“I would have thought that you’d fight for first place rather than being satisfied with the tail end,” Jayden said.

“You don’t know me,” Tiffany panted.

“I know that you’ll poke your finger down your throat just to please your friends, so that tells me you’ll do anything to win. You need to be in control, don’t you?” Jayden would have rather jogged than kept up such a slow pace with Tiffany.

“I don’t care if these people are ever my friends. I just want to get through this stupid camp and out of this hellhole. And if I’m in control, then no one can hurt me.” Tiffany picked up the pace until she was a good twenty yards ahead of Jayden.

The girl was right about one thing. By being in control of her own life, heart, and time, she was less likely to get hurt—emotionally or physically. She didn’t want to think about that, so she shifted her thoughts to the plant life around her. A few sprigs of grass had sprung up here and there, and yucca plants were scattered about.

Elijah stopped and pointed to a green plant at his toes. “The common name for this is sotol. It doesn’t require much water, so it grows well here in this desert scrubland. Most years, we only get seven to twelve inches of rain, so the plants that survive have to be able to hold water in their leaves. This plant is edible, but it takes preparation, and it’s bitter, so you don’t want to put it in your mouth.”

“Yes, sir!” all nine girls sounded off in unison.

“Remember some of the plants we’ve talked about. The different kinds of cacti and the others,” Elijah was saying when Jayden started listening again. “Tomorrow I will ask you about them. We’re about halfway to our turnaround point, so let’s pick up the speed just a little.”

He didn’t stop again until they reached a stake that had been driven into the hard earth. A piece of yellow fabric tacked to the top flapped in the hot morning breeze. “This is it, ladies. Now Miz Jayden will lead the way back to camp, and I’ll bring up the rear. Let’s get some speed now that y’all are warmed up. Mary will have breakfast ready when we get home.”

Home my butt, Jayden thought as she started a fast walk back toward the camp. As if God knew the land was barren and stark, and they needed something bright and pretty in their lives that morning, He gave them a beautiful sunrise. Streaks of pink, blue, and lavender lit up the sky out ahead. An orange ball peeked over the top of the mountain range to the east of them, but it didn’t seem to be in a hurry. When they reached the camp, it still wasn’t full light yet.

“Water!” Carmella groaned.

“I need my morning latte,” Ashlyn, the most fit one in the group, said.

“Sorry, but we don’t do fancy coffee here,” Elijah said just a split second before the siren sounded. “We do have some creamer and sugar if you can’t take it black. Line up, girls. Toes on the sidewalk and six inches between your shoulders.”

Jayden went on inside, headed straight for the coffeepot, and poured a mugful. “Smells good in here. What can I do to help?”

“You can take my place,” Henry said. “My old hip is giving me fits. I’m glad that we’re leaving this in Elijah’s hands pretty soon. Another year, and I wouldn’t be able to enjoy traveling with my pretty bride.”

“You’ve always been a charmer.” A brilliant smile covered Mary’s face. “Thanks for the offer, Jayden. You can help the girls with their trays. I’ll pour orange juice and coffee or milk for those who want it. I have help from the girls from each cabin for dinner and supper, but since the exercise regimen is important, I choose to do breakfast by myself.”

Carmella was the first one through the line that morning. She held her tray out for Jayden to put scrambled eggs onto it and kept it there for a double portion. “I’m starving. Give me two of those hash browns, and two biscuits with gravy. Do we get midmorning snacks?”

“No, ma’am. You get three meals a day,” Jayden answered as she finished dipping up gravy.

“This isn’t a country club.” Tiffany came up right behind Carmella. “You should know that by now.”

“Amen,” Quinley said. “I’m here to tell you that I would’ve sold my soul for a bag of potato chips and a good cold root beer last night.”

“Amen!” Violet said.

“Not me,” Rita said. “If my soul was up for sale, I’d have wanted a chocolate cake.”

“I could have said no to the chips, but not a double shot of Jameson,” Ashlyn muttered as she went through the line.

Jayden remembered the beer that Elijah had shared and felt a little guilty, but not enough that she wouldn’t gladly take another one if he offered it again in a few days. A pang of sadness struck her—she hoped that the girls would all be more secure within themselves when they left the camp.

When the girls were seated, Elijah held out his tray. “Just eggs, bacon, and a couple of those biscuits.”

“Yes, sir.” Jayden’s hand brushed against his as she put the food onto his tray. There was that little spark again. She chalked it up to the fact that she hadn’t had a date in a year, hadn’t been in a relationship in two years—and Elijah was a sexy guy who would stir any woman’s hormones. When she got home, she really should think about going out more.

Chapter Seven

Jayden thought about her grandparents that morning as she crossed the distance to the barn with her girls. When she was a little girl, her mother would let her spend weeks with them during the summer. That could have well been when she fell into the habit of getting up early so she could go help Gramps do the morning chores while Granny cooked breakfast. She remembered thinking that the morning dew was what made the air smell so fresh and clean. Gramps would tell her stories or else teach her some small lesson about farm life in those precious times she spent with him.

Will I be able to pass on anything that these three girls will remember? she wondered as she followed behind them. They weren’t talking, but she wanted them to bond together and become friends. There was a far better chance of them doing just that if she let them have time together without her being right there.

They stopped at the barn door and waited for her to catch up to them. “Go on inside. You can’t do your job this morning standing out here,” she said.

“I’m afraid of horses,” Carmella whispered.

Jayden could feel her pain. One of her earliest memories was going out to the farm with Skyler for Sunday dinner at their grandparents’. Skyler wanted Gramps to let her ride the old mule that he sometimes used to plow up the garden. Jayden had been terrified of that huge animal and had cried when Gramps wanted to sit her up on Molly’s back.

“You’re a big sissy,” Skyler told her. “You’re bigger than me, and I’m not afraid.”

At four years old Jayden had grown taller and weighed more than Skyler did at seven, so it was the truth. But from that day forth, Jayden was constantly measuring herself by Skyler.

Ashlyn slipped through the door first. “Back in the real world, I had riding lessons twice a week when I was a kid, and when I go to my dad’s in the summer, I ride every day. Horses are fantastic animals.”