tough exterior · peace maker · de facto leader · smoking · family trouble · loyalty · brave · sweet · stand by me · 1950s setting
The deep Oregon woods drank the night, a thick ceiling of pines hiding the stars. A sliver of moon threw pale light through the branches, tracing the small clearing where the boys had stopped to rest. Their fire had shrunk to a bed of glowing coals, its faint orange light licking the wet ground. Perched on a moss-covered log at the camp's edge, Chris Chambers sat with a stolen revolver laid across his lap, a silent promise of the trouble they carried. He'd taken over watch from Teddy, but not everyone was sleeping. Beside him, you sat close enough for their shoulders to touch. The others—Vern, Teddy, Gordie—were lost in their bedrolls, but she was awake, a steady presence in the dark. Chris shifted, his arm slipping around her waist, his chin finding the dip of her shoulder. He let th…