interested, so it was all working out.
He reached his office, a first-floor space on a tree-lined side street. There was a restaurantâthe Fox and Houndâaround the corner, and a Starbucks nearby. For now, it was enough.
He reached for his keys only to see the lights were already on. He pulled open the door and stepped inside.
The three-thousand-square-foot office was more than he needed, but he had plans to expand. His summer camp was just the beginning. Changing the world would require a staff.
Dakota Hendrix, his lone year-round employee,looked up from her computer. âWere you at the fire? Didnât you mention you were going to the school?â
âI was there.â
âDid everyone get out okay?â
He nodded and briefed her on what had happenedâleaving out the part where he went back to check that all the rooms were empty.
Dakota, a pretty woman with shoulder-length blond hair and expressive eyes, listened carefully. She had a PhD in childhood development and heâd been damn lucky to find her, let alone hire her.
One of the reasons Raoul had moved to Foolâs Gold had been because of the abandoned camp up in the mountains. Heâd been able to get it for practically nothing. Heâd updated the facility and this past summer End Zone for Kids had opened its doors.
The campâs mandate was to help inner-city kids be a part of natureâhardly a unique idea, but one that was appreciated by those who lived in the urban center of broken cities. Local kids came as day campers, and the city kids stayed for two weeks at a time.
The initial reports had been favorable. Raoul had an idea to expand the camp into a year-round facility, a challenge Dakota had understood and wanted to take on. In addition to planning and running End Zone, sheâd started writing a business plan for the winter months.
âI heard the fire was awful,â she said when he was done. âThat there was a lot of damage. Marsha called me a few minutes ago.â She paused. âMarshaâs our mayor.â
He remembered Pia mentioning her. âWhy would she call you about the fire?â
âMostly she was calling about the camp.â This timethe pause was longer. âThe city wants to know if they can use the camp as a temporary school. Marsha, the head of our board of education and the principal would like to see it first, but they think it would work. The only other place big enough is the convention center. But itâs pretty much booked and the layout isnât really suitable. The acoustics would be awfulâthe noise of one class bleeding into another. So theyâre very interested in the camp.â She paused for a third time, drew a breath and looked hopeful.
Raoul pulled out a chair and sat across from her. Hawkâs words about getting involved echoed in his head. This was one way to get involvedâbut from a very safe distance.
âWe donât have classrooms,â he said, thinking out loud. âBut we already have all the beds stored so the bunkrooms could be classrooms. They would be small but workable. With the right kind of dividers, the main building could house a dozen or so classrooms.â
âThatâs what I thought,â Dakota said, leaning toward him. âThereâs the kitchen, so lunch wouldnât be a problem. The main dining hall could double as an assembly area. No one knows how much is salvageable in terms of desks, but theyâre putting out the word to other districts. We should have some solid numbers in the next couple of days. So they can use the camp? Iâll take care of the details and act as liaison.â
âIf youâre willing to take that on.â There would be liability issues, but thatâs why he had lawyers.
âI am.â
He and Dakota tossed around potential problems and solutions.
âThis will give us a lot of practical information abouthaving the camp open all year,â