Jayden waited for the next confession or question, but instead Tiffany pointed out into the yard and whispered, “What is that thing? Carmella, you’ve got to catch that, and I have to draw it.”

Just like that, the serious moment was over, and they were all headed out into the yard. Flip-flops that they’d been issued as shower shoes smacked on their feet as they chased down a lightning bug. They’d gone from talking about heavy topics to giggling like a bunch of little girls as they tried to catch the flickering yellow bit of light.

“All this after less than a week. We’re finally making progress,” Jayden muttered through a smile as she watched them.

Elijah appeared out of the dusky darkness and propped his elbows on the porch rail. “What’s going on out here? I figured I’d worn all of the girls out with that ball game.”

“They’ve discovered lightning bugs, or maybe I should say a lightning bug. I only see one,” Jayden answered. “Carmella wants to capture it alive, and Tiffany wants to draw it.”

“That’s strange. If we see fireflies at all in this part of the country, it’s usually in the spring, not hot summer,” Elijah said. “Look over there between Daydream and Moonbeam.” He pointed. “There’s two more.”

“Maybe it’s magic that’s happening just for my girls tonight,” she said.

“After this morning, you deserve some magic.” Elijah nodded.

“We got it,” Carmella yelled. “And it’s alive and look, Jayden, it’s still blinking.”

“There’s two more over there.” Jayden pointed toward Moonbeam Cabin, but by then there was nothing there.

“Guess they fell in love and have gone on their honeymoon,” Elijah teased.

All three girls stared at him as if he had an extra eyeball in his forehead.

“Lightning bugs flash their lights to attract mates,” Jayden explained.

“My poor little bug is a reject,” Carmella said, “and now I’m going to freeze him, so he’ll never have a wife or children.”

Jayden bit back a smile. “Could be that it’s a girl lightning bug and she’ll never know true love.”

“I don’t care if it’s a girl or a boy—it’ll be fun to sketch the thing,” Tiffany said. “Let’s get it in the freezer before it flies away. We’ve only got five minutes before bedtime.”

They all three hurried across the yard to the dining hall, and then jogged back together. Right at nine o’clock, the lights went out in the cabin. Jayden patted the table between her chair and the one connected to it. “Come on up here and have a seat.”

Elijah sat down in the chair next to her. “What’s your take on Novalene? Is she holding up all right? It’s always tough on everyone to lose a girl, especially this quick, and Novalene has never lost one of hers.”

“She’s one tough lady. I want to grow up and be just like her,” Jayden answered. “How about Mary?”

“I’m still really worried about her and Henry,” Elijah said. “She comes off as bulletproof, but she holds a lot of stress inside and doesn’t talk about it. She’s going to crumble one of these days. I just hope that she and Henry get a few years of retirement before that happens.”

“So do I,” Jayden said. “I really have gotten close to her. When I first said I’d come here, I didn’t think about making friends. I only came so Skyler would be happy. I planned to do my job and go home. Look!” She pointed out toward the dining building. “Now there’s dozens of lightning bugs flitting around.”

“And our two eloped before they got to know anyone else,” he joked.

“How do you know that?” Jayden cut her eyes over toward him. “Maybe they were hiding out of fear until the girls went inside. After all, none of them want to be frozen and then pinned to a board. When they realized Myrtle was caught, and the girls had quit running around in the yard, they all came back out to put on their show for us.”

“Myrtle?” he asked.

“I named her after my aunt Myrtle. My grandmother’s sister. She has always been a fireball of energy. She still made a garden and lived by herself when she was a hundred years old. I figured that would be a good name for the firefly,” Jayden answered.

“Is she still living?” Elijah asked. “Your aunt, not the firefly.”

“Yep, she’s a hundred and two and just got married six months ago for the first time. Her groom is ninety. After they went on a honeymoon to Disney World in Orlando, they moved into an assisted living center in Fort Worth,” Jayden answered. “She grows tomatoes in pots on their balcony, and he still plays golf twice a week.”

“Why don’t you want to grow up to be like her instead of Novalene?” Elijah asked.

“Aunt Myrtle has energy and uses it wisely. Novalene likes to drive fast and listen to Elvis blasting on the radio,” she answered.

“So, you are a risk-taker?” Elijah pulled a bandanna from his pocket and wiped his forehead.

“Nope. I’ve never done much in the way of taking risks in my life,” Jayden admitted. That was another way she and Skyler were different, even though they had the same specialization. Skyler had worked in several jobs since Jayden got her teaching degree and then her counselor’s certification. Jayden was still in the same school she’d started at when she was twenty-two years old. “But I’d like to see how it would feel. That’s so unlike me to even say that. Must be this place.”

“Maybe it’s because you’re staying in this particular cabin,” Elijah said. “What do you daydream about? A handsome knight on a white horse coming to carry you off to happy ever after?”

“Happy ever after doesn’t exist except in romance books, and a sexy knight would have to be a big old boy to carry me anywhere,” she giggled.

With so much on her mind, Jayden had trouble getting to sleep that night. Finally, she got out her journal and started to write.

Dear Mama,

I went to church this morning for the first time since you left me. I don’t know if it’s mandatory for me to go or not, but to set an example for my girls, I went. I’m still not over being mad at God for taking you away from me. I didn’t have a problem with losing Gramps. He was old, and he was ready to go spend eternity with Granny, but if God can truly perform miracles, then He could have healed you. Skyler sent a selfie from London. You’d tell me, like Mary did, that it was her way of saying thanks to me for taking her place here at the camp. But I know my sister, maybe better than anyone else does, and she was showing off. How could two people as different as we are ever have the same parents?

I’ve met a guy here at the camp, and there’s feelings that I don’t know how to deal with. I wish you were here so I could talk to you about Elijah. He’s got a good heart, but from what little he’s told me, he’s dealt with a lot of pain and loss. Maybe he’s like me. I have trouble trusting other people. He has trouble trusting himself, from what I can tell.

That’s all for tonight. Miss you, Mama.

She put the notebook back in the drawer and turned out the light. When her head hit the pillow that time, she had no trouble going to sleep.