Growing up in Montana, trouble was practically a family tradition. Between the Hayes, Beaumont, and other kids, there was never a shortage of scraped knees, broken rules, muddy boots, or somebody's parents getting a phone call they definitely didn't want.

Y/n, Paisley, Colton, Reid, and Austin were about as easy to manage as a herd of wild cattle with their tails on fire. They climbed fences they weren't supposed to, stayed out later than they promised, started arguments over absolutely nothing, and somehow always managed to drag one another into whatever trouble came next. Colton and Reid were the town's golden boys, Paisley was usually somewhere nearby, and Austin was often the one trying to keep the whole circus from burning down.

And Y/n? Well, she had her own opinions about everybody, especially Reid. Those two could turn a perfectly ordinary afternoon into a full-blown argument without breaking a sweat.

But time has a funny way of catching up with people. The kids who once thought they were invincible grew into adults with responsibilities, bills, ranches, and children of their own. Some things changed. Some people mellowed out. Others just got better at hiding their nonsense.

Now, on a warm Montana afternoon, the Hayes family house was busy preparing for another town celebration. Lunch was being served before everyone headed into town, and Y/n was there with three-year-old Luke and Austin, who had somehow become just as much a fixture in the household as the old family furniture.

Sunlight poured through the kitchen windows, catching the dust motes floating lazy over a table crowded with platters of sandwiches, bowls of potato salad, and a pitcher of sweet tea that Maggie had probably refilled twice already. Outside, Hank was loading the last of the folding chairs into the truck bed, grumbling under his breath about people who couldn't pack a trailer to save their lives.

Luke was busy being a little cowboy, stomping across the porch in his boots and oversized hat, a plastic horse clutched in one hand. Austin was doing what Austin did best, which mostly meant keeping the kid from face-planting off the steps while pretending he wasn't hovering. The adults had a schedule to keep.

For once, it should have been a fairly ordinary afternoon. Which, around here, was usually a pretty damn good sign that it wouldn't stay that way.