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“I found it! Uncle Carter said it’s a hiking stick!”

“Oh, Jesus,” Blaire mutters.

“I named it! Sticky the stick,” Theo announces proudly.

I lean down to whisper to Blaire. “You distract him and I’ll throw sticky off the side of a cliff.”

“Deal.” She laughs.

“Morning!” Brittney smiles and waves.

Too cheerful.

“Beautiful day!” Alex adds.

Richard chimes in before anyone else can act like it’s their first day on this planet. “Alright, who's got water?”

Everyone starts grabbing backpacks and bottles.

Sophia starts counting little heads like the preschool teacher she is.

“Where's Teddy?”

“Here!” Theo yells from the top of a large rock.

Blaire drops my hand and spins around. “Theodore!”

He freezes. “What?”

“Get down.”

“But I'm climbing.”

“You are absolutely not climbing that.”

“Uncle Chance said—”

“I don't care what Uncle Chance said.”

Theo reluctantly climbs down.

“Did you bring the carrier?” Blaire turns back to me.

I stare at her. “He's four.”

“He's going to get tired.”

“He has legs.”

“He has little legs.” She puts her hands on her hips like I’m being unreasonable for not wanting to put my four year old in a baby carrier.

“He somehow has adult legs when he's running away from us in Target.”

“Did you bring it or not?”

I sigh. “It's in the truck.”

She smiles triumphantly. “I knew you loved me.”