Sleep didn't come easily for Grace. She tossed and turned all night thinking about what Miles said. She realized a part of her wanted to be him. Wanted to take his declaration and wrap it around her heart but another part of her was afraid.

He'd hurt her once. He could do it again. And maybe it wouldn't be Miles doing the hurting. After all, if they became involved and she left, well, that was a recipe for disaster. She should keep a safe distance from him. That was the smart thing to do. However, a small voice inside of her whispered that doing the smart thing wasn't always doing the best thing.

When the sun rose that morning, Grace wanted to pull the sleeping bag over her face and go back to sleep, but the girls wouldn't let her.

"You should make breakfast," Corrine told Ash.

"Why me? I made dinner. It's your turn."

"You burnt dinner. This is your chance to redeem yourself."

"Grace did that, remember?"

"You can fool Pacey, but you can't fool me. I know it was you."

"Girls—" Grace moaned, but they ignored her and kept fighting. Guess habits died hard, and bridges couldn't be mended in a day.

"Fine. It was me," Ash admitted. "Are you happy now?"

"Immensely. Now, how about you go make breakfast?"

Grace wasn't going to get any more sleep, so she tossed off the sleeping bag and sat up. "How about you both make breakfast and make me an oatmeal while you're at it?"

A mischievous look entered Ash's eyes as she shook her head. "Can you believe this, Corrine? So lazy. Wants us to do everything for her."

"Probably wants us to bring it to her too and call her Your Highness."

"These old people have no respect nowadays. Expect to be served hand and foot."

Grace picked up her small pillow and threw it at them. "I'll show you old and lazy!" She reached around and grabbed their pillows and started pelting them. The girls laughed as they retaliated and soon it became an all out pillow fight.

"Hey!" Miles yelled. "Some of us are trying to eat in peace."

"Yeah," Pacey and Hugo yelled in agreement.

Grace motioned for the girls to gather around. "You know who we should get to cook breakfast for us?"

Ash and Corrine exchanged glances. "The boys."

Grace tapped her temple. "Bingo."

"Hey, boys," Grace called out.

"Yeah?" Miles answered warily.

"You have any hot water left?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"We're hungry," Grace responded.

"Well then it's a good thing I made you all breakfast," Miles replied.

Could he get any sweeter? If he did, Grace was afraid her heart would melt into a puddle. "Thank you. We'll be right out."

"Good because after you eat, you three are on clean up duty."

The girls complained, but Grace reminded them it was only fair. After breakfast, they cleaned up and broke down their tents and packed everything away.

The three-mile hike back wasn't difficult since most of it was downhill. The hours passed in a relaxed atmosphere, which was vastly different from the day before. Grace intermingled with all the teenagers, spending time with each one. She liked hearing about their interests and lives.

"Have any fun plans when you get home?" Grace asked Corrine. She was dying to get into bed and sleep for a good eight hours.

Corrine shot her a rueful look. "Studying."

Grace groaned in commiseration. "I don't miss those days. For what class?"

"English."

"Do have a book report due?" Grace wondered.

"No, actually..." Hesitation lined Corrine's forehead. "Um, I—well..."

It was the first time Grace saw Corrine unsure of herself. "It's okay. You can tell me."

Dropping her head, Corrine mumbled, "I don't want to make a big deal of it, but I'm planning on... um, taking the SATs."

"That's awesome! What colleges are you applying to?"

Corrine looked at her through her lashes. "You don't think it's stupid? Me applying to college?"

"Why on earth would that be stupid? I think it's great."

Corrine flushed. "I don't know. It's just...what if I don't get in? I don't want to fail."

"You'll never know if you don't try. And look at me. I'm a twenty-two year old who lives with her parents and works part-time at a convenience store. Failure is okay. We just got to keep trying." And wow, look at her being mature and being able to admit her own failure. It looked like Ash wasn't the only one who made a break through this trip.

"You think?" Corrine asked.

"I know. Now when is your SAT test?"

Corrine gave a dejected look. "In a couple of weeks. I'm behind on my studying."

"Tell you what, let's meet tomorrow after school, and I'll help you study. I think I still have my SAT prep books somewhere. I'm sure I can scrounge them up."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Of course. Let's say three-thirty at the school library?"

"Okay. Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me."

Grace smiled. Corrine had it the other way around. Helping her gave Grace motivation and a sense of purpose. Maybe Miles was right. Being a mentor for these kids could make an impact.

They were nearing the end of the trail when Ash came up to her. "I overheard you talking to Corrine earlier about helping with her SATS."

"Do you want to join the study session?"

Ash forced a laugh. "College isn't in my future, but I was wondering if you tutored at all?"

"I used to tutor in college. Helped pay my tuition bills. Do you want me to tutor you something?"

Ash lowered her voice. "Please don't tell anyone. Only Mr. Darby knows, but I'm failing out of school. If I don't raise my GPA, I won't be getting my diploma."

Grace didn't know what to say except, "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity," Ash said with a hard edge to her voice.

"So what do you need?" Grace asked.

Ash's posture relaxed a little. "I never really thought about it before, but hearing Corrine and you talk." She shrugged and looked away. "It makes me want more. Would you be willing to tutor me so I can graduate high school?"

The uncertainty in Ash's voice as if she was used to getting rejected made Grace want to cry. Didn't Ash realize all she had to do was ask? "I'd love to tutor you," Grace said emphatically.

Ash kicked a rock. She mumbled, "I'm not smart like Corrine."

"I think you're perfect the way you are. And people have different types of smarts. You're street smart. You know how to take care of yourself and read people. That's a useful skill to have. Don't discount that."

"You really think I'm perfect the way I am?"

Teasing, Grace pulled the ends of Ash's ponytail. "Well, you could lose some of the attitude. It's pretty intimidating."

As they made plans for a tutoring session, Grace remembered what her mom had said about little things making a big difference. She saw the ripple effect now. Understood how one person could affect change just by offering to go on a camping trip. The realization humbled Grace. She hadn't given her mom enough credit all these years. Aunt Penny's job might have been flashy and had big impact right away, however, her mom had made just as big an impact in their own community.

"What's up with you?" Miles asked when reached the end of the trail. The kids were dusting off their clothes and shoes before getting in their cars. "You've been quiet."

"Just thinking about some stuff."

"Good stuff, I hope."

She thought of Ash and Corrine. "Eye-opening."

"Does this mean you've changed your mind about us?"

"I don't know. I'm confused."

Miles grabbed her hands and brought it to his chest. She could feel his heart pounding— the rhythm strong and steady. "This is what I feel for you, Grace. I'm not some boy who's hiding his emotions anymore. I'm a man who knows what he wants. Screw fate, Grace. Choose me. Choose us."

"I want to, but..."

"But what?"

While she understood what her mom had been saying and agreed with her, it didn't dissuade the need to help like Aunt Penny. "I have this need inside of me to help, and I'm afraid if I stay here with you it'll grow into resentment, and I don't want us to turn ugly."

"There's others way to fill that void. You can take yearly trips with organizations. Heck, take monthly trips if you want. All I'm asking is you spend time with me. Let us try to rebuild what we lost. Will you do that with me, Grace? Will you give us a second chance?"

Grace gazed into Miles' eyes. His desire, his longing, everything that was him, reached out to her and grabbed her by the heart. She wanted everything he was saying. She wanted him. "Yes, Miles. Absolutely, yes."

Happiness broke out over his face. Pulling her into his arms, he leaned down and touched his lips to hers. It was a sweet kiss. One filled with promise, love, and most importantly, hope.