Page 41 of Another Fox Bites the Dust

“Yeah. You’ve never had s’mores with a peanut butter cup? Or a caramel chocolate bar?”

“I’ve never even thought about it.” I rest my hand on the edge of the cabinet door. Her back is a few scant inches from my chest. The top of her head comes up just under my chin like she’s a perfect fit.

“You’ve been missing out.” She grabs a box of graham crackers and stacks a package of candy bars and a handful of napkins on top.

“Clearly.” I reach over her to snatch the bag of marshmallows from the top shelf.

She twists around to look up at me, her shoulder brushing against my arm. “Oh.” She startles at my nearness.

I step back. “Sorry.”

I’m crowding her like some kind of lurking creep.Keep it professional, jackass.

She clutches the s’mores fixings against her chest with one arm and smooths back her hair with the other. “It’s fine. What’s your favorite?”

I clear my throat.

Don’t say she’s your favorite.

“Favorite?”

She frowns up at me. “Candy bar?”

“Oh. Right. Let’s start with the peanut butter cup.”

“You got it.” She hands me a couple of roasting sticks before shutting the cabinet.

We head back to the fire pit, where the flames have dropped to glowing embers.

“Will you put another log on that?” she nods to the fire pit. “They’re under the bench over there.”

I do as asked while she stages the goodies on the bench, laying out a napkin and then opening up the package of graham crackers first.

I sit a few feet down and open the marshmallows.

She sorts and stacks the crackers and chocolate methodically, her movements quick and efficient.

When she finishes, I hold out one of the roasting sticks topped with a fresh marshmallow.

She takes it and meets my eyes, hers luminous in the yellow glow. “I am really sorry I left you alone with my family after that . . . scene.”

“You already apologized.”

She sits, extending her marshmallow into the fire and giving me her profile. “I know. I need to apologize again, at least more times.”

“That’s an oddly specific number.” I sit next to her, put my roasting stick in next to hers, hovering over the flames.

“What happened after I left?”

“Taylor took off out the side door. Then Finley went upstairs. Then Jake stole everyone’s leftover food, but before he could eat it, he said Aria’s name and bolted from the table like it was on fire.”

She gasps, turning toward me, eyes wide. “He said her name?”

“Yeah. Archer mentioned maybe he hasn’t in a while.”

She shakes her head. “No. He hasn’t, not since she passed.”

We sit in comfortable silence for a minute. An owl hoots in the distance while the fire crackles in front of us.

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