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Alec smirked. “I guess I shouldn’t have waited so long to ask you out after we got back.”
She smiled but wedged an elbow into his ribs, drawing a little grunt from him. “I meant with thekids.”
Everyone else laughed, including Alec, though his hold on her eased. It could have been the firelight, but Noah thought she flushed as she tucked a curl behind her ear and dropped her gaze into her lap.
Alec recovered quickly. “Theywerepretty great. What about—what was his name?—Alejandro?” He looked at Noah, who nodded. “You sure impressed him with your swimming, but I can’t believe what he was saying to you.”
“Good thing the nuns weren’t there to hear him,” Noah said.
Grace chuckled. “He did have a mouth, that one, but I’m sure it was all bravado. Lots of people hide their pain that way.”
“You work with troubled boys, right?” Melissa asked. “I bet some of them are rough.”
Alec squirmed.
“Our guys are pretty tame,” Grace said. “They get worked up once in a while, but the program rewards them for pro-social behaviors—like talking things out instead of punching a wall or another human—and all their privileges are tied to good behavior, so they learn to toe the line. We make sure they get exercise, enough rest, good food. All those things go a long way to promoting a safe environment—physically and emotionally—for everyone. And hopefully they form habits that stick after they leave and keep them from turning to alcohol or drugs when things get tough.”
Chris asked some questions about the outdoor experiences they provided for the boys, which Grace answered enthusiastically. Her love for her job and the boys was as obvious as Alec’s discomfort. Usually a force in any conversation, he remained silent.
At a lull in the conversation, Grace looked at Alec, who was staring resolutely into the fire, and then caught Noah watching her. Rather than look away as he ought to, Noah tried to convey with a smile how much he admired her work.
Her.
The worried expression Alec’s distraction had brought to her face softened for a moment before she threw a sidelong glance at her boyfriend and changed the subject. “Stars sure are bright.”
Melissa looked like she had another question about Grace’s work on the tip of her tongue, but she followed Grace’s lead and looked up. “Wow! Yeah, they are!”
“There’s the Big Dipper.” Grace pointed.
“Where?”
Grace leaned over so Melissa could follow the line of her pointing arm. “And if you follow the line of these two,” she said, “it leads you right to the North Star.”
“I can see it! That’s awesome!”
“And that leads you to the Little Dipper, right?” Chris asked.
“Right,” Grace said.
Jake leaned in on Melissa’s other side as Grace identified the Little Dipper and showed how Draco sat between Big and Little. Noah tried to follow along, but it was hard from the other side of the campfire, and he didn’t think Alec would appreciate him weaseling in next to Grace for a better angle.
Alec looked into the sky, though he didn’t seem too interested, and that gave Noah the opportunity to continue to watch Grace. The dying firelight highlighted her cheekbones and the contours of her smooth neck. Face alight, her eyes crinkled in pleasure as she guided her listeners through another constellation. Noah pictured howhewould sit, were he the one next to Grace, his arm behind her back, her curls against his cheek—
Alec’s chin lowered, his attention landing squarely on Noah, who yanked his eyes off Grace a moment too late. “Well,” Alec said with an affected stretch, “I think that’s about all my neck can take.”
“It does get a little painful like this,” Grace said, rubbing a hand under her curly hair. “The best way to learn constellations is to lie down in a circle with your heads together and use a focused-beam flashlight, but I didn’t bring one.”
“Short walk before we turn in?” Alec asked her, reaching out his hand.
“Oh,” Grace said. “I guess itisabout time, isn’t it?” She took Alec’s hand and stood, smiling apologetically at Jake and Melissa. “Sorry. I get carried away sometimes.”
“No, no,” Melissa said. “We shouldn’t have kept you so long. Thanks for the lesson!”
“Yeah, thanks!” Jake agreed, waving a good night as The Couple left, then asking Melissa to show him again what they’d learned. Their enthusiasm bore a marked contrast to Alec’s.
The fire popped, startling the remaining four. Melissa giggled and leaned back against Jake, their conversation quieting.
“Welp,” Noah said with a pointed look at Chris and a clap of his hands, “I guess I’ll turn in.”
