Page 37 of 10 Signs You Need to Grovel

Pleased with my effect on her, especially in front of Joseph, I stand taller. “Okay, swashbucklers.” I march toward the picnic bench by the trailhead sign. “Who’s ready for some hiking fun?”

Jasmine and Zoey cross their arms. Max clings to his backpack straps like they’re life preservers. Carter and Jun yawn and scratch their heads. They better not have lice.

“I’m ready, sir,” Sadie says brightly and salutes me.

Damn, she’s cute.

I hold up one of the activity packages I made. “There’s treasure in these parts, mates.”

They trade confused looks. Rightfully so. My pirate accent sounds less Captain Jack and more like a disgruntled lumberjack. I ditch the act. “Each of you will get one of these packs. There are six clues in each that’ll lead you to something I’ve hidden in these woods along the trail. When you find your treasure, you have to flip through the provided nature book and list at least two trees, birds, or flowers you see in that area. I’ll keep track of who finds each clue first and give you points depending on the order. Whoever’s fastest will have the most points by the end and wins.”

Carter scrunches his round face. “What do we win?”

“You get to keep the treasure I hid.”

“So . . .” More face scrunching and judging from Carter. “The rest of ’em have to give it back?”

“No.”

He scoffs. “Then the winner is basically the same as the loser. That’s not fair.”

He has a point, albeit an obnoxious one. The only rebuttal I can think of is regurgitating lines from one of the old Bill Murray movies Sadie and I used to watch on the regular, Stripes.

“Fair?” I say, my voice booming with melodrama. “Who cares about fair? The world isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair. The lines at the DMV aren’t fair.”

Sadie makes a cease-and-desist hand gesture across her neck.

Point taken. I was messing up the lines anyway. “Fact is, treasure hunting isn’t about fair. It’s about following clues and finding loot. And it’s fun.” When the group still appears unimpressed, I cave. “The winner also gets five bucks.”

“Oh yeah.” Carter pumps his fist like a heavyweight contender about to hit the ring. “I got this.”

“I am so winning.” Jasmine snatches up an activity pack and reads hungrily, the rest crowding around the table and following suit.

Sadie moves beside me as we watch them analyze my clues. “Guess you still fuck up movie lines.”

I huff out a laugh. “At least I’m consistent. And”—I pull a folded paper from my pocket—“this is for you.”

Eyeing me quizzically, she unfolds the paper and squints at the name and number on it. “Who is this?”

“I did some legwork, found a counselor just outside of Windfall Max can see, if you’re still looking. She works with kids and can fit him in.”

“Wow, Des.” She presses her hand to her chest. “This is amazing. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do. She has a good reputation.” And will hopefully give Max the safe space he seems to need.

Sadie folds the note carefully and puts it in her back pocket. “I’ll talk to Max about it, see if he’d be okay trying again. But this is a huge help.”

I nod, feeling shy for some ridiculous reason.

She slides me a not-so-subtle perusal. “You cut your hair.”

Instinctively, I touch the buzzed back. “I did.”

“And shaved.”

I massage my jaw, as though her words are guiding me, making me very aware of myself. “I did.”

I’m also aware of Sadie’s nearness, can’t help imagining how my smooth cheek would feel brushing against her neck, the curve of her belly, the clover-shaped birthmark on her hip, the soft skin of her inner thigh. I stifle a rising groan.