Rock Star's Daughter { A Blake Mcnarie Novel }

Chapter 10: Problem Child

The preparation week flew past, and before I knew it, we were waiting for the kids to come in. Emali and I had been assigned the smallest cabin, with just five campers. They were mostly second graders, with one fifth grader. She wanted to be with her sister, since they didn't sleep well when they were separated. Emali and I were anxiously waited for our campers at the check in desk, with a million other counselors and parents. The entire place was buzzing with excitement. I had no idea what to expect, being around children who were technically classified as at risk. Emali assured me they wanted to be treated like all other children, and not considered to be any different. Still, my nerves were on high alert when I waited for the children I'd be responsible for the next three weeks. I watched as Bryan and Brady got their group in, a bunch of fourth graders who to hit it off with my brother. Little did Brady know he was in for weeks of pranks and farting noises, from what I knew about my brother's babysitting style. Bryan had once watched my youngest nephew, Ann and Andrew's son Lincoln, and my aunt Ann had to make a new ritual to check for saran wrap on her toilet every morning. I found myself watching them as Brady knelt down to talk to a shy little boy, and his eyes lit up just a little bit. I came here because my parents had the idea that I needed some good deeds under my belt, but Brady was just genuinely a good guy.

"Hey, Mcnarie," Emali said, snapping her fingers. "What 'cha staring at over there?"

"Me? Oh nothing, nothing at all," I replied. "Just seeing the kids come in. Everyone is so excited. Where are our kids?"

"Four of our kids are from Vegas," she replied. "It will be a while before they get here."

"Ok," I said. "I guess we'll just have to be patient."

"Or you can keep pretending you're not staring at Brady," Emali said. "I still want details on your guys' sordid romance."

"It wasn't sordid," I said. I'd heard my Dad call it a forest romp in an angry discussion with my mother, but still. "It just didn't work out."

"Well, work it out," Emali said. "I bet a hundred bucks on you two hooking up."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The camp bets," Emali said. "Sorry I didn't tell you. We all made bets last week on whether or not we thought various things were going to happen. There are five main pools going on right now. The top three involve sex, you'll have sex with Brady, you'll have sex with Chase, and I'll have sex with Chase. Then there are two other pools, one on how long it will take for Kate to give Dave a black eye, and how long it will take for Bryan to murder someone."

"And you bet on Brady and myself," I replied.

"Well, after our make out session, I didn't think you and Chase were going to be a thing. And I'm not sleeping with him."

"So you and Chase are dating," I asked, hoping her obsession with my brother would end.

"Please woman, you're smothering me."

"Well, I think you're all going to lose some money," I said. 'Unless you bet on the whole Dave and Kate thing. He's begging for some violence."

We both laughed and I realized what was happening. As unexpected as it was, Emali and I were becoming friends. She was blunt and loose with her lips, but I couldn't help but like Emali. She was refreshingly honest and comfortable with herself, which reminded me of my mother.