Mom had been gone twenty years, and Dad still spoke about her as if she were right around the corner. While other men would have gotten angry and forgotten about a runaway wife, good old Joe Colson would only look at the positive—how their mother, Minx, was a free spirit, and how she had to follow her muse, and how talented and creative shewas.
Oh, she was beautiful enough in her day to wrap their father, good old Joe Colson, around her pinkie, and enchant him to the extent that he gave her free rein to express herself: erecting large metallic sculptures made of railway spikes, rusted cast iron skillets, nuts, bolts, and whatever pieces of metal she could scavenge from the junkyard, combine it with animal bones, skin, leather, and feathers, and call itart.
But taking care of and disciplining children? Cooking and cleaning? No, thank you. If it weren’t for their dear departed grandmother, the Colson kids would all have been delinquents—with Linx the worst one ofall.
“Let me see that little runt.” Kevin, who was the mayor’s son, pointed his phone camera at the sisters. Behind him, her brother Chad grinned and asked, “Think that dog’s part Australian shepherd? I want me a red one, for goodluck.”
“You and your red for good luck superstitions.” Linx shook her head. Why was everyone so hung up on what their mom believed? Was Linx the only one who hated their mother for abandoningthem?
Linx had been five when it happened, and the only thing she could remember was her mother’s flaming dyed red hair and the colorful tie-dyed sunburst shirts she used to wear. There had been no hugs, no cookie bakes, no kissing owies, or any of the other motherly things she saw onTV.
Nope, Tami’s mother had been more doting on Linx than her own, and as the years went by and she saw how other mothers sacrificed their time and energy for their children, she began to understand why her mother, the free and artistic spirit, had to run away from seven demandingchildren.
She, too, would have been a horriblemother.
“Are Todd and Scott going to make it tonight?” Dad asked after Kevin finished taking pictures and videos of Ginger from allangles.
“Todd’s on his way, but Scott’s on duty,” Joey replied. “Becca’s on a case in San Francisco, and Uncle Chip has a meeting at the SixtyMiners.”
Her position at the diner made her the central switchboard when it came to information around town, with Vivi not far behind at the general store selling everything from groceries and hardware to flowers and craftsupplies.
“Chad and Kevin took a bunch of tourists out fishing and caught a whole load of trout,” Dad said. “We got them all dipped and fried upalready.”
Since Becca was absent, Linx took the seat opposite her father at the end of the table where a mother traditionally sat. Tonight, she was the eldest female of thebunch.
After Dad said grace, everyone passed the fish and salad around the table. Dad asked Joey how business was and went over kitchen safety with her, while Vivi was all over Chad and Kevin about the tourist activities and what items she should stock for thesummer
Todd rushed in halfway through dinner, looking harried and overworked. He slung his jacket across the empty chair next to Linx and served himself a large portion of fish andchips.
“Busy day?” Linx asked. “What happened? A rash of lockouts? Or did you catch Tami speeding through the townagain?”
Todd grunted and chewed his food slowly, his cheeks reddening at the mention ofTami.
“Come on, spit it out,” Linx teased. “Tami was on her way to the Sixty Miners Saloon. Did you meet her there for Happy Hour? Is that why you’relate?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I caught Grady Hart speeding around Dead Man’s curve. Gave him a big fatticket.”
“And that made you late? Couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.” Linx studied her brother’s flushed face. A light sheen of sweat dampened his forehead as he chewed hisfood.
“That man’s a menace.” Todd thumped his water glass on the tabletop. “I don’t want that playboy within fifty feet of any of mysisters.”
“He doesn’t bother me,” Linx said, wondering what crawled up her brother’scraw.
“Have you forgotten the pain he put youthrough?”
“I’m a big girl,” Linx said. “It’s over and done with, and I want to moveon.”
“How the heck are you going to move on when he’s a walking reminder?” Todd set his fork down with a thump. “I heard he was flirting with Joey at the diner. Does that not concernyou?”
“Then keep him out of the diner,” Linx retorted. “And while you’re at it, he should stay away from Vivi,too.”
She hadn’t told her family the identity of the man who’d gotten her pregnant, but somehow, in the past few months, they all seemed to have figured it out—with Todd being the most belligerent. Could Tami have slippedup?
“I’ll let him know the general store is off limits too, all except Friday evening when Vivi and Joey are here,” Todd plowed on, oblivious to her sarcasm. “Him being around town has started the gossip mill going. You know what they’re saying about him and your friend,Salem?”
“They were jump partners. No big deal.” Linx kept her voice steady as she stirred dressing into hersalad.
“Is that all you think it was?” Todd said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. “Paul thinks Grady caused her death. Apparently, he whispered something in her ear right before her fatal jump. He says Salem was pregnant and he suspects Grady was thefather.”
