When I Need You (Need You #4)

“Was this a working kitchen when this school was in use?”

“It’s hard to believe they had enough room in here to prepare meals for over a hundred kids every day.” I opened the first big refrigerator and cold air poured out.

“Are we letting the kids put their lunches in the fridge? Or is it just for snacks?”

I scratched the back of my neck. “I don’t know. That’s one we’ll play by ear.” I tipped my head toward the door. “Grab the clipboard and let’s start checking things off. We’ll start by making sure the art supplies were delivered to the right room.”

As we cut out of the gym and into the hallway, unencumbered by rows of lockers, I remembered that we hadn’t had lockers until junior high. We’d kept all of our school supplies in our desks and hung our coats in the closet in the classroom.

“This place is totally retro,” Astrid said. “I feel like we stepped back in time.”

“Can you believe there were only eight classrooms in this entire school?”

She shook her head. “One wing of my elementary school had eight classrooms.”

“Makes you realize just how super-sized everything has become.” I opened the door to the first room.

The individual desks had been cleared out. A stack of pallets marked ART SUPPLIES took up one corner.

After giving the wall of windows a cursory glance, I said, “I hope this room doesn’t get too hot.” Walker would lose his mind if he saw a single bead of sweat on his wife’s brow. And then he’d probably install central air.

I’d been here before, but Astrid hadn’t. She rocked at multitasking; we cleared half of her list as we wandered from room to room.

The last doors on the far end opened into what used to be a library.

“Oh wow. This is depressing, seeing all these empty shelves.” Astrid ran her hand along the weathered oak. “At every school I spent vast amounts of time in the library. I’ll bet this place was cozy when it was filled with books.”

When I was growing up, spending time in the library was torture. I was an outdoor kid. I wanted to be on the playground or in gym class. I wasn’t a bad student as much as a distracted one. The only series that kept my attention longer than fifteen minutes was Harry Potter, and only if I could read it outside in my tree fort.

“What activity is going on in here?” Astrid asked me.

“I’ll let the instructors hash it out, but I’m betting this room won’t be used at all.”

She smirked. “So if you can’t find me, you’ll know the first place to look.”

“Hello?” A voice echoed down the hallway.

When I saw my sister-in-law Trinity, I couldn’t help but hug her; she looked so damn cute with that baby bump. “Hey, mama. Where’s your ugly half?”

Trinity whapped me on the arm. “Walker is carrying in my bags because you know I’m not allowed to do a damn thing.”

“As it should be.” My eyes narrowed. “He is gonna let you be here unattended, right?”

“Fortunately they’re in the busy time of year and he’s all over town. But I suspect you’ll see him at lunch break since it’s his mission to ensure I eat all my veggies.” Trinity smiled at Astrid. “Hey. Good to see you stretching your wings outside the LCCO office.”

Astrid turned and pointed. “Closest bathroom is right there.”

I stared at her hard. “Why would you feel the need to tell her that first thing?”

“Because I’m pregnant,” Trinity said. “I’m in the bathroom only slightly more often than I’m in the kitchen foraging for food.”

Astrid gave me a smug smile. “My sister had a baby last year. I got used to scouting out the bathroom for her everywhere we went.”

Walker strolled in, his arms overloaded with bags. “Dallas is looking for you.”

“Come on, Astrid, we’ve been summoned.”

We found Dallas in the gym, conversing with a woman in a leotard and tights and a hipster-looking guy, complete with beanie.

Dallas saw me first, and in her normal fashion she came at me in a dead run.

I braced myself and caught her.

She laughed. “Am I ever going to knock you down, you big oaf?”

“Are you ever going to stop acting like an eight-year-old and trying to knock me over?”

“Probably not.” She dropped to her feet.

“Then right back atcha.”

“So is everyone here?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

“This is going to be a rockin’ camp, Jens. These kids are so lucky.” She hugged me. “Thanks for making me part of this. I won’t let you down.”

I offered my hand to the woman. “You’re Vanessa? I’m Jensen. Thanks for sticking with the program.”

“I’m happy to be here. I love these kids and I should be thanking you for finding a way to make the camp happen.”

Before I could credit LCCO, the hipster offered me his hand. “I’m Todd, the music teacher. I’ll echo what Vanessa said. It’s awesome that you were able to keep—and expand—the camp.”

Astrid stepped forward. “Hey, everyone. I’m Astrid. I’ve talked to you all on the phone. I’m here for whatever you need.”

“To add to that . . . I won’t be here for all six hours of camp, but Astrid will. I’m the idea guy and she’s the program administrator who makes it happen, so always talk to her first.”

Astrid’s eyes grew huge behind her glasses. But even from the short amount of time I’d spent with her, she’d proven herself more than capable of running this thing.

“Who’re we missing?” Dallas said.

“Lucy.” The door opened and we all turned. “And there she is right now.”

Walker and Trinity joined us.

For the next hour as we went over every minute detail, my feelings of panic only increased. Talk about cocky, thinking I could just run a freakin’ day camp. These people all had dedicated roles in this. What was mine?

I saw Walker and Todd separating conference tables. “Astrid. What am I supposed to be doing?”

“Just stand there and look pretty.”

“It’ll get real ugly real fast if you keep saying shit like that.”

“Relax,” she warned, holding up her hand. “I was trying to be funny, but obviously I didn’t succeed, which is nothing new in my world.” She stepped in closer to confide, “Look, Jensen, you are a celebrity. On registration morning, these kids’ parents will want to meet you since you’re sponsoring the camp—”

“Let’s clear this up once and for all. LCCO is sponsoring the camp, not me personally. I’ll be involved, but I’m not the key player. If not for Dallas, we’d be short two instructors. If anyone deserves credit, she does. Plus, she convinced her mom to loosen the purse strings on this project.”

“She really came through, didn’t she?” Astrid said as she focused on my petite cousin, holding court with Vanessa and Trinity. “She is absolutely amazing.”

“Careful, that sounds like a girl crush,” I teased.

Astrid tipped her head back and met my gaze. “Uh, yeah, about that. I pretty much crush on all women. Only on women.”

I let that sink in. “Get out. So you weren’t flirting with me in the office that day you begged to be part of the project.”

She laughed. “’Fraid not. Bet that was refreshing for you, huh?”