What if he was right?
What if love really was a fantasy that people like me couldn’t afford?
If I walked away now, I’d lose everything. Worse, my parents would lose everything. All because I’d believed in the wrong man.
There was no longer a choice to make.
And still, an uninvited yet impossible to ignore thought surfaced.
What if I’d already felt that spark with someone else, but I’d convinced myself it wasn’t real?
I stared down the trail, my chest tight, my thoughts a tangled mess I couldn’t seem to sort through.
I didn’t know where I was going. I only knew I couldn’t go back.
So I kept walking.
Preston
“Rule number one.” I held up a finger. “Fire isn’t a game. You need to be very careful with it, especially out in the woods. Understand?”
I looked around the group of teens, who were all watching me with rapt attention. They all nodded affirmatively before I continued.
“Today, the fire danger is rated at low, so it’s safe to do this. I don’t think I need to tell any of you how important it is to keep track of the fire risk out here in the mountains. One little spark could mean total devastation to our forest, and potentially our town.”
There were more murmurs of understanding. Not wanting to over-lecture the kids, I moved on.
“It’s important to contain your fire. Today we’re using these stone rings.” They’d already worked to create their rings and had gathered their kindling. “Who can tell me the best strategy to start a fire?”
“A teepee,” Mason called out.
“That is one of the best and a pretty popular method. Another common technique is the cabin.” I nodded. “Decide which one you want to try, and go ahead and start building.”
I scanned the group, my eyes landing on Quinn, who’d finally decided to accept my invitation to join the group. She was rolling a piece of kindling between her fingers and looking around like she had no idea what to do next.
My niece was smart and witty, but recently she had spent more time with her nose in a book than outside learning these skills, a detail I planned to change. But that also meant I needed to set her up for success.
“Hey, Mason?”
The boy’s head snapped up from the teepee he’d been working diligently to build.
“Can I get your help with something?”
“Of course.” He jumped up, happy to help, just the way I knew he would. “What do you need, Preston?”
I led him a few steps toward Quinn. “This is my niece, Quinn.” I made the introduction, but it became clear quickly that it was unnecessary.
The tips of Mason’s ears pinked. “Oh, I know Quinn,” he said to me before he turned to her. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Quinn shifted from foot to foot nervously and looked down at her hands. “I have some kindling.”
It was so dorky and so cute and at the same time, very cringy, that I almost laughed. At the last minute, I swallowed it back before Quinn could murder me.
“Great. We’re going to need that,” Mason said, even though he had a giant stack of kindling next to his fire circle.
I turned away before they could see my smile and went to check on the others who were getting their fires set up.
After a few minutes, I looked back to see how they were getting on. This time, I didn’t bother to hide my smile. The kids had settled in nicely together, crouching side by side as they concentrated on the fire they were trying to build.
