Calvin mentioned at the gym the other day that it’s been going well, that Mateo seems like a really good guy, but that Calvin got the sense something bad happened before the road trip that pushed him out here.
Whatever it was, Mateo hasn’t offered details and nobody’s pushed him for them, but Calvin and Maren figured him staying at the cabin was a good way to get to know him, and give him a bit of kindness that it seemed like he maybe hasn’t had in a while.
“Dark River’s good for that,” I say, taking a sip of my beer. “Quieting things down, I mean. I grew up here but I didn’t really appreciate it until I got older.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” He glances around the room at the family chaos unfolding around us. “It’s a good place. The company’s not bad either.”
He says it with a small smile, and I find myself studying him as he adds another log to the fire and adjusts the stack. The bruises on his face have faded to faint yellow shadows, barely visible in the warm light from the flames. He’s still got that weariness to him that from what I can tell never fully leaves, but he looks more comfortable than the last time I saw him. More settled.
“So,” I say, leaning against the mantel, “how long are you here for? Calvin mentioned you’re on leave from your job.”
Mateo nods, brushing his hands off on his jeans. “Yeah, I’m on extended leave, but it’s pretty open-ended. My captain told me to take as long as I need, which is generous but also kind of makes it worse in a way. Like there’s no deadline forcing me to figure my shit out.”
“I get that,” I say. “Too much time to think can be its own problem.”
“Exactly.” He shrugs, straightening up from the fire. “I’ll head back before too long though. It feels weird to be sitting still when normally I’m running into burning buildings or out in the mountains doing search and rescue. I’m used to adrenaline and chaos, you know? So the whole relaxing thing is...” He pauses, searching for the word. “Strange. Like I forgot how to do it.”
“I know the feeling.” I think about my own obsessive schedule, the 4 AM workouts and the endless hours at the gym. “Some of us aren’t built for stillness.”
“No, we’re not.” He gives me a look that suggests he recognizes a kindred spirit. “But it’s good, I think. A good break from the chaos, even if I don’t know what to do with myself half the time.”
I nod, taking another sip of my beer. Something about him reminds me of my youngest brother Jack when we were growing up. Jack is happier now than he’s ever been, living in Monaco with his wife Lark while they both chase their careers—him in Formula One, her as a musician touring the world. But it wasn’t always like that.
Jack was the charming one, the one with the easy smile and the quick wit, but there was a darkness underneath it too, a restlessness, and wounds from before our parents adopted him that took years to heal. Mateo has that same guarded look in his eyes, hiding wildness and something that hasn’t healed yet.
“Hey,” I say, searching for the right words. “You doing alright? I know this is all a lot. New family, new town, new everything.”
He’s Calvin’s biological brother, not mine, and I barely know him. It’s not really my place to push. But I guess in a way he’s becoming my brother too, whether either of us expected it or not.
“It’s good. I’m getting there.” He pauses, looking down at his hands for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know? For someone to realize they made a mistake inviting me in and ask me to leave. But it hasn’t happened yet, so I guess at some point I’m going to have to accept that maybe it’s not going to.”
“It’s not going to change,” I tell him. “That’s not how we work. The Midnight family may have flaws, but once you’re in, you’re in. Ask any of us. Calvin and I butted heads for years over some stupid shit, really went at each other a few times, and we’re still here. Still family. That doesn’t change just because things get hard.”
Mateo nods, and something in his expression eases. “Thanks, Dominic. You guys are really something. I wish... I guess I wish I’d reached out sooner. I mean, I only found out a few years back, but still. It was stupid to wait.”
I shrug. “I’m not sure what I would have done in that situation. It’s not an easy thing, disrupting your own life like that. Potentially disrupting someone else’s. Dropping a bomb like that on a stranger and hoping it doesn’t blow up in your face. I don’t think there’s a right way to do it.”
He looks at me for a long moment, something shifting in his expression, and then he nods again. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
Before either of us can say anything else, Calvin appears in the doorway wiping his hands on a dish towel, with Alex right behind him carrying a basket of bread.
“Alright, everyone,” Calvin calls out. “Dinner’s ready.”
We all settle in around the table, which is loaded down with the roast chicken, roasted vegetables, fresh bread, and a salad that looks like it came from Maren’s garden. The food is incredible, and the conversation flows easy and warm the way it always does when we’re all together. Even Mateo seems to relax more and more as the meal goes on.
“Oh shoot, I almost forgot,” Alex says halfway through dinner, pushing back from the table and heading into the kitchen while we all watch him go. He returns with a small covered plate.
Calvin starts laughing the second he sees it. “I forgot about that too.”
Emma leans forward, Theo’s hand resting on her shoulder. “What is that?”
“It’s just a little piece of salmon with some sweet potato,” Alex says, crouching down near where Gus and Laila have positioned themselves hopefully under the table. “Theo said it would be alright, and I already got Maren’s okay. Plain, no butter or fatty stuff, nothing that would be bad for them. I looked it up and it’s actually good for their coats, the omega fatty acids or whatever.”
I shake my head at him, grinning. “Alex, you’re ridiculous.”
“I prefer devoted,” Alex says, breaking the food into careful pieces. “I take my responsibilities as an honorary dog uncle very seriously. These animals trust me. I’m not going to betray that trust by giving them something that might make them sick.”
Gus and Laila both inhale the salmon and sweet potato in approximately three seconds flat, then immediately start sniffing around for more, their tails wagging hopefully. Alex looks at them with pure delight on his face, and the whole table laughs. He doesn’t have a dog of his own, but he’s an animalperson through and through, and both dogs figured that out within about five minutes of meeting him.
