Uh, okay.”

I smiled. “Excellent. You’ve seen the Kids Camp and you’ve met my friend Jenna, who runs it. I know it has the word ‘Kid’ in the name, but it’s actually a really fun place to just hang out. Jenna keeps the little ones busy there, and usually, no one bothers the teenagers when they’re just relaxing.”

“Okay,” she repeated, but her eyes were slightly unfocused and it was pretty obvious that she was listening intently to what I was saying. “So it’s not just for kids?”

“Not at all,” I said. “We’ve separated it into different areas so that the little ones are safe and away from the stuff they’re not meant to get to, like the pools. And the entire thing has a fence around it so that your parents know you’re safe in there too and that you won’t wander off into the woods and get lost.”

She scoffed softly. “You don’t have to worry about that with me.”

Oh, there’s definitely a story there, I thought, but I didn’t push. We weren’t there yet. Instead, I waved a hand at the building we were coming up to. “That’s our Nordic spa, which has several heated pools along with the actual spa. It’s a real hit with guests. The main swimming pools are in front of the restaurant, but I’m sure you’ve already seen them.”

“Sure, Dad and I took a walk before dinner last night.”

Ah, so he is her father. “I hope you enjoyed it.”

Our feet crunched on the leaves covering the path and I sighed, making a mental note to come clear them away once I finished with her. As my studio came into view around the bend, I grinned. “That’s where I work. It’s a top-tier yoga retreat and my personal sanctuary. Would you like to see it?”

“Am I allowed in there?”