Page 19 of Unruly

Damn that boy needs to learn what the word no means. Rhett is just going to break his heart.

Suddenly, Cash shouts, “Please get your shit together. Grandpa is coming.”

Tierney’s head snaps up, but before she’s able to say much, she’s shushed, the music is silenced, and the lights turn off.

Ben walks in with Luke and we all shout Happy Birthday and he startles. But that is soon replaced with a wide smile that spreads across his face. He probably knew, but he lets the family think they surprised him.

After the cheers die down, a loose line forms for people to greet Ben. Sloane nudges me forward and somehow manages to snag Colt too, so he ends up stuck behind me, getting his ear talked off instead of slipping away like he clearly wanted to.

Grandpa Ben has always treated me like family, even when I was just a scrappy kid tagging along with my dad, running around the ranch chasing cows for fun. He told me I was more than an honorary granddaughter—that I was his and I would always belong, without question.

And after my mom left us, feeling like I was wanted someplace, meant the world to me. That’s why, after all that time, I came back to Cedarbrook. To be surrounded by people like Grandpa Ben and Aunt Aria.

This is where I belong.

Sloane talks Colts ear off behind me as the line to see Ben thins out as I get to the front. He looks good for seventy-five—silver hair, strong shoulders, that quiet authority that makes everyone straighten up a little.

When it’s my turn, I step up and wrap my arms around him tight. “Happy birthday, Grandpa Ben,” I murmur into his shoulder.

He hugs me back, then pulls away just enough to look at me properly. His hands stay on my shoulders. “Halle girl. Look at you.”

I laugh softly. “Pink hair and all.”

“Pink suits you. Bold choice for a bold woman.” His eyes crinkle with that familiar warmth. “Heard you’ve been stirring things up—taking back what’s yours.”

The lump in my throat surprises me. “Trying to. Grandma’s house is a mess, but it’s mine. It matches the mess I am right now … but I’m figuring it out.”

Ben nods. “That’s all any of us ever do, Darlin’—figure it out while the barn’s still standing. You’ve got good people around you. Always have. And you’ve got steel in you, don’t forget that. Whatever comes next, you face it head-on.”

“I’ll try.”

He chuckles, the sound deep and comforting. “That’s my girl. Now, go enjoy the party. I’ll get to join you once this train finally ends.”

I hug him again, longer this time, and don’t let go until I’m ready.

The Thornwoods have always felt like home to me.

CASH

It’s bad enough that I’m my grandfather’s namesake. To also share the same birthday as him is a cruel joke the universe has been running on me for twenty-two years, and I have not found it funny once.

I don’t say that to sound bitter. I’m not bitter. I love this ranch and I love my parents and I love my grandfather more than I know how to say without it coming out wrong.

I’m the one who got Ben’s name and none of his virtue and all of his stubbornness, and every year, on our shared birthday, I think about that.

And every year, I decide I’m fine with it.

This year, I’m mostly fine with it.

The barn looks good, though. Mom and others have been out here since noon and it shows—streamers, mason jar flowers, the good folding chairs she rented, tables with nice linens. For a barn party, it doesn’t look half bad.

I grab a beer from the cooler and do a lap.

Rhett is near the back, already wound up about something. That’s just Rhett at any event, though—itching to get away. Dawson is talking to one of our cousins, Makai, who just started to work full time on the ranch this summer. I’m not sure why the guy wants to even settle down here. He’s spent his entire life traveling the country with my Uncle Ethan, Aunt Lila, and his sister.

My parents are with Uncle Luke near the food table. Mom catches my eye across the room, and I give her a wave and look away before she can do anything about it.

I grab a second beer and decide I’m fine.