The rest of us burst into laughter.
Aaron chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”
“To the single life,” Nate declared, holding up his beer bottle.
“To the single life,” we all echoed as we clinked our drinks.
Chapter 3 - Randy
~June~
The quiet stillness of the morning was interrupted by the sound of tires on gravel.
Russy lifted his head from where he’d been resting on his bed near the woodstove—ears alert and nose pointed toward the front door of my A-frame cabin.
Three doors thudded shut. Russy stood and rushed to the door at the same time I heard the sounds of excited children coming from outside. He whined—tail wagging—as he waited for my niece and nephew.
I stood, walked to the counter, and poured a cup of coffee for my sister, Jessie.
“Randy?” she asked as the door opened. “You in here?”
“Come on in,” I called back. “I’ve got coffee for you.”
“Russy!” yelled my five-year-old nephew, Marco.
Him and his older sister—Michelle—piled in and immediately started play-wrestling with my dog.
Jessie walked over, leaned against the counter, and accepted the steaming mug of coffee. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “This smells like heaven.”
“As if you haven’t had a full pot already.”
She let out a long sigh and took a sip. “Not yet.”
I raised an eyebrow.
Jessie gave me a look that said we needed to talk.
I turned to the kids. “Why don’t you two go see if any of the chickens have laid today.”
“Butt-nuggets?” Michelle asked, perking up.
I chuckled at the same time Jessie let out a sigh next to me. “Yep, you know where the basket is, right?”
My niece nodded, her long black hair swaying with her enthusiasm.
“Good. Watch out for broodies. There weren’t any yesterday, but I haven’t checked today. The green ones are fake, and you can leave them.”
“Ok!” She grabbed her brother’s arm. “Come on!”
“Butt-nuggets! Butt-nuggets!” the kids chanted as they went outside, Russy following behind.
“I hate that you taught them that term,” Jessie laughed.
“It wasn’t on purpose,” I countered with a chuckle. Then I turned to the question that made me send them out in the first place. “Ok, what’s with the coffee?”
Jessie shrugged and motioned to the table. “Same reason I brought them over so early. Giving Yazmín a quiet morning.”
I sat, then leveled a stare at my sister. “Explain.”
