Lily wrapped two in a paper towel along with a couple of napkins and walked down the trail to the lake. Despite her never-go-anywhere-without-them boots, she watched the path for any early morning sunbathers. The evenings rarely cooled off more than a few degrees below the sizzling daytime temps, and the wildlife seemed most active in the very early hours.

People too, it seemed.

Sarah sat on the far end of the little dock, facing the lake with her legs dangling over the water. She didn’t turn as Lily approached, though she must have felt her as the dock swayed and creaked with every step.

“Hi,” Lily said as she carefully juggled her coffee and muffins to sit down beside Sarah. “Muffin?”

“Lemon poppyseed?”

“Uh-huh.”

Sarah held out her hand. “Thanks.”

“So,” Lily said, sipping her own steaming cup of coffee, “I was wondering—”

“She’s still up at Bear Mountain,” Sarah said. “Natalie just radioed an update, or I would have told you sooner.”

“Did they get the hikers out okay?”

“Yes—a trio of very lucky tourists who were a few hundred feet farther up the trail when the slide started. They had water with them, luckily, but not much in the way of food.”

Lily sighed. “They obviously never spent a summer at a DEC camp.”

Sarah laughed. “Really—most wilderness adventurers could benefit from it. Of course, we’d need a lot more camps and a lot more counselors and a hell of a lot more money.” She eyed Lily. “And of course, medics.”

“I could be persuaded to volunteer again,” Lily said without a second’s hesitation. She’d never actually considered it until then, but as soon as she’d said it, she knew it was true. Her role had turned out to involve so much more than just tending to the routine illnesses, injuries, and occasional emotional issues that were commonplace in every ER and primary care practice. She’d led discussion groups on topics from career paths to family planning, and learned more from the teens than she could have at any seminar on adolescent medicine. And she’d learned things about herself she’d never guessed at—like her bizarre desire to excel at outdoor activities. With the exception of fishing. That ranked high on her activities-to-be-avoided list. Her excitement at the idea of returning quickly turned to disappointment. “I don’t know how I’d swing the time off, though.”

“You’ll have almost a year to work that out,” Sarah said mildly. “Tonight’s big outing marks our halfway point. In another five weeks the kids will have to start thinking about going back to school—and a couple will be heading off to college.”

“Do you think Chase will make it?” Lily asked, feeling just a little selfish that she didn’t want to spend the Fourth of July celebration without her.