Page 14 of The Best Shot

Hale tried next. “Annie, hun, you’re gonna regret this in the morning.”

“Go’way.” She burrowed deeper into the cushions.

I reached for her again.

What came out of her then was specific, detailed, and not meant for polite company.

I looked at Hale. He looked at me.

“I think she means it,” I said.

“Ain’t a lot of gray area there.”

I glanced back at her. “She’s gonna wake up with the worst neck pain.”

I grabbed the throw blanket from the armchair and tucked it around her the way you do with kids and drunk friends you care about.

Annie made a small, content sound and settled deeper.

Hale and I stood there for a second, taking her in. Something about it felt oddly domestic.

When I looked up, Hale was already looking at me.

The house had gone quiet, everyone else upstairs now. Just us, Annie’s soft snoring, and the low music still drifting from the speakers.

“You want another drink?” Hale asked quietly.

I should’ve said no.

Should’ve said I was tired.

Should’ve said I should get to bed.

“Yeah,” I said instead. “One more.”

4

“OKAY, DARLIN’.”

YASMINE

We ended up on the floor in front of the fireplace, unlit but still the warmest corner of the room.

Hale grabbed two more beers from the fridge, handed me one, then settled against the base of the armchair.

“So, real talk,” he said. “What was the scariest moment in Patagonia?”

“When I thought I’d lost my camera bag in a river crossing.”

“Not the giant cat that could eat you?”

“The puma was predictable. The river wasn’t.”

Hale smiled. “Priorities.”

“You’d get it if you saw what I paid for that gear.”

“Show me more pictures,” he said. “The ones you didn’t show everyone else.”