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Levi breaks the silence with a grin. “We pulling this off before noon?”

“Makes sense to have the picnic for lunch,” I say. “Maybe one o’clock. Brody’s conversation skills won’t last all day.”

Jaxon snorts, but I don’t know why. He’s no better at stringing sentences together most of the time.

“I’ll start at sun-up,” McCartney says. “Painting out on the porch should give me the best light anyway.”

“Where do you want me to take her?” Brody asks.

I think for a second. “The western line. Say Conway’s worried about loose fencing over there. Take your time.”

“She’s going to think all we do is deal with the fucking fences.”

“Some days it feels like that,” I grimace.

He gives a single nod without his trademark sarcasm. For Brody, that’s basically a blood oath.

“All right,” Conway says, clapping his hands together once. “We’ve got a few hours of sleep before this all kicks off. Let’s make it count.”

The group breaks up, boots thudding as they file out in ones and twos. Jaxon gives me a nod on the way past, like he approves of everything we’re trying to do.

Corbin stays behind a second, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “Thanks for organizing this, Lennon.”

I shrug. It’s no big deal. The truth is that any man in this place would have done the same if they’d overheard Grace talking. “She deserves it.”

Corbin nods once. “Yeah. She does.”

We head out into the cool night air together. Above us, the stars are starting to fade behind a bank of clouds rolling in from the west. I say a quick, silent prayer that the weather holds out until after the fire’s burned down and the last song plays out.

If everything goes right tomorrow, Grace will know for sure that this is her home. The place she belongs will be filled with people who will never let her down.

** *

The next morning, when Grace and Brody have left, the ranch hums with quiet anticipation. Corbin and I start on the carrot cake, the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg filling the air, mingling with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

“Think she’ll like the surprise?” Corbin asks, cracking eggs into a bowl.

I pass him the grated carrot. “I hope so.”

For a second, I worry that I’ve dragged my whole family into a huge mistake. If Grace hates birthdays and wants nothing to do with this plan, the kids will be devastated, and I will have cost us a day’s work.

As the cake bakes, I step outside to check on the others. In the yard, the kids are busy gathering wildflowers with Harrison, their laughter echoing across the fields. McCartney sits on the porch, paintbrush in hand, capturing the essence of the ranch on canvas.

“How’s it coming?” I ask, watching as he adds more brush strokes. It’s a watercolor, and I don’t know how he’s done it, but it’s nearly finished.

He smiles, holding up the brush. “Almost done. Just need to add Grace.”

“Saving the best ’til last, huh?”

“Exactly.”

Conway arrives back from early duties in time to hammer some stakes into the ground to hang the lights from.

Cody and Nash have found time to set up blankets and pillows around the fire pit, and surprisingly, it doesn’t look terrible.

Back inside, the cake has cooled, and Corbin carefully spreads cream cheese frosting over the top. We decorate it with a sprinkle of chopped pecans, and he digs out some candles from the junk drawer.

The kids practice their rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ in the den, and McCartney uses the hairdryer to cure his painting so it can be framed. We make platters of sandwiches and fruit and trays for the s’more ingredients.

Brody’s on his way back with Grace, so I corral everyone outside.

It’s strange for the whole family to be dressed up at this time of the day, and I make a mental note to set up the camera so we can take at least one photograph of us all together.

Junie makes me laugh, prancing around in a floral dress, holding the hem like a lady.

Levi cues up Grace’s favorite country songs, and I twirl Hannah while Dylan twirls Eli, and we wait for Grace’s return.

The truck’s the first thing we hear, rumbling over the low music, which Levi quickly turns off.

Matty covers his mouth and giggles. Eli leans close to her dad, now clutching the bunch of flowers Harrison helped her tie with pink ribbon.

Junie jumps up and down, and Rory wiggles in his father’s arms, clapping his pudgy hands even though he has no idea what’s going on.

Caleb is holding the framed painting, supported by McCartney.

Around me, my brothers and cousins wait, hope and trepidation tensing their expressions and posture.

Did I do the right thing? Is this going to make Grace happy, or remind her of something from her past that’s left her feeling that birthdays are a fuss she doesn’t want or shouldn’t expect?

When they round the corner, Brody, my big, gruff cousin, has his hand resting gently on Grace’s lower back. The man is never nervous about anything, but his eyes dart around at everything in front of him like he’s checking for an unexploded bomb.

Grace’s eyes widen as she takes in the whole scene of our rough little setup with mismatched blankets and mason jars, paper lanterns and fairy lights strung between posts, and this strange, cobbled-together group of dusty cowboys and their kids hoping to make her feel like she belongs.

The kids begin singing tunelessly but sweetly, and she covers her mouth with her hands and stares at the setting, the flowers, the cake, and the smiling faces .

We all join in the singing to help the kids along, and Corbin approaches with the cake, cupping the flame with his hand so the wind doesn’t extinguish it. Grace’s wide-eyed shock softens as she smiles broadly as Eli shyly hands her the flowers.

“These are beautiful,” she says softly, voice catching as she crouches to hug Eli tightly, blinking quickly. Junie launches into her side and nearly knocks her over, giggling. Grace laughs and kisses both girls on the tops of their heads, cheeks flushed, eyes glassy.

Corbin’s palm still guards the flickering flame patiently. “Make a wish, birthday girl.”

She turns to him, then slowly.

“Don’t take too long,” Levi calls. “Or the frosting’s gonna melt.”

Grace huffs out a watery laugh and closes her eyes for a second. Leaning in, she purses her perfect scarlet lips and blows out the candle. The flame dies in one soft breath, and everyone cheers like she won a blue ribbon at the state fair.

McCartney steps forward with Caleb at his side, carefully balancing the painting. He doesn’t say much as he holds it out to her with a quiet, “Happy birthday, Grace.”

She takes one look at all of us painted there, standing in front of the barn like a real family, with her right in the middle, and her hand flies to her mouth again. “You painted this?”

He shrugs, but his ears turn red. “It’s no big deal.”

Grace blinks down at it and then at all of us. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

I step in beside her to hand her a boozy fruit punch. “We wanted to.”

She smiles shyly, and her gaze sweeps across all of us again, from the kids playing tag at the edge of the blankets to the smiles and picnic setting. Her eyes settle on Brody, then flick to Conway, Jaxon, Corbin, and finally back to me.

“I don’t know what to say,” she admits.

“You could start with thank you,” Jaxon grunts. “We’ve been working on this all morning.” He earns himself a round of laughter.

Grace laughs, too, clutching the flowers and drink like a lifeline. “Thank you,” she says, softer now. “This is… this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

We crowd around, handing out sandwiches, slices of cake, and drinks.

Levi turns up the music, and Brody gets the fire pit started.

Dylan, Cody, Nash, and Harrison help the kids turn the marshmallows and assemble the s’mores.

Grace is given the first one, which is a sticky mess that she ohs and ahs over like it’s a Parisian pastry.

When she finds a moment to speak to me, she touches my arm gently. “I know it was you behind all this,” she says. “You overheard me talking with my mom.”

I shrug. “I had a lot of help.”

“You’re always the detail person,” she says softly. “Thank you for planning this surprise for me.”

I put my arms around her, pulling her in for the kiss I’ve been craving all day. “Gracie, I’ve planned my whole life down to the minute. But you? You’re the one thing I never expected, couldn’t plan for, and never want to live without.”

She kisses me again, so softly I feel it in my toes.

It’s an afternoon of pure joy, a celebration of love and belonging, and as I watch Grace smile and laugh and, later, join in the dancing, I know we’ve given her a birthday she’ll never forget.

She might not be ready to call Cooper Hill Ranch home yet, but we’ve given her a reason to think hard about staying.

And for now, that’ll have to be enough.