That realization made her frown. Maybe she was coming down with the flu. Which meant her sick stomach had nothing to do with him.

Or it could be the slightly runny scrambled eggs they had every morning. Testing the theory, she poked at the eggs, then glanced around the table to see if anyone else was getting sick.

The minute her gaze landed on Joe, the nausea got worse. Lord, she hadn't felt this weird sort of sickness in years. Not since her last teen crush be-fore Joe came along and obliterated all thoughts of any boy but him. It was a horrible pining ache for someone's attention to the point of feeling physically ill.

Damn it, why hadn't doctors invented a cure for this? She'd take the issue up with Christine in her next e-mail, that was for sure.

"I think that covers everything," Joe said calmly as he glanced over the notes he'd brought to breakfast. He certainly didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from their forced proximity, which added a little dose of resentment to the mix. "Any questions?"

The others all assured him no while she remained silent and seething.

"Well, then." He stood, all six-plus feet of muscular male. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the office."

She nearly groaned. Did he have to put it that way? Making her mind conjure up a completely different need than what he meant?

Until coming to Camp Enchantment, she would have sworn she wasn't a sex fiend, that she didn't play out intimate acts in her mind any more than the average healthy woman did. Since arriving, though, it seemed as if she thought about sex constantly.

Although, she argued back, maybe that was understandable, considering she hadn't had sex in a very long time. Nearly four years. Or wait, had she actually passed the four-year mark? Good Lord, she had. And the years before that had been sporadic at best.

She glanced in the direction Joe had gone, watched his broad back and very nice behind as he walked away. After years of abstinence, suddenly here was Mr. Virile Army Ranger right before her day after day. A male specimen like that would have any female taking notice. So of course her hormones were firing on all thrusters.

That was it! She wasn't in danger of falling in love with him. She was sex-deprived. On a wave of relief, she turned back to her eggs, deciding they weren't so nauseating after all.

"Is he gone?" Carol whispered into the suddenly quiet dining hall.

"Hang on." Dana craned her neck to see out the windows. "Yep, he's gone."

"Okay then." Carol motioned everyone to lean closer. "Let's get down to business. Operation Make Joe Happy is not going well. Clearly, more drastic action is in order."

What? Maddy blinked.

"Agreed." Sandy nodded. "But what? We've tried enthusiasm about the coming summer and working hard to get the camp in shape. He's appreciative enough, but it hasn't lightened his mood."

Maddy put her fork down. "Excuse me. What are you talking about? Joe seems happy enough to me."

"On the surface, maybe," Carol said. "But you don't know him as well as we do. He's definitely upset about something, but he's trying to hide it."

Dana nodded. "There must be some way to make him stop missing the Rangers and feel better about running the camp."

"Actually," Maddy said, "he is happy about running the camp."

"He is?" Carol brightened.

"Are you sure?" Sandy frowned.

"How do you know?" Dana asked.

Maddy hesitated, wishing she'd kept her mouth shut. "He, um, told me."

"That's right," Carol said. "You rode into town with him that day."

"What did he say?" Sandy asked.

Maddy cleared her throat and yearned for escape. "He said that he loves working with the kids and that the camp means a lot to him."

"Really?" Sandy turned hopeful.

"But that doesn't make sense," Dana said. "If he's happy about running the camp, why is he acting so weird?"

"Maybe he's upset about something else," Sandy suggested.

Dana groaned. "Don't tell me we're back to the mysterious woman who broke his heart."

Carol turned back to Maddy. "Did he say anything else?"

"Uh, no," Maddy insisted quickly. "Not really. At least, not anything important."

Dana narrowed her eyes. "Why are you blushing?"

"Blushing?" Maddy pressed a hand to her cheek. "I'm not blushing. It's… the coffee. It's really hot." She hid her face in the mug.

"Uh-huh." Dana looked at her disbelievingly.

"All right, Maddy." Carol crossed her arms. "What gives? Is there something going on we don't know about?"

"No!" She tried for a calm smile. "Really."

"Do you want there to be?" Dana asked.

"Why would you think that?" Her cheeks flamed hotter.

"Because now you're acting even weirder than him."

"I'm just tired. And busy." Maddy looked at her watch. "Speaking of, wow, look at the time. I have a ton of stuff to do. Let's not forget the counselors arrive today."

She rose and gathered her tray, moving away from the table as quickly as possible. Silence reigned behind her, but she felt the gazes of the coordinators on her back all the way out the door.

Oh brother, she thought when she stepped outside. The last thing she needed was to spend the summer as the camp pariah. Having Joe want her gone was bad enough.

Fortunately, the rest of the day was total chaos, with counselors arriving in droves, so no one had time to question her further.

Chapter 10

When all else fails, smile.

– How to Have a Perfect Life


The first day of camp arrived along with busloads of screaming kids. Maddy stood in the middle of the game field, marveling at the energy that bounced around her.

"Hey, Maddy," Carol said, coming up to her with clipboard in hand and a whistle around her neck. "How are you holding up?"

"Great, actually," she said, deciding she preferred the camp this way, filled with bustle and noise. "What do you need me to do?"

"I think we have everything under control." A group of shrieking girls ran past them. "Sort of." Laughing, Carol turned to answer a question from one of the newly arrived counselors.

Maddy looked around, taking it all in. Mama had been right about young people making her feel more alive. Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad now that the kids were here. As a side benefit, she barely had time to think about Joe, or the way his behavior had shifted subtly the night before. Dur-ing the welcome cookout for the counselors, he'd started watching her. Perhaps with so many people around, he didn't think she'd notice, but several times she'd turned around and caught him staring at her with an intensity that had her nerves on edge.

Of course, the coordinators saw him watching her and exchanged a few looks of their own, which was not what she needed.

"Here comes another bus," Carol said. The counselor she'd been talking to headed off to greet it as Carol turned back to Maddy. "Hey, will you do me a favor and let Joe know? He was up at High Mesa Lodge last I heard, chasing off a badger."

"A badger?"

"Apparently one decided to take up residence in the bathroom and gave the counselors quite a start when they woke up this morning."

"So that's what that screaming was at sunrise."

"That was it." Carol laughed. The screams had ricocheted up and down the canyon at dawn. "Anyway, find Joe and let him know more campers are here."

Maddy frowned since talking to Joe was on her list of things to avoid. Besides, the big yellow school bus was in full view of the entire camp. "I'm sure he can probably see that."

"Yes, but we, um, might need him to help us unload trunks." With that, Carol hurried off before Maddy could point out that several able-bodied counselors were already unloading trunks.

Well, dang it. She looked around. Maybe she could find someone else to relay the message. All she saw, though, was a thundering herd of little girls charging straight for her like a band of screaming banshees. She spun around as they rushed past-and found herself face-to-face with Joe. With a shriek of her own, she jumped back.

"Sandy said you were looking for me." His sunglasses hid his eyes, guarding his expression, but his voice didn't sound any warmer than it had for the last several days.

Deciding she'd had enough, she planted her hands on her hips. "What, you're actually speaking to me?"

His brows snapped together over the dark lenses. "You're the one who asked to see me."

"No, I didn't."

"But Sandy said-"

"I haven't spoken to Sandy since breakfast. Although Carol did ask me to tell you another bus is here."

He looked over her head. "I see that."

"Apparently she wanted you standing by in case they needed help unloading."

"Carol asked you to tell me that?"

"Yes."

"And that's the only reason you were looking for me?"

"Yes," she snapped irritably. "So you can relax."

"Relax?" The line between his brows grew deeper.

"Look, I just-" She struggled for a way to clear the air between them. This constant tension was killing her. Before she could say anything, Carol blew a whistle, reminding Maddy where she was. Looking around, she had to laugh to herself. "Never mind. This isn't the time or place."

"For?" he asked blandly.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see past the blasted shades. His body remained rigid, nearly standing at attention. She made a helpless gesture with her hands. "Nothing. If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." As she turned to walk away, she muttered under her breath, "To think I was having a good day."

"Maddy," he called after her.

She turned back to him, waiting with no small amount of impatience. "What?"