He drops the guitar and pulls me in for a bear hug. He’s a good foot taller than me and a little thicker around the middle compared to my other brothers. His long, light brown hair is pulled into a knot at the back of his head, and his scruff tickles my cheek. “Hey, baby sis.”
“I’m not a baby anymore, Griff.” Our seven-year age gap meant I couldn’t relate to Griffin growing up, but he’s always been protective, even when we were at odds.
“My turn.” Jaxon hugs me next. I’m surprised he isn’t wearing his signature black cowboy hat. His ashy blonde curlsare longer than usual, and he has a new neck tattoo to add to the rest of the ink covering most of his body. Where Griffin is tall and broad with a softness around the middle, Jaxon is all muscle. “Welcome home, sis.”
“Dinner smells good. Where’s Mama?”
“She’s inside with Rylin. Ivy and Luca are having a date night, so they asked us to babysit. You know Mama—they’re in there baking somethin’,” Griffin says. “I swear, between Mama and Olivia, I’ve put on ten pounds.” He pats his tummy and laughs. “Not that I’m complainin’.”
Olivia is a recent addition to the Hayes family, and now that she’s wearing Wilder’s ring on her finger, I can safely consider her my sister.
I smile wistfully.
Some things never change. When I was little, Mama would sit me on the counter to stir cake mixes—or, more likely, to eat chocolate chips by the handful. It’s where I got my sweet tooth.
“So, is it true then?” Jaxon asks. “You getting out?”
I nod and snag a bottle of water from the cooler. “As of this morning, I’m unsigned and free to do whatever the hell I want with my life and my music.”
“What’s the plan now?”
“Spend some time at home, writing and living. I’ve been running for so long, I’ve forgotten what it feels like to stand still.”
Light footsteps pitter-patter against the wooden deck, and a wide smile breaks across my face. “Is that my Emmy Lou?” I spin in time to catch my four-year-old niece as she throws herself into my arms.
“Ruby!” she squeals. Her blonde pigtails bounce as she wiggles to be set free.
“Easy, Angel. Let Auntie Ruby breathe.” Wilder wordlessly wraps me in a tight hug, and I let him linger for amoment. His dark beard is peppered with greys now, but there’s a newfound lightness to his eyes that wasn’t there a year ago.
Wilder and I have always had a special connection, and it only deepened after he lost his wife. I was playing a show in Colorado when Jess had her accident. I rushed to his side just as she slipped through his fingers. I’ll never forget the agonizing sounds when the doctors told him they’d done everything they could. I clutched a barely six-month-old Emmy to my chest and rocked her back and forth as my brother fell apart against Mama’s shoulder in the waiting room. I’d never seen so much emotion pour out of my oldest brother until that day.
“Welcome home,” he whispers, tugging on my ponytail in a familiar way that brings me back to our childhood. He’s come a long way this past year, and that has everything to do with the beautiful woman standing behind him with my youngest niece in her arms.
Olivia is a curvy girl, like me, and if you don’t look too closely, we could pass for sisters.
“Hand her over, Livie.” I reach out. “I need Gracie cuddles expeditiously.”
Olivia laughs and passes me what has to be the cutest eight-month-old I’ve ever seen. She’s the perfect mix of Olivia and Wilder, with my brother’s dark hair and Olivia’s piercing blue eyes.
“I guess the band’s all back together.” Dad lifts Emmy into his arms and peppers her face with kisses, provoking a barrage of high-pitched giggles.
More footsteps pad onto the porch as Rylin joins the chaos. She’s followed closely by Mama, who’s holding a tray of fresh-baked cookies and a pitcher of sweet tea.
“Uncle Griff! You gots to try my cookies,” Rylin says.
I meet Griffin’s gaze, and he winks, shoving one into hismouth. “Even better than the last ones, Ry! You ready for dinner?”
Rylin sighs and negotiates a hot dog and a bite of salad before she’s allowed to dig into the cookies, the dough she likely smuggled out of the bowl while no one was looking notwithstanding.
Jaxon finishes up on the grill while Olivia helps Mama set the table, and we all gather around for a good old-fashioned Hayes family dinner. I reluctantly let Olivia take Gracie, promising to steal her back soon. Wilder helps Emmy with her cut-up pieces of hot dog, while Jax and Griffin discuss ranch business with Dad.
It’s like every other Hayes family dinner—loud and chaotic, full of meddling family members and so much love. It’s good to be home to experience it again. I missed this more than I realized.
The evening passes in a blur, and before I know it, we’re digging into Mama’s famous cookies. Every now and then, I catch her knowing glances out of the corner of my eye. To her credit, she doesn’t start up the inquisition.
Instead, it’s Griffin who instigates. “How long are you staying?”
“Don't know,” I mumble around a bite. “Long enough to write my next album, I guess.”
