Me:Trade you one cousin for a slice.
Sunshine:Only if I get the cousin with the good hair.
Me:My brother Zach has the best hair of the bunch and a bathroom full of hair products to prove it. You'll have to fight off half the county.
I grin at the screen, then glance up to catch Jenna watching me from the porch. She narrows her eyes, but doesn't say anything. Just smiles. Like she knows something I don't yet.
Sunshine:Do you ever wish for more than this?
The words punch me harder than I expect. My thumb hovers over the screen, typing and deleting before I finally write something safer.
Me:More what?
Sunshine:More than land and fences and long days. More than small-town gossip. Just... more.
I almost tell her yes. That sometimes I wonder what it would be like to share this life with someone. That I'm tired of shouldering it alone. But I delete the words before I hit send, my chest tight.
Me:Sometimes.
She doesn't reply right away, and I stare at the phone too long. Mom notices from her chair and says, "You've got that look on your face, Asher. Like your heart's already halfway gone." Jenna catches my eye too, her head tilted in amusement, though she stays quiet, but her smile knowing.
Sunshine:So, who's winning the chaos contest?
Me:Jury's still out. Jesse made everyone cry, and then there was Ben starting a tractor debate.
Sunshine:Tractor debate sounds intense.
Me:Only if you're brave enough to take a side.
Sunshine:And if I said I liked orange ones?
Me:Then we'd have to talk. Real serious like. The town might break out the pitchforks.
She doesn't reply right away. I tuck the phone into my pocket and sip my beer, watching the firelight flicker off familiar faces. I take it in. The glow of the lanterns, the sound of boots on gravel, the way kids are starting to fall asleep in chairs while their parents talk quietly beside them.
If they knew who I was texting, they'd look at me differently. Finn would give me hell, Zach would laugh, Mom would probably hope, and Dad... he'd just nod that heavy nod like he does. But my brothers—losing their trust? That thought burns hotter than the fire.
These nights don't come around often. And when they do, I hold them tight. Not just because of the laughter or the food, but because it reminds me that some things stay. Even when life changes, and people leave, and the land gets threatened, there's still this. Family. Fire. A few magnificent horses grazing in thedark. It's a kind of hope I don't talk about much, but I feel it deep.
My phone buzzes again.
Sunshine:Tell me more. About your family. About what this feels like.
I lean back in my chair and let the words come slowly.
Me:Feels like breathing. Something older than all of us. People who show up even when you don't ask. And food so good you think maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all.
There's a long pause. Then:
Sunshine:I think I'd like that. Not just the food. The rest of it, too. It's what I always wanted growing up, what I want for Emma.
Me:I think you'd fit right in.
Sunshine:Even with my big city shoes?
Me:We might have to get you some boots, but we could use some balance around here.
Sunshine:I'm starting to believe that.