“I just picked some stuff up from some second-hand stores. Think of it as an early Christmas present for Mama C’s gang.” She didn’t look at him, afraid he wouldn’t appreciate her gifts. She knew he didn’t like to be pitied.
“Hmm. That was very thoughtful of you.”
She dared a glance at him, surprised to see sincerity mixed with a touch of—confusion, maybe?—in his eyes. “It’s just some sleeping bags and blankets and stuff.” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. He broke first.
“Well,” he cleared his throat and reached for one of the bundles in the trunk, “let’s get these over there, get Mama C warmed up.”
The smaller package tucked away in her coat pocket would have to wait until later. She balanced the pizzas in one hand and grabbed a sleeping bag with the other and set out to follow Blayne over to the small group.
As they neared the new encampment, Mama C stood and smiled. “You three go help carry that stuff. College girl looks like she’s going to drop those pizzas right into the dirt.”
Demarcus and Clint strode forward and took the items from her. Hannah stood slowly, shrugged, and said, “It looks like they got it all.”
“There’s more in the trunk if you want to come help me get it,” Kaylee said.
Hannah sighed and trudged toward her.
Altogether, Kaylee scraped together five sleeping bags and a couple of old quilts. Mama C grabbed her hands after she dropped her last load. “Kaylee, sweetie, thank you so much. These will be lifesavers for us.”
Kaylee squeezed her hands and whispered, “Merry Christmas, Mama C.”
The old woman furrowed her brow. “Is it Christmas already?”
Kaylee laughed nervously. “No, but almost. Today is the twenty-third. I didn’t think you’d want to wait two more days for a little warmth.”
“Oh boy, you’re right there. We’re sure missing our barrel o’ fire.”
The others had already started on the pizza. Kaylee and Mama walked over to them and each grabbed a slice. “Sorry it’s pizza again,” Kaylee said with a shrug. “It’s cheap, and it feeds a lot of people.”
Demarcus straightened up and pointed a finger at her in mock consternation. “Don’t ever let me hear you apologize for pizza again. Pizza is a national treasure!” As if to prove it, he shoved half a piece into his mouth and smiled a marinara-cheesy smile.
When the pizza was gone, the three teens and Mama wrapped up in the sleeping bags and Kaylee draped one of the quilts over her legs as she sat on a flat stone. Mama C pulled her beanie down over her ears and said, “Well, are you going to ask me more questions today, college girl?”
Kaylee glanced at Blayne, still standing in front of them, then back at Mama. “Not today. Today is just for hanging out.”
Mama C smiled and nodded.
“I’m gonna go see if I can find something to burn,” Blayne said. “Be back in a few.”
Kaylee jumped to her feet and spread the quilt over Mama C. “I’ll come with you.”
Blayne shrugged and turned his back to her. “If you want, I guess.”
A low chuckle came from Mama’s throat.
Kaylee caught up to him, her face flushed yet again.
“You really wanna go dumpster diving with me?”
“Umm, yeah. Is that where you find wood?”
“Sometimes. Not far from here there’s some abandoned buildings with boarded-up windows. That’s actually where I’m headed this time.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes until the buildings came into view. “Might need to go inside and scope it out. That wood looks soaked.” Blayne stopped and looked down at Kaylee. “You okay with a little breaking and entering, college girl?”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, really? Do tell.”
The pert little twist of his lips was worth the confession. “Okay. But this stays between us. I don’t need everyone else finding out about my checkered past.” She put her hands on her hips in a dramatic fashion.
Blayne laughed and crossed his heart. “Your secret shall go to the grave with me.”
“Back home, there was this old, abandoned house. Everyone said it was haunted. We’d dare each other to go look through the only window that wasn’t boarded up.”
“Ooh. Scary.” He rolled his eyes.
“Oh, it gets better.” Kaylee crossed her arms. “One Halloween—I think I was fifteen—this older boy I had a secret crush on, who turned out to be a real jerk, by the way, dared me to go inside the house. Said he’d give me something really special if I did.”
Blayne’s eyes narrowed. “Special, huh?”
“Yeah,” Kaylee scoffed. “Like I said—a real jerk.”
“So, did you do it?”
“Of course I did! I’m no scaredy-cat. I took a hammer and pulled enough boards off one of the back windows to climb through. I flipped on my flashlight and heard hundreds of little feet skittering.” She shuddered at the memory. “The dare was that I had to walk to the front of the house and shine the flashlight out of the non-boarded-up window, take something from inside, then go back out the way I came in. I covered my mouth with my shirt and stepped carefully over dead rodents and spider webs until I could shine the light out the window. On the way back out I noticed an old key hanging from a hook in the kitchen. I grabbed that and booked it out of there.”
“So, breaking, entering, and robbery.” He nodded. “I’m impressed, college girl.”
“I still have the key somewhere.”
“As you should. You should always keep mementos of your crimes, I mean, adventures.”
She smiled up at him. The sparkle in his eyes lit a fire in her chest. She reached into her pocket and felt the package there. “I…uh…I have something for you. A thank you for, well, for helping me out.” She pulled the wrapped package out and handed it to him, the fire moving up her neck into her face.
A slight frown creased
