Keeping Her Secret by Sarah Nicolas Page A

with an awkward smile. Colt cast about, searching for someone he knew.
    Riya recognized the moment for the excellent opportunity it was. “Colt,” she called, jerking her head in her friend’s direction. “Grab Dee.”
    Colt spun to find Dee, freezing for a second.
    “Oh, no,” Dee said, waving her hand back and forth. “I couldn’t.”
    But Colt bounded to Dee in three steps, taking her hand and twirling her around until she stared at his back. “Let’s go, Delores,” he said. “I’ve seen you on the paddleboard. You’ve got the best balance out here.”
    Dee flashed a wide-eyed look at Riya, who gave her a thumbs-up. Dee grasped Colt’s shoulders, and he bent down, catching her easily and hefting her up to rest on his hips.
    Grinning, she said, “My friends call me Dee.”
    Colt turned his head to smile at her. “All right, Dee. Let’s kick some ass.”
    She whooped in agreement.
    “Who’s the dude carrying Courtney?” Riya whispered in Trey’s ear. And where the hell did he come from? she didn’t add.
    She felt his shoulders move under her arms.
    “Her new flavor of the week. It’s his first summer here. I think his name’s Derek?”
    “You don’t sound sure.”
    “Why bother learning their names? She’ll dump him in a couple of days, anyway.” He didn’t sound like he approved. “Poor guy doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
    Riya wondered if Trey had ever been one of Courtney’s flavors of the week but decided she didn’t really want to know.
    “Last one to the volleyball court is a rotten egg,” David called.
    With that, their herd of piggyback riders sprang into action. Riya bounced up and down, holding on to Trey for dear life. Derek and Courtney took an early lead, his long legs giving him an immediate advantage. Other campers cleared the path for them, the guys’ shouts and girls’ screams announcing their arrival like a train horn barreling through a small town. The gravel crunched under their feet, pebbles skittering off the path. True to form, Elise’s shrieks drowned out all the others.
    They passed the halfway point, the G4 cabins.
    A couple feet ahead of them, Dee turned her head, and Riya caught the look of pure joy etched across her face, transformed to a glowing bronze by the golden setting sun. She looked beautiful, fierce and strong and happy—and incredibly stable. Colt had been telling the truth; she had great balance. The pair surged forward, separating from the pack, gaining on Derek and Courtney.
    Seeing his friend pull ahead of him, David grunted and shifted into high gear.
    Trey turned to Stefanie running alongside him. “Can’t let ’em win that easily,” he said.
    Stefanie nodded. “Hold on, Chels.”
    They caught up with David, passing him as Colt caught up with Derek just past Riya’s cabin. Almost there. Colt and Dee ran neck-in-neck with Courtney and her new fling.
    “Go, Dee, go!” Riya called.
    Twenty feet from the volleyball court, Dee pulled tightly against Colt, and he surged ahead. The two collapsed onto the soft sand seconds before Courtney and Derek crossed the out-of-bounds rope. Riya and Trey stumbled over the line at the exact same time as Stefanie and Elise.
    “Third place!” Elise yelled, reaching over to high five Riya.
    David came panting behind them, dropping to his knees in the sand. Bridget was the only one not laughing.
    Dee lay flat on her back next to Colt, both of them catching their breath.
    “We make a great team, Delor— Dee.” He gave her a side-hug.
    Dee’s smile stretched so wide, Riya thought she might never be able to frown again. Riya slid down Trey’s back, stretching her toes into the sand.
    “No fair!” Derek laughed, looking at Colt. “You have a freaking ninja as a jockey.”
    Colt scoffed. “Dude, you have the most graceful ballerina east of the Mississippi.”
    Derek turned to Courtney, who pressed up against his side. “You’re a ballerina?”
    She smiled demurely, peering at him through her