Page 8 of All In

“Fun isn’t overrated,” Henry says, not looking up from his pancakes. “People just stop inviting Oliver to things.”

Oliver flips us both off with unhurried ease.

I grin and take another bite of bacon.

Ruthie’s is busy this morning. Every table full, every booth occupied, the long counter lined with people who got here before us and made better choices. Farmers and ranchers in various states of early morning, a few still with the look of men who have already been up for three hours and accomplished more before breakfast than most people manage in a day. A table of church ladies near the window who likely come every week, without fail, and order the same food every time.

There’s a couple near the door who have the particular look of tourists who wandered in looking for authentic Texas and have stumbled, entirely by accident, into the best breakfast in the county.

I know all of this without really cataloging it. Ruthie’s has a rhythm. I’ve been coming here my whole life.

There was a time when I thought I wanted to leave Saddle Creek. Get out into the “real world” and have a busy life. That sentiment didn’t even last through college. I suppose there’s truth to that whole, you can’t take the country out of the country boy.

I knew I wasn’t interested in the ranching side of things. My father is the Landman of the family so he’s got all of the mineral rights taken care of. I’m the computer nerd. So I digitized everything for all of the family industries. Brought the West and Blankenship families into the modern age.

Now, I have the best of both worlds.

I know there’s something still missing, but I know she’s out there somewhere. These two idiots across from me managed to find their forevers. Henry found his pretty close to home considering Gracie is his sister, Kelsie’s best friend. Oliver, though, always has to do things differently. So his road to his happy ending started at the local honky-tonk and ended at his grandparents’ house.

Long story.

In any case, I’m pretty sure my someone isn’t here in Saddle Creek. But I have faith that I’ll find her. My dad might be sour on love because of how horrible my mother is, but I’ve seen it all around me my entire life. My aunt and uncle, Oliver and Henry’s parents, are one of the greatest examples.

Then my uncle Graham met someone after years of being a confirmed bachelor. They’re ridiculously happy.

Henry refills my coffee from the carafe on the table without being asked, which is the kind of thing he does that makes you remember he’s actually a decent human being underneath all the cattle rancher stoicism.

“What time are you leaving?” he asks.

“After lunch.”

“For your nerd convention?” Oliver asks.

“It’s a Comic Con.”

“Same thing.”

I consider him. “Actually, no. That’d be like calling cattle ranching and synchronized swimming the same thing.”

Oliver nearly chokes on a bite of bacon.

Henry chews his pancake thoughtfully. “They do both involve a lot of repetitive motion.”

I stare at Henry for a long moment. “That might genuinely be the dumbest thing you’ve ever said. And you’ve said some things, Henry.”

Oliver laughs into his coffee. A real laugh, surprised out of him.

These guys give me shit. I give it right back. But we’re family and none of us ever forget that.

I pull out my phone. “Here. Look.”

I bring up the photos and slide it across the table. Both of them lean in instinctively, the way people always do when you hand them a phone, and then both of them immediately regret it.

Oliver pulls back first. “What the hell is that?”

“Captain America.”

“That’s Captain America?”