How had she been so naïve? They’d set her up for this, waiting to pounce. She glanced at Ricki out of the corner of her eye. Sweat glistened on Ricki’s brow, and fear shone in her eyes.
No.They’d not set her up. This was spontaneous. And it was all up to Abby. Blythe had been joking when she’d shown them the hashtag. Abby lit the fuse. If she hadn’t, they would have laughed about it and drank another beer.
They still could. When they entered the house, Abby would grab three beers from the refrigerator and sit at the table.Shit.They’d left the cooler by the fire, and they’d done nothing with the fire.
Even though the fire had been dying, had it been extinguished? An image of an errant ember igniting her house in flames flashed through her mind. She glanced over her shoulder but couldn’t see signs of the fire.
“Is everything okay?” Ricki asked and looked behind them. “Did you forget something?”
Abby shook her head. She feared her voice wouldn’t work. “Just checking that the fire is out.” She was proud that she hadn’t stammered or spoken in a high-pitched squeal.
“Do you want me to go check?” Ricki asked.
Did she?
Ricki leaned forward so she could see around Abby. “Blythe, we should put out the fire and grab the cooler.”
Blythe looked back. “I don’t see any flames.”
“Come on. It’ll make Abby more comfortable.” Ricki let go of her hand.
“Fine.” Blythe dropped Abby’s hand, too.
Without their hands in hers, her fear turned to panic. She felt untethered, like she’d been set out to sea without a sail—unmoored.Jesus.She needed to stop being so melodramatic. They weren’t leaving her. They were being kind and checking the fire.
“Never mind. It’s okay,” Abby said.
Ricki gave her a sympathetic look. “Come on. Let’s go check it together. It’ll ease your worry.”
“Yeah.” Blythe grabbed her hand. “It’ll only take a minute.”
When they arrived at the fire, several embers showed signs of life. Blythe and Ricki pulled the beer bottles from the cooler and used the water and ice to douse the fire. The fire sizzled, and smoke trails billowed up from the ground. The pair made a show of stomping out any embers that continued to glow while Abby busied herself picking up bottles and tossing them back in the cooler.
In the morning, what would her neighbors think with the beer bottles strewn around her firepit? That in a wild drunken moment she’d let her lust rule her, leaving the yard littered with her improprieties.
Seriously?She doubted the neighbors would come to that conclusion.
“I think we got it,” Blythe said. “Feel better?”
Abby nodded.
Ricki scooped up the cooler. “We might as well take this inside.”
“Should we fold up the chairs, too?” Blythe asked.
Abby nodded again and helped Blythe with the chairs.
On the walk back to the house, Abby missed Blythe and Ricki’s hands in hers, but quelling the fire had lessened her anxiety—somewhat. But when they entered the back porch, her fears returned.
Were they really going to do this? If so, how did it start?
“Leave the cooler and chairs here.” Abby marveled at how ordinary her words sounded. “I’ll take them to the garage in the morning.”
Once they’d relieved themselves of their burden, they slipped into the kitchen. Abby made a beeline for the refrigerator. She considered offering them another beer but settled on water.
With three glasses filled, there was nothing else to be done in the kitchen. Now what?
Blythe stepped up to Abby and put her hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”
