Chapter 8 #2
There were more murmurs of understanding. Not wanting to over-lecture the kids, I moved on.
“It’s important to contain your fire. Today we’re using these stone rings.” They’d already worked to create their rings and had gathered their kindling. “Who can tell me the best strategy to start a fire?”
“A teepee,” Mason called out.
“That is one of the best and a pretty popular method. Another common technique is the cabin.” I nodded. “Decide which one you want to try, and go ahead and start building.”
I scanned the group, my eyes landing on Quinn, who’d finally decided to accept my invitation to join the group. She was rolling a piece of kindling between her fingers and looking around like she had no idea what to do next.
My niece was smart and witty, but recently she had spent more time with her nose in a book than outside learning these skills, a detail I planned to change. But that also meant I needed to set her up for success.
“Hey, Mason?”
The boy’s head snapped up from the teepee he’d been working diligently to build.
“Can I get your help with something?”
“Of course.” He jumped up, happy to help, just the way I knew he would. “What do you need, Preston?”
I led him a few steps toward Quinn. “This is my niece, Quinn.” I made the introduction, but it became clear quickly that it was unnecessary.
The tips of Mason’s ears pinked. “Oh, I know Quinn,” he said to me before he turned to her. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Quinn shifted from foot to foot nervously and looked down at her hands. “I have some kindling.”
It was so dorky and so cute and at the same time, very cringy, that I almost laughed. At the last minute, I swallowed it back before Quinn could murder me.
“Great. We’re going to need that,” Mason said, even though he had a giant stack of kindling next to his fire circle.
I turned away before they could see my smile and went to check on the others who were getting their fires set up.
After a few minutes, I looked back to see how they were getting on. This time, I didn’t bother to hide my smile. The kids had settled in nicely together, crouching side by side as they concentrated on the fire they were trying to build.
Mason was explaining something with more confidence than he’d shown five minutes earlier. Quinn listened, genuinely focused and interested in what he was telling her. Or maybe it was the fact that it was Mason who was telling her?
Either way, it got her outside and in the trails. And that was never a bad thing.
I was checking on another group when I noticed movement on the edge of the woods.
Jess stepped out from between the trees. Her tailored black pants and matching jacket looked far more suited to a day in the office than a hike. And when my eyes dropped to her leather shoes, I was even more confused. But it was the expression on her face that gave me pause.
I watched as she suddenly stopped walking as if she’d been in a trance and had no idea where she was going. She looked around when she saw the group in the clearing, uncertainty flickering across her face.
I walked over. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She lifted her hand in a weak greeting. “Where’s Summit?”
“I left him with Brody today.” I eyed her carefully. “You okay?”
She shook her head. “Why wouldn’t I—”
“Jess.” I spoke her name softly. “I don’t think you need me to point out the fact that you look like you’re dressed for a board meeting, and as much as I like you in the trails, I—”
“You like me in the trails?”
I probably should have denied I’d let those words slip from my lips, but what was the point?
“The trails are always a good place to be.” It wasn’t really an answer. “Besides, you look like you could use a little outdoor time. I’ll ask again, are you okay?”
She shook her head once. “No.”
I waited, but she didn’t offer up anything more.
“Can I…I mean, you look kind of busy, but…” She lifted her head to meet my gaze. “Can I maybe hang out and watch for a bit?”
I shook my head softly. “No.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh, I—”
“But you can help.”
She smacked me lightly on the arm, offering me a small smile. It wasn’t much, but at least she no longer looked so sad. “You’re assuming I know something about building fires.” She raised a brow in challenge.
It’s true, there was a time not too long ago I might have had my doubts. But my opinion on Jess Anderson was changing quickly.
“Oh, come on, Dots,” I teased. “Surely you have some outdoor skills hiding in there somewhere.”
Instead of backing down, her smile widened, and she rolled up the sleeves of the silk blouse she was wearing. “Prepare to have your mind blown, Lyons.”
Her choice of words sent a flood of inappropriate thoughts rushing through me. Especially considering the fact that we were surrounded by a group of teenagers I was currently responsible for. Never mind the little detail that she was engaged to be married. Oh, and that she was currently my nemesis.
Right.
That.
Scratch the inappropriate thoughts.
I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the group. “All right,” I said a little too loudly. “Now that you have your structure built, let’s start the fire. Remember, fire building is about patience, not force. Start small and work from there.”
Quinn shot me a look from where she was still crouched beside Mason. He was already pulling a pack of matches out of his pocket, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“Hey.” I nodded toward them. “Mason, be sure to show Quinn how to blow on the embers, to really get things taking off.”
Quinn’s head snapped up. “I don’t need—”
“It’s all learning,” I said as innocently as I could.
Mason nodded, clearly happy to have an opportunity to show off his skills.
I hovered for a moment, listening while the boy patiently explained the steps to Quinn.
My niece listened, and for a second, I let myself believe it was because she was genuinely interested in outdoor skills instead of just the boy teaching them to her.
Uncle Preston to the rescue.
I shook my head, chuckling, and walked over to another group where Jess was kneeling down in the dirt, without a care for her expensive clothes. Together, the group had already managed to get their kindling to take hold.
I stood back and observed. She looked ridiculous with her silk blouse completely out of place in the woods. But she didn’t seem to notice her clothes as she talked to the kids, totally and strangely in her element, helping them build their fire.
She was right—my mind had been blown. There were a lot of things I expected from Jess, but fire-building skills were not one of them.
I watched for a second longer than necessary.
She wasn’t pretending or putting on a show. She was genuinely engaged. Adjusting and asking questions. It was a whole hell of a lot more than most people when it came to a group of teenagers.
“Okay,” she said as their little fire sputtered out. “I see the problem.” She leaned back on her heels and addressed the boy, Sam. “Do you see it?”
Sam leaned forward and assessed their failed fire. “I think so. There’s too much moss under there. It’s probably wet.” He looked at Jess, who nodded once.
“That would be my guess.”
She sat back and let Sam and the other boy make the adjustments before they tried again. Moments later, they lit another match. This one took, and the fire sparked to life.
A small, steady flame leapt upward through the teepee of sticks they’d built. The kids let out a cheer, and Jess joined them in high fives before getting to her feet.
She dusted off her knees before joining me. “Told you.”
I smiled. “Consider my mind blown.”
The laugh that slipped from her was full and hearty, and the best freakin’ sound I’d heard all day. Especially considering the sadness I’d seen in her eyes when she’d arrived.
For a second, we stood too close again. Not close enough to touch, but my body was very aware of her nearness.
“Still think I’m all talk?”
“Undecided,” I said slowly. “But my opinion is definitely changing.”
Jess
The smile slipped off my lips when I looked into his eyes.
There was something there. Something that maybe hadn’t been there before. Then again, I hadn’t been paying much attention to Preston until lately.
I was probably just overthinking everything because of, well…everything.
I turned away first. “They’re cute.” I nodded toward Preston’s niece working with Mason, whom I recognized from our hike the other day. “They look like…” I didn’t bother ending the sentence because Preston laughed.
“Who knows with kids.” He shook his head. “But if it took a boy to get her out on the trails, I’m not complaining.”
“It’s sweet, don’t you think?”
“Young love?” He shrugged. “I guess.”
We watched them for a moment. It was easy and comfortable.
The question slipped out before I could stop it. “Do you believe in love?”
If he was surprised by my question, he didn’t show it.
Instead, he just turned and looked at me as if he’d been expecting me to ask, which was ridiculous because I barely knew Preston anymore, let alone well enough to talk about such things with him.
Yet, somehow, he felt like the safest person to talk to about it.
“Not really.”
His answer surprised me. “Do you really mean that?”
Preston shrugged.
“It’s certainly worked for your brothers.
” When I thought about love, I couldn’t help but think of Avery and Reid or Ethan and Delaney, and of course Grayson and Harper, who’d finally come back to each other after way too long apart.
It was relationships like theirs that made me second-guess everything about my own.
“That’s true,” he conceded, before looking at me. “But I think maybe they’re the exception, and not the rule, you know?” Before I could answer, he continued. “Some people are lucky, I guess. And the rest of us just get daisies in the dust.”
My head snapped around to stare at him, but if he realized what he said or remembered the time he gave me a bouquet of daisies that I’d thrown in the dirt, his face didn’t give it away. It was so long ago that there was no way he remembered that.
Then again, I did.
I didn’t have a chance to ask before Preston said, “I think for most people the idea of love isn’t very practical.”
“Practical?”
He nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets before walking off to help a group of kids who couldn’t seem to get their fire to catch.
The word resonated in my head. Practical.
It sounded like something Trevor would have said.
I watched Preston in his element, crouching down in the dirt, stacking the wood as he calmly explained his techniques to the teens. He was steady and focused, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether practicality was really the point after all.