Law stepped back inside the house, the screen door whispering shut behind him as he crossed the quiet kitchen and reached for the coffee pot.
Buckshot lay curled up in front of the stone fireplace, fast asleep after chasing nieces and nephews all day.
Through the open windows, he could still hear the yard.
One of his sisters had taken up the old acoustic guitar they kept by the back door. Her voice carried easily across the grass, low but steady as she worked her way through “House of the Rising Sun.”
A handful of people had drifted out onto the lawn, dancing barefoot in the warm grass under the string lights. Laughter rose and fell between verses while the steady hum of crickets filled in the spaces the music left behind.
Law poured two cups of coffee and glanced out the window toward the backyard.
The bonfire threw a wide circle of light across the yard now, the flames reflecting off the lanterns and torches scattered through the tents.
Near the edge of the firelight, Sage sat at one of the picnic tables with Law’s parents.
His mother leaned forward as she spoke, warm and animated the way she always was with new people. His father sat beside her.
Sage had one elbow resting on the table, head tilted slightly as he listened.
From inside the house, Law watched them for a moment longer than he meant to.
Sage said something that made his mother laugh, the sound drifting faintly through the open window. His father listened the way he always did—quiet, patient, studying people whether they realized it or not.
Outside, the guitar rolled into the next verse.
“Oh, mother, tell your children…”
“Not to do what I have done.”The rest of the yard joined in singing.
The bonfire popped and shifted, sparks lifting into the dark while a couple of his brothers spun their partners across the grass to the music.
Sage leaned back slightly as his mother kept talking.
His father said something in return—low, measured.
Sage’s smile faded just a fraction as he listened.
From the kitchen window, Law couldn’t hear the words.
But he recognized the moment anyway.
The moment someone realized exactly what kind of family they’d just stepped into.
And for the first time all night, Sage looked a little unsure.
“Ah, crap…” Law muttered.
Had they spilled the beans on him?
He stalked from the house.
Law’s father leaned back slightly on the bench, watching the bonfire for a moment before speaking.
“My son doesn’t bring people home.”
The words were calm. Matter-of-fact.
Sage waited.
