“Exactly.” I huff a laugh. “Boone’s family, Walter especially, gave him more stability than he ever got at home. Silas spent half his childhood running around this ranch. Might as well have had his name engraved on one of the bedrooms.”
She laughs quietly.
“So when I moved in after my mom left,” I continue, “Silas was already basically part of the furniture. He came by every weekend, and eventually just started staying. One toothbrush turned into two pairs of boots by the door, and now he acts like co-owner of the place.”
“Really?” she asks. “So it’s just the three of you?”
“Has been for years.” I dry my hands and lean back against the counter. “Boone handles the business. Silas handles the people. I handle the animals.”
Delaney studies me. “Sounds like a family.”
“It is. A weird one. But it works. It’s somewhere to belong.”
“Belonging’s… complicated.”
“It is,” I respond quietly.
The kitchen feels different. Smaller…
Then a crash from the living room breaks the moment.
Silas’s voice: “I’m okay! That table was in my way anyway.”
Delaney snorts. “Is he always… like that?”
“Yeah,” I hum. “That is the watered-down, early evening version, actually.”
She laughs, a real one this time. “I don’t know how you all survived this long.”
“Stubborn,” I say.
She shakes her head, still smiling, and we go back to our quiet chore.
By the time the kitchen’s clean, the house has settled again. Night has fully fallen outside, the windows reflecting us instead of the fields beyond.
She leans against the counter, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Thanks for helping,” she says. “I know you’ve already done a full day before this.”
“It’s fine. You did too.”
She wants to protest, then seems to think better of it. “Tomorrow I’m thinking of trying something with the slow cooker. So nobody has to wait as long when they’re starving after work.”
“You don’t have to impress us every night,” I tell her.
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” she asks lightly.
“Feels like it.”
She looks down at her hands. “Maybe I’m just… trying to make it feel worth it. That you took a chance on me.”
I can’t help but smile.
“You’re here. That’s worth it.”
She meets my gaze, eyes soft and searching, and I have to look away first.
“Goodnight, Delaney,” I say, grabbing my jacket from the hook by the door.
