“They won’t hate you. I’m pretty sure Alex already loves you. After being in your presence for only a few minutes, she was advising me to give you a chance. She’ll be happy to know we’re . . . ”
Paul stepped out from behind a tree, causing us both to retreat from each other.
“There’s a sandwich and some chips in there for you if you’re hungry,” Abbi called out as her brother bypassed us and went straight for the door.
Turning to look at her over his shoulder, he replied. “Thanks, I’m going to eat and then hit the hay. It’s been a long day.”
Letting out a stifled sigh, Abbi looked back at me with her eyes and mouth downcast.
“Maybe when he sees her security system, he’ll leave and go back home to Virginia.”
“As much of an asshole as he’s being, I’m happy to spend time with him. He was deployed for much of my college years. I think he needs a girlfriend or to get laid. Maybe Alex has a friend?” she asked, hopeful.
I hated to burst her bubble, but I doubted that was going to happen. “Her group of friends is pretty tight-knit, and from what I know, they are all married or in committed relationships. She did have a friend who was single, but she met a guy.”
Cocking her head to the side, she tapped her fingertip on the top of my hand. “You seem to know an awful lot about her friends and their lives.”
Quick as lightning, I wrap my fingers around the one she was tapping me with. “If a person matters to me, I’m a great listener. And Alex has been there for me through all the Poppy shit. She sat on the phone with me and listened to all the crazy things I came up with as to why my ex was acting the way she was. She listened and then tried to reason with me.”
“That’s why I like her.” She looked around our area. “This is nice and peaceful.”
“It is,” I agreed, and a total change in subject. I’d let it slide, though. I’m sure it couldn’t be easy for her to hear about my ex, and knowing Poppy might have something to do with running Abbi off the road was even worse.
“Do you know what would make it even better? A fire. And s’mores,” she blurted out. “Do you happen to know how to make a fire?”
“I don’t. Do you?” I suddenly felt the need to learn.
Her eyes flitted to the RV behind me. “I bet Paul does.”
“Alex has a fire pit at her house.” I didn’t want Paul to come out to join us.
“It’s not the same. I want the total experience while we’re out here.” She pouted.
I stood and went over to a circle where a bunch of burnt wood rested. “How hard can it be? Do we have stuff for s’mores, or am I going to get this going only to be disappointed?”
“We’ll have s’mores if you can make a fire.” She laughed. “Now, get to work.”
Never having created fire, I pulled my phone out and looked it up. There were only about a billion videos on YouTube showing how to do it from bare-bones to having all the essentials. I was pretty sure we didn’t have anything with us that would aid in making a fire, but I wanted to do this for Abbi.
“Do you know if we have a lighter or any matches with us?” If we had one of those, I had a feeling I would be successful, or maybe I was fooling myself.
“Doubtful,” she frowned. “Maybe when we stop to get gas tomorrow, you can buy a lighter.”
Another twenty-four hours later and a different RV park, I was trying to make a fire so Abbi could experience her first campfire, and we could make s’mores. Ever since she’d mentioned them, I’d been craving something I’d never had. I’d had something that resembled them in restaurants but never the real thing.
“Maybe if you—” Abbi clamped her mouth closed as I drilled her with my eyes.
I’d been working on trying to make a fire for thirty straight minutes. I’d even set my phone up so I could watch a YouTube video and tried every step unsuccessfully.
Stalking back to the RV, I swung the door open and tore up one of the paper bags, and twisted the strips together. I should have bought lighter fluid when I bought the lighter at the gas station earlier in the day, but I thought I had it with the simple lighting device. Heading back outside to where Abbi was waiting for me, I inwardly cringed, knowing I was going to look like a fool. Before today, I prided myself on being a man, but as each passing second went by that I was unsuccessful, I felt my manhood shrink.
Flames flicked up into the night sky and danced across Abbi’s makeup-free face. Her eyes were lit up with glee. Paul was crouched down in front of the fire with his hands on his knees, and a smile aimed right at his sister.
While I loved seeing the happiness etched on her face, I wanted to be the one to put it there. Instead, I felt like a huge failure, but I put a smile on my face and stepped out of RV.
“You made that look so easy. Jenner’s been trying for the better part of an hour.”
Had it really been that long?
When she spotted me, her smile only cranked up more. “Paul got the fire going. Now we can have s’mores.”
Of course, he got it going. I’m sure he loved making me look like a failure in front of my wife. Putting me in my place and showing us who the real man was.
“If you would have told me before I left, I would have started one for you. I had no idea you wanted one so bad, Abbicakes.” He smirked, making me hate him even more.
Abbicakes? Puke.
“Can you grab the stuff to make the s’mores?”
With her face lit up from happiness and not the fire, I turned on my heels and went back inside. I didn’t want to be the killjoy when she’d seemed down the entire day. I didn’t blame her, though. It had to suck not being able to get around. The ground was uneven, making it difficult to get where she wanted to go with her crutches and so she was reliant on her brother and me.
Stepping outside, I saw Paul’s retreating form disappear into the night. “Where’s he going?”
“I don’t know. He said he needs his space. Do you think he’s okay?” She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked in the direction her brother had disappeared. “I think he’s messed up, and I don’t know how to help him.”
Sitting down next to her, I pulled Abbi against me and kissed the top of her head. “All you can do is try to talk to him.”
“Yeah, I’ll try.” She rested her head against my bicep and sighed. “I don’t think he’ll talk to me, though. He still thinks of me as the little girl he took care of.”
I understood why he wanted to take care of her. Some innate need sparked inside of me when I saw her in that hospital bed. Right now, I could only help her try to forget about her brother.
“Are you ready for s’mores?” I asked, hoping it would bring back the smile she had on her face earlier.
“I’ve been craving them for over twenty-four hours. Of course, I’m ready.”
“Good, why don’t I grab some sticks and roast the marshmallows, and you can get the rest ready?”
“Sure.” She bumped her shoulder with mine.
I searched around our campsite for a stick long enough to roast marshmallows but keep me far enough back from the flames. I found one without any branches that was a good three feet long and held it up. “Do you think I should wash it before I put the marshmallow on?” I wasn’t a fan of dirt with my food. “Is that something people do?”