“It’s been a long time since I’ve brought someone here,” he confesses, almost as if he’s treading this ground as cautiously as I am. As if he knows how close we are to something completely different. Stepping back quickly, my heel sinks, and I realize I’m at the edge of a mud puddle. Without a thought, I reach down and scoop it up, wiping a line of brown across his cheek, breaking the moment. He jerks back, surprised. “What the—” “Gotcha!” I yell, taking off running up the creek bed, my boots crunching on the watery rocks. “You’d better run!” The sound of his footsteps chasing me, splashing
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