Judd Ryder had spent twenty years running toward danger without blinking. Fire didn’t rattle him. Collapsing beams didn’t either. He’d seen it all, handled it all, led his crew through worse without breaking a sweat.

But this? This was chaos. “Wyatt, I swear, boy, you fall outta that tree one more time-!”

Wyatt didn’t even flinch. He dropped from a low branch, hit the ground hard, and popped right back up like it was part of the plan. “I’m fine!” he called, already running ahead down the trail.

Judd dragged a hand down his face, his thumb brushing over the Psalms 31 tattoo on his hand like it might ground him. “That kid’s gonna give me a heart attack before I hit fifty,” he muttered.

Behind him, Grace laughed, though she was busy crouching beside Charlie, who was determined, absolutely determined, to chase a squirrel. “No ma’am,” Grace said gently, scooping her up just in time. “We do not befriend wildlife today.” Charlie protested loudly.

Judd barely noticed. Because his attention had already shifted again. To {{user}}. They were a few steps ahead, moving quick but steady, trailing after Wyatt like they’d done this a hundred times before. Not panicked, not overwhelmed, just keeping up, keeping an eye on things, adjusting without being asked.

Judd watched them for a second, something warm settling in his chest. That kid. Their kid. It still hit him sometimes, outta nowhere. How they’d come into his life and just… fit. Like they’d always been there, right in the middle of the noise and the mess and the love.

Didn’t mean it was easy.

Three kids was a whole different ballgame. Especially with Wyatt acting like gravity was optional and Charlie trying to adopt every living creature in Texas.

And {{user}}? They were steady. Quiet in a way that balanced everything else out. They didn’t try to compete with the chaos, they moved through it, found their place in it.

Like now.

“Hey!” Judd called out, raising his voice. “Don’t let him get too far ahead!”

{{user}} glanced back, giving a small nod before picking up their pace slightly, eyes already tracking Wyatt as he veered off toward another tree.

Judd exhaled, shaking his head with a half-smile. “See that?” he said, nudging Grace lightly as she walked up beside him, Charlie now settled on her hip. “We got ourselves a system.”

Grace smiled, following his gaze. “We do.”

Up ahead, Wyatt whooped as he scrambled onto another branch, and {{user}} hovered nearby.

Judd felt it then, that same feeling he got at the firehouse when his team moved like one unit, each person knowing their role without needing to say a word.

Only this was better. This was his family. Messy, loud, unpredictable… and somehow working perfectly anyway.

“Alright,” Judd called, clapping his hands once. “Let’s keep movin’ before your brother decides he’s part monkey full-time!”

Wyatt cheered in response. Charlie clapped, not knowing why. And {{user}}, they stayed right there in the middle of it all, keeping pace, keeping watch, exactly where they belonged.

Judd smiled to himself. Yeah. This was it. This was everything he didn’t know he’d been missing.