Theo and Hudson had moved subtly to the back door and out, and soon enough when I glanced toward the windows, I saw the flickering of flames in the fire pit.
I had a feeling the guys needed their bonding time, so when others gradually noticed—not Mona, because she was sitting facing away from the back of the house—I just shook my head minutely.
Madden seemed curious, because he wasn’t on the loop, but then Rey leaned closer to say something to him that distracted him from the fire.
As soon as Mona declared herself the winner of her second round of Battleships, everyone at our table made the collective decision to stop our game.
“So, Mona and Madden,” Lake said, looking at them. “Since Rey found out that you guys have gotten to experience a certain thing yet, he and Jack worked on a little surprise for you guys.”
I had moved to the kitchen and lifted the tray I’d hidden in the pantry so they could see the contents. “S’mores.”
Mona’s eyes widened and she gasped. “S’mores?!” Her squeal was impressive.
Madden, however, wrapped his arms around Rey, and the boys hugged for a while, Madden’s shoulders clearly shaking slightly. All the while, Mona babbled about how awesome this would be and where would we make them and would we have a fire.
“Look out the back window, kiddo,” Toby said, pointing toward the flames in the pit.
“Omigod!” She bounced to the back door and was about to wrench it open.
In a fatherly tone, Toby called out, “Mona, shoes and jacket, please!”
She whirled around like a dervish, and almost collided with a couple of adults on her way to get her shoes on.
Luckily Theo and Hudson were still outside, so we didn’t need to rush to make sure she wouldn’t run straight into the fire.
I put the tray down and went to get dressed weather-appropriately. As I got to the back door with my tray, I called over my shoulder, “It’s snowing again.”
Theo and Hudson had gotten some of the benches we used for the picnic tables out of storage. They were organized around the fire pit, and Mona fidgeted on one of them until she saw me step out with the goodies.
“Okay, there are rules to this,” I told her very seriously, even though part of me was amused. “First of all, we wait for Toby and your brother.”
I didn’t care as much about the others; they could arrive whenever they wanted.
The fire looked gorgeous in the darkened evening, and I realized what an awesome purchase this pit had been. We’d certainly get more use of it all year long.
Half an hour later, as we all sat around the fire, eating s’mores, Rey leaned into my side.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, as he watched the siblings construct yet another s’more with Toby’s eager assistance.
Anything for you. “Of course. I think it’s a sin not to be able to have s’mores when you’re a kid.”
I reached for my bottle of water—River had thought to distribute them to everyone—and took a sip. When Rey pressed against my side more, I couldn’t help but to press back in acknowledgment.
That night, after Mona went to bed, we played more Cards Against Humanity, ate more of the delicious foods we had left, and had fun as a family.
When I finally curled up under my covers, I grabbed my phone and opened my email.
I emailed Glenn.Just tell me when to be there after New Year’s Eve. I can do a few months.
Chapter 19
Rey
As I sat next to Jack in the cold evening, feeling his solemn strength against me, I felt happier and safer I had ever before.
Watching Mona and Madden have their first ever s’mores made me realize I was in love with Jack. I’d known about my crush for a while now, but this cemented it. Something about the way he’d made sure M&M got this experience made my whole body and soul vibrate on his frequency.
Yes, I knew it sounded insane, but that was the only way I could explain it.
