Page 25 of Into the Fire
Inside,Emery had begun dinner and now heard June's squeals of happiness and a muffled, “Daddy, can we do something fun tonight?” that put a smile on her face and tugged at her heart.
She busied herself in the kitchen, chopping vegetables for a quick stir-fry and humming along with the playlist on her phone. The house smelled like garlic, onion, and warm rice as the sun dipped lower in the sky.
After dinner and an announcement of "that was actually good!" from June and a mock-offended “Gee, thanks,” from Emery, Levi disappeared out back, returning with an armful of firewood he had grabbed from the side of the house.
“Is he building a fire?” Emery asked as she and June stacked their dishes in the sink.
“For s’mores!” June grinned. “He said the best nights are nights with s’mores. That’s the rule.”
A little while later, they were all outside. Levi had started a small campfire in the pit just past the back porch. The flames crackled against the breeze while dusk painted the sky in lavenderand corals.
Emery and June sat side by side on the old glider bench, their knees touching. Levi crouched near the fire, poking it with a stick, his face cast in flickering amber.
“Emery?” June asked, voice hushed and curious.
“Yeah, June-bug?”
“Do you think… you’d ever wanna be a mama?”
The question caught Emery mid-breath.
She turned slowly, meeting June’s wide, thoughtful eyes.
“Uhm,” Emery said softly, glancing briefly toward the fire. “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought that it would be part of my story.”
“Why not?”
Emery hesitated. “I guess I didn’t grow up thinking I’d be good at it. Or that I’d have someone to do it with. Life just… went a different way.”
June was quiet for a moment, then said, “You’re super good at it.”
Emery blinked fast, her throat suddenly dry.
“I’m not your mama, June.”
“I know,” she said simply. “But I think if someone got to have a mama, they’d be lucky if it was you.”
From the fire pit, Levi shifted, not speaking, but Emery could feel his eyes on them.
Her hand found June’s small one in the dark and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Thanks, sweet girl,” she whispered.
Levi stood slowly, brushing his hands off on his jeans and walking over with the marshmallows and chocolate.
“Alright,” he said, voice a little raspier than usual. “Let’s make some magic happen.”
But as he handed the supplies to Emery, his eyes lingered on her face for an extra second, and he didn’t try to hide it. The flicker of the fire caught something in his expression that she couldn’t name.
And in that moment, everything she’d told in June, all the quiet beliefs she’d held about what she wasn’t meant for, felt a little lesscertain.
After the sticky fingers and chocolate-smudged cheeks were wiped clean and June was tucked in, the house fell into a comfortable hush. Crickets chirped outside the open windows, and the scent of charred marshmallow and summer hung in the air.
Levi stepped out onto the porch a few minutes later, a beer in one hand, the screen door clicking shut behind him. Emery was already there, legs curled up on the porch swing, slowly rocking, her fingers wrapped around a jar of sweet tea.
He leaned against the post, watching her for a beat.
Emery spoke first. “June fall asleep okay?”
