Sierra laughed. ‘Why don’t you ask Uncle Benji? If he has time, I’ll drop you off at the barn later.’
Poppy brightened immediately. She popped up, and with zero self-consciousness over her mud-covered hands and shirt, ran to Benji. She threw herself into his legs, cried, ‘Uncle Benji, Sisi said you can take me riding!’
Sierra shook her head as she listened with one ear. It was a marvel how even a little child could so easily learn to manipulate.
She looked back just as Benji took Poppy’s muddy hand in his and swung it lightly between them, felt that painful kick in her chest when she saw how natural and loving he was with the five-year-old. ‘Of course. What time will your pies be done?’
‘They’re cakes,’ Poppy informed him. ‘Maybe in an hour. ’Cause I have to go clean up first.’
Sierra wasn’t exactly sure what made her do it. Impulse? Revenge for all the times Benji and Mav had done it to her? Or, maybe, for just a moment, she was completely present and playful? One second, she was sitting on the ground, the next she was walking up to Benji, a huge mud ball in her hand.
His back was to her, but all the other adults watched as she snuck closer and closer. Nina was overcome by her grin and had to look away. Maverick, bless him, kept Benji distracted by saying to Poppy, ‘A ride sure sounds fun!’
Only Markus, the city boy that he was, couldn’t quite hide his horror. His eyes went huge with equal parts disgust and incredulity.
Benji caught the look a second too late. He turned to see what Markus was staring at and caught the splat of gooey mud right in the throat. By his side, Poppy gasped as a stray dollop landed on her cheek.
Benji coughed once.
He looked down as the mud slowly, comically, slid down, under his shirt.
When he looked up at her again, his eyes were bright with challenge.
There was one second of perfect stillness – and then Sierra bolted.
Benji caught her in three strides. And he wasn’t gentle either. This was war. He took her to the ground with a heavy oomph while Sierra roared with laughter. She tried to wriggle away to safety – which Ava had stoically declared to be the front porch when they were kids doing the same thing. But Benji pinned her down easily.
And Mav, traitor that he was, was up in a flash to help him. As Benji held her down, Mav scooped a huge pile of mud in his oversized hands.
Sierra saw him coming and squealed in protest.
But neither man had mercy.
While Benji pinned her down, her brother dumped the mud on her neck – the only part of her skin, other than her face, not covered by her clothes. Sierra just laughed as the cold mud slid down her chest. The sound burst from her until tears were streaming down her face, and just when she thought she had got herself under control, she looked up – right as Mav took a hit to the back.
Everyone stopped for a second to look back at where the shot had come from, and there, looking fresh off an ad forCountry Living, stood Nina, her arms muddy up to her elbows.
‘Oh, I see how it is,’ Mav said quietly. He took a step towards her.
Nina’s eyes widened.
From her position near the porch, Poppy yelled, ‘Run, Neens!’
And Nina did not have to be told twice. She took off at a sprint, like a hare running from a fox, and she got further than Sierra had. She almost made it to the porch before Mav scooped her off her feet and turned back towards the mud pile.
Nina squealed. As their combined laughter filled the morning air, Sierra turned to look up at Benji.
He was grinning down at her, and instead of tickling her or doing something else abominable as he would have in the past, he dropped a light kiss on her lips, whispered, ‘I missed you, Si.’
Sierra’s chest ached from the strain of laughing, but she didn’t ignore him. She replied, ‘I miss me too.’ And because she wasn’t quite ready to unpack that further, she lowered her voice, said, ‘We need to get Markus.’
Benji cast a subtle glance in Markus’s direction. He stood in the safe zone on the porch, snapping pictures on his iPhone as he grinned down at the proceedings. ‘He doesn’t have an expensive camera to defend him right now,’ Benji observed. ‘Just an iPhone.’
‘Momentary truce to gang up on him? We’ll snatch the phone first.’
‘Fuck yes.’
They were both up in a shot. By unspoken agreement, they didn’t act coy but headed straight for him. Markus, bless him, clearly didn’t think they’d have the guts to do it. But before he could take even one step back, they had him by the arms.
