War walked in carrying Mellie. She was almost five months old now. At lunch today, he’d noticed she was more alert. She’d smiled and laughed when Rascal was blowing raspberries on her tummy and tickling her with his beard. He couldn’t wait to experience Tessie’s first laugh and smile. He’d missed them with Deacon, but he wasn’t missing it with Tessie.
The social worker had emailed that she’d picked up a bug and wouldn’t be visiting them until after Christmas. Speedyalso needed to figure out what to do with Anita’s things. He’d contacted a lawyer in Las Vegas to help him navigate the logistics. She owned her house, which needed to be emptied, and the things brought back to Bluff Creek for him and Violet to go through. He wasn’t sure where the house was or what condition it was in to decide if they were selling or looking at other opportunities.
“All right—let’s get started. Roam, how’s the money?” War asked.
“Really good. The tattoo shop is booked solid even with adding all our new people. The diner is so busy sometimes they have to turn away special requests. Even with the large amount we have set aside for Broken Hearts Brewing Co. and Bluff Creek K9 Training and Rescue, we have probably half a mil just sitting there. I think we need to do a Christmas bonus to everyone on top of their normal amount and send some to Kathryn’s Wings,” Roam suggested.
“Thoughts? Discussion?” War asked.
“More money is always nice, but I don’t need much. Is there someone in need we could help, and what’s Kathryn’s Wings?” Stone asked.
“Every time I hear him say more than one sentence or grunt, I’m thankful we moved to Bluff Creek,” Finn, Stone’s brother, said.
Stone glared at Finn and flipped him the finger.
Speedy chuckled along with everyone else. The younger brothers, Finn and Ben, had brought a breath of fresh air and some hijinks too. In their effort to put a smile on Stone’s face back in October, they’d hung butterfly feeders all over his house. When the monarch butterflies came through, his house had been covered. Stone had taken it in stride and sat out on his front porch drinking coffee and enjoying the butterflies.
“Kathryn’s Wings is the bail bonds secret organization that helps people. We have a monthly meeting in different places to keep it that way. Cannon and I will skip next month’s, and the newbies can attend,” War said.
“I like the idea of helping someone in need a little more than we do for our Christmas Eve special project. What are you thinking, Stone?” Flick asked.
Stone stared at Flick and didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know of anyone off the top of my head, but I bet if we asked everyone on the compound who might need a little help, we could find someone,” Rascal said.
“This feels like it might take more than one meeting to decide. Roam, hold off on extra disbursements until our next meeting. Let’s meet the week between Christmas and New Year’s,” War said.
“Can we make it after New Year’s? Halligan and I are planning our trip,” Dex said.
Speedy realized maybe he could have Dex and Halligan check on the house and possibly coordinate a company to pack the house and bring it to Bluff Creek. He’d try to catch them sometime this week and talk through it after he touched base with the lawyer.
“Okay, next council meeting Sunday, January fourth. Now let’s go enjoy the holidays. I’m on orchard duty tonight, so is that all?” War asked.
“Not quite. I have one thing,” Scoop said.
War nodded, “Go ahead.”
“Violet’s car had issues, and when Speedy picked her up, a man was harassing her. Speedy took care of the issue but got a picture of the guy’s driver’s license and also the VIN of the sedan. Sarah and I did a little research. Driver’s license is valid but doesn’t match the picture on the license. The actual person the driver’s license belongs to was a college professor who wasinvolved in a hit-and-run. He’s been in a coma for two years. And the VIN goes to the sedan he was driving but the last owner listed died a year ago. No change in ownership of the sedan,” Scoop said.
A cold chill swept over Speedy. What would have happened to Violet if he hadn’t shown up?
“Speedy, has anyone fixed Violet’s car or looked at it?” Baron asked.
“No, with everything that happened, Violet has been with me. She hasn’t needed her car. When we got the kids, she said to just work on it when I went back to work full-time. What are you thinking?” Speedy asked.
“It could be a coincidence that he just happened to see a woman stranded on the road and saw an opportunity. Or it could be he created the opportunity. I think we need to figure out which it is to decide what type of threat he poses and how deep we need to dig,” Baron said.
War was nodding. “I agree. Do you want to be the one that looks at it, or does it matter, Speedy?”
“I don’t care as long as we find out why it quit,” Speedy said.
“Jesse would probably love a break from the girls, Hank, and me. And she loves a mystery. I’ll tow it to her garage. I’m sure she’ll be able to check it out today or tomorrow,” Cannon said.
Speedy’s heart calmed a little at hearing that. He needed all the information to figure out how to protect his family.
“Okay, on that note, let’s get out of here,” War said.
Speedy headed out and picked up his phone. He wanted to lay eyes on Violet.
