“They took the side-by-side down to check on Pigasso,” Drake says, ignoring the Brooks drama. “I can’t believe you have a fucking pig named Pigasso.”
I take a swig of my beer as the fire crackles in front of me. “I overheard Gianna telling Mira that she wants a baby if Pigasso has a litter.”
Drake shakes his head. “Look, I give in to all of Gianna’s crazy whims, but we’re absolutely not getting a pig.”
“My bet’s on Gianna,” Gray says, laughing and sitting beside me. “Did you make an offer on that house out by the lake?”
“We did,” Drake says. “We looked at it three times and made an offer yesterday. We should hear something on Monday. And, speaking of houses, Jory Plath is moving to Sugar Creek. Did you know that, Gray?”
“It’s a small fucking world,” Gray says. “I didn’t even know that you knew him. We were in the locker room a couple of weeks ago, and he mentioned moving down here with his kid.”
“Why did that sound like he went to the kid store and bought one?” I ask.
“It’s a very long story,” Drake says as headlights shine through the trees.
The girls’ laughter makes its way to us well before they do. We all look around the fire, puffing out our chests and smiling. We’re all thinking the same thing.How could we not?
Damn, we’re lucky bastards.
It’s a thought that crosses my mind no less than ten times a day. And since the day a couple of weeks ago when Mira finally told me she loves me, things have just gotten better. Whatever happened to her at Lolly’s that night healed a piece of her heart, and while I’d hoped to be the one to do that for her, I’m just glad it happened.
But this is Mira we’re talking about. She had to journey through her own pain, face the heartbreak in her own time, and in her own way. To have denied her that would be wrong. Even Lolly knew that.God bless that amazing, slightly unhinged in the very best way, woman.
There might be moments when sorrow eclipses that peace—for both of us. Holidays are still hard sometimes, and my heart twists in a certain painful way in the fall when Mom would’ve been baking apple pies. Mira has those moments too. But I’ll show up for my wife whenever and wherever she needs me.
Neither of us will have to live or grieve alone. And that’s our superpower. We have each other.
“I love you.”
I probably think about the first time she said those words to me as husband and wife every day and feel the relief and joy every damn time. I hadn’t realized how much I truly needed to hear them. And wanting to start a family? There’s nothing I can ever ask for because I’ve been blessed beyond measure. Far more than I deserve.
The side-by-side stops at the side of Gray’s house.
“We’re back,” Gianna says as if we’re all unaware. “That thing can go. I’m going to need one of those.”
“I’ve seen you drive that,” Drake says as Gianna sits on his lap. “You’ll kill yourself.”
Mira’s comes up behind me and lays her hands on my shoulders. I tilt my chin to look up at her and find her peering down at me. Her eyes are lively and bright, and her features are peaceful. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for her—aside from being with me.
I rest my head against her arm.
“I heard that Lolly’s signing over the back acres to you, Hart,” Brooks says. “Audrey told me this afternoon.”
My chest warms from the idea that in a few weeks, the land will all be a part of Blackbird Ranch once again. She’s keeping the farmhouse in a trust until she dies, but then it will be transferred into Mira’s name. She said she may as well give me the land because she didn’t do anything with it, and that might be true. But I kind of wonder if she just got her property tax bill and decided she’d keep the money and let me pay them.
She’s a plotter, that’s for sure.
Mira comes around the chair and takes her usual place in my lap. It’s one of my favorite things about her, how she just curls up on me like I’m her favorite piece of furniture. Obviously, Idon’t mind. I soak up any and all physical contact she’s willing to give me.
We sit around the fire and shoot the shit. I catch my brother’s eye, and we exchange a grin.
This is how we grew up.
At first, it was with my parents. Then the four of us were old enough to sit around the fire and roast marshmallows by ourselves, thinking we were young MacGyvers by half-assed whittling sticks into spears and stealing tobacco from the ranch hands. This firepit has facilitated so many laughs, fights, apologies, and nostalgia through the years.
But now I have this.
My brother by blood and the others by friendship. And our incredible women—all so different, yet perfectly matched. They all add so much to these nights, to our days, and to our futures. There’s something really special about knowing the next generation will be raised right here, too. God willing, together.
