The marshmallow caught fire for the third time, and Tommy squealed with delight as I blew it out. The sticky sugar was now charred black and smoking.

“Mom, you’re terrible at this!” he laughed, his gap-toothed grin illuminated by our campfire. My husband, Dan, shot me a playful look from across the flames, where he was helping our daughter Sarah craft the perfect golden-brown masterpiece.

“Some of us prefer our marshmallows with a little character,” I defended, popping the burned blob into my mouth.

The summer evening wrapped around us like a warm blanket, crickets providing the soundtrack to our family camping adventure. Little did we know how quickly the night would take a dangerous turn.

We’d found this spot off the beaten path, surrounded by towering pines that swayed gently in the breeze. It was exactly what we needed: no Wi-Fi, no schedules, just us.

Dan and I had been working long hours lately and had planned this weekend camping trip to catch up on the time we’d lost with our kids.

“Tell us a scary story, Dad!” Sarah pleaded, leaning against Dan’s shoulder. At twelve, she was at that perfect age where she thought she was too old to be scared but still loved the thrill.

“I don’t know…” Dan pretended to hesitate, but I could see the gleam in his eye. He was a sucker for storytelling. “It might be too scary for your mom.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please, I’m the brave one in this family.”

Tommy scooted closer to me on our log bench. “Yeah, Mom’s not scared of anything!”

As Dan launched into some silly tale about a camper who forgot to bring bug spray and got carried away by mosquitoes, I couldn’t help but smile.

The firelight danced across my family’s faces, and my heart felt full. This was what memories were made of — the four of us, together, nothing but stars above and adventure ahead.

When the fire died down to embers and yawns replaced ghost stories, we crawled into our tent. The kids fell asleep almost instantly, their sleeping bags rising and falling with peaceful breaths. Dan’s arm wrapped around me, and I drifted off, thinking how perfect everything was.

Until it wasn’t.

I jolted awake sometime in the middle of the night, my heart racing before my brain could register why. There was a sound outside — soft but persistent, like something moving around our campsite.

I held my breath, straining to hear better. Shuffle, shuffle, pause. Shuffle, shuffle, pause. Huff.

“Dan,” I whispered, nudging him. He mumbled something unintelligible. “Dan, wake up. There’s something out there.”

He finally stirred, propping himself up on an elbow. “Probably just a raccoon, Alice. Go back to sleep.”

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was different. The shuffling continued, more deliberate now. “It sounds bigger than a raccoon.”

Dan sighed, reaching for the flashlight we’d kept nearby. “Okay, okay. I’ll check it out.”

The sound of the zipper opening seemed impossibly loud in the quiet night. Dan poked his head out first, then his shoulders, sweeping the beam of light in an arc. I held my breath.

“Oh,” he said, surprise evident in his voice. “It’s just a dog.”

“A dog?” I scrambled to look for myself, careful not to wake the kids.

Sure enough, there was a medium-sized mutt, some kind of tan, short-haired hound mix, pacing back and forth at the edge of our campsite. Its fur was covered in dirt, and even in the dim light, I could tell it was too skinny.

“Poor thing must be hungry,” I whispered. “Should we give it some food?”

Dan was already rummaging through our supplies. He pulled out some leftover hot dogs from dinner and held one out to the dog. To our surprise, the animal backed away, whining softly.

By now, the commotion had woken Sarah and Tommy.

“A doggy!” Tommy exclaimed, way too loud for the middle of the night.

“Shh, honey,” I cautioned. “We don’t want to scare it.”

Sarah studied the dog with her usual thoughtfulness. “Something’s wrong with it, Mom. Look how nervous it is.”

She was right. The dog kept pacing, its tail tucked between its legs. It would take a few steps toward us, then back away, as if torn between seeking our help and fleeing.

That’s when we heard a much heavier rustling from the trees beyond our campsite. The dog’s head snapped toward the sound. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it lowered its head and raised its hackles.

Dan’s flashlight beam caught movement among the shadows. Time seemed to stop as a massive shape emerged from the darkness.

It was a bear, bigger than any I’d seen outside of nature documentaries. Its eyes reflected the light like glowing embers, as it raised its head, scenting the air.

The dog let out a panicked bark and the bear swung its head around. It fixed on our camp with horrible intent.

“Car,” I managed to squeak out. “Everyone to the car. Now.”

We moved as one, Dan scooping up Tommy while I grabbed Sarah’s hand. I glanced back as the bear lumbered toward our tent.

The dog darted between us and the bear, not barking but positioning itself as if to buy us time. My fingers trembled so badly I could barely grip my keys.

Those few steps to the car felt like running a marathon. I could hear the bear’s heavy breathing, and the snap of twigs under its weight as it approached our camp.

The car chirped as I hit the unlock button, and we piled in. The dog turned and sprinted after us, jumping in just before Dan slammed the door.

“That was too close,” I gasped. “Is everyone okay?”

Dan nodded mutely but the kids didn’t answer. I turned to look at the backseat and saw them staring in horror out the window. The dog shoved past me and climbed into the back with the kids. Tommy threw his arms around it and hid his face in its neck.

From the relative safety of our SUV, we watched in horror as the bear tore through our campsite. It ripped into the tent like tissue paper, scattering our supplies and devouring anything edible it found.

I climbed over into the backseat. The kids huddled against me, and I held them close, my heart still racing.

“That dog,” Dan said softly, “it was trying to warn us. That’s why it was pacing around like that.”

I lifted my head and looked at the dog. It had settled in the foot cavity and anxiously wagged its tail at me.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only twenty minutes, the bear lumbered back into the forest, leaving our campsite in shambles.

None of us moved for a long time after that. The dog had clambered over to the trunk area and was watching the trees with alert eyes.

When the first hints of dawn began to lighten the sky, Dan finally spoke. “I think it’s safe to pack up what’s left and get out of here.”

We worked quickly and quietly, salvaging what we could from the wreckage of our camp. The dog watched us the whole time, as if making sure we were okay. When we opened the car door to leave, he hopped right back in like he belonged there.

“Can we keep him?” Tommy asked, his earlier fear forgotten in the way only a seven-year-old can manage.

I looked at Dan, then at the dog who had quite possibly saved our lives. “Well, we need to check if he belongs to anyone first. But if not…”

“We’ll take him to the vet when we get back,” Dan finished for me. “See if he’s chipped.”

The dog wasn’t chipped, as it turned out.

He was undernourished and had some minor scrapes, but was otherwise healthy. We named him Lucky, partly because he’d been lucky to find us, but mostly because we’d been lucky he found us.

These days, Lucky sleeps on a bed by our front door. Sometimes, I catch him staring out the window, as if he’s still watching for danger.

Every time I see him there, I’m reminded of that night in the woods when a stray dog taught us that sometimes, the best family members are the ones you never saw coming.