"Take care of him."
"I always do."
He turns to Pops.
They embrace at the bottom of the steps the way the Lyle brothers always do—short, hard, both arms. "Brother."
"Brother."
"Call me when you need me."
"I will."
Uncle Cash looks at me up on the porch where I've been standing with Spur. He climbs the steps once more and pulls me into him one more time. "You did good, kiddo."
"Thank you for coming, Uncle Cash."
"We’re family. It’s what we do."
He pulls back, his hands on my shoulders, his face going from the public uncle to the quieter one. He looks at me for a long second. "Dakota."
"Yeah?"
"Your mom ever reach out to you since she’s been gone?"
The question hits me sideways. I haven't talked about my mother in a long time. Pops doesn't bring her up. Marlena doesn't ask. Grace and I just don’t talk about her because it’s easier than missing her.
"No, Uncle Cash. Not since she left."
"You doin' all right with that?"
"I made my peace with it a long time ago. She left. She didn't come back. That's who she was. I just… get frustrated. I know I’m not a mother, but I can’t imagine staying away from your kids for this long, or not sending a text."
He nods slowly. There's something in his face I can't read—something tired, something a little sad—and I think for half a second that he's going to say something else.
But then he just kisses my forehead and squeezes my shoulders once. "Your mom missed out on a lot this last year. That's her loss."
"Thank you, Uncle Cash."
He walks back down the steps and gets in the Suburban with his two brothers. The diesel turns over loud.
The dogs at the kennel come up barking briefly and settle when Pops raises his hand at them. The Suburban rolls down the gravel drive and out the front gate.
I watch it until it's gone.
Uncle Holt leaves around two.
Wells and Tread roll out behind him.
Holt himself in the F-250, Stetson on the dash, hat in his hand on the porch when he comes to say goodbye.
He pulls me into his chest in the same way he pulled me into his chest in the parking lot of the Hampton in Abilene six days ago. "Baby girl."
"Uncle Holt."
"You're tougher than I thought."
"I'm a Lyle, remember? It’s in our DNA."
