showed me a photo.
Marissa stood beside a dead campfire, hair blowing across her face, laughing with her eyes nearly closed.
Her birthmark was completely visible.
No careful angle.
No flattering lighting.
Nothing hidden.
I looked at my daughter.
Years ago, she would have grabbed the phone.
“Let me see.”
“Delete that.”
“Is it awful?”
That night, she simply kept eating.
“That picture is evidence of a crime,” she said.
“You killed the fire,” Graham teased.
“It was raining.”
“You poured half a bottle of lighter fluid on wet wood.”
“Because you said it needed encouragement, Gray.”
“I said air.”
I laughed.
But the photograph stayed in my mind.
After dinner, Marissa stood.
“I forgot the cheesecake.”
“You made cheesecake?” I asked.
“It’s upstairs in the little fridge.”
Graham stared at her.
“You hid cheesecake from me?”
“I know you.” She kissed
