Reid was at my back, his arm heavy across my waist, his breath slow and even against my hair. Nolan was curled against my front, his face tucked into my neck, one hand resting over my heart like he was checking my pulse even in sleep. Kol was sprawled across the foot of the bed, one hand wrapped around my ankle, his golden curls a wild mess against the quilt. And Sawyer was propped against the headboard, already awake, a mug of coffee in his scarred hands, watching over all of us the way he did every morning.
"Coffee's getting cold." His voice was quiet, rough with the early hour, his pale eyes crinkling slightly at the corners when I blinked up at him.
"Bring it here then." I reached for him with grabby hands, still half-asleep, and he snorted but leaned down to press the warm mug into my palms, stealing a kiss in the process. Reid stirred behind me, grumbling something unintelligible into my shoulder, his arm tightening around my waist like he was trying to keep me from escaping.
"Bradley called." Sawyer said, settling back against the headboard, his hand finding my hair and stroking through it absently. "Wants to know if we're coming to the county fair next month."
"The fair?" Kol's head popped up from the foot of the bed, his golden eyes suddenly alert despite the sleep still clinging to his features, his voice rough but eager. "With the fried everything and the pie contest?"
"No." Nolan mumbled against my neck, not opening his eyes, his arm curving tighter around me. "Last time you set fire to the hay bale maze."
"That was an accident." Kol protested, crawling up the bed to wedge himself between me and Nolan, somehow finding space where there shouldn't have been any. "And the goats were fine."
"The goats were singed." Reid's voice was muffled against my shoulder, heavy with sleep but tinged with amusement.
"Slightly singed." Kol corrected, pressing a kiss to my cheek, his sunshine scent warm and bright despite the early hour. "There's a difference."
I laughed, coffee sloshing dangerously in my mug, and felt the bonds in my chest pulse with contentment — cedar and pine and sunshine and earth, all tangled together the same way our bodies were tangled in the nest. Eventually we extracted ourselves from the pile of limbs and blankets, the morningunfolding in its familiar rhythm. Reid headed for the shower while Nolan started breakfast, Kol trailing after him to steal bacon and get his hand swatted with a spatula. Sawyer pulled on his boots and headed for the barn, pausing to press a kiss to my hair on his way out.
I stood at the kitchen window with my cooling coffee, watching the sun climb higher over the pastures, the cattle dotting the fields like brown and white brushstrokes against the green. The newspaper sat on the counter where Reid had left it, and my eye caught the small headline on the third page — something about Easton Branston's sentencing hearing being scheduled for next month.
Twenty-five years to life, the prosecutor had said at the trial. Kidnapping, assault, conspiracy, a laundry list of charges that had taken the jury less than four hours to convict on. His cousin the sheriff had been removed from office and was facing his own charges. Branston Ranch had been seized, the assets frozen, the whole rotten empire crumbling like it had been built on sand.
I'd had to testify. Had to sit in that courtroom and look at him across the room — his arm still crooked from where Sawyer had broken it, his nose permanently flattened, his eyes still cold and hungry even in an orange jumpsuit. But my pack had been there, all four of them, filling the row behind me with their scents and their presence and their unwavering support. And when I'd walked out of that courthouse after the verdict, I'd left Easton Branston behind me for good.
"You're doing that thing again." Nolan said, sliding his arms around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder as he followed my gaze to the newspaper. He reached past me and flipped it over, hiding the headline. "None of that today."
"I'm fine." I leaned back into him, letting his warmth chase away the brief chill. "Just thinking about how different things are now."
"Good different." His voice was soft, his breath warm against my ear, his hands settling on my stomach in that familiar way.
"The best different." I agreed, and meant it. Breakfast was loud and chaotic, the way it always was. Kol and Reid argued about fence repairs while Nolan quietly ate his eggs and Sawyer came in from the barn smelling like hay and horses, stealing toast off my plate without asking.
"Marley wants you to come by the shop this week." Reid said, passing me the butter, his dark eyes warm over the rim of his coffee mug. "Something about a new project she wants to teach you."
"She mentioned embroidery last time." I took a bite of toast, already thinking about the ride into town, about Marley's sharp eyes and gruff kindness and the way she always had tea waiting. "Something about flowers on pillowcases."
"More gifts for us?" Kol perked up, his mouth full of bacon, his golden eyes bright with hope.
"Maybe." I smiled at him, at all of them, at this kitchen full of noise and love and belonging. "If you're good."
"I'm always good." Kol protested, and Sawyer choked on his coffee while Nolan and Reid exchanged looks of profound skepticism.
After breakfast, I walked out to the stable to check on Hope. She was waiting for me at her stall door, her dark eyes soft and knowing, her ears pricking forward when I approached.
"Hey, girl." I stroked her velvet nose, breathing in the familiar smell of hay and horse and home. "Miss me?" She nickered softly, pushing into my hand, and I smiled, remembering the first time I'd stood in this stable, feral and frightened and so sure I'd be running again within the week.
That felt like another lifetime now. Footsteps behind me, and then Sawyer was there, leaning against the stall door beside me, his shoulder brushing mine.
"Reid wants to know if you're riding out to check the north pasture with him later." His voice was quiet, easy, none of the tension that used to live in his shoulders, in the set of his jaw. "Kol's already claimed the afternoon for some project he won't tell anyone about."
"Probably another 'surprise' that ends with something on fire." I said, and Sawyer's lips twitched in what might have been a smile.
"Probably." He agreed, his pale eyes soft as he watched me scratch behind Hope's ears. "Nolan's making that soup you like for dinner. The one with the dumplings."
"He spoils me."
"We all spoil you." Sawyer's hand found the small of my back, warm and grounding. "Get used to it." I leaned into him, breathing in earth and leather and the faint smell of coffee still clinging to his shirt, feeling the bond between us pulse steady and sure.
