Lighting the Flames (14 page)

Ice formed around the
warm glow in his chest that had grown in size since
she
’
d started asking him about his degree. He still needed to
tell her the rest of it, and he was trying to put together the
right words, come up with the right way to explain when she
spoke.

“
I
almost forgot
—
I have a theme song now.
”

He took a slow breath.
It was easier to rely on the silliness and laughter that lived
between them, and he let her change the subject, even though the
familiar conversation felt like lying.
“
It is about time you
had your own jam. Everyone needs a theme song.
”

“
I
know. This is one of your guiding philosophies.
”

“
It
’
s more than a philosophy.
”
He gestured with the arm that
wasn
’
t around her.
“
It
’
s an absolute rule.
So, what is it? No, wait, let me guess.
”

“
Go
for it.
”

Their boots crunched on the crust covering the
beach, and the ice collapsed under them immediately to reveal the
softer sand beneath. Jeremy kicked at the beach sand with his boot
as he thought aloud.

“‘
Homeward Bound
’
? No, too cheesy for
you. Hmm.
”

She stood still,
tucked into the curve of his arm, against the side of his body,
looking up at him as he tugged on his beard and pondered which song
she
’
d chosen. He wanted to kiss her, to feel what it was like
to know that he didn
’
t need to leave right afterward, that could kiss
her again instead.

Fat, white snowflakes began to fall, and they
collected slowly on her hat, in her hair, and around them on the
sand.

He had to tell her the
rest, he decided, before he kissed her again. If kissing her last
year had broken down a boundary between them, it
wouldn
’
t be fully erased until he cleared away everything else
first. So he looked away and tried to think of a song instead of
about sliding his fingers into her hair and kissing her for the
next hour.

“
Let
’
s see
…
you were in Iceland. Bj
ö
rk?
J
ó
nsi? Something like that?
”

“
Nope.
”

“
That song about walking five hundred
miles?
”

“
That song gets stuck in my head for days. So,
no.
”

“
Great song, though.
”

“
Still not it.
”

He watched some of the snowflakes as they drifted
down from the sky, and even though the air was growing colder, and
the wind was more harsh down by the lake, he felt warmer than he
had when they started. This was the closeness he missed, that he
wanted back. That he wanted to bring home with him.

“
Okay,
”
he said with a sigh.
“
We need to hide the
rest of the stuff in my bag and get back before the snow buries us.
I give up. But that
’
s the
only
reason
—
otherwise I
’
d keep
guessing.
”

“
Of
course.
”

“
So
what is it?
”

“
I
’
m not telling you.
”

“
What?
”

“
Once we hide everything, I
’
ll tell you. When
we
’
re on the way back.
”

“
You
are a cruel, cruel woman, Genevieve.
”

“
Grab your list
—
we need to beat the
snow.
”

They hid everything
left in his pack and took the more direct route back up to camp. By
the time they reached their cabin, the snow looked like it was
pouring from the sky. They couldn
’
t see that far in
front of them, and their footprints began to disappear almost as
soon as they were made.

“
We
don
’
t have to worry about anyone tracing our steps
tomorrow,
”
he said as he took off his coat and hung it over the
baseboard heater.

“
We
might have to worry about whether we can do the scavenger hunt at
all,
”
Gen replied, looking at the stream of white through the
window. The wind had picked up, and it blew the snow sideways,
making him feel as if he were inside a snow globe and someone had
shaken it. She looked a little lost as she watched the snow flying
by, and he put his hands on her shoulders.

“
Fire? S
’
mores?
”

“
Jeremy. It
’
s nearly two in the morning.
”

“
So?
What
’
s your point?
”

She sighed, then shook
her head with a half smile.
“
I
’
ll get my
chocolate.
”

A short time later, they sat in front of the fire,
socks pointed toward the flames, trying to quietly munch through
crackers and chocolate while licking marshmallow off their
fingers.

“
So,
what
’
s your song?
”

“
You
never forget, do you?
”

He looked her in the
eyes, the light from the fire shadowing her face.
“
Nope.
Never.
”

She smiled at him. Her
gaze dropped to his lips, then back to his eyes, but that glance
made his skin feel as if it were burning. Then her expression
changed.
“
Why didn
’
t you tell me?
”

“
That
’
s a song?
”

“
No,
why didn
’
t you tell me about
…
everything?
”

“
That I
’
d gotten my degree and all that?
”

She nodded, trying,
like he was, to eat a hot s
’
more without making
any noise. It was very difficult, but the results were worth
it.

“
I
didn
’
t
…”
He stopped, trying to find the best way to explain. In the
end, he went with the truth.
“
I
didn
’
t think you wanted to know.
”

She nodded.
“
I did. And
I should have asked.
”

“
I
should have told you,
”
he replied quickly. He thought about
explaining the rest of what was sitting on his conscience, but the
shadows under her eyes made him stop. He
’
d find a way to tell
her, but now wasn
’
t the time. He grinned at her instead.
“
So? What
is it?
”

She
didn
’
t pretend to misunderstand his question.
“
Garth
Brooks.
”

“
No.
”

“
Yup.
”

“
Really?
”

“
Yup.
”

“
Which one?
”

“
It
’
s not obvious?
”

He shook his head, the
corners of his lips quivering as he tried not to laugh. He took a
bite of the last s
’
more to keep himself quiet.

She sighed.
“
I changed
the words.
”

“
To
what?
”

“‘
I
Find Jews in Odd Places.
’”

His eyes widened, and he nearly choked. He covered
his mouth when Gen tried to shush him, a muffled spluttering sound
emerging from behind his hand. He rolled onto his back, covering
his eyes, shaking his head, and holding in a mouthful of graham
cracker and hilarity.

When he lifted his hand to peek over at her, she was
smiling at him, with a look in her eyes that was hotter than the
fire.

He wanted to answer
that look, to meet it halfway across the floorboards and go
exploring, but he couldn
’
t. Not right then. He
was still unsure, a little off balance with everything
they
’
d talked about, and he didn
’
t want to overwhelm
her, or tell her awkward or depressing things before they went to
bed
…
separately.

When he was sure that he could speak without making
a mess, he sat up and grabbed the scavenger hunt map off the couch
behind him. He saw Genevieve frown briefly, but then she slid
closer to him, reaching for her own copies. They went over the
schedule, double-checking the items and their coordinates, their
heads close together and their muffled voices whispering beneath
the crackling of the fire.

Chapter
Five

Friday, December 19,
2014
—
27 Kislev 5775

“
Your task, should you choose to accept it,
is
…”

Jeremy
’
s voice rolled across the snow and echoed off the
trees, but when he paused to admire his own reverberation, Gen
punched him on the arm.

“
Ow!
Your task is to build an ugly snow statue of
Genevieve!
”

Gen pushed aside the
weird staccato in her chest when the sound of
Jeremy
’
s voice speaking her name echoed across the
field.

“
Try
again.
”

“
Fine. Wench. Your task is to build fine snow statues of
your most excellent color war leaders. By which I mean, us. Me and
Genevieve. I know that the white team will have no problems
capturing my magnificent
—
ow
!
”

Some of the kids were laughing with mittens over
their mouths. Her own laughter sneaked up and poked at her lips,
and she bit them to keep the sound inside.

“
You
can make Gen however you want. It won
’
t take much snow,
since she
’
s
—”

“
Jeremy!
”

“—
a
perfectly petite person!
”
He grinned at her, and she glared
back.

“
This is hardly a fair competition.
”

“
Why
not?
”

“
For
one thing, you
’
re twice as tall as I am. They
’
ll need twice as much
snow.
”

“
All
part of the challenge. They have to make you look majestic next to
my own natural
…
epicness
.
”

At his cue, as usual,
the campers mimicked Jeremy
’
s arms-up posture and
yelled,
“
Epic!
”
in return. Gen arched a brow at him.

“
Anyway. You all have three hours to build, sculpt, and
decorate, and Scott will be the judge. If you need us to pose, we
are
—
oof
—
okay,
I
am more than happy to
assist.
”

Gen rolled her eyes
and raised her arms to get everyone
’
s attention. The
teams had divided themselves into two groups. One group was in
charge of the snow majesty, as Jeremy put it. The other group,
which consisted of most of the adults and some of the older kids
who were up to a full day trekking through the fresh snow, would be
racing on the GPS scavenger hunt.