Read Online Cabin Girl by Kristin Butcher - Free Book Online

guests fed. So head up to the lodge. Take Jen with you and show her the staff dining room. Bailey, after lunch maybe you can help Jen get settled in.” Then more quietly, “She’ll be bunking with you.”
    I’m in shock. “What about April?”
    â€œSomething has come up. She won’t be staying.” Then Gabe turns to the pilot. “Come on, Jim. Let me buy you a coffee.”
    â€œSounds good,” Jim says. As he and Gabe head up to the lodge, Jim glances at his watch and calls to Dennis Savoy and April, “We’ll be leaving in half an hour.”
    I feel like a tornado has blown through camp and turned everything upside down. My head is spinning, and my legs are wobbly. Halfway to the dining room, I look back at the dock. April has never looked smaller.
    I serve lunch in a daze. I have no idea what’s going on. Meira has no clue either. If Cook knows something, she’s not saying. Somewhere between soup and dessert, the plane takes off. Though no one has said so, I’m pretty sure April won’t be back. Considering how she treated me, I should be doing a happy dance, but I actually feel a bit sad.
    After lunch I take Jen to the cabin and tell her about camp life. I also promise to help her with cabins for a couple of days, until she gets comfortable with the routine. She seems nice. We could be friends, but I’m not going to rush into it this time.
    In the middle of our conversation, there’s a knock on the door. It’s Gabe. I’m surprised. He’s never come to the cabin before.
    â€œI’d like to talk to you,” he says.
    I turn to Jen. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back.”
    Gabe doesn’t waste any time. As soon as we step away from the cabin, he says, “Lodge staff come and go all season long, so no one needs to suspect April’s departure is unusual. The official story is that she left for personal reasons—which is basically true. But because she was your cabin mate and because you knew something was going on with Dennis Savoy, I thought it only fair to tell you the whole story.
    â€œEd said you discovered Dennis Savoy is an investigator. You were one up on me. I didn’t find that out until last night. However, he wasn’t investigating the lodge—he was investigating April.”
    â€œApril? Why?”
    â€œI’m sure you know that April was in a motorcycle accident last year.”
    I nod. “The guy she was riding with died.”
    â€œAnd April was badly injured. So badly, in fact, that her doctor deemed her unable to work. Because of that, she was awarded a large insurance settlement.”
    I’m confused. “But April was working. Sometimes her hip hurt her, but it would always feel better after a night’s sleep.”
    â€œThat’s the issue. The insurance company heard she was working here and sent Dennis Savoy to see if it was true.”
    â€œSo now what?”
    â€œApril will have to appear at a hearing. If she can’t justify the deception, she’ll have to give the money back. She might also be fined. She could even go to jail.”
    â€œAre you serious?”
    â€œUnfortunately, yes.”
    Things start to make sense. “What if she had a good reason for what she did?” I say.
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLike trying to better herself. I think April was saving the insurance money to open a flower shop.”
    Gabe shakes his head. “It’s good that she wants to improve her life, but she can’t do it like that. That’s part of April’s problem. She plays by her own rules. She’s got a chip on her shoulder. Sure, she’s had a hard go of it, but so have a lot of people. That doesn’t make it okay to abuse the rules and other people.
    â€œThis is April’s third year at the camp. She’s a good worker, but she has always had issues with people. As long as she’s on top, she’s sweet as