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Saff's cheeks heated slightly at the compliment.
“Gosh,” Erin said, “it was hard enough for me when Maddie left for school at eighteen. I couldn’t imagine it happening any earlier than that. How did your parents handle it?”
The smile fell from Saff’s face, and she felt Maddie’s hand give her thigh a light squeeze.
She cleared her throat, looking up at the fire. “It was fine,” she said, giving Erin a short smile.
Erin, to her credit, seemed to catch on and returned a semi-apologetic smile of her own before letting the conversation drop.
James cleared his throat. “You know, Josh wanted to go to medical school at one point,” he said, throwing his son a teasing grin. “But then he decided that he’d have more time to party if he went to work on Wall Street instead.”
Josh chuckled, shaking his head. “It wasn’t me that said that,” he interjected. “It was Carter that thought—“
Josh stopped mid-sentence, his smile fading.
They all went quiet, the previous lightness immediately growing heavy.
Josh cleared his throat, then shook the words away before taking another drink of his water.
They sat in the weighted silence for a few moments, the mood for conversation growing somber before Erin finally announced that she was tired and ready to sleep.
No one spoke as they all prepared for bed around the fire.
Saff got into her sleeping bag beside Maddie, scanning the area around them one last time before laying her head down on the bundled up hoodie she’d stuffed into the top.
Maddie rolled closer to her, raising her hand to trace her jaw. She trailed her fingers down mindlessly, and Saff leaned into the touch.
The wind had calmed slightly, but still rustled loudly through the trees. And that paired with the crackling fire produced a calm sort of white noise.
“So,” Saff whispered, “got caught with lots of girls in your room, huh?”
Maddie chuckled. “Guess I was never great at the whole sneaking around thing.”
Saff smirked, watching the way the orange glow of the fire cast flickering shadows over her face.
“I like hearing the stories,” Saff breathed. “All of them. Sounds like a happy way to grow up.”
Maddie smiled, trailing her fingers down onto her neck. “It was.”
Saff felt her eyelids growing heavy beneath the touch. “Your family’s nice. I like being around them.”
Maddie’s smile widened. Then, slowly, she leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her brow. Saff closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of her lips.
“That’s good,” Maddie mumbled, a tired lull in her voice. “You’ll be around them for a while.”
***
The next day started much better. The sun had finally come out, and with it, the wind and fog had all but evaporated.
It was nice. A good day, even.
They’d all gotten more rest the night before after having the warmth of the fire, and everyone seemed to have more energy, although Erin and Josh were still moving slower than they would’ve liked. But if the weather stayed good, and they didn’t hit any obstacles, they could probably stay on track. At least, that’s what Saff hoped.
She helped Maddie step over a bundle of rocks on the steep hill they’d climbed before finally reaching the top.
Then they all stopped as James pulled out the map once again, taking a quick peek to confirm what Saff already knew.
“Okay,” he said after a moment, looking up and scanning the hills in front of them. “We should be able to move down into the canyon over there.” He pointed forward and slightly to the left. “Which means, I think this is our best chance to try the radio one last time.”
