I grab a handful of plastic forks and head back to the living room.
Knox has already made himself at home on the sofa. He has his boots up on the coffee table—Anthony’s mahogany coffee table—and is unboxing the burgers. Rhett is standing near the fireplace, looking at the empty grate.
“No fire?” he asks.
“I didn’t build it,” I say. “She did. Outside.”
Rhett frowns. He looks at Saramaria, who is marching back and forth between the living room and the front door, carrying more items to burn.
“Saramaria,” Rhett calls out.
She stops in the doorway, her arms full of old taxidermy magazines. She looks at him, waiting.
“It’s freezing in here,” he says. “And the wind is picking up. We’re going to need a fire inside if we want to sleep tonight. Can I help you bring in some wood? Or should I just grab the axe?”
She stares at him. For a second, I think she’s going to refuse. To tell him to freeze. But then she looks at the window, where a branch scrapes against the glass.
“There’s wood on the porch,” she says. “Don’t track mud on my floor.”
Rhett nods. “Understood.”
He walks out the door. Knox bites into a burger, moaning dramatically. “Man, I needed this. You want one, Boone?”
I take the plate he offers me. The burger is wrapped in foil, still hot. “Thanks.”
I sit in the armchair opposite the sofa. Saramaria is still standing there, watching us. She looks at the food, then at the empty spot on the sofa next to Knox.
She doesn’t sit. She doesn’t eat. She just stands there, vibrating with energy.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” I ask, unwrapping my burger.
“I’m not hungry,” she says.
“You’re burning a lot of calories,” I point out, taking a bite. The taste of beef and bacon explodes in my mouth. It’s good.
She ignores me. She turns and heads back to the kitchen.
I look at Knox. He shrugs, chewing. “She’ll come around.”
Rhett comes back in, his arms laden with logs. He kneels by the fireplace and starts stacking the wood. He knows what he’s doing. He builds a teepee structure, leaving space for air. Helights a match, the flame flaring bright before catching on the kindling.
Soon, a fire is crackling in the hearth. The heat begins to spread, pushing back the chill that had settled in the room.
Saramaria comes back in. She watches the fire. Her face betrays nothing, but her shoulders drop an inch. She’s cold. She’s been pretending not to be, but she is.
She walks over to the dining table and pulls out a chair. She sits down, finally. She rests her elbows on the table and puts her head in her hands.
Rhett stands up, dusting off his knees. He walks over to the table, pulling a chair out opposite her. He sits down.
“The papers,” he says gently.
Her head snaps up. “What about them?”
“Did you read them?” he asks.
“Yes,” she says, her voice hard. “I read every single contract. Every lease. Every dollar Anthony gave you three.”
Knox stops eating. I lower my burger. This is it. The explosion we’ve been waiting for.
