July

“Pay up.”

I’ve barely stepped onto the porch, about to head into the ranch house for dinner, Riley right behind me, when Fox pulls me to the side.

I smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He glares at me. “You know what I’m talking about. Five hundred dollars, brother.”

Riley manages to sneak her way in between us, the mediator. “Hey guys, let’s discuss money matters after dinner. It’s rude.”

He laughs. “Like you suddenly care about being rude.”

“Hey,” I snap, thudding my fist into his chest which brings out a growl from him. “Be nice to the lady.”

Now Riley laughs. “Oh, come on John. We both know I’m not a lady and he has a point about the rude thing. I guess it’s been pretty rude the way I’ve been living at your house for the last while, plus the number of rude positions Fox has caught us in. When you think about it, he should be paying us for the sheer relief that we’re finally out of his house.”

I look at Fox, grinning.

He shakes his head. “Not buying it. We had a bet. You officially moved out and into your new house last week. Time to cough it up. I would have done the same for you.”

I frown, pretending to think that over. “I don’t know, man. I just don’t know about that.”

“What are you boys doing?” Grandpa appears in the door, looking over at us. “And you, dear,” he adds when he sees Riley.

“Don’t worry Grandpa Dick,” she says with a big breezy smile. “I have them under control.”

He grumbles, narrowing his eyes at us in disbelief. “Just know you can call for backup if needed, sweetheart,” he says to her. He jerks his head at the house. “Will you boys come in or what? We’d all like to eat before either of you are called out for a job.”

He has a point. Guilt-tripping always works. We mumble apologies and then the three of us follow him into the house.

It’s the first week of July and everyone has been busy. Riley and I just moved into a two-bedroom cottage up the street from Fox. The house is small and old but we’ve got a lot of plans for it, which means our lives going forward will be SAR and RH—that stands for Renovation Hell. But we don’t mind because it’s ours and so far, the season has been pretty easy.

For us, anyway. We’ve had some people to rescue from the river and Riley did great. She pulled out one of them all on her own with the kind of confidence and poise that I don’t know I’ll ever have. Other times we’ve rescued people who got lost while hiking. Sometimes dementia patients disappear into the woods too. All seasons of the year, we’re there to help.

But it’s Fox that’s in high demand. This is when I no longer think of him as an older brother and I start thinking of him as a hot shot, a smoke jumper who goes out into the kind of fires that you see wild animals fleeing at full speed. He does the impossible and this is the season where he’s always called out on the line.

Today, though, he’s at home. There have been some fires up north but in general it’s holding steady. We all know that in a few weeks, when the rains have gone for good and the winds pick up, that’s when his hell will start. Until then, he’s with us.

We go inside and have a drink with everyone around the table and then Vernalee brings out the roast.

Rachel and Shane are getting married in August and so Rachel’s mind has been elsewhere, preparing for the wedding. Vernalee doesn’t mind picking up the reins though. She’s still doing the dinners and helping them out with the Air B&B they run on the property.

Riley and Del are excited for the wedding too – they get to be bridesmaids. I can’t wait to see Riley all dolled up in a formal gown, she’s going to blow my fucking mind. And maybe something else.

“I’m going to make a toast,” my grandfather says, easing himself up on his feet and holding out his wine glass, a knife poised to ring against it.

We all raise our glasses. Riley’s free hand goes under the table and squeezes my knee. I love how she does this when we’re out and about together. It’s her way of telling me she’s here and she’s mine. Because she is. I hope she’ll be mine forever.

“Here’s to the hot shots,” Grandpa says, looking at Fox. He looks to Shane and Rachel. “Here’s to the bride and groom to be.” He looks to Vernalee and my father. “Here’s to those finding love at any age.” Then he looks at me and Riley. “And here’s to these lovebirds, these heartbreakers, North Ridge’s finest, and only, search and rescue team. If you’re ever lost, may you be found by them.”

“Here here,” we all say together, only raising our glasses because it’s a large table.

But then someone goes that extra mile. Let’s call her Riley. And she decides to stand up and reach across the table to clink her glass with grandpa. Which means now all of us have to do the same or we’ll look like a family of chumps.

With a collective groan, the Nelson family gets up and follows her lead, everyone stretching long across the table to reach each other.

The sound of glass against glass chimes through the air.

So does laughter.

So does love.

---

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