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SIX A.M. CAME around early, and Benny was cranky when she dragged him out of bed and set him down at the table in front of a bowl of oatmeal that he dramatically declared he didn’t want.
“You need to eat something,” she said.
“Why?” he asked, sounding exceptionally whiny.
“Because, if you don’t eat, you’re not going to have any energy for the day. And you’re going to be in a bad mood.” Though, she was struggling now to identify how that would be any different than he was behaving currently. Clearly, he woke up ready to be in a fight with her.
“I want to talk to Dad,” he said.
“You can call Dad later. But he probably isn’t up yet.”
Carter was good about picking up FaceTime calls from Benny, so there was that. But he probably wouldn’t welcome one at six.
It was funny that she cared. About boundaries. She was Benny’s full-time parent and there was no one going “Whoa there, Tiger, maybe Mom wants to sleep in today.”
She couldn’t figure out who she was actually protecting here.
Benny, from his dad’s annoyance. Carter, from being woken? Surely not.
Herself, because the lack of boundaries was actually a privilege and meant she was more important?
Maybe.
Finally, she cajoled Benny into eating, got him dressed, and got him coherent enough to begin the trek down to the barn.
She had bundled him up in multiple layers, and she was glad that she had, since it was freezing outside. The brown leaves on the ground were outlined in frost, the pine needles like tiny icicles. She looked around, and for a moment, she was completely stunned by the beauty. The mountains were huge, all around them. The trees looked blue in the distance, the furred branches dusted with ice.
“Beautiful,” she whispered, the word escaping on a cloud.
Benny grumbled. And she knew that he didn’t agree. Well. Fine. He didn’t have to agree. She had not asked for an eight-year-old’s opinion. Especially not a surly one.
The light was on in the barn, the doors open, a glow emanating from inside. It was clean and warm, and she really couldn’t focus on it, because as soon as she walked in, her gaze went straight to Brody.
There were a lot of people there.
But Brody was the one that captivated her. From moment one.
“Elizabeth,” said Gus, grinning. “Good to see you.”
He was standing with his arm around his wife, who was very pregnant, a gold band gleaming on his finger. “Yes,” she said. “Good to see you. Alaina, remember?”
“Good to see you.”
She was reintroduced to the other brothers, and their respective partners, then to Lachlan, who was alone. “And I helped you with your hot water last night,” Brody said.
“I recall,” she said. “This is Benny.” She reached out and grabbed Benny’s hand, drawing him forward slightly.
“Hi,” he said, kicking at the ground.
“Hi,” all the adults said in return, and it was funny to see a group of people who clearly did not have a whole lot of experience with kids. Alaina was pregnant, but she looked possibly the most terrified of Elizabeth’s child of everyone in the group.
“How old are you, Benny?” Gus asked.
“I’m eight and a half,” Benny said.
“Well. What grade is that, then?” Gus pressed.
“Third. I like my old teacher. I don’t think I’m going to like the school here.”
