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Ryan was quiet for so long I wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Family is whatever you make it. It’s being there for each other, taking care of each other, loving each other. Don’t ya think?”
I pursed my lips. “Maybe.”
“You don’t agree?” Ryan shifted so that he could see my face.
“I’m not sure what it is. Is it the parents we don’t have with us or the people we do?”
“I think it’s whatever you want it to be. I always thought your family was Nana, Jake, and you.”
Could my family be yours?I couldn’t say the words out loud. The longing was so acute I rubbed the ache in my chest, hoping it would ease.
He stroked a hand over my hair. “But you could expand it to include friends.”
I sighed. I’d always be different. I’d never quite fit in, but appreciating what I had was healthier than lamenting on what I didn’t. “I’m glad you invited me.”
He could have very easily taken this weekend as father-son time, and it would have been perfectly reasonable. I would have understood. He needed this time with Corey.
He twirled a strand of my hair around his finger. “I wanted to spend time with you and Corey.”
I bit my lip. “He doesn’t mind that we’re together?”
“He likes you.”
“That’s good.” It didn’t mean he’d appreciate public displays of affection.
Ryan got up to check the meat on the grill. When it was almost done, I grabbed the potato salad and watermelon we’d brought and set it on the table in the screened-in porch. The place was large enough for eight guests or more.
During dinner, Corey peppered me with new jokes, and that’s when I relaxed. He was treating me like he always had.
After dinner, I cleaned up while Ryan started a fire in the firepit. Then I grabbed a jean jacket before stepping outside.
Ryan stoked the fire with a stick.
Seeing no one else in the yard or on the dock, I asked, “Where’s Corey?”
Ryan nodded toward the house where Corey’s bedroom was. His opened to the deck that led to the screened-in porch. “I think he’s checking his phone in his room.”
“Ah,” I said, sitting in one of the wooden chairs.
Ryan speared a marshmallow with a stick. “S’mores?”
I chewed my lip. “I’ve never made them before.”
Ryan’s eyes lit up. “You’re in for a treat.”
His excitement was contagious as he handed me the stick with two marshmallows.
“Hold it over the fire like this.” He demonstrated with a second stick of marshmallows.
Standing to join him, I mimicked his movements to keep the marshmallows above the flames.
Ryan moved closer. “Move it a little lower, or it won’t cook.”
“Okay.” I lowered it, but the marshmallow quickly caught fire. Squealing in surprise, I quickly lifted the marshmallow out of the fire.
Ryan hovered next to me. “Blow it out.”
I attempted to blow on the marshmallows, then Ryan leaned over to finish.
