"I'll take that as a compliment."
Dakota laughs. "Consider it one. Do your parents know yet?"
"Nope," I answer, popping the 'p' sound. I look over to the grill, where my mom stands beside my dad. "They're going to look at me with disappointment, but also like the situation isn't too shocking." I point back at myself. "Calamity here, remember?"
Dakota scoots closer to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and giving me a squeeze. "You're so much more than that. And whatever you go on to do next, you're going to knock it out of the park. I know it."
"Thanks, Dakota."
"I got you, babe.” Her mouth opens in an excited ‘o’and she claps once. “Why don’t you come to the vendor market tomorrow and help me out? Today was busy, and Sundays are always crazier than Saturdays.”
“Hmm…” I pretend to think about it. “Let me check my calendar. Not sure if I’m free. I have a whole lot ofnothingto attend to.”
She laughs and nudges me. “Be ready by ten. You can ride with me and your mom.”
I nod my agreement, and then Tenley and Warner arrive, bringing commotion with them. Peyton is on her phone, but Charlie starts running around with Colt, and little Lyla cries like the sky has fallen. My mom takes her from Tenley, and I hear Tenley say they had to wake her up to come here and she's pissed about that. I'm still a bit starstruck by Tenley, I won't lie. I grew up watching her in movies, how could I not be?
I gaze out over the scene, watching Warner greet Wes with a clap on the back. Wyatt approaches and hands each a beer, and they fist-bump. My brothers. Each one unique, but each one a true Hayden man.
My parents, standing together at the grill, my dad’s arm around my mom’s waist. And Gramps, sitting in a chair, surveying it all.
Yes, I was kicked out of college. Yes, the guy I was seeing turned out to be married.
But I could've gone anywhere.
And I chose to come home, because this place is where my heart is permanently rooted.
6
Jessie
"Good morning, Jessie."My dad’s boots clomp up to the dining room table, and he ruffles my hair.
I give him a playfully rude look and fix my hair. "Hello, Dad."
He comes back a few minutes later with a breakfast burrito. Steam wafts up from his first bite, and I have no idea how he's chewing through such hot food.
"What’s on the agenda today before you drive back to school?" He stretches out one leg and grabs his phone, navigating to his news app. He hates reading the news on his phone, but he doesn't have a choice unless he wants to turn on the TV. Newspapers aren't delivered all the way out here.
“I’m going to the vendor market with Mom and Dakota, and then,” I pause to collect myself. This is a chance to tell him about school, and I may as well take it. “Dad, I—”
"Dad, did you need me for something?" Wes walks in and looks expectantly at our father, inserting himself into my sentence without an ounce of apology.
"Weren't you just here last night?" I ask irritably.
Wes scowls at me. "Nice to see you so soon too."
"Knock it off," my dad growls. He's not really growling, per se, he just has a voice that sounds like tires spinning through loose gravel and most of what he says sounds like growling. "Josh and Ham came over thirty minutes ago. They said some cows are showing dead eyes."
Wes sighs. His head droops and he grazes his scruffy cheek with his knuckles. "Fuck."
"Agreed."
I look from one man to the other. "What are dead eyes?"
My dad answers. "Eyes that are dull. Sunken."
It's descriptive enough that I can picture it too clearly. My heart twists at the image. "What the hell causes that?"
