Jesse stands at the stove, flipping bacon, wearing an apron that definitely doesn’t belong to him, faded letters declaring:Kiss the Cook.The twins sit at the small table, coloring on the backs of old envelopes.
Wyatt leans against the counter, phone in one hand, glasses halfway down his nose. Marshall stands near the window, mug in his hand, staring out toward the trees with a look I recognize in my bones.
Worry.
He’s hiding it well, but it shows in the tight line of his shoulders, the way his jaw ticks every so often. He’s thinking about the ranch. The fire. All the things he can’t do from here.
Just like me.
They move around each other with easy familiarity, all well-practiced rhythm and shared history. For a heartbeat, I feel painfully, acutely out of place.
They’re an orbit.
I’m the stray satellite.
I’m half an inch from quietly retreating back into my room when Eliza looks up and spots me.
“Miss Abilene!” she squeals, nearly tipping her chair. “You’re awake!”
Every head turns.
Heat rushes to my face. I give an awkward little wave. “Um. Morning.”
“You want coffee?” Jesse calls out playfully. “Or a tea that Wyatt calls a ‘medical necessity’?”
Wyatt pushes his glasses up with one finger. “Because it is.”
“I… yeah. Coffee would be great. Thank you,” I say, stepping out of the hallway fully and tugging my sweater down.
“Sit,” Marshall says, gesturing to an empty chair at the table. He sets his mug aside, reaches up to a cabinet, and pulls down another. “You take it black or sweet?”
“Sweet,” I answer, then add quickly, “but I can do it myself, it’s okay.”
He’s already moving.
“Sugar’s here.” He nods toward a jar. “Food is still good. Checked dates last month.”
“You check expiration dates at a fishing cabin?” I ask, surprised.
He shrugs. “Cabin’s not useful if everything in it’s expired. No sense dragging groceries out here every time. And last night… we were lucky we remembered to grab anything from the fridge at all.”
Can’t argue with that.
I slide into the seat beside the twins. Eliza immediately scoots her chair closer. She’s been waiting for me.
“You were sleeping forever,” she informs me gravely.
“Forever?” I echo.
“Almost,” Caleb says. “We were gonna check if you turned into a bee.”
Eliza nods seriously. “You might have grown wings.”
“Did you grow wings?” Caleb asks.
I wiggle my fingers. “Not that I noticed. Maybe later.”
They collapse into giggles.
