There were very few things June didn’t share with Summer, but this was
going to be one of those things she kept to herself. Arabella hadn’t come
forward with the information, but it also didn’t sound like much of a secret.
It wasn’t just because all those years ago she’d kept June’s secret. June
didn’t really believe in giving away information that wasn’t hers to give.
Life was a lot simpler if one kept the wild gossip to a minimum. She’d
always ascribed to that, and she wasn’t about to do anything differently.
Even if Summer was Summer.
“Okay, okay,” June muttered. “I’m up.” She swung her feet over onto the
floor. It was approximately six thousand degrees, and she was sure it wasn’t
past eight in the morning.
“Good! I want to take the boat out. We can go swimming again. Our
moms said they’d come. Then there’s the market at one that we love, and
we could get the bikes out of the shed and go for a ride, and…”
June didn’t mean to tune out, but as Summer rattled off her list she was
so tired she kind of checked out. She agreed to something, maybe a lot of
things, and got up and got dressed after Summer left.
She didn’t know how she’d have the energy to get through a jam-packed
day. Wasn’t lake life supposed to be about taking it easy? What did people
say about needing a holiday from their holiday? Whatever it was, she
figured she needed it. Very. Badly.
***
After a day jammed so full of activities that even Summer was worn out,
June thought she’d be able to fall asleep as soon as she turned out the light.
Instead, she stayed in bed, her sheets kicked off against the wet heat
saturating the cabin like a sodden blanket. She stared up at the roof,
watching shadows and listening to night sounds until she couldn’t take it
anymore.
Wild animals or not, she was going outside to escape the heat.
When June tried her flashlight, she found that the batteries were dead.