17. Darcy
DARCY
There was no way around it; no matter how she may have felt about Spencer, his father was a total jerk.
Normally Darcy didn’t like to be seen in her father’s office. She didn’t want to be thought of as some goody-goody daughter of the president. But Adam needed help.
Her father’s face fell the moment he looked up and saw both his kids in the doorway, Adam’s cheeks stained with tears. “What on earth?”
“Adam needs a minute,” Darcy said, sharing a look that the two of them had rehearsed a thousand times before.
“Come in, buddy,” her father said, shutting the door behind them. “What happened?”
By then Adam’s crying had slowed, but he did not want to talk. “I want to go home. It’s time for me to go home.”
“He was fired from the office job,” Darcy explained.
“Fired?” Her father shook his head. “Adam can’t have been fired. I just gave him that job.”
Adam sniffed. “Mossimo says I have to stay in the kitchen. Because Mr. Delancey said so.”
Darcy glared at her father. It was one thing for her to have to suffer a summer job here, but the silver lining had been that at least Adam liked his.
“There must be some kind of misunderstanding,” her father said decidedly.
“So I can go back to the office?” Adam sputtered.
“Wait here, first. I’m going to go upstairs and sort this out right now.”
Darcy exhaled. Their father seemed so sure, his expression as unruffled as his collared shirt. It always surprised her just how fierce she could be for Adam, a strength she could not seem to muster for herself. “You’re sure?” she asked. How she wanted to believe him, standing there in his Mayhaven polo shirt, with that stupid staring pilgrim emblazoned on his chest.
“Leave Adam with me and get back to work,” he assured her.
But after work, there was more trouble. Molly, the tennis pro, called for an emergency camp staff meeting. Darcy lined up with the others as Vince, Molly, and her father gathered everyone at the picnic tables. Their expressions were grim.
“All three new kayaks are missing,” Molly announced to the group. “Does anyone know anything about this?”
There was silence, followed by a flood of murmurs, but no one offered up any information. Blaine, one of the lifeguards, was whispering something to Spencer, but Darcy couldn’t hear.
Lily leaned in. “They were there yesterday because I had to drag the kayaks up on the beach after swim time.”
Darcy tried to focus on what Lily was saying and not her old coach’s golf hat, as Vince stood in front of them. Her father had given him that hat after her last tournament, right after she won. She had one just like it, shoved in the back of her closet back at home. Right next to the trophy she’d won.
Ashley Riley raised her hand like she was in third grade. “Maybe someone borrowed them and they’re banked somewhere up the lake?” Everyone nodded, like she’d come up with the right answer.
“We’ve already searched the shore on both sides,” Molly informed them. “Unfortunately, before this happened a paddleboard also disappeared over the weekend. Along with paddles.”
Vince cleared his throat. “What appeared to have been one missing piece of equipment is starting to look like a string of thefts.” He let this settle in as his gaze roamed over the counselors. Darcy looked past him to her father. Like everything else, camp was under his jurisdiction right down to the last oar.
“If you saw anything or know anything, please come see us,” he said. “These are expensive club items, and this is a serious matter.”
Given the day her father was having, she was almost afraid to ask if he’d sorted things out for Adam. When she found him in his office, she had her answer: he looked like he wanted to punch something.
“Apparently Mr. Delancey decided that Adam is only cleared to work in the kitchen.” Her father was fuming.
“What? I thought you were in charge.” She looked around. “Where’s Adam now?”
“He was so upset I took him home.”
Poor Adam. “Dad, this makes no sense. Did something happen in the office?”
“No, Jane loves having Adam help out. She keeps telling me what a wonder he is with the accounts.”
Adam had always been a numbers guy. Since he was little he would sit in the shopping cart at the checkout line and predict within a dollar what the cost of the groceries would be before the cashier even rang them up. When Darcy needed help on her precalc homework, Adam was the only one in the family who could give it. Someone could tell him their birthdate, and in less than thirty seconds he’d calculate their present age to the minute. Darcy would bet her life he was better in that office than anyone at this stupid club. “Why would Mr. Delancey do this?”
Her father shook his head. “He told Jane that member accounts are private business, and non-salaried employees shouldn’t have access.”
“Do you believe that?” Again, she already knew the answer.
It was the thing that got Darcy’s hackles up the most: so many people took Adam at face value. They saw a lanky shy kid who didn’t make eye contact. Who rarely spoke to people outside his family, or talked rapidly and without pause when he did. They assessed the averted gaze and the social awkwardness and did their own math to sum him up. Darcy knew better than anyone; she’d been watching people do it to him her whole life. Now Mr. Delancey was, too.
Her father stood up. “It doesn’t matter what Dick Delancey thinks. I’m going to have a word with him and fix this. Don’t worry.”
This time Darcy didn’t find solace in her father’s resolve. Gone were the days she believed her father could fix things as easily as he once did her scraped knee or Adam’s toppled ice cream cone. One thing she’d learned that year was that people disappointed you left and right; sometimes the ones you cared about the most.
“Dad, just because you’re president doesn’t mean you can fix everything.”
Her father looked like she’d smacked him. “Darcy, this has nothing to do with my position. Mayhaven is about welcoming families—and what Dick did isn’t in line with that.”
Here he was again, toeing the club line. “How can you keep defending this place if this is how Adam is treated?”
“Hang on, honey. Dick Delancey does not represent Mayhaven.”
“Doesn’t he?” She snorted. God, her dad had such a blind spot. “He’s the chairman! Of course he does.”
“No,” her father insisted. “I do. So do board members like Mrs. Babcock, who’s loved both you kids since you were little. And Mossimo and his team. And the pros, who’ve instructed you guys and all the other kids here over the years.”
Darcy flinched when he mentioned the pros, but her father was too impassioned to notice.
“This is a place where everyone belongs.”
Darcy looked at her father, and almost felt sorry for him. “What if we don’t want to belong?” Before he could say anything more she turned and stormed out. This was his fault, too. For being so na?ve, for not seeing what was right under his nose.
She pushed through the back door and was about to head for the parking lot when she heard a burst of laughter. Spencer Delancey was walking up the hill from the lake with the other guards. Well, well, well. What was it her mother always said? Apples don’t fall far.
Fuming, she strode up to him. “Got a minute?”
The other lifeguards halted, looks of amusement on their faces. “Uh, sure. What’s up?”
Darcy ignored them. “I need to talk to you. Like, now.”
Spencer followed her to a bench in the shade and sat down. He flipped his blond hair out of his blue eyes and leaned in. God, he was beautiful. “Something wrong?”
She would not be swayed. “You know my brother, Adam?”
Spencer nodded. “Sure.”
“He got a job in the club office this summer, but he was just let go.”
“Oh. That sucks.” Spencer looked confused. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Your dad was the one who said he doesn’t belong there.”
“My dad?” He fidgeted on the seat next to her. “Why would he care?”
“Good question.” Spencer needed to know what his father did. “Adam is really smart, and he could do that job better than anyone with an accounting degree, so I’m just trying to figure out why the board chairman thinks it’s okay to stick him in the back of the kitchen. Like he’s hiding him away.” Her tone was high and ripe with anger, and she knew she was probably embarrassing herself, but she couldn’t stop. “What your dad did—it’s not fair.”
Spencer didn’t say anything. But to his credit he didn’t get up and walk away, either. “Look, Darcy, I don’t know anything about this. But I can see how angry you are.” He reached over and put a hand on hers, and that was all it took.
“It’s not right,” she said again, staring at their intertwined hands.
“So you should talk to someone about that. But I don’t think that someone is me.”
“You’re right.” Her voice broke. “I shouldn’t have bothered you with this.” Spencer wasn’t the guy to go after. But she was so mad: at her father, at his father, at the stupid club. She swiped at her eyes where, to her horror, tears were starting to pool. “Sometimes I get protective of my brother.”
“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “My sister and I barely talk. Adam’s lucky to have a sister who sticks up for him.”
Darcy looked up at Spencer. He seemed genuine. Maybe being a jerk didn’t run in the family.
“Hey, Spence!” They were being interrupted. “You coming to the beach or not?”
They both turned to see Ashley Riley striding across the grass. She was wearing a red bikini top and a short white skirt. When she saw Darcy, she glared at her. Neither girl said hello.
“I’ll be down in a bit,” Spencer said, his gaze returning to Darcy’s. Darcy couldn’t believe it.
Apparently neither could Ashley. “Well, I can’t stay for long. So if you want to hang…”
“Got it.” His tone was as cool as his expression, and he stayed right where he was, next to Darcy. Ashley did not budge, either. Darcy could feel the vibration of her impatience as she stood behind them.
“You can go if you want,” Darcy began, trying to sound casual. But in her head: Please stay, please stay, please stay!
Spencer shook his head. To Ashley he called, “I’ll catch you later.”
“Whatever.” Ashley stomped away from them down the hill toward the lake.
Spencer flipped his hair out of his eyes like a fly had been buzzing between them. “Sorry. You were saying?”
Darcy was so shocked by what just happened, she forgot what she’d been saying. “Nothing. We’re good.”
“Okay. Cool.” He stood up, and she felt her heart leap up off the bench with him.
“Actually, wait. There is something.” She swallowed. “I owe you an apology for lighting into you like that.”
Spencer smirked.
“What?” This was not funny. Even if he’d just sent Ashley Riley on her way, Darcy had still made a complete fool of herself. She could not end on this note.
“You did light into me,” he said. But his expression remained amused. “It was kind of cute, actually.”
Darcy looked away, trying to hide her blush. God, why couldn’t she control her emotions better? “My dad said he’ll figure it out,” she said, switching the subject. “Thanks for letting me vent.”
Spencer waved a hand like it was nothing. “We’ve all got to blow off steam sometimes. Look, my dad can be tough, but he’s a good guy. I’m sure there was some kind of misunderstanding.” He looked back at the clubhouse. “Both of our fathers are in charge of this place. It can be cool sometimes, but it can also be a pain in the ass for us. Right?”
“So true.” It had never occurred to her that she’d have something in common with Spencer, and yet here it was. “My dad acts like this place is heaven on earth,” she confided.
Darcy let her gaze roam out over the course, past the first tee box illuminated in late afternoon sun; a spot she used to feel so sure of things when she stood up there, driver in hand.
“Don’t stress so much, Birch. It’s summer.” Spencer held out his hand and she let him pull her up from the bench. “Look around. Let yourself have some fun.”
Darcy forced a smile. “Right.”
As she watched him walk away, Darcy had to wonder if Spencer got her. Despite this messed up club and her crazy family, it was summer. He was right. She did deserve some fun. And maybe it would be with him.