The Hunter Beside Me

23: Marshmallows

Bash

We worked the rest of the afternoon, and had a bonfire ready to light an hour before dark.

We'd cleared an area of debris, collected large rocks to make a ring, and filled it with dry branches piled taller than me. Another stack was off to the side, ready to add as the flames burned down. That fire would burn until morning if we wanted it to.

As I dropped my last armful of branches, Owen and Becks strolled out of the trees. She carried several thin, green branches, and he had a piece of wood the size of a soda can.

"Wow, that's a big help. Don't hurt your back, Owen," I said, making him chuckle.

"I found some pine lighter and broke a chunk off." He held it up with a smirk before taking his knife out and breaking off smaller bits, dropping them on the ground.

I watched him with confusion until he tossed me a piece and the overpowering scent of pine wafted off of it. The wood was heavier than it looked and a tacky substance coated the outside making my finger sticky.

Owen said, "It'll light easily and burn for a long time. We'll use it to start the fire."

"Oh, cool. The last time I helped make a fire, Nolan used Lauren's nail polish remover to get it going. This is probably better." I threw the tacky bit of wood into his pile and he cracked up.

Emory piled his last load of branches with mine. "What are we doing for dinner? I'm hungry."

Becks waved the stick she was stripping the bark from. "Marshmallows!"

Emory groaned. "Sure, but I need actual food first. Not everyone can live on burned marshmallows."

She shrugged. "We'll have beer too."

Owen snickered and squeezed her close for a kiss. "You keep getting better."

She giggled, and Emory rolled his eyes. Owen wasn't more than an arm's length from Becks all day. Whenever I saw them, they were leaning together, laughing and chatting like they'd known each other forever. I was glad to see him so relaxed.

I wished Lilla was outside with us, but when I checked on her, she was sleeping heavily. That was a couple of hours ago, though, and I said I'd wake her before the fun started. I tried to ignore the way my blood pressure picked up at the thought of seeing her. She'd be gone too soon.

"I don't care what we do for dinner. Whatever you guys want is fine. I'll go wake Lilla." Owen gave me a wave, as I left the three of them to discuss food options.

The warm evening sun shone on my back, and cracked red dirt separated the sparse patches of dry grass that crunched under my boots. I considered jogging the short distance to the house to get out of the heat, but I didn't want to break a sweat right before seeing Lilla. Pinching my shirt I lifted it to my nose. Faint traces of my cologne clung to the fabric, but I saw no need to test it further.

Stepping into the cool, quiet living room, I found Lilla sleeping face down on the couch with her head hanging off the seat and a blanket covering her to the neck. I'd worried something was wrong when she returned from her walk so worn out, and relief filled me when I noticed her color had improved.

"Lilla, wake up," I whispered, squatting in front of her.

She made a soft sound in her throat but didn't move. Pulling the cover down a fraction, I ran my fingertips over her shoulders. "Lilla, we're gonna light the fire soon."

Taking a deep breath, she stretched and squinted at me. "I didn't mean to sleep all afternoon."

"That's okay. You didn't miss much. If you'd like something specific for dinner, they're out there deciding now."