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And redoubling his determinationnotto be his dad.Which might be why marriage—and abstinence before marriage—is important to him.
Yeah, but . . .
But those weren’t thoughts she needed to wrestle with right then. She headed to her tiny kitchen, retrieved an open jar of Janie’s homemade apple cider from the fridge, and poured the contents of it into a saucepan. She covered it and placed it on the stove.
“Okay. Fire.” Hazel turned to face the small family. “Outside or in?”
“Ohhh! Outside.” Gemma clasped her hands together and swooned. “So we can see the stars. They’re so bright! Don’t you think they’re dazzling, Nathan?”
“Dazzling.” Nathan mocked her choice of word, shaking his head. There might have been a peek of a grin he worked to keep down though.
“Got it.” Hazel headed to fill the fire pit, located on the near side of the dock, just off the lake shore.
“Watch the cider—don’t let it burn,” Bennett instructed and then followed Hazel outside.
Together they layered tinder and kindling in the center of her stone pit and then created a small teepee with slender pieces of seasoned pine.
“You’re getting good at this,” Hazel said.
“Learning from a pro.” Bennett winked.
“You’ll be one yourself before long, now that you’re a full-fledged Montana man.” Hazel reached for the book of matches she had in her back pocket. “How long do you think before Gemma’s sun-bright energy snuffs out?”
Bennett blew out a long sigh. “I don’t know. Is it selfish of me to hope it doesn’t?”
“I doubt she’s normally this . . . chipper.”
“No. I mean, she’s generally happy. Dad praises her for it. And tells Nathan he wishes he’d be more like his sister, which helps nothing.” Bennett gestured toward the house. “But this is next level.”
Hazel nodded. “But you don’t want her to find a more normal level? It’s gotta be exhausting for her.”
“I appreciate that she’s trying to make the best of things.”
“Even if it’s fake?”
Bennett sat back on his haunches and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. No, I guess. I’m just not sure what I’m going to do when she crashes. Hopefully, by the time that happens, she and I will have a real relationship to work from, and Nathan will have come to terms with all of this, and I won’t worry that he’s going to try to hitch a ride back to Chicago or something.”
Hazel struck the match, lit the tinder, and waited for the flame to catch. Orange tongues grew and spread, licking up the kindling like greedy little things. When the first pop of a larger piece of kindling sounded, she felt confident the fire had taken. She moved to stand behind Bennett to rub his shoulders.
“Just tell me how to help.”
“You’re doing just fine.” He covered the hand she’d laid on his shoulder.
She grunted. “Who would have imagined?”
Bennett looked back at her, then stood. “Me.”
“You would?”
“Yes.” His look held on her, long and meaningful in the semidarkness. Then he took her hand and wove his fingers between hers. “I imagine so much with you, Hazel.”
As warmth filled her chest, Hazel swallowed. She didn’t have to wonder too hard what he meant byso much.
Marriage. Family. Till death do they part.
Her? The mountain woman who was more likely to drive a man mad than make him want to stay? The girl determined never to be trapped ever again?
It seemed absurd. And yet, oddly, standing there with him, her heart felt raw with the wonder that not only did this man love her so much that he’d continue to pursue her even after she’d hurt him with her rejection, but incredibly, this taste of family with him wasgood.
