The main house of Hartwell Hills was where everyone gathered. Abi and Cash called it home, along with my favorite eight-year-old, Stetson, but more often than not, the entire family met here for dinner. Abi and Cash moved around the kitchen, Stetson was sitting at the table already playing on a video game, and Rhett and Kyla were taking turns dancing with their baby girl, Poppy. Once Lachlan arrived, it would be the entire family—and oddly enough, I felt welcome. My mom oftencomplained that I never arrived for family dinner. Well, if it were like this, I would’ve been there every night.
“Hey, Quinn!” Abi called. “Glad you could join us. Cash, get her a plate.”
I gave him a smile stuffed with sarcasm as he handed me the plate and silverware.
“I meant put it on the table for her,” Abi scoffed.
“She’s got it,” Cash remarked, giving me a grin.
Abi gave her fiancé an eyeroll while Cash lightly kissed her on the cheek.
I waved the plate in the air. “I definitely got it.” I chuckled, moving back to the table to claim my seat next to Stetson. “Hey, little dude,” I said, running my hands through his unruly hair.
He didn’t even move. All of his energy was poured into the gaming console in his hands.
“Stetson.” Cash’s voice dropped a few octaves. “Turn it off.”
“Dad,” Stetson grumbled, and shrugged his shoulders as his console dropped to the table. My heart swelled hearing him call Cash ‘dad,’ and I’m sure if mine did, Cash was ready to burst. I quickly turned to him to see if I could catch a hint of happiness. “Can I just beat this level?”
Cash widened his eyes. The joy and love for the kid were there, but he was in full-on dad mode right now. My dad was—well, used to be—the same.
“Save it.” He grumbled, his jaw clenching. “You can play tomorrow.”
Stetson sighed in protest, but shut off the video game, placing it screen down on the table. “Hi Quinn,” he finally sighed, his voice was heavy.
“What were you playing?” I asked, hoping I could pique his interest back a little bit. Last year, he was excited to be on the back of a horse, helping me with barrels, and ready to be anywhere Cash was. “I didn’t think you liked video games.”
“Mario is really fun. That was Super MarioOdyssey, and I was really close to beating it.” Stetson looked up at me.
“Ah, well, tomorrow then.” I tried to give him some form of hope. “I’ve missed you at the arena,” I admitted, nudging his shoulder. “I haven’t had anyone to place the barrels for me.”
“Once I’m on spring break, I can help.”
Before I could answer, the back door slid open and Lachlan came bursting through, snow falling from his boots and hat.
“Fuck it’s cold. I didn’t think it was supposed to snow this hard.” He removed his hat, placing it down on the small table next to the door, the drips of snow hitting the wood.
“Uncle Lachlan…” Stetson widened his eyes and tried to keep the smile from his face.
“Oh, sorry. I mean…Fudge, it’s cold.” Lachlan ruffled Stetson’s hair a lot harder than I did, which earned him a laugh from Stetson as he attempted to fix it.
“It’s supposed to snow through the night, which reminds me, Quinn,”—Cash caught my attention—“aren’t you leaving tomorrow?”
I shook my head. “No, Thursday. Tomorrow is prep and packing.”
“Ah…” Rhett sighed, his body in full rocking mode as he tried to comfort a fussy Poppy. “I miss those prep days. And the road. You should ask Wyatt for help. He was always making sur—ah, Poppy Girl.” He stopped, jerking his head back as Poppy’s arm flung out of her swaddle, her scream louder than before, barely missing her dad’s head.
“Is she okay?” I asked, my gaze narrowing on the bundle in Rhett’s arms.
“She has colic, and I can’t walk her around like I do a horse, so”—Rhett looked down at his daughter and his motions became more extreme—“we bounce.”
“And not sleep.” Kyla pulled up a chair across from Stetson, folding her arms in front of her to lay her forehead down. “We’re on night two.”
“Here,” Wyatt said, walking up to Rhett, his arms outstretched. “Let me take her.” He did a ‘gimme’ gesture with his fingers.
“She’ll scream. You think this is bad…once I hand her over, everyone here will lose their hearing.” Rhett responded, looking at his brother as if he were crazy.
“Who was able to get Stetson to sleep when he was crying?” Wyatt raised a cocky brow.
