“Yeah, it’s great, and Avery sure loves it. He needed someone to beat the grumpy out of him.”
“Well, Jace will be back soon, so if Tilly hadn’t done it, he sure would have.”
“It’ll be good to have our little brother back with us.” Eastern uncapped his beer and took a sip.
“I’m sorry about Denny,” Cody said quietly, the humor leaving his eyes.
“You knew him too.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t have to see his dead body. Or hell, find him. Is Sadie doing okay?”
“She was in a bit of shock for a few days, but having it confirmed that it was a brain aneurysm has helped because there was nothing we could have done to prevent his death.”
Cody’s brows tugged together. “Yeah, just a shit situation. On a different subject, you never found out who broke into her shop?”
Eastern’s fingers tightened around his beer. “No. Never found the perp. She has new, better locks on the doors, so hopefully that will help prevent anything like that from happening again.”
“It’s annoying that the asshole’s still out there.”
“Yeah, and that we don’t know why they did it. They wouldn’t have gotten away with much money, just the few hundred that was in the register. It’s almost like they just went in there to trash the place.”
When Eastern’s cell rang in his pocket, he pulled it out. “Speak of the devil.” He answered the call but put it on speaker. “Jace.”
Air blew over the line. “Hey, big brother!”
“Cody’s here too.”
Cody leaned forward. “Hey, Jace.”
“Ah, I get the pleasure oftwobig brothers. How lucky am I. Any nieces?”
Eastern leaned a shoulder against the wall. “She’s inside, probably filling her stomach with sugar before dinner.”
“Fuck, I love that kid.” Jace laughed. “Just calling to let you know I’m on my way home.”
Cody frowned. “Now?”
“Well, when I say I’m on my way, I mean I’m leaving tomorrow but doing a quick trip to Mexico to have some drinks with a few buddies. I might do some ATV riding through the mountains. Afterthat, I’ll be home.”
Sounded like Jace, always the adrenaline junkie. “Need anything from us?”
“Nope, just letting you know to expect my pretty face soon.”
“Good. We’ve missed it.” Eastern wasn’t even joking. Their youngest brother had always brought a lot of laughter and smiles to the family.
“You still going to work the new skywalk?” Cody asked.
“Yeah, can’t wait. It’s connected to the visitors center, yeah?”
“It is.” Eastern headed toward the back door. “You want to speak to Ave?”
“Fuck yeah, I do.”
“Language around her.”
“Sorry. Fudge yes, I do.”
Eastern rolled his eyes as he stepped inside, his gaze going straight to Avery, who was now wrestling Kayden in the living area. “Hey. Wanna talk to Uncle Jace?”
