five years ago.”
“Not true,” Sammy said. “Oakley married Ranger on the same day I married Bear.” She smiled at August in a way only Sammy could. She welcomed everyone to the ranch and the family with unfailing enthusiasm. “It’s nice to meet you, August.”
“And you,” he said, shaking her hand and then giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Bear’s the oldest, right?”
“That’s right,” Etta said, twisting to find him. “He was around here….”
“He went to get the boys off the front lawn,” Sammy said. “So Hailey will probably be in momentarily. That was my son and Willa’s son out there. A pale cocker spaniel? Doing tricks?”
August nodded, his eyes widening as if Sammy was clairvoyant. “That’s right.”
“Etta,” someone said, and she turned toward Kyle.
“You’ve only been married to Bear for five years?” August asked.
“That’s right,” Sammy said.
Etta wanted to stay and listen, but Kyle gestured at her to come help him. She glanced at August, and said, “Excuse me,” just as he said, “And you were the first.”
“Yes,” Sammy said as Etta took the first step away.
“Those boys on the lawn were at least twelve or thirteen,” August said.
“Yes,” Sammy said. “Lincoln’s my son. Mitch is Willa’s. She married Cactus, the second oldest in the family. So they’re our kids, now Glovers by marriage.”
Etta smiled to herself as she hurried to put a plate under the dripping tin foil packet Kyle was trying to take. “Thank you, Auntie,” he said. “This is for my dad.”
“Where is he?” Etta asked, handing him the plate. Cactus didn’t generally enjoy large group gatherings, and Etta could admit she enjoyed going out to the Edge Cabin to eat with him and his family and no one else.
“He’s on the deck,” Kyle said. “He said I could eat out there with him.”
“That’s great,” Etta said. “Have him text me if he wants a drink.”
Kyle beamed up at her, and Etta watched as he took the plate with two tin foil dinners, two cookies, and a lot of chips out the side door to the deck.
Though the December weather sometimes kept that door closed, today the rain had moved quickly on, and the sun shone over the Texas Panhandle.
She replenished the paper plates and helped Smiles get up in a chair at the table next to his uncle Ace, who had arrived with Gun without Etta noticing.
She ran her hand down her brother’s shoulder, and he looked up at her, tenderness and love in his expression that she rarely saw. “Thank you, Etta.”
“You got the one without the breadcrumbs? I should’ve pulled it for you.”
“You did,” he said. “It was on a plate by the sink, marked.”
Etta looked at Holly Ann across from him, and something unspoken passed between them. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks for coming, Ace.”
It wasn’t easy for him, as he’d told her that it felt like everyone watched every bite he put in his mouth, and he hated being under the microscope.
“August needs you,” Ace said, nodding back toward the doorway.
Etta turned that way, noting that Lincoln, Mitch, and his daughter had arrived, along with Frost, Mitch’s hearing dog. Hands flew, and the kids laughed, and August looked like he’d been hit with a baseball bat.
Etta had made it a point to learn sign language, and she watched Link and Mitch as she approached. “Mitch said Hailey should come watch The Grinch tonight. They’re starting it out at the Edge at seven.”
She signed to the boys and spoke aloud too. “This is August and his daughter. Link, you have to talk out loud for them.”
“Sorry,” Link said out loud. “I forget sometimes.”
“Can I go, Daddy?” Hailey asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” August said, putting his arm around his daughter’s shoulders. “We just moved in today.”
“We should definitely ask your mom,” Etta said, signing to Mitch. “It’s at your house, and she might not want anyone but your family.”
She said Link could come, Mitch argued back.
“Okay,” Etta said. “But Mitch, you still have to ask if Hailey can come.” She faced August. “Willa is great. She’s Cactus’s wife.”
“Yeah, Sammy told me,” August said, smiling though he was obviously overwhelmed. “She pointed her out, but she was busy with her toddler.”
“I can introduce you later,” Etta said just as her timer went off.
“Timer,” no less than four cowboys yelled, though no one moved a muscle to actually get up and get it.
Etta rolled her eyes. “That’s my cue,” she said.
“I’ll get it, Etta,” Bishop said, passing her with a grin. “Anything else going in?”
“No,” Etta