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With that thought came another: did Owen have something to do with Peyton being out here in the first place?
Maybe he could get Owen alone and he’d ask. And maybe it didn’t matter.
“I guess we’ll have to see what your mom has to say about that. But as for me, I couldn’t think of anything I want more.” That was true.
He raised his brows at Peyton, who smiled back at him. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
He turned, allowing Kendrick to slide down but holding onto her hand, which she grasped eagerly. He put an arm around Peyton’s shoulders, allowing Owen to keep his arm around her waist, and they went like that to the firepit behind the house.
He was able to get a fire started and, contributing to his suspicion that there might be some kind of conspiracy going on, there just so happened to be fresh s’more supplies in the cupboard.
Charlene was sweet and kind, and he couldn’t imagine that she would be conspiring with Owen to try to match anyone together, but she would have been the one who left the supplies.
He chuckled when he remembered that she had told him that she didn’t do anything extra, and he’d have to learn to take care of himself.
All talk.
They sat around the campfire laughing, talking, and eating s’mores until long after the sun went down. He’d found camp chairs from the shed, and they brushed them off.
Bryce should have expected it, but Owen and Kendrick made sure that Peyton sat beside him, with Owen beside his mother and Kendrick beside him.
He wasn’t sure what time of night it was when the kids drifted off to sleep, Kendrick first, snuggled under a blanket and curled up in her chair.
Owen not long after. He snorted slightly, which made Bryce and Peyton look at each other and laugh.
“I can’t laugh too hard, because I’m pretty sure I snore too.”
“That’s okay. I think there’s something a little bit comforting to wake up in the middle of the night and hear someone else breathing—or snoring—beside you. Sometimes in the middle of the night, you feel like you’re all alone. That little bit of sound from another human makes you realize you’re not.” Peyton spoke softly, and he thought maybe they were more similar than what he had suspected.
“Your scars from your marriage are on the inside. My scars from the accident are on the outside.”
“And scars are just that—reminders that we’ve been through something hard, and we came out stronger than we were before.”
“I guess I had too much of myself tied up in my looks. And in my ability to play baseball.”
“I think that’s what a lot of us look to for our vindication. Or self-worth. Our looks, our abilities, our accomplishments. We forget that our value is in our position as children of God. And our worth is in His love for us.”
“That’s something I wish I had known sooner. Something I needed these scars to know. I suppose the lessons are good, as long as I learn. I have a tendency to not want to.”
“I haven’t seen that tendency.”
He appreciated that when she looked at him, she saw the best. Not the scars, not his failures. Not his mistakes and faults. It made him want to be the man she saw.
The fire had died down to embers. He loved spending time with her, talking and just staring into the fire, and didn’t want the evening to end.
“If I throw another log on the fire, will you find us some music so I can dance with you?”
He’d surprised her for sure. She looked at him, her mouth open, her eyes wide.
“Nothing crazy. Maybe it’s just an excuse to hold you. Yeah. That’s probably what it is. You can just ignore me.”
They’d decided to take it slow. Yet, here he was, pushing for more. Just because he wanted to keep her in his arms.
“No. I think that’s a wonderful idea. I’m just upset I didn’t think of it first.” She grinned, pulling her phone out and swiping.
Bryce threw a couple of logs on the fire, the sparks flying, the crackling sound floating around in the night air. The stars bright overhead and the cool North Dakota breeze flowing over it all.
He didn’t recognize the music she started to play, but it was something slow and low and exactly what he had been intending.
