Page 94 of South of The Skyway

* * *

“Nah, nah, nah, horses first,” Alessandra insisted, tossing her braid over a shoulder. The Rhodes siblings looked like they’d been put through a clone machine with minimal input for changes. Alessandra—Alice—was the darkest in coloring, her olive skin complimented by dark hair. But her features were so similar to her siblings, all of whom possessed varying versions of those steely blue eyes I loved on Rhyett. They’d all gathered around the island before dividing to conquer different things. Rhyett had placed the Formica sink cover, extending the countertop so they could sprawl out the remaining plans for the homestead.

“What’s the point in living on land like this if we don’t have horses?”

“How are you going to monetizehorses, Alice? We need to focus on the steps that generate income first and add on the frivolous things afterwards.”

“Frivolous?” she squeaked, rolling her eyes at Jameson, who was still working on his third plate of pancakes. Jameson was the closest in coloring to his debate partner. His coffee-brown hair was a finger's width longer than Rhyett’s and tossed in that devil-may-care kind of rugged appeal women went crazy for. He shrugged as though his prior statement was enough information. The man had yet to put on his shirt.

“How are horses frivolous, but a dirt bike course is on par?” Alice demanded, spearing another bite of pancake with disproportionate ferocity. I wasn’t sure what the platter of food had done to offend her, but it was indeed paying the price.

“Do you know what people pay to go dirt biking for a day?”

“Do you know what people pay to get horseback lessons?”

My eyes continuously flicked back to Rhyett; he was draped against the sofa behind me, rubbing a thumb between his eyes in equal parts amusement and irritation as the debates continued.

“The ROI will be higher on the bikes. They’re easier to get into. Don’t require the maintenance of livestock.”

“Because no dirt bike requires maintenance,” Alice snarled back, shaking her head. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

“Well, someone had to get the brains of the family.”

“Oh fuck off, like dirt movers are cheap.”

“No,” Rhyett sighed behind me. “They’re not. But neither are horses, Alice. As it is, we’re still on track for chickens, goats, and hogs first. We’ve got a few cattle lined up. They’re the easiest animals to start making some money with—eggs, chicks, pork, milk and eventually, beef. The garden was fully framed last week, and the first round of seeds went in on Monday. Crops start next year.”

Jameson waved his arm like he was presenting Rhyett to a game show crowd. “See.Sense.”

“He doesn’t like your idea either, dumbass.”

“He—”

Jameson’s retort was cut off by the creak and slam of the front door as Elora and Hadlee made their way back inside, shifting the trailer beneath their onboarding.

“Have you guys seen the deck Rhy built us?!” If Alice was the baby of the bunch, Hadlee was the designated ray of sunshine. Everything she said or did seemed to come through in a burst of light. Enthusiasm, embodied. “It’s immaculate. Mom’s gonna flip if Daddy can't get her out of that damn house.”

“She discoveredthe stove, Rhy,” Elora said with significance, as though that explained everything.

“Poor Ed,” Rhyett said with a chuckle.

“Poor Ed,” the siblings echoed. I laughed, turning up to look at Rhyett’s crooked grin as he shook his head. I’d have to ask about that story at a different time.

“Should we show them all the house? Go save Ed from Juniper?” He asked, eyes only for me. Rhyett had a way of focusing on me no matter how much chaos consumed the oxygen around us. From the festival of ships to a trailer full of energetic siblings, he made me feel like the world rose and fell at my feet. It was unnerving. It was comforting. Some blended combination of the two made my stomach do violent somersaults.

I nodded, sliding off his lap and reaching for him as he rose. Hand in hand, we led the way back outside.

While the progresshad been elegantly apparent from the front of the house, it was almost startling within. Another month and Ed’s crew would be down to the very final touches. A thin layer of dust still coated every surface, stray fragments of blue painter’s tape crunching underfoot as did the occasional nail. Though overall, the walls no longer felt like a skeleton, but the beginnings of a genuine home. The empty tile floors, however, echoed every footfall, every squeal of delight as the girls soaked up esthetic or satisfied curses as the men inspected the handiwork.

Maverick, the youngest of the brood, had a set of Bluetooth speakers in his ears that evidently muffled everything the rest of us could hear, his throaty voice quietly singing “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra as he followed behind us.

“This needs to be larger,” a woman’s voice carried to us from what could only have been the kitchen. “At least another foot, if we’re going to have room for everyone. There’s absolutely no way we’ll all fit. And what happens when they get married? Have kids? I need a space for grandkids here, Ed. We can’t just separate half the family like a cramped mausoleum, here. The weirdos don’t get dumped outside the family crypt.”

“Mom, you’re not torturing Ed, are you?” Rhyett called as we rounded the kitchen corner. The room was positively radiant with natural light, an enormous picture window across from the counter filling the entire space with a warm yellow glow.

“Rhyett,” Juniper crooned, handing her husband her bag and throwing herself around her son, who gave my hand a squeeze before releasing it to return her enthusiasm. “Baby, how are you? God, we miss you up there, sweetie. Are things good? How’s the bar coming along? Oh! Ed, you know my son? This is Rhyett.”

Ed, who proudly displayed his weekend beer-with-buddies habit in the form of a little pot belly, and too much color in his cheeks, chuckled, evidently still in good spirits after the endless interrogation of his morning. Rhyett rolled his eyes, but there was a deep kind of fondness around them as he squeezed her back to his chest.

---