The wind howled outside and occasionally there was a loud crack as a tree branch snapped under the weight of the snow. Each time, everyone flinched. We should get some sleep, Holden said finally. Take shifts keeping the fire going. If the house gets too cold, we're in trouble.
I'll take first watch, Jonah offered. I'll take second, Evelyn said. All five brothers turned to look at her. You don't have to do that, Holden said. I know I don't have to.
I'm doing it anyway. He looked like he wanted to argue, but something in her expression stopped him. All right, Jonah, wake her in four hours. They dispersed slowly, reluctantly, like none of them wanted to leave the warmth of the fire. Evelyn stayed in the sitting room with Jonah, sitting in one of the chairs near the hearth while he stood by the window watching the storm.
You didn't have to volunteer on, he said after a while. Neither did you. He smiled faintly. Fair enough. They sat in silence for a while.
The only sound the crackling of the fire and the relentless wind outside. Evelyn found herself studying Jonas' face in the firelight, the scar along his jaw, the deep lines around his eyes, the way he held himself like he was always braced for bad news. "How'd you get the scar?" she asked. He touched his jaw absently. "Bar fight, 5 years ago."
"Who won?" "Nobody." "That's usually how bar fights go." Evelyn almost smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."
Jonah glanced at her. "You ever been in one?" "A bar fight?" "Yeah." She thought about Denver, about the man who'd tried to follow her out of the saloon, who'd grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go, about the bottle she'd smashed over his head and the way she'd run into the night with blood on her hands and terror in her chest.
"Once." she said quietly. "Did you win?" "I survived." "That's close enough." Jonah nodded slowly, like he understood exactly what she meant.
They fell back into silence, and Evelyn let herself relax slightly. There was something calming about Jonas' presence. He didn't try to fill the quiet with conversation, didn't ask questions she didn't want to answer. He just existed beside her, solid and steady. And that was enough.
4 hours later, he woke her gently. "Your turn." Evelyn took his place by the fire, and Jonah headed upstairs. She fed the flames, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and settled in to wait out the rest of the night. The house was silent except for the storm.
She could hear it clawing at the walls, trying to find a way in. But inside, the fire burned warm, and the brothers slept soundly in their rooms. And for the first time since arriving at the Vail Ranch, Evelyn felt like she was part of something. Not a family, not yet, maybe not ever, but something. And that scared her more than the storm ever could.