by Piper Rayne
He plops down on the couch.
“Denver, get up. Fingerprints!” I say.
He doesn’t move. “This isn’t CSI, babe, they aren’t going to fingerprint anything. Even if they did, I’m pretty sure criminals with fingerprints in the database don’t spruce up the home while robbing it.”
Phoenix is pacing. “Maybe it’s not CSI but Paranormal Activity. We need to go.” A shiver runs through her entire body.
“Everyone, calm down,” Denver says.
Someone at the police station finally answers, and I’m told that Sheriff Miller will stop by on his way home for the evening. Only in a small town, I swear. If it were Dallas, there would’ve been five cop cars here already.
Sheriff Miller takes his sweet-ass time showing up at the house. Denver is about to gnaw off his arm because I won’t let him eat anything in the house. Phoenix won’t sit down and keeps swatting at imaginary things, saying she felt a cold breeze.
I open the door, and Sheriff Miller saunters in. “Cleo Dawson, correct?”
“Yes sir. This is my dad’s place.”
He holds out his hand, and I take it. “Ah, Denver Bailey.”
Denver gets up but not in any type of rush. “Sheriff.” He pretends to tip a hat that he’s not wearing. “Stop for dinner on the way over?”
I shoot him a look like ‘What the hell are you doing?’
“Hi, Sheriff. Do you guys have a paranormal division?” Phoenix asks.
“Hello, Phoenix, and no.”
He seems like a no-nonsense guy. His thumbs rest in his belt, and he rocks back as though it weighs a hundred pounds.
“I’m the one who called. Denver and I came here last week and noticed things had been moved around. When we got here tonight, it was the same thing. This afghan and that book were here.” I point at both of them. “We talked to Luther Lloyd, and he said I have the only key.”
The sheriff appears to listen to me but then he sets his narrowed gaze on Denver. “You two are an item, I hear.”
Denver shakes his head in disbelief. I’m clearly missing the bad blood between these two. “We are.”
Sheriff Miller looks back at me then at Denver. “Are you pulling a prank on your girlfriend?”
I rear my head back. “He’s not fifteen.”
Phoenix laughs after jumping a foot to the right and staring in the direction she jumped from.
“Oh, Denver likes pranks. It was only two years ago he, Rome, and Liam decided to cover a car with Post-it notes and post a sign on Lard Have Mercy about no pants day.”
Phoenix laughs harder. “Oh, I missed that one.”
I look at Denver. He shrugs, but his smirk makes it clear that the sheriff is right.
“I have nothing to do with this,” Denver says.
“Rome?”
“He’s pretty busy raising his kids. They have another on the way, you know.”
The sheriff smiles. “Offer them my congratulations.”
“Sure thing.”
“Liam?”
“You think Savannah would let him stray that far?”
They go back and forth as if it’s a game they play often.
The sheriff appears to think about the Savannah thing and nods. “Well, all I can really do is drive by a few times a day and see if we catch anyone. You could install cameras if you’d like. Have you found anything missing?”
“Just the fake flowers they replaced with real ones,” Denver says and shoots me a look to say, ‘I told you so.’
The sheriff looks over the door again. “There’s no forced entry, so my guess is the person has a key. Denver, you should stake the place out. You, Rome, and Liam used to enjoy waiting around until it was late enough to cause trouble. Those skills will come in handy.” He says this as though he’s serious.
Denver chuckles. “Those days are over. I have a lot better things to do at night now.”
Phoenix stops doing kung fu moves in the air to laugh.
I widen my eyes at Denver again to say, ‘What is wrong with you?’ He doesn’t even look at me.
The sheriff just rolls his eyes. “I better get going. I’ll have an officer drive by a few times. But think about those cameras. If there’s ever anything missing or forced entry, give me another call.”
“Thanks, Sheriff,” I say, walking him toward the door though I’m not sure what I’m thanking him for considering he just blew me off.
“Nice to meet you, Cleo. Denver, Phoenix.”
“Sheriff.” Denver nods.
I shut the door and watch through the window as he gets into his car and leaves.
“Can we go now?” Phoenix karate chops the air again, heading toward the door.
“I’m starved.” Denver’s hand slides into mine, making me feel warm and safe.
“I take it you and the sheriff aren’t on the best terms?” I ask while Denver locks up.
“You take that right. To be honest, I did some stupid shit when I was younger.” He shrugs as we walk to the truck that Phoenix is already in.
“So you’re like a bad boy?”
He opens my door for me. “I can be whatever turns you on, but yeah, I was a very bad boy. I probably deserve to be punished.”
I push him away and he laughs until he gets in the truck. I can’t remember the last time my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard, but this is a feeling I could get used to.
Twenty-Seven
Denver
Saturday night, I’m sitting in Juno and Kingston’s apartment, waiting to head out for the night. This blows. I could’ve screwed Cleo five times already. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration.
“Owen will be here in, like, ten and then we’re leaving,” Kingston says, coming out of the bathroom looking as though he tried entirely too hard to get ready.
“Just so you know, I’m not breaking any fights up tonight. You guys can’t play darts, you can’t play pool, and you definitely can’t bet on who gets the girl,” I warn Kingston, because I’m not winding up in jail tonight over their usual antics.
Kingston looks at Colton on the couch. Kingston knows that it’s going to happen. They’ll find something insane to compete about.
“Hell no. Don’t look at me,” Colton says. Colton looks like me, not putting forth his best effort to look good tonight.
“How’s veterinary life?” I ask him.
“Same old. Lifetime Adventures?”
Colton and I went to school together. With us only being a year apart and him being Juno’s best friend, he’s practically another brother to me.
“Any women in your life?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Nah, it’s hard with the schedule.”
“Must be hard with your Juno schedule too. You spend all your free time with her.” Kingston raises his eyebrows, bringing us all a beer.
I decline since I’m the DD tonight—and because I’m not having whiskey dick when I crawl into Cleo’s bed in—I lift my watch—four hours tops.
“We’re friends,” Colton says, but he sounds defensive.
“Man, you’ve been permanently friend-zoned, you understand that, right?” Kingston takes a pull of his beer.
“I’m fine with being friend-zoned.”
“Denver, do you stare at your friends the way Colton stares at Juno?” Kingston has this dry humor that always cracks up a room.
Colton is laughing now, shaking his head.
“I did, and now I’m dating her so…” I glance at my watch. Three hours and fifty-eight minutes.
“Exactly.” Kingston eyes Colton like ‘Come on, dude, admit you want my sister.’
Colton circles his beer in his hand and looks relieved when there’s a loud bang on the door.
“Owen,” we say in unison.
Colton gives me the same look I’m sure I have on my face. “This sucks, and I’d rather be doing anything other than this.” I hear you, buddy.
Owen bursts in, telling the “best story ever” about what happened to him on the way over. It’s probabl
y so exaggerated, the truth is marginal at best. I pull out my phone.
Me: Take a titty picture and send it over.
Three dots appear, and I hope the quick response means she’s missing me like I’m missing her.
Cleo: Dick pic first.
Me: Is that a challenge?
Cleo: I know better than to challenge you.
I stand and head to the bathroom.
Me: If you send me your nudie first, I’ll be able to show you him in all his glory.
A second later, a picture shows up on my phone—it’s her tits tucked into a bra.
I take out my dick, pump him up a little to make him look as regal as can be, and snap a picture before sending it to her.
Cleo: Not sure what to say to a dick pic.
Me: Don’t worry babe, swallow the drool first and then respond.
Cleo: I miss you and him a lot.
Me: I miss you and yours a lot. Meet me at one in my bed?
Cleo: I’ll race you there.
A pounding on the door from Owen has me stuffing myself back into my pants.
Cleo: The girls are calling me. See you later.
Me: I’ll see you first.
I open the door, and Owen smiles that goofy grin I hate. I have no idea why Kingston likes this guy.
“Owen.” I put out my hand. He shakes it too hard, as if he’s trying to break my bones.
I’ll be breaking up a fight tonight, I just know it.
“Let’s go. I’m dying to get out. It’s been months.”
“What do you do now?” I ask, following him into the family room.
Colton is already rolling his eyes.
“I was doing some salmon fishing, but now I’m running the plant.” He sits next to me on the couch. Owen’s bigger and taller than Kingston or any of us Baileys, but he’s not nearly as gorgeous.
“I thought Jed Lear was in charge of the plant?” Colton asks.
Right about now, I love that Colton knows everyone and is willing to call people out on their shit. Well, everyone but Juno and himself.
“Well yeah, Jed’s still there, but I’m taking over when he retires,” Owen says.
“Isn’t he, like, forty-five?”
I fucking love Colton.
Owen fumbles with a few answers that turn into a stuttering, “Whatever, Stone, you finally fucked Juno yet?”
Colton gets to his feet.
Kingston steps in front of him and holds his hand against Colton’s chest. “Whoa. Whoa! No talking about any of my sisters fucking anyone.”
“I’m in agreement. We got through Liam dating Savannah without ever having to hear any of that shit.” I shoot Owen a get-in-check look.
Owen laughs, but Colton is the one who’s about to go ballistic.
“So not worth it,” I say, and Colton stands down. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“Good idea,” Colton mutters.
The sooner we’re out of here, the sooner I’m home.
After they all down their beers and throw the bottles away, Owen puts his hand on my shoulder. “I heard you’re settling down? You used to whip the pussy and now you’re pussy whipped? Can’t wait to meet her. She must be killer in bed to keep you tied down, huh?”
I look at Kingston and he shrugs. Truth is, they’re not as close as they once were. I’m not sure they’ll ever be where they were before high school when they fought over Stella.
“None of your fucking business,” I say. “And if I find out you’ve talked to her, I’ll put you on your ass a lot faster than Kingston ever has.”
We file out of Kingston’s apartment in downtown Lake Starlight.
Owen holds up his hands. “Jesus, you’re protective over this one.”
I say nothing because Owen likes nothing more than to get people fired up. He might still get under Kingston’s skin, but fuck if I’ll give him the pleasure.
We end up at a bar in Sunrise Bay, a new one called The Merry Moose. It’s a lot like Lucky’s except twice the size. Which means more pool tables and dartboards I need to keep Kingston and Owen away from.
Colton and I sit at a table. I kind of want to guide him to someone else. I mean, I’m actively dating, but he’s not. He should be with Kingston and Owen, trying to pick up women. But it’s not my place, and if Juno really does like him, that’s a dick move by her own brother.
“So how’s it going at Lifetime Adventures?” he asks.
I nod. “It’s really coming together. We’re waiting for the show deal to go through. They have the episode we filmed with Griffin Thorne with a focus group right now. If they like it, then we have the green light for five more. They’ll air those as filler between the end of one season of some show and the beginning of another, and we go from there.”
Cleo and I have been as discreet as we’ve been able to about the company’s financial issues and the fact that we’re only doing the show for the money. We don’t want to tarnish Chip’s reputation in this town.
“That’s awesome. I think I need to book something with you. I’m getting antsy here.”
I should tell him to find someone he can fuck on the regular and then his life would be a lot more interesting, but again with the Juno thing. “Are you taking over the office from Dr. Murray?”
“Most likely. He’s going to let me buy it over time on a payment plan. It’s the smart thing to do.” He lifts his beer to his lips.
“I hear a but?”
He shrugs, sipping his beer. “Like I said, I’m antsy.”
“Like maybe you want to leave Lake Starlight?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Don’t say anything to Juno, but I’ve thought about it.”
It’s easy to think he won’t leave because Juno would never leave her business, but who knows? She’d be stupid to move her matchmaker business. I mean, she’d have to completely start over. Plus, Juno loves being with family, and with Rome having another baby and Austin and Holly not far behind, she’s not going to be cool missing out on that.
“I won’t say anything.”
The waitress brings over a drink and sets it in front of Colton. “This is from the brunette at the bar.”
Colton looks up to see who she’s talking about. The girl is cute, and I’m surprised she’d send a drink. She looks more like the girl next door than one who would be forward.
Colton smiles and nods, picking up the drink. “I should thank her.” He slides off the bar stool.
“Yeah.” I watch him approach her. If Juno wants him, she’d better snatch him up soon because he won’t wait around forever.
I scan the room and find Kingston and Owen at a table full of girls out for a bachelorette party. Owen’s all over the bride-to-be, who has penises all over her veil and tiara, and Kingston’s with another girl off to the side. He catches my eye and nods me over, but I’m not into spending my night with drunken girls with fake penises all over them. The days of me sucking a Life Saver off a shirt are over—unless it’s Cleo’s.
I sip my club soda and lime, debating on texting her again, but I don’t want to be the boyfriend who never leaves her alone.
“Denver Bailey.” The voice that holds accusation in its tone says I probably screwed this girl and never called her.
I turn to find that yes, this is a girl I screwed, and I screwed her multiple times off and on over a two year period. “Polly McAlister.”
She doesn’t wait for me to invite her to sit down, sliding a bar stool closer and joining me at my table. She sets her girly drink complete with umbrella on the table. She’s from Greywall, and I run into her every now and then. We’ve hooked up on occasion. From the way she’s eyeing me as if I’m the buffet and she just smoked a blunt, I think that she thinks tonight might be a repeat.
Sadly for her, it will not.
“Isn’t that your younger brother?” She points at Kingston.
I nod. It’s sad really, but some people have a thing for the Baileys. We get attention because of the company and the fact th
at our parents died. Shitty reasons. Our actions get excused sometimes because people pity us. She’s probably thinking of moving on to my younger version.
“He’s a hottie. What does he do again?”
This is where Kingston puts me being a bush pilot to shame. “He’s a firefighter in the fall and winter, and a smokejumper in the spring and summer.”
Her eyes light up and she looks him up and down, practically licking her lips. She places her hand on my thigh and leans forward. “He’s nice and all, but I do prefer a pilot. They know how to steer well.”
Sad, sad pickup line.
I move her hand off my thigh and place it back on hers just as someone puts their hands over my eyes. Instead of saying anything, the hands drop, and I hear a gasp.
I close my eyes because I know exactly who that is.
Twenty-Eight
Cleo
My hands drop from Denver’s eyes when I notice his hand on her thigh.
“Who’s this?” the woman says in a voice that insinuates I’m the interloper here.
Denver swivels on the stool, stands, and puts his arm around me. “This is my girlfriend, Cleo.” He leans in to kiss my neck, but I pull back. He groans.
I don’t really give a shit what he thinks right now. I’d like to see how he’d feel if I had my hand on someone else’s thigh.
“Girlfriend? Since when?” she asks with a look of disgust.
“Listen, Polly,” he says, his hand not leaving my hipbone. “I was about to tell you before Cleo surprised me. We’ve been dating…”
I do the math in my head. For what? For nine days. Is that what he’s going to tell her?
“For a while, and I’m with her now.”
Polly looks me up and down, slurps the rest of her sugar-filled beverage, and slides off the stool. “You know where to find me whenever this ends.” She wags her finger between the two of us.
Denver tightens his grip on me. I don’t know if he’s doing it because he likes to be right and Polly is doubting that he can remain faithful or what. “This isn’t going to end.”
