“Being scared doesn’t disqualify you,” I say. “It just means you’re paying attention.”
Her lips curve, soft and tentative. She leans in, presses a quick kiss to my shoulder, nothing dramatic, nothing heated. Just affection.
Then Boone’s voice drifts in from the other room. “Silas, if you’re having a moment, have it after caffeine.”
I grin despite myself. “Love you too, Boone.”
Delaney laughs, the sound easy now, and that’s a win.
We don’t linger too long.
There’s an unspoken tension between all of us. A sense that, as good as this feels, we need to take it back into the real world.Into the ranch. Into daylight and responsibility and Sadie and routines and choices that last longer than a night in the woods.
When Sunridge comes into view, my phone buzzes.
Mom.
I smile before I even answer.
“Hey,” I say. “You psychic or just bored?”
Her laugh crackles through the speaker. “I’m watching Sadie try to convince a chicken that it’s secretly a dog. You tell me.”
I glance toward the house, where Julia’s silhouette moves past the kitchen window, Sadie trailing behind her with what appears to be a plastic bowl and a lot of determination.
“Yeah,” I say, warmth settling in my chest. “That tracks.”
“You home?” she asks.
“Just pulled in.”
“Good,” she replies. “We should talk when you get a minute.”
Her tone isn’t sharp. Just… knowing.
Mom looks different at the ranch. She’s settled in already. She’s in worn jeans and an old sweater, hair pulled back loose, sitting at the big kitchen table with Sadie beside her.
Delaney stops behind me, and Boone follows shortly after, duffel still slung over his shoulder. The second Sadie spots him, she’s off the chair and halfway across the kitchen.
“Dad!”
He drops the bag without thinking, scoops her up, and presses a kiss into her hair. His whole body softens.
“Hey, peanut,” he murmurs. “You behave?”
Sadie grins. “Aunt Julia says I’m very creative.”
Julia arches a brow. “That’s a diplomatic way of saying enthusiastic.”
Caleb steps in last, quiet as ever, giving Julia a nod that turns into a small smile when she looks up at him.
“Good to see you, Jules.”
“Likewise, Cal,” she says. “You boys survived the woods?”
“Barely,” Boone mutters, but there’s no heat in it.
The kitchen feels full in the best way. Lived in. Normal. As if the last twenty-four hours didn’t happen in a vacuum but folded right back into the rhythm of this place.
