“I didn’t bring anything—” Dustin started to deny, but Jessie was already shaking her head, knowing they weren’t going to get rid of her cousins until they had a full belly.
Putting on her tennis shoes, she went to her backpack as Bubba filled an old-fashioned kettle with water, placing it on the fire to get hot. Unzipping her backpack, she pulled out a baggie of blueberry muffins, then another one of bagels, and one containing oatmeal packets. Opening the flap on the front, she then took out packets of honey, jelly, and fruit trail mix.
Her cousins looked at her offerings, then narrowed their eyes at Dustin, who sat down next to her eleven-year-old cousin BoDean, who looked even less enthused than the others.
“What’d you bring?” Bo asked.
“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You’re more than welcome to help yourself.”
“Never mind. Give me one of those muffins, Jessie.”
Bubba and Bud refilled their thermos before rudely leaving the coffeepot empty and sitting to the side. Seeing Dustin’s harassed expression, Jessie quickly refilled it, putting it back on the fire.
She was squeezing jelly onto a bagel when Logan came out of the tent. His eyes widened at seeing her cousins sitting around the campfire.
“Logan, these are my cousins, Bubba, Bud, and BoDean.” Pointing to each of them in turn, she then gave him what was left in the baggies.
Shyly, Logan sat down next to his father to take out the remaining muffin.
“Aren’t we going to make toads in the hole?” Logan asked his father with a questioning glance.
Bubba spit out a bite of the muffin he had just taken. “You have real food?”
Dustin’s jaw jutted out stubbornly. “Maybe.”
“Boy, which is it?”
“Logan, Jessie, and I are having toads in a hole. You and Bud are having Jessie’s food. I’m still debating if I’m going to share with Bo.”
“Jessie, you know he had the makin’s for the toad?”
Giving Dustin and her older cousins fulminating glares, she went to the ice chest that she hadn’t bothered to go through the night before. Taking out the eggs, cheese, and meat, she carried them back to the fire.
“You’re going to need the cast iron skillet in the bag in the tent,” Dustin supplied helpfully.
When she raised the eggs warningly at him, he turned to Logan. “Go get the skillet for her.”
Logan quickly went to the tent, coming back carrying the skillet. When he would have handed it to Jessie, Dustin stopped him.
“You better let me have it. I don’t trust her with it.”
Logan immediately carried it to his father. “Are you afraid she’ll burn them?”
“No, I’m afraid Jessie will bash me over the head with it.”
18
“I can’t believe you guys!” Jessie complained all the way home.
“He deserved it,” Bubba defended his and Bud’s behavior. “It didn’t hurt him to share.”
“You ate most of it!”
“You’re exaggerating. He had a few bites.”
“Excuse me. He had two bites of eggs and one sausage link,” she snapped waspishly.
“That was plenty.” Bubba laughed, elbowing Bud conspiringly in his stomach.
Fuming, she went into her house, flipping the lock before they could come inside and ignoring Asher and Holt’s inquisitive gazes.
“We’ve got to use the bathroom!” Bud yelled out from the other side of the door.
“You’ve got the whole woods as a restroom; take your pick!” she yelled back.
“Holt, you and Asher in there?” Bubba’s booming voice rattled the doorframe.
“You make one move, and I’ll gut you both,” she warned her brothers.
They went back to making sandwiches.
She left them sitting outside for forty-five minutes before she would let Holt open the door. Bubba, being the oldest and biggest, made it to the only bathroom first.
Since she was vacuuming and straightening the living room, they were wise enough to stay in the hallway until it was their turn.
Disregarding them, she finished the chores around the house as her family went outside to talk. Since her cousins were probably telling them that she slept in Dustin’s sleeping bag, she was surprised when they came in an hour later, not mentioning the fact.
When bedtime came around and they still hadn’t said anything, she took a shower, then went to bed. Tired from cleaning all day, she fell asleep quickly. However, the same nightmare she had since her kidnapping struck again, having her turn on the television set to take her mind off it until she was tired enough to go back to sleep.
She was flicking uninterestedly through the channels when she heard the ping at her window.
“What do you want?” she asked after raising the window.
“You want some company?”
“Fine.”
She got back under the covers, pretending interest in the television show she didn’t feel.
“What are you doing awake?” Dustin asked as he climbed through the windowsill.
“What does it look like?” She motioned toward the TV, not objecting when Dustin took off his boots off and lay down next to her.
“Can I have a pillow?”