“Do you know anything about the nature of her parents’ concerns?” Lily paused. “It’s not just idle curiosity. If she’s into drugs or something potentially self-destructive, I ought to know, so I can keep an eye out. We might have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol here, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the campers to have access. They’re not prisoners, and I suppose they’re going to have a chance to go into town.”

“Oh yeah,” Chase said. “There’s an outing planned every week for shopping, sightseeing, that kind of thing. And there’s the big Fourth of July celebration with a night tour of the lake on one of the historic paddleboats. We have the whole thing to ourselves.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It is, actually. It’s beautiful, and you can see the fireworks really well from the lake.”

Lily said, “I haven’t seen fireworks in years.”

“It is one of those things that never gets old.” Chase smiled.

“Simple pleasures?” Lily said.

“Sometimes they’re the best.” Chase paused. “Like stargazing.” She couldn’t quite keep the desire that surged with the memory from showing in her voice.

“I haven’t forgotten,” Lily murmured.

“Neither have I.” Chase almost confessed she’d spent a lot of time reliving various moments of that moonlight walk—especially the kiss—and wondering when and how she’d manage another, but she didn’t want it to come off as a line. Lily deserved more than that.

“So,” Lily said in a tone that signaled she was intentionally changing the subject, “what do you do when you’re not patrolling, out there in the wilderness by yourself?”

“Work out, read, do a little gardening during the summer.”

Lily laughed, her eyes sparkling. “You garden?”

Chase drew herself up and feigned affront. “I’ll have you know I not only garden, I cook.”

Lily stared. “You cook.”

“I do,” Chase said just a tad smugly. “I grow lots of vegetables, obviously, because they’re great fresh and a lot of them keep well in a root cellar. I’ve got some raspberry bushes, and blueberries grow wild everywhere up here. Stock up on dry goods—beans and pasta—and you’ve got a good assortment for most meals.”

“Pleasure or necessity?”

“Both. I live where I work, we all do—it’s a job requirement. So a forty-minute drive from anywhere that offers takeout, and I can’t really afford to be in the middle of dinner in Lake George when I need to be fifty miles in the other direction, chasing a bear away from somebody’s campsite.”

“Is it where you grew up—where you live now?” Lily asked.

“My parents’ land, yes. The homestead is Sarah’s—she gets up there a few times a year. I built a cabin not far from there a few years back.”

“You built…as in had it built, or…”

“I built it. Log and stone.”

“I’m impressed.”

Chase shrugged. “I had some time on my hands, and I needed something to keep me in shape. Sarah helped.”

“So you built your own home, grow your own food, and what else? Do you hunt?”