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“Um…Murphy?” Alex didn’t suppress a laugh as she seemed to realize finally that the s’more accouterments were part of a carefully curated kit that Murphy brought to the bar himself. “I let the cosmo and pink swizzle stick slide, but tell me that isn’t your tiny silver spoon an
d jam jar.”
Sam coughed into her hand and suddenly became very interested in the cuff of her jacket.
“Listen.” Murphy sniffed. “Clearly, you two need some in-depth lessons of how to be comfortable in your masculinity, but fortunately for you, I have the patience to give you some pointers on your journey.” He stood and patted the pockets of his loaded jacket and dropped a stack of bills on the table. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a nursery to decorate with tiny, fluffy bunnies.”
* * *
It was late when Sam finally came through the door at home. The scent of Sara’s dark chocolate walnut cookies enveloped her as she hung up her jacket and wandered into the kitchen, where Sara was attempting to teach Moxie how to dip half the cookie in chocolate ganache.
“I’m just not sure about this,” Moxie said, looking doubtfully at a pile of broken cookies on the waxed paper beside her. “I’ve never made cookies before that didn’t come from a mix, and something tells me I don’t have what it takes. This dipping thing is, like, a whole different level.”
“It’s okay.” Sara turned and leaned back to greet Sam with a kiss. “Fortunately for us, I’m married to a cookie-eating machine, so there will be zero evidence of any failed attempts in about five seconds.”
Sam swooped in and scooped up the entire pile, opening the fridge door and grabbing the milk while she started on the practice cookies. By the time the milk was poured, Moxie was pulling her first whole cookie out of the molten chocolate dip and laying it carefully on the tray to cool.
“Yes!” Sara hugged her. Moxie looked thrilled, staring at her creation like she’d just found the cure for global warming. “I knew you could do it. It’s way trickier than it looks to keep it in one piece after the dip, and you nailed it.”
“Is this a good time to steal Moxie for a chat?” Sam looked at her watch and flipped a switch on the wall. “I want to show her something.”
“Absolutely.” Sara took the chocolate off the heat and grabbed the tongs. “I’ll dip the rest of these while you’re gone, and they’ll be ready to eat by the time you get back in.”
Moxie followed her through the front door, but Sam realized she’d stopped when she got to the last step and looked back.
“Are you okay?” Sam felt the silence settle heavy and dense between them. “You look pale.”
Moxie dug the toe of her shoe into a groove in the brick entryway and nodded. “I just need to know if I need to get my stuff.” She paused, shoving her hands into her pockets, which Sam knew by now she did whenever she was uncomfortable. “You know, like, my stuff that’s upstairs.”
Sam realized what she meant and held out a hand that Moxie took, confusion clouding her face. “I have to show you something for you to understand, but just trust me, it’s not what you’re thinking.” Moxie’s hand was ice-cold as Sam led her to the rock path and then dropped behind, letting her walk ahead at her own pace. As they rounded the corner, the spotlights outside the barn bathed the new basketball court in golden light, and she watched from behind as Moxie slowed to a stop on the path.
It was a long moment before Moxie continued to the court and bent down, running her fingertips over the surface of the freshly poured concrete. Her hair covered her face, and she tucked it behind one ear as she stood and looked back at Sam.
“This is new.” It wasn’t a question.
“You’re right.” Sam walked the rest of the way down the path and joined her at the edge of the court. “I had them pour it a few days ago.”
“But why?” Sam’s eyes followed as Moxie caught sight of the brand-new backboard and net on the other side of the court. “Why would you do that?”
“Do you remember when we were sitting on the floor of Moxie Java, and you tossed that paper cup into the trash that was all the way across the room?”
Moxie nodded, biting her lower lip and turning back to the court.
“I could tell you loved playing basketball.” She paused. “And that it broke your heart when you had to leave your team.”
Moxie turned back to Sam, tears gathering in her eyes as she waited for her to go on.
“I wanted you to have something here that was yours. Something solid to remind you, when you get scared, that we want you here.”
When Moxie finally spoke, it was just a whisper. “How do you know I’m scared?”
“Because I know how it feels.” Sam paused, carefully choosing the right words to wrap around the memory she kept at the farthest edges of her mind. “My mom left me at the county fair when I was six years old, and I went to a foster family here in McCall. I don’t remember a lot of it, but I know I didn’t make it easy on them. They couldn’t get me to stop dragging all my blankets out into the hall to sleep at night.”
“Why did you do that?”
Sam laced her fingers behind her head and looked at the stars for a moment before she answered. “Because I knew they couldn’t leave if I slept in front of their door. That, at least, if that happened, I’d know they were leaving me.” Sam felt her voice crack, and she stopped for a moment before she went on. “I just didn’t want to wake up alone again.”
Moxie dropped her face into her hands. Sam held the silent space between them until she was ready, and when she finally looked up and nodded, Sam folded Moxie into her arms and held her while she cried, the night air still and protective around them both.
