For a while, Lily had thought Ford might have been the one to leave the note reporting the bullying, but Ford’s friendship with Shannon at the beginning of the summer had made that seem unlikely. When Lily had learned from Suwallia’s family on the Fourth of July cruise that Suwallia and Marty went to the same school, she’d suspected Suwallia had been the author of the note. Now, Marty and Suwallia were friends as well.

She’d miss that, when she started back in the ER—the chance to know people on a deeper level, to watch the people she cared about change and triumph. The absence of long-term patient relationships was the trade-off, she supposed, for no office hours and no late-night calls when she was off-call. Just another thing she’d learned about herself that summer, and something else she’d miss.

Her coffee cup was empty and the toast a distant memory, and with a long, physically demanding schedule ahead, she opted for a real breakfast. Hungry or not. She passed on the invitations to dine with Alisha and Philippe and several of the other counselors. Her mind was too distracted, her thoughts elsewhere, to make her reasonable company. At eight thirty, she joined the rest of the staff outside to await the arrival of the team from the regional medical center who would be staging their field training sessions with the help of the campers. Supervising the ER residents, PA students, and campers as they’d resuscitate the pseudo accident victims and ready them for transport would keep her busy for the next two days. Lily welcomed the work, but no matter how busy she was, nothing would dispel her worries over Chase and what she was going through.

* * *

Chase flagged down the driver of one of the equipment carriers headed down to the base camp. The big trucks hauled ATVs, power saws, and hoists, even backhoes, and followed the line crews as they pushed to stay ahead of the fire front. “Got room for a passenger?”

The driver, a young guy with a two-day beard, shadows of fatigue riding his cheekbones, and a weary grin, motioned her around to the passenger side. “Climb in.”

“Thanks,” Chase said. “Fielder, DEC out of Bolton.”

“Michael James—Fire Rescue from Fort Ann. How’s it going out there?”

“We’re holding,” Chase said as she leaned her head back. “But we’re not winning yet.”

“Reports say the wind’s coming up overnight.”