Page 48 of Save a Wish

Congratulations sounded from the group.

“You deserve it,” I said.

“Yes,” Sadie agreed. “You truly have a gift.”

Amelia threw her arms around Hunter’s neck and squeezed until the boy pretended to choke.

“Ease up there, Tiny,” Isaac said. “Hunter’s throat is his instrument. He doesn’t need you to crush it.”

“Sorry.” Amelia flopped back into the grass, her feet going in the air. “I want my throat to be an instrument too.”

“Oh, yeah? Which one?” I asked.

“A tuba!” Her giggles got the rest of us laughing too, and I had a moment where I was . . . overcome that I got to call all these people my family. I always appreciated them, but right now, in this moment, a wave of gratitude swept through me. I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Hey.” Sadie lightly elbowed me.

I looked at her. “Hey.”

“You seem pensive,” she said. “Everything all right?”

I rested my hand over hers on the arm rest of her chair. “More than all right.”

We enjoyed the warm glow of the fire and the company of my family for a little while longer.

Then the dogs, Dasha, Merlin, and Maggie, came barreling through the area, sending a spray of something wet and gloppy all over everyone. Squeals, shrieks, a few curses, and a great deal of barking cut through the otherwise quiet night.

“They must have gone in the pond!” Isaac shouted. “It was muddy around the edge of it this afternoon.”

“Appears it’s still muddy!” Logan yelled.

“No,” Darius said. “All the mud is now on us.”

Sadie’s cheek had a big streak of mud across it. She swiped at it, but she didn’t get all of it.

I unbuttoned my flannel shirt and lifted the left side of it, using it like a towel to wipe away the mud. Only my shirt had mud all over it too and the thin smear on Sadie’s check became a wide band of brown.

“I’m not helping here,” I said.

Dasha trotted over and shook again, covering Sadie and me in more mud though I shielded Sadie with my body.

“Isaac! Get control of your beast!” I hollered.

“Dasha, come!” Isaac, Carina, and Amelia all yelled at the same time. The Husky took off toward them as Jimmy wrangled his dog Maggie and Spencer snagged Merlin by the collar.

“We all need a proper hosing off.” Mom ran a hand through her hair and came away with a filthy palm.

“Is it wrong that I’m glad I was holding Little Ben when that muddy pooch parade marched on by?” Vanessa asked. “He acted like a shield and I only have a little mud on me.”

“We can change that,” Joshua said.

“Mom! Joshua is threatening me!” Vanessa shouted as a splat of mud landed on her thigh from Logan tossing it at her.

Before long, everyone was hurling mud at each other and we were like pigs in a pen, covered in brown.

We were also laughing our muddy asses off.

I snagged Sadie around the waist and pulled her out of the way as a softball of mud headed for her. Unfortunately, the ground beneath my feet had also grown muddy and I slipped, bringing us both down with a squishy thud. Her long braid was caked in mud, her face was painted with brown smears, and her clothes were a total disaster.