By the time they reached their campsite, Grace was no further in getting either girl to trust her than before. In fact, Ash actively avoided her now, always going in the opposite direction of Grace. Well, Grace got the hint. Pushing Ash to open up only resulted in pushing her farther away.

However, she did notice Ash sending Pacey covert looks every so often. Usually when Pacey was off by himself. It was clear Ash had a crush on him, but it hard to tell if Pacey felt the same way. Corrine noticed too and would roll her eyes every so often when Ash found ways to be near Pacey.

"Corrine?" Grace called. "Can you help me set up the tent? Ash-you can start heating up water for dinner."

Miles had brought a portable stove that heated up water and several packages of dehydrated meals such as spaghetti, chicken and rice, and mac and cheese. All they had to do was boil the water and add it to the packets.

Ash protested loudly but complied. Occasionally, Grace would check in on her, but Ash seemed to have it well in hand.

"I'm going to check out the river," Ash said once she was done.

Grace, who was unzipping the door of their tent, replied, "Okay, but be careful."

"Yes, Mom," Ash responded sarcastically. She stomped away, kicking up dust.

Grace shook her head. That girl could try a priest. She just wished she could break through somehow. Turning to Corrine, Grace held out a hand. "Can you toss me those bags? I'll set up our stuff inside."

About ten minutes later, Grace surveyed their tent with a sense of pride. It was small, but it neat and clean. It'd serve them well for the night. Stepping outside, she sniffed.

The acrid smell of burnt plastic wafted through the air. Sniffing again, Grace looked around the campsite then let out a curse. Ash had left the packages of food too close to the open flame, and now they were all on fire. Racing over, she pulled them away and dumped a bottle of water over them, dousing the flame.

Miles ran over with Pacey and Hugo not far behind. "What happened?"

"Dude, is that dinner?" Pacey asked.

"I hope not because it's all just ash now," Hugo replied.

Corrine looked over Grace's shoulder and let out a moan. "Now what are we going to do? That was the only food we had."

Pacey scratched the back of his head. "Think any restaurants will deliver out here?"

"Don't be an idiot," Corrine shot back.

"Don't call him an idiot," Ash replied, coming back from the river. Her face turned to horror when she saw the pile of charred packages on the ground.

Corrine rounded on her. "No, I should be calling you that. You were the one in charge of dinner and now look what happened."

"No one's an idiot," Grace stated firmly. "And we don't call people that. It's disrespectful."

Corrine threw up her hands. "What does it matter? Dinner's ruined. I knew I should have done it instead of sticky fingers over there."

Sticky fingers? What did that have to do with anything? But then Grace saw Ash's face, and everything clicked. Ash must have stolen something. That's why she was arrested, and that's why she was in the program. Grace glanced at Miles, and he confirmed her suspicions with a nod.

"Way to go, Ash. Now we don't have anything to eat," Pacey said.

Ash's head dropped to her chest but not before Grace saw the telltale sheen of tears. It broke Grace's heart to see the girl so distraught. Grace wanted Ash's walls to come down, but not like this. Not at the expense of her pride.

Before she could think about it, Grace blurted out, "It's my fault. I'm the one who moved the food. I guess I wasn't paying attention to how close the stove was."

Ash's head whipped up. Her green eyes were wide with astonishment.

Grace gave her a small smile. "Sorry to ruin your hard work, Ash. Good news is that I brought extra food with me just in case. It's not as good as what Miles had but, it'll do."

While the rest of the group let out whoops of delight, Ash remained quiet. Her gaze never left Grace. In that moment, Grace knew something had changed between them. Ash never said thank you or even gestured to Grace, but there was a softness in her expression now that hadn't been there before.

Grace knew she was right when everyone gathered together to munch on beef jerky, energy bars, and dried fruit. She was sitting on the ground taking a sip of water when Ash and Corrine sat down next to her. They did it so casually, and without a word, Grace thought she dreamt it. It wasn't until she saw Miles grinning at the three of them that she believed it was real.

But now that they were giving her a chance what should she do? Grace tried to think of something to say but everything she came up with sounded lame. Giving herself time to think, she pulled out a lip balm from her pocket and applied it.

"I've never tried that brand," Ash said suddenly. "Is it any good?"

Both girls looked at her expectantly. "Uh, yeah. Not bad. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, though. Leaves a weird after taste."

"You should try this one," Corrine announced. She pulled out one from her backpack and showed it to Grace.

"I'll have to check that out. Thanks." There was an awkward pause. Then inspiration struck. "You guys have any ideas for a good lotion? The heat's been brutal on my skin."

"I know what you mean. My skin's been drier than the Sahara," Ash commiserated.

Corrine waved her hand. "I have just the thing. You need to try this new body lotion, and the best part is that it smells like coconut."

Soon, they were launched in a deep conversation about beauty products and fashion. It seemed both girls were into it as much as Grace.

"Your legs look amazing," Ash said. "My hair always grows back so quick. It's like a guy's five o'clock shadow except worse."

"I'm trying out this new razor." Grace ran a hand over her leg. Still smooth. "You should check it out-Schick Quattro YOU™."

Ash sighed. "I would love not having to shave as much. I could sleep in more before school."

"Then maybe you wouldn't fall asleep so much in class," Corrine said.

"Maybe I wouldn't if the subjects weren't so boring," Ash countered.

Grace held up a hand. "Enough. What's with you two? Why are you always at each other's throats?"

"Ask Corrine. She's the one who beat up my friend."

"I barely touched her!" Corrine exclaimed.

"That's not what Fran said."

"Yeah, well your good friend Fran is a liar. I grabbed her arm, and suddenly that counts as punching someone. I was just trying to get her to stop bullying my sister out of her lunch money."

"Fran wouldn't do that," Ash denied.

"How do you think she could afford all those new lipsticks?"

Ash bit her lower lip. "She said her mom gave her the money."

"Please. We both know her mom wouldn't give her a cent. Everyday Fran forced my little sister to hand over her money. She went without lunch for weeks!"

Suddenly, Ash didn't look so sure about her friend. "She has been spending a lot."

"Yeah, well, she better not go near my sister again."

"I'll talk to her," Ash told Corrine, looking a little shy. It was a peace offering, and everyone knew it.

Corrine studied Ash, probably gauging her sincerity, and then nodded her thanks. "I-I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said that stuff about dinner and sticky fingers and all of that, especially in front of the guys."

Ash glanced over her shoulder to where the boys were goofing around with rocks and sticks. She swallowed then turned back around. "It's cool. Clean slate?"

"Clean slate."

When night came, everyone got ready for bed and went into their tents. Grace wasn't tired, so she waited till both girls had fallen asleep and then slipped out. With a blanket in hand, she walked to the edge of the clearing and sat next to a log. Leaning back, she gazed at the stars and let out a long sigh.

"Is that a happy sigh or a frustrated one?" She didn't have to look to know it was Miles. He settled down next to her with his own blanket and spread it over both of them.

"It's a happy one," she responded, snuggling in closer.

"You did good today, McCaffery. Got both of those girls talking to you and to each other. I'd consider that a win."

"Not bad for a days work."

He nudged her shoulder with his own. "Never doubted you for a second."

Grace barked out a laugh. "Well, I did. I thought I was a complete failure."

"You? Never." The utter conviction in his voice made her heart skip a beat. How could he be so sure of her when she wasn't even sure of herself?

"Yeah, but even if I did get them to talk, it's not going to change anything. Their lives are still going to be the same." They were still in the program; still going through the same problems they had before.

"Don't underestimate having someone to talk to. You remember my mom, right?"

Grace tried not to grimace. Miles' mom hadn't been her favorite person. She spent most of her life partying and acting like a twenty-year old. She'd died right after Miles left town. "I remember her."

"There were some dark times with her. I never told you the full extent of it, but she really messed me up. I look back and wonder if I had someone to confide in as a kid, someone who understand what I was going through, how things would have turned out? That's why I started this mentorship program. If I had this back then maybe I wouldn't have turned out to be such a screw up."

"You're not a screw up," Grace protested.

"That's because I cleaned up my act, but after graduation? I was a wreck. I was so eager to live on my own, but I had no concept of responsibilities or what it meant to be an adult." Miles blew out a breath. "It was a disaster. I got into some serious trouble, and soon I hit rock bottom. Finally, I picked myself up, got myself clean, and came back to Banner Hill."

Grace laid a hand on his arm. "I'm glad you're okay now, but I wish you had reached out to me. You know I would have helped."

"I know. And I appreciate that, but I couldn't ask for your help back then. I was too embarrassed." He sent her a sideways glance. "I was always a little jealous of you when we were dating. You had such a great family. I wanted that."

Grace was flustered by his confession. "I didn't know."

"I didn't let you know. I didn't let you know a lot of things when we were dating. That's one thing I regret."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't think I knew how. You were so fearless back then. Ready to take on the world. I was afraid if I admitted I wasn't as sure you would dump me."

"So you dumped me instead?" Grace tried to keep her voice light, but it was hard when she was drowning in emotion. She wanted to yell at him for keeping this hidden for so many years. Kiss him for being so sweet. And hug him for breaking her heart with such a sad story.

"Something like that. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It was a crappy thing to do. I should have told you what I was feeling."

"It's okay. Apparently, the town thinks I dumped you instead anyway."

A sheepish grin crossed his face. "About that..."

"Miles Garth Darby what did you do?"

"I might have accidentally told someone you dumped me." He held his hands up. "In my defense, I was trying to gain sympathy points from people who were looking to invest in the mentorship program."

Grace laughed. "And did it work?"

He shot her a roguish smile. "Like a charm."

Grace knew she should be upset but couldn't muster any anger. At least their breakup was used for something good. "So you started the mentorship program, huh?"

"Yeah. When I started teaching at the high school, I saw myself in a lot of those kids. I realized they needed someone to guide them like I needed someone to guide me. I'm hoping by giving these kids a good foundation they won't make the same mistakes."

"Well, I think they're lucky to have you. Sounds like you found your place in the world. Who knew it would be Banner Hill, huh?"

He lifted her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Sometimes the thing we're looking for is right in front of us."

"Miles, I'm still planning on leaving," she said softly.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't try and change your mind."