““His name was Sam.” She was still staring at the fire. Was Sam … “What happened?” She looked at him, smiling sadly. “He died.” “When?” he got out. He would have never teased her like that, never said a damn word if he’d known … Her words were strangled as she said, “Thirteen months ago.” A glimmer of pain flashed across her face, so real and endless that he felt it in his gut. “I’m sorry,” he breathed. She shrugged, as if it could somehow diminish the grief he still saw in her eyes, shining so bright in the firelight. “So am I,” she whispered, and faced the fire again.””
