The dust from their arrival settled slowly in the afternoon light. Holly’s truck—a battered silver dual-cab with a kayak rack that looked like it had seen more river than road—pulled up outside the main house, and for a moment nobody moved inside the cab.

Elara watched from the porch, Bryce a solid presence at her shoulder, his hand resting low on her back.

“They’re nervous,” Elara said quietly.

Bryce grunted. “Wouldn’t you be?”

The driver’s door opened first. Luke Collins stepped out—mid-thirties, sandy hair cropped short, broad through the shoulders, wearing a clean blue work shirt and jeans that had been pressed recently enough to hold a crease. He looked at the house, at the barn beyond it, at the two of them on the porch, and lifted a hand in a wave that carried more uncertainty than greeting.

The passenger door opened. Erin Collins unfolded herself from the seat—taller than her husband, dark hair pulled back in a practical braid, a faded denim jacket over a grey T-shirt. She looked around the yard before her attention settled on Elara and Bryce.

Holly came around from the back of the truck, blue hair catching the sun, and the tension in her shoulders was visible even from twenty metres. She said something to Luke, something that made him nod, and then the three of them started toward the porch together.

Elara stepped down to meet them.

“You found us.”

“GPS only got me lost twice,” Holly said, and her grin was almost real. “This is Luke. And Erin.”

Up close, Luke’s handshake was firm but brief, his eyes flicking to Bryce and then away. Erin’s was warmer—calloused palm, steady grip, a direct look that said she wasn’t here to be impressed or to impress.

“Welcome to Obsidian Ranch,” Bryce said. “We’ve got cold beer and a tour, if you’re up for it.”

“Beer first,” Holly said. “Tour after. I need a minute to remember how to be a person.”

The kitchen swallowed the awkwardness in the way old kitchens do. Elara pulled beers from the fridge while Bryce found glasses—nobody asked for one, but he set them out anyway, and somehow the small ceremony of it smoothed the edges.

Holly perched on a stool at the island. Luke took the chair nearest the window. Erin stood by the counter with her bottle in hand, turning it in slow circles before finally taking a drink.

“The place looks good,” Holly said. “Really good. Last time I was here, that fence line was—”

“Still falling over,” Elara finished. “Bryce fixed it. Fixed most of it, actually.”

Bryce leaned against the counter, beer loose in his fingers. “Took a few years.”

“And the barn?” Erin asked. The question was careful, measured. “Holly said you’ve done a lot with it.”

Elara felt Bryce’s glance land on her—a question, an invitation to decide how much to say. She took a sip of her beer and let the silence stretch just long enough to be deliberate.

“We’ve done a lot,” she said. “You’ll see it after the tour.”

The property tour was ordinary in the best way.

Elara led them past the house to the horse paddocks first. Erin leaned on the fence rail and watched the mares with a practiced eye, asking about bloodlines and feed. Luke hung back a step, more comfortable with his hands in his pockets than reaching out, but when Bryce took over the walk toward the cattle, he asked questions with genuine interest.

Holly drifted between them, a current connecting the two halves. She looped her arm through Erin’s at the fence line, then fell back to walk beside Bryce and bump his shoulder with hers. There was no tension in it, no performance.

The affection moved easily between all three of them.

Elara watched more than she talked.

She watched the way Luke’s hand found the small of Erin’s back when they stopped, and the way Erin leaned into it without breaking her conversation with Bryce. She watched the way Holly stood between them, not in the middle but connected to both, and how neither of them seemed to keep score of who got more attention.

“How long have you three been together?” she asked as they started back.

Erin answered first. “About a year. Holly moved in—”

“Moved in eight months ago,” Holly corrected. “I spent the first four months pretending I was just visiting.”

Luke laughed, a low warm sound that seemed to loosen something in his shoulders. “She had a toothbrush at our place for six weeks before she admitted she was staying.”

“A toothbrush is not a commitment.”

“It was a toothbrush and a pillow and half your clothes.”

Erin smiled. “And the cat.”

“The cat was a surprise to everyone,” Holly said.

Elara laughed.

By the time they turned back toward the house, the first awkwardness had worn away.

Not disappeared completely. Luke was still quieter than Holly. Erin still chose her questions carefully. Holly still watched Bryce when she thought nobody noticed.

But the three of them moved together naturally.

Elara could see that much.

They stopped near the yards while Bryce and Luke talked cattle, Holly leaning against the rail beside Erin.

“You alright?” Elara asked her quietly.

Holly looked across at Bryce.

“Yeah.”

“That sounded convincing.”

Holly smiled.

“It’s strange.”

“Being back?”

“Seeing him.”

Elara waited.

Holly looked at her.

“Not bad strange.”

“I didn’t think it was.”

“No?”

“No.”

Holly studied her for a moment.

“You really aren’t worried about me, are you?”

“Should I be?”

That made Holly laugh.

“No.”

“Good.”

Erin looked between them.

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not,” Holly said.

“You always say that immediately before I absolutely need to know.”

Elara smiled.

“You’ll catch up.”

Luke glanced over.

“Are we being discussed?”

“Always,” Erin said.

“Good to know.”

Bryce pushed away from the rail.

“Barn?”

The word changed the air.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

Holly straightened.

Erin looked toward the building.

Luke followed her gaze.

Elara noticed all three.

“You don’t have to,” she said.

Holly looked at her.

“We came to see it.”

“You came to meet us.”

“And see it.”

Elara smiled faintly.

“Fair.”

They started across the yard.

The easy rhythm of the tour quietened as the barn came closer. Holly had told Luke and Erin something, clearly, but knowing and seeing were different things.

Bryce walked beside Elara.

Behind them, Holly said something too quietly for her to hear. Erin answered. Luke laughed once, but the sound carried an edge of nerves.

Elara glanced back.

The three of them were still together.

Holly between them now, Luke close on one side, Erin on the other.

They reached the barn doors.

Bryce stopped with one hand near the latch.

“Still want to see it?”

Holly looked at Luke.

Then Erin.

Neither spoke immediately.

Erin nodded.

Luke gave a small smile. “We came this far.”

Holly looked back at Bryce.

“Open the door.”