“The container said cider. I thought it tasted funny, but I was thirsty,” Brendan said, and they all laughed. It was a joyous sound. “To this day, the idea of hard cider makes my stomach queasy.”
“Good. Then there will be more for me. But that barrel is going to the village for the fall festival in a few weeks. The other juice I pasteurized and put in bottles for you all. There are a couple gallons in the refrigerator. The rest is going with me.”
“What else have you been doing?” Greg asked him.
“I learned how to feed the goats and horses. But I pretty much leave those beasts to Brendan and their owners. Basically, I’m the muscle.”
Brendan leaned closer. “And apparently he’s really popular with the riders. You should have heard them talking about you when they thought no one can hear them. The tittering and giggles are adorable.”
“You know I’m not interested in that sort of thing,” Lucas said, and damned if he didn’t feel his cheeks heating as he looked at Brendan.
“Oh, I know,” Brendan said, and his cheeks flamed more. Thankfully, Greg said nothing about it.
The crunch of tires pulled both his and Brendan’s attention to the window. “Well,” Brendan said. “It looks like we’re going to be given another episode of the Jenn Drama Hour.” Brendan stood and went to the back door, but didn’t open it. “What do you need?”
Lucas stood up and took a position behind him, arms folded over his chest.
“I want to get my son. It’s my day to take him,” she snapped.
“Your visitation starts at six this evening. Jameson isn’t packed yet.” He could tell Brendan was getting flustered. “We just had breakfast, and Jameson has his chores that he needs to finish.”
“I’m heading out to Pittsburgh for the weekend, along with my mother, to see some of my family, and I’d like to take Jameson with me. They haven’t seen him in a long time.” She checked the time on her phone.
Lucas stepped back and went through the house and out the front door. He wanted to double-check that this was the car he had seen the other day, and it probably was. Lucas approached and peered into the back seat, which was empty. He wanted to check the trunk, so he glanced toward the house before reaching through the open window and pressing the release button. Then he cracked the trunk open and peered inside. It was dirty as hell and covered with store bags and a bunch of crap, but nothing else. He closed the quietly and went back inside, where a battle royal seemed to be raging.
He passed Lucille as she guided Jameson down the front steps, telling him it was time to feed the goats.
“I have a right to take my son with me,” Jenn was saying. “And you’re being a dick. It’s just a few hours.”
“You aren’t taking Jameson anywhere now,” Lucas said, coming up behind Brendan. “Where is the car seat? He has to have one, and there isn’t one installed in the back of the car.”
“It’s in the trunk,” she snapped.
Lucas knew that was a lie. “Then show it to Brendan. He can’t let you leave with Jameson without a seat.” Lucas turned to Greg, who nodded. It seemed Jenn didn’t know he was here, and Greg appeared to be taking notes.
She whipped around and headed for her car. Brendan turned to him, and Lucas nodded. They followed her out. She popped the trunk and opened it. “See…,” she said, her expression falling. “It was in here.”
Brendan growled under his breath. “You show up early and want to take Jameson without a car seat and without bothering to call. I suggest you go home, get the car seat, and come back at two. I’ll have him ready to go, since you’ve asked so nicely. You need to have the seat, and it better be properly installed. I’ll make sure it is before you can leave with him.” He stepped back, and Lucas followed as she got into the car and backed out of the drive.
“You knew the seat wasn’t in there.”
“Of course I did. I checked. Go tell Greg about it so he can make a note. And you remember that air tag I asked you to get?”
Brendan nodded. “Yeah.”
“I have the perfect place to hide it.” He knew exactly what he was going to do so Brendan could track Jameson.
“What areyou doing with Roary?” Brendan said as he sat in the living room with Jameson’s favorite stuffy.
“Putting the tracker inside.” He carefully stitched the hole he’d made in the seam closed. “I’m hoping that if Jenn suspects something, she might leave Jameson’s bag behind, but not this.
“Do you really think she’ll do something like that?” Brendan asked.
Lucas shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you?” he asked.
Brendan sighed. “Finish with the dinosaur,” he said softly. “Then I’ll give it to Jameson to take with him instead of putting it in his bag.”
“Is that packed?” Lucas asked before pairing the second tracker with his phone. He checked that they were both working, and when Brendan brought down the packed blue dinosaur case, Lucas opened it and carefully hid the tracker in the lining. Then he closed it again. “I know it’s overkill, but….”
