We end the call, and I shove my phone into the pocket of my jacket.
“The Price is Rightis on. Turn it up, Cami.”
I do as I’m asked and stretch out beside Granny, propping my feet on her bed. If I doze off, it really isn’t my fault.
Chapter 5 Mountain
Sweat drips down my brow as I use the sleeve of my shirt to wipe it away, preventing the salty liquid from stinging my eyes. I’ve lost count of how many logs I’ve split in the last two hours, preferring to focus on the task at hand instead of letting my mind drift to Cami.
The fatigue in my muscles proves I’ve pushed harder than necessary, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Exhaustion is the only thing that keeps me sane right now.
A truck door slams by the front of the house, alerting me to one of my brother’s arrivals. It’s probably Tyre or Wyatt since Alder is the Fire Chief, and he’s currently investigating the arson case with Braden. We all have jobs within Coleman Lumber, but Tyre and Wyatt are the most hands-on. Tyre is the office manager and goes into the office daily. Wyatt oversees the logging crews and supervises the employees.
It’s Tyre that saunters my way, shucking his suit jacket as he watches me lift my ax and heave it over my shoulders, expertly cracking another piece of wood in half.
“Haven’t seen you split logs in months,” he observes, laying his jacket over the top of the wooden fence post.
I grunt in response.
“What’s troubling you, Rex?”
“A 5 foot eleven beauty with a sharp tongue.”
He grins like it’s funny. “Cami is back.”
“Yeah. Cami is back.”
He whistles like it’s all he needs to know. “She still hates ya?”
I send him a glare. “What the fuck do you think?”
It’s common knowledge among my brothers that I fucked up with Cami. It’s also a source of amusement among them.
The bastards get off on teasing me about it.
“Maybe she’ll forgive you this time.” He tries to sound sincere, but Tyre finds it too funny to make it work.
There’s another vehicle approaching, and it sounds like Wyatt’s Jeep.Great.
I shoot Tyre an accusing look. “You knew about Cami already.”
“Yep.”
“And you told everyone.” By everyone, I mean all the Coleman brothers.
“Yep,” he says a second time, putting extra emphasis on the “p” as he replies.
Since I’m the oldest, I live in the main house that’s also our childhood home. After the fire, I rebuilt the wing that was destroyed, and I’ve added onto it over the last eight years, remodeling it into a place where someday our children and grandchildren can come for holidays or whenever they need a place to stay. It’s what our mother wanted.
Braden still lives here. Tyre, Wyatt, and Alder all have their own homes, but that doesn’t stop any of them from showing up nearly every day of the week. There’s always food because someone will cook or bring pizza, and that suits all of us just fine. We aren’t fancy around here.
Wyatt strolls around the corner, seeing all the logs I’ve split, and he shakes his head. Pulling out his wallet, he reaches for a twenty and slaps it into Tyre’s hand. “Fuck. You’re right.”
“Right about what?” Alder asks as he joins us. He scans the yard. “Fuck, Tyre.” He hands over a twenty, the same as Wyatt.
By now, I’m gettin’ grumpy. “The fuck?”
When Braden is the last to join us, smirking as he pays Tyre too, I end up throwing my ax into the nearest tree. “You’re all a bunch of assholes.”
