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“Mr. Brenton?” Luke’s eyebrows went up toward his blond hairline as he paused in his searching.
“Around here,” Dakota said, “everyone calls me Dakota. Mr. Brenton is my dad.”
The other students nodded as if this were common knowledge—which it was—and Luke went back to digging through the pack.
“Besides,” Luke said, “Dakota’s changed my diapers. Mom says that makes him family, so I can definitely look through this backpack.”
“The kid’s right,” Dakota said. “The smell this kid used to generate as a baby…” He pinched his nose and waved his hand as if diffusing a horrible stench.
“Okay, okay,” Luke said as the other students snickered. “No need to share the deets, Dakota.”
“No need to tell Miss Greenstead any other things I’m not good at either, is there?”
Luke nodded, probably only half-hearing him.
“You don’t mind him going through all your things?” Leah asked, still looking a little disapproving.
“Nah, he’s basically nosed through every inch of Birch Peak Adventures and my house.”
“Okay, then.” Leah held up her hands. “I stand corrected… on a few things.”
“It’s okay, Miss Greenstead,” Avery said. “You’re still kinda new here. You’ll figure it all out.”
“Thanks, Avery. I’m trying.” Leah shot him a silly look over the kids’ heads and he really,reallywanted anyone under five feet tall to scram. How was he going to make it through an entire afternoon having to be G-rated with Leah?
“Got it!” Luke held up a thick book in triumph.
Avery got on her knees and bent over the most defined of the tracks. “It’s definitely a hoof of some kind.”
“What creatures does that narrow it down to then?” Leah asked.
Dakota liked seeing her get all teachery. God, if he had teachers like Leah, he may have turned out to be a rocket scientist.
“Horse,” one student said.
“Deer, moose,” another chimed in.
Luke frowned as he looked in the book and back at the tracks. “No, it’s none of those.” He passed the guide book around and the other students agreed.
“What makes it unique?” Dakota asked, but he wasn’t looking at the ground. He was watching the way Leah’s ponytail dangled over her shoulder as she examined the track. His fingers itched to release her hair and let it flow all over his hands.
Focus, man. On the students. The trip. Not the teacher.
“It has a heart shape in it.” Avery pointed and traced the heart in the air.
Dakota crouched between Avery and Luke. “I see the heart shape too. Good find, Avery.” He pulled a sketchbook out of his pack and wiggled it. “Who’s the artist here? Because it’s clearly not me.”
Leah pointed to a dark haired girl next to Avery. “Julia is a great artist.”
“Okay, Julia.” Dakota handed her the sketchbook and a pencil. “Do you think you can capture that track for us?”
Nodding, Julia set to work on the task. “Is it…” She peeked up at Dakota then raised her eyebrows at Leah. “Is it a unicorn track?”
A general excited whispering filtered through the students and Dakota wiggled his eyebrows at Leah.
“It could be. You guys are the trolls.” Dakota stood. “What do you think we should do?”
“Continue on ahead and see if there are any more tracks to follow?” a boy next to Luke said.
