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Chapter thirty-six
"What would I be lying about?"
J.T. was sitting as much by himself as he could get around a campfire attended by six parents, five counselors, and a few of the older kids. No one had started singing yet. That was something, anyway.
When Joey came out of her tent and sat by him, he smiled at her. “Is he asleep?”
“Yes. He was wiped out. Fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down.”
“It’s been a busy day for sure.”
She leaned in close to him. “You’re being unsociable.”
He squinted at her. “I’m here. By the fire. That’s as social as I get. If they start singing, though, I’m out of here.”
“I’ve heard you sing. You have a decent voice.”
“It’s not that. I sing at home during Christmas. That’s it.”
Joey laughed, then nodded toward Sage, who sat down with a guitar. “Here we go.”
“Shit.” He got to his feet and took her arm. “Let’s take a walk.”
“We can’t leave Finn.”
“He’s surrounded by people. Besides, you said he was sound asleep. We won’t go far.”
“Fine.”
They walked away from the fire and headed for the horse corral. “We’ll check on the horses.”
“That’s a good excuse.”
They arrived at the corral and sat on a bale of hay next to the fence. They could still hear the singing, but at least they wouldn’t be expected to participate.
Joey nudged him. “This has been a very nice day. Thank you for inviting us.”
“You could still get him into camp. There’s two more weeks left. Or he could go to the next session. I think he’d like it.”
“He’d love it. It’s not him. It’s me.”
“How so?”
“He’s going to school in two months. Other than when I was here and he was in Boise, I’m with him every day. It’s going to be hard to send him off to school.”
“Isn’t kindergarten just half a day?”
“Yes. But still. I know it’s selfish. But I don’t want to send him off to camp every day for a month.”
J.T. nodded. “I get it. We can keep riding with him at the ranch. And if you want to go, there’s another camp out next session.”
“I’d like that. Thank you for understanding.”
J.T. shrugged. “I didn’t necessarily want to send him off every day either. Even though he’d be with Sage. There’s always next summer.”
“I might be ready by next summer.” She looked up at the sky. “So many stars.”
“A Montana sky. You can’t beat it. When my father was with Ember in Santa Fe, they learned the constellations.”
