Page 46 of The Falcon and the Foe

Russ tried to swipe the rod from my hand. “Cal—”

I had to get this spider. Before it creepy crawled into the tent. Before it summoned its pack. There was a story about a woman who was unknowingly bit by a spider, and it laid spider eggs in her face, and she sunk into a jacuzzi, and they exploded out of her face. I didn’t want spiders exploding out of my face or any of the Falcons’ faces. I smacked at the tent with the rod, then again. Russ kept reaching for the rod.

“Cal, stop! You shouldn’t do that with those because they’re—”

I lifted the rod over my head, my eyes bulging and beady, tracking the crawling of the spider. I slammed down on the tent and made contact with one of its legs, which got tangled on the rod. I flung my wrist, sending the spider flying into the ether of the woods.

Yes!I pumped my fist.

Scouts looked at me in horror, as did Russ.

“What? I hate bugs.”

Russ rubbed his forehead and pointed at something without looking at me. I followed his accusatory finger to the rod, which had snapped in half. The top half rolled on the floor. Er, ground.

“Oops,” I said. “We have another rod, right?”

Russ’s face told me everything I needed to know. A big fat no.

I turned to the kids and let out nervous laughter. “And that’s why you don’t want to use these as weapons. You need to be careful.”

Russ dismissed the kids to start building their tents.

“Well, this could still work, right?” I asked.

“Not without the rod.”

“Well, I’ll take this tent and roll myself up like a sleeping bag.”

“It will get really cold at night. You can’t sleep outside.”

The options available were quickly running out, leading to an inevitable conclusion that we both tried to delay.

“I can sleep in the van.”

“We have to keep the food in the van, and if a bear finds it and you, you could be in trouble.”

“Well, I can bunk with the kids.”

“Their tents are full.”

“I can sleep in the public bathroom?”

Russ crossed his arms, looked to the sky, and heaved out a breath.Don’t say it. There has to be another way.

“Looks like we’re bunking together this weekend.”

15

RUSS

Fact: food tasted better when it was cooked in a campfire. For dinner, I grilled chicken and vegetables, plus black beans for the two vegan scouts, on a portable grill plate that rested above the fire. The aroma of the cajun and cumin spices made me dizzy with hunger. I should cook all my food this way. Get rid of the microwave, go full caveman.

“Is dinner ready yet?” Chase asked in a famished whine.

“Give it a few more minutes. It will be worth the wait.” I stirred the beans in the Dutch oven and let the flavor waft up my nose.

While I cooked, Cal supervised the kids to set the picnic tables. He didn’t complain or add in his typical two cents. He knew I was still pissed about the broken tent and how it meant we’d be bunking together. I didn’t know how two grown men would fit in the tent, and I didn’t like how my insides went all fuzzy thinking about being that close to Cal.

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