Free Canyon Walls by Julie Jarnagin Page A

Would you like to take a quick tour around the grounds?”
    He nodded. “That would be fine.”
    They walked through the common area to the tabernacle, down the gravel road past the snack bar and swimming pool, and by the small-group areas. Cassie pointed out the new signs around the pool and the potholes in the road that they had filled. She took him into the cabins that had been renovated, including cabin five with the new mattresses.
    He didn’t say much, keeping quiet except for asking an occasional question like how many campers they had had during the summer and whether they had any problems with the wildlife this year. He wrote the answers in a small notepad he had removed from his shirt pocket. He snapped the pad shut when she tried to peek at what he had written.
    She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from blabbering to fill the silence.
    â€œDid you have any problems at the camp last week?” he asked.
    â€œNot really,” she said. “We had a bit of a prank war, but nothing serious.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” he said as he looked at the playground one of the local churches had installed as a project. He wrote something in his notebook.
    â€œPink dye in the swimming pool,” she explained.
    He pushed his glasses up on his nose.
    â€œJust teenagers being teenagers,” she said.
    He clicked his pen and flipped the little notebook to a new page. “And were there others?”
    She was tempted to take the little notebook and throw it into the swimming pool. “It was no big deal.”
    He stared at her.
    There was no graceful way to describe it. “Boxer shorts strung up the flagpole.”
    Instead of the humor defusing the tension, Mr. Hartley’s lips formed a thin line. “Let’s head back to the cafeteria,” he said.
    In the cafeteria, she offered him the oatmeal cookies Beth had baked, but he politely declined. Beth would be disappointed. He asked that they go somewhere to talk, and she led him into her office. Her foot twitched as he dug through his briefcase, overfilled with papers and folders. She mentally prepared herself for the dreaded news: him telling her they found a new director or, worse, that they were shutting down the camp.
    She studied his face to figure out exactly why he was there, but it held no expression. Finally, when she couldn’t stand the suspense, she took a deep breath and asked, “Mr. Hartley, why did you come today?”
    He looked up at her with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open.
    â€œI don’t mean any disrespect to you,” she continued. “You have the right to come here whenever you please, but it was so unexpected, and you didn’t tell me much in the e-mail.” She was rambling now and resolved to let him answer.
    He wiped his brow before opening a folder and handing her a sheet of paper. “You deserve to know why I’m here.”
    Her eyes scanned the words, trying to make sense of them. It was the itinerary for the next board meeting, but it didn’t give her any explanation as to why Mr. Hartley was in the camp. She looked up at him.
    He reached over and pointed at the page. “Look at item number six.”
    She read down the page until she saw number six. It simply read, “Sunset Camp.”
    â€œThey’re going to talk about us at the board meeting?”
    Mr. Hartley stuffed the piece of paper back in his briefcase. “Cassie, they’re going to talk about closing this camp and holding all the camps that meet here at one of our other locations.”
    Cassie could feel herself getting choked up. She couldn’t look at him, so she turned and looked out the window. “We’re closing.”
    â€œNot yet. It is on the agenda to be discussed. Nothing is happening right away.”
    His words didn’t do anything to ease Cassie’s fears, which left her numb.
    â€œBut if they vote to close the camp, it will happen this