Page 73 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

He nods thoughtfully. “Stegosaurus can swim.”

“Of course he can.”

“And T. rex can’t,” Evan continues. “Because he has little arms.”

I bite my lip. “That makes sense. His arms are a disadvantage in the water.”

Evan looks pleased with my agreement. “Yeah. He would just… do this.”

Evan wiggles his elbows like a tiny T. rex, and I lose it, laughing out loud.

It feels good, and it makes the knot in my chest loosen a fraction.

We park near the riverbank where the path dips down through trees and opens onto a wide, pebbled stretch of shore. The sun is out in a lazy way, filtered through branches, turning everything soft and green.

Evan runs ahead immediately, obviously. He’s powered by joy and adrenaline.

“Stay where I can see you!” I call.

“I am!” he yells back, already thirty feet away.

I follow, hands shoved into my jacket pockets because my fingers don’t know what to do when they’re not busy.

It’s cold enough to bite, but it’s the good kind of cold. The kind that clears your head.

My phone buzzes again.

Unknown Number.

I don’t even open it. I shove the phone deeper into my pocket and keep walking.

Today is about river and rocks, and watching Evan pretend sticks are swords.

Evan squats down near the water, inspecting something with intense focus.

“What did you find?” I ask, crouching beside him.

He holds up a smooth stone. “A dinosaur egg.”

I nod solemnly. “That’s definitely a dinosaur egg.”

He beams, pleased that I understand the rules of his world.

“I’m gonna keep it,” he announces.

“Okay,” I say. “We should put it somewhere safe.”

Evan looks around, then pulls up the hem of his hoodie and shoves it into the little pocket that’s already full of pinecones and a tiny plastic dinosaur he apparently smuggled out of the house.

He’s basically a walking hoard.

I smile despite myself.

It’s easier to smile lately, which also scares me, because smiling is relaxing, and relaxing is tempting fate.

We spend the next half hour skipping stones, Evan mostly throwing rocks dramatically and announcing, “SPLASH ATTACK!” while I take pictures of the view on my phone that I don’t send to anyone.

I’m sitting on a fallen log watching Evan poke a stick into the water when I hear it.