Out Of The Ashes (The Ending Series, #3) by Lindsey Fairleigh, Lindsey Pogue

brain.
    Eventually, Tavis wandered over to
me and stared out at the cloudless sky. “The weather here is funny,” he said.
“I’m used to the seasons at home. It should be getting colder, not warmer. I like
it, though. I’m not much of a winter kind of guy.”
    “Really?” I said. I hadn’t thought
much about it. “I think I like the cold. I especially like the mornings.
Everything seems fresh and new. There’s something about the crisp water, too;
it’s refreshing. Sort of awakens my senses a little.”
    Tavis made a noncommittal noise.
    “Hang these up on the line for me,
would you?” I waited until Tavis turned to face me and tossed each balled-up
sock at him consecutively, laughing as he juggled to catch them all without
dropping any.
    “Careful, those last two socks are
yours. I wouldn’t want you to have to wear them dirty.”
    He flashed me an easy smile and
winked. “I’m so sure.”
    I enjoyed teasing Tavis and liked that
we had so little history together…that he had so few memories of me, and that
there wasn’t much I had to live up to. I liked that I didn’t have to worry
about disappointing him.
    “I’m just looking out for you,” I
told him.
    “Like you care,” he quipped,
draping the socks over the line. I heard him swear, and when I looked over, he
was shaking off a sock he must’ve dropped. “Damn it.”
    “That’s Jason’s…you better make
sure it’s clean.”
    Tavis strolled closer, holding out
the soiled sock.
    Shaking my head, I refused to take
it and handed him the scrub brush instead. “Be my guest.” I grinned. “I’ll
check to see if anything on the line is dry yet, and we can head back up to
camp.”
    Tavis looked at me askance, then
crouched down to grab the soap and scrub brush. “I just caught us dinner,” he
grumbled.
    “And,” I countered, “you just
dropped my brother’s sock in the dirt. In fact, you should probably make sure
it’s extra clean…you might want to scrub it a second time, just in case.”
    “Again, such a comedian,” Tavis
chuckled.
    I batted my eyelashes at him and
felt a splash of cold water on my face as a result. I blinked rapidly in
surprise, my mouth gaping. “Really?”
    “Sorry, I guess my aim with water
is as good as my bow…but you did say you like the crisp water,”
he said in a sing-song voice and flitted his own lashes.
    Smiling despite my annoyance, I
tsked and shook my head. “You’re the one who doesn’t like it…” I said,
splashing him back. Once…twice.
    “Alright, alright. I’m sorry!”
Tavis took a few hurried steps backward, chuckling and holding his palms out defensively
as he stumbled over the larger rocks scattered about. “I surrender. Just don’t
make me drop the bloody sock again.” He held the sock up, still laughing.
    I nearly snorted in amusement at
Tavis’s sudden change in tune. “You’re pathetic. It’s just water.”
    Hearing panting and the crunch of
twigs behind me, I turned around to find Cooper running happily toward the
water and Jake standing beside one of the pines, holding a piece of grass
between his fingertips.
    My face heated, and I suddenly
felt like I’d been caught doing something wrong. “Hey.”
    Jake’s gaze traveled from me to
Tavis and back as he let the blade of grass fall to the ground. “Hey.”
    “Just finishing up with the
laundry,” I said, wiping my wet hands on the front of my t-shirt. His eyes
fixed on mine as I closed the distance between us. I appreciated the fact that
the bright morning sun provided me the opportunity to study Jake’s features. His
nose was a little crooked, and long, honey-colored lashes fanned around his
amber eyes. And although I could hear Tavis
moving around behind me, my attention remained on Jake’s freshly shaven face.
    “Your brother wants us to start
packing so we’re ready to go after breakfast,” Jake said.
    I smiled. “Okay. I should get all
my crap together.”
    I glanced back at Tavis, who was
already