"Hey, uh, Uncle Hoyt never said anything about a secret hideout, right?" August asks as the three siblings, Cordell, and Geri sit at a picnic table.

"No, I think it was more about a place, you know, a dream." Geri says.

"Hey, uh, didn't you get the sleigh around here?" August asks. "Yeah, it-it was that Christmas where the reindeer came and..."

"Oh, my God." Geri laughs. "Pooped everywhere."

"Yeah, I-I do remember that." Cordell says, everybody laughing. "Hoyt scooped up shovelfuls of horse manure from the stables and scattered it all over the place. "Rudolph pooped on our porch!""

"Oh, my God, you two were so juvenile together." Stella says.

"It wasn't just them. Your mom was way into it." Geri says. "Oh, and then on Christmas morning."

"Uncle Hoyt was on the front lawn in a real sleigh dressed as Santa." Janie recalls.

"Yeah, it, uh, it took me seven years to realize that not all Santas wear assless chaps." August says. "That was the, uh, first Santa I remember."

"Yeah, me too." Janie mumbles.

"Yeah." Cordell mumbles.

+++

"Hey, dad, did you know that Uncle Hoyt had 4 horses and a llama?" August asks as him, Stella, and Janie are with the four said animals. Cordell, Geri, and Tisch walk up.

"Oh, my God, he is so cute it hurts." Stella gushes.

"Please tell me that those belong to the neighbors, correct?" Cordell asks.

"Mr. Rawlins sweet-talked the seller into throwing in that family of outcasts." Tisch says. "The mare, she suckled that odd-duck stray, raised it as her own."

"Well, sounds like Hoyt's kind of family." Geri says.

"Well, they're yours now." Tisch states. "But you got to get them off the property by tonight." She says before her phone starts ringing. "I'm s-- I gotta take this. And, hey, if you're looking for a 3 or 4 bedroom for yourself and the kids..."

"Yeah, no, we're not." Geri objects as Tisch walks away. "Uh, where am I gonna board four horses and a llama?"

"Uh..." Cordell can't think of anything.

"Dad, come on, these are Uncle Hoyt's." August says.

"You know he would want us to take care of 'em." Janie says.

"His last dream. That is what you said. So... they're a part of that dream." Stella argues.

"Stel..." Cordell starts.

"I mean..." Geri chuckles. " Maybe we need a distraction."

"Like what? You want to-- want to take 'em on a cattle drive or something?" Cordell asks.

"I don't know." Geri shrugs. "Let's do it."

"Let's do it." Cordell agrees.

+++

"It's nice having everyone on this ride. I mean, I know it's not exactly a picnic, but, uh, you know, getting out here with the kids, with you, it feels... feels good, feels right." Cordell tells Geri.

Cordell, Stella, and Geri all have their own horses while Cordell drags the llama along. Janie is on the back of August's horse, the two getting stuck with each other as the two youngest.

"I mean, I think so. I honestly don't know how I even functioned this past week. And then I think about what you might have witnessed... I can't even imagine. What I imagine keeps me up." Geri says.

"Yeah, me too. Especially knowing I brought all this on." Cordell says.

"No, don't. It's not on you." Geri says and the llama bleats. "Is he okay? He looks a little sick."

"Still got a ways to go. I don't know if he's gonna make it." Cordell admits.

While Cordell and Stella are talking, the llama continuously bleats.

"Dad, is he all right? What's wrong?" August asks.

"He, uh... he's gonna be fine, buddy. Um... you know, uh, I think he may be better off if we leave him with someone who can take better care of him." Cordell says, looking at a house up ahead.

"Hey, dad, are you serious? We can't just leave him here." August objects. "I mean, they're--they're family. Sure, they might not be the same species or whatever..."

"Okay. I think you're overreacting, bud." Cordell says.

"Hey, hey, Augie, it's gonna be okay." Geri assures. "Did you know that, um, that Hoyt wanted you to have this jacket?" She asks, giving the jacket she was wearing earlier to August. "And it's not just any jacket."

"It's a lucky jacket. Yeah, Hoyt won that, uh, from a tarot card reading mystic named..." Cordell tries to think of the name.

"The Mystifying Mehar." Geri recalls.

"The Mystifying Mehar, that's right." Cordell laughs.

"Had a side hustle in addition to tarot." Geri says.

"Yeah, three card monte. Uh, Hoyt beat him at his own game and won that jacket from Mehar." Cordell remembers.

"Seriously?" August asks.

"Yeah." Cordell nods.

"Why?" August questions.

"Because it's a lucky jacket. Mehar was infamous for getting out of trouble because of that jacket." Geri states.

"Hey, kiddos, why don't y'all lead the way?" Cordell suggests. "Go on."

+++

Cordell dropped the llama off, the kids slightly mad at him for doing so.

"Hey, Augie, he'll be better off there, bud." Cordell tries to assure him. "You know, they're--they're better suited for an animal like that, and there's no way he could have crossed this ravine."

"You didn't even try." Stella states.

"Stel..." Cordell tries.

"You think it would hurt if we just go back and try to--"

"Augie, Augie, hold on, look." Cordell tries to calm him down. "Sometimes, when a situation gets too dangerous, it's best to recognize you gotta walk away..."

"Oh, my God!" Stella exclaims. "Enough with the lectures." She gets her horse to go faster and down the hill. "Whoa!"

"Stella! Stella!" Cordell calls, his horse racing after hers. Stella soon gets her horse to stop and Cordell is blocking the path from her horse going further down the hill.

"Stay still. Okay? Stay calm." Cordell tells her. "You're safe, okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Stella tells him.

"Stay calm." Cordell says.

"She just, she just slipped. She just slipped." Stella states.

"I told you this wouldn't have been safe for that llama to cross." Cordell says.

"Dad, you didn't even know we'd have to cross this." Janie says.

"I'm saying I told you..."

"How can you just sit there and retroactively justify abandoning the llama?" August asks.

"Okay, we said this was gonna be a nice escape." Cordell says.

"Um, w-we said?" Stella asks. "Oh! Oh, right, now I remember, we said that right after we decided to abandon the llama that Hoyt left us."

+++

A guy is letting them use a barn to keep the horses and sleep in. August is taking care of the horses while Geri and Stella are in the loft. Janie is sitting on the ground outside of the barn, picking at her nail polish.

"Janie..." Cordell calls, hoping one of his kids will talk to him.

"I don't want to talk to you." Janie states, immediately crushing that hope. "And I don't wanna talk to Geri or Stel or Augie. I want to be alone."

"You sure?" Cordell asks.

"Pretty freaking positive, yeah." Janie nods, still not looking up.

+++

"There's the mare. Come on, guys, let's go." Geri encourages the children.

"Hey, dad, we've been looking for you." August says. "Are you all right?" He asks as they all get off the horses.

"I'm good. I'm good. Just, uh, had a little slip. Nothing huge. Gonna take it slow." Cordell says.

"Are you all right?" Stella asks. "You went back for the llama?"

"All right, how can we help?" Geri asks.

"You yelled at me earlier for doing, like, the exact same thing, trying to cross this alone." Stella says.

"First of all, that was clearly the right advice. Second, I wasn't yelling, Stella. This was a teachable moment." Cordell says.

"All right, you know what, here." August gets some rope. "Catch this. Aunt Geri, help me hold. Can you get this?"

"Uh, ha-ha. Okay, okay, yep. All right, I'm good." Cordell says. August throws it and Cordell catches it.

"Hey, dad, we could, uh, use the jacket to wrap the llama in as a harness." August suggests, taking it off.

"Perfect. Yeah." Cordell agrees as August throws him the jacket. "Nice thinking, Augie."

"Thank you." August says.

"This is gonna work great." Cordell says as he wraps the llama up. "Know what? I owe you guys an apology. Uh...all we been through, what this little guy meant to Hoyt, what Hoyt means to us... I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner, just how much I can count on you. More than I ever imagined. I hope y'all can feel the same."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure they do, and that's all very sweet, but can we please get you up here to safety? Come on." Geri says. "Let's pull, let's pull."

"Uh, you know what? I have a little bit of a privileged view of this guy, and I think he's a... I think he's a she." Cordell says. "And I think she's about to give birth."

"What?" Janie asks.

"Gonna need all hands on deck, ha-ha." Cordell says.

They get the llama and Cordell to the top of the hill with cheers.

+++

"I can't wait to see Mawline's face when she sees this little guy." August says, holding the baby llama as he rides the horse. Janie is now on Stella's horse.

"Hey, look. We're almost home." Stella points out.

"Hey, kids." Geri calls, everybody stopping. "I'm gonna, uh, I'm gonna peel off here. I gotta take care of some things. And now, uh, so do you." She gets off her horse. "Janie?"

"Finally." Janie sighs, getting off Stella's horse and getting on the one Geri just got off of.

"Thanks, Ger." Cordell tells her.

"Hey. I love you." Geri tells the kids.

"I love you, too." August says.

"I love you, too." The sisters tell her.

"Love you." Geri says before walking off.

~ ~ ~

"hey, dad, you're not gonna let gramps sell 'em, right?" August asks.

"Hey, let me take care of gramps, all right?" Cordell says. "Just, uh--" He's cut off, seeing his Bonham ride up on a horse. "Hey, daddy. Look before you start, just let me say something."

"Yeah, Geraldine called. Follow me." Bonham tells them.

"Gramps, Hoyt left them for us." Stella says.

"And this one's just a baby." August says.

"Sorry. I got a strict no llama policy. It's a good thing we got an alpaca stable." Bonham says.

"Wait, we got a-a what?" Cordell asks.

"You're an idiot. That ain't a llama. What kind of rancher's boy are you? Anyhow, I reckon this'll hold 'em for now." Bonham says as they ride up to a barn. "We converted the tool shed into an alpaca barn last night. It should fit this whole ragtag crew of misfits you dragged home."

"Wow. Dad, I, uh..."

"Your mother, Liam, Stan, they did most of the heavy lifting." Bonham states, getting off his horse.

"Oh, come on into the house." Abilene says as her, Liam, and Stan walk up. "Breakfast is waiting."

"Thanks, Mawline." August says. "All right. Let's put the family in their new home."

Bonham takes the baby alpaca from August so he can get off his horse.

"Got a name for this little one?" Bonham asks.

"Um... Hoyt." August says.

"Hoyt. That's a good name." Bonham says.