Dylan
AFTER A FEW hours of training Bucky to do the Barrel Buddy Pick-up, we brushed down the horses, thanked Wyatt, and headed back into town to bribe Sergio. Daylight was waning and I wanted to soak in Epsom salts to work out the damage Bucky had done to my body when I wasn’t secured before he bolted. Wyatt had been all sweet concern about Addison getting hurt, but the bastard laughed himselfsilly when I hit the dirt. I made a mental note to tell his grandma on him when we hit the nursing home. That’d teach him.
“We have to stop by Dad’s butcher shop first,” I said, heading in that direction. “You want to come in, or you want to sit in the car?”
“How gross is this butcher shop?” Addison asked.
“The store front is like the meat counter of a grocery store. All the gory stuff happensin the back.”
“I can handle that,” she said.
We went in and found Bill behind the counter. Bill was my father’s only employee. They’d grown up together and Bill was balding, beer-bellied, and divorced, with no life whatsoever. He manned the counter and assisted Dad in the back Monday through Friday, and they closed up on the weekends.
“Dylan.” He gave me a wide smile and came around the counterto hug me. “I heard you were in town and was hopin’ you’d stop by. Your dad’s not in right now, but I could call him...”
“No, no, that’s not necessary. Bill, this is my friend, Addison. She’s never had any of Dad’s famous venison jerky, so I stopped by to see if I could buy some off you.”
Bill eyed me. “You know he doesn’t let me sell that.”
Yep, I did. The jerky was only for special clients,which is exactly why I needed it. I gave him my sweetest, most innocent smile. “But it’s so good. She can’t come to my home town and not try the jerky I told her so much about.”
I elbowed Addison. She gave a little jump before turning on her charm. “Oh yeah, Dylan doesn’t shut up about this stuff, and I’ve been looking forward to it forever.”
Bill went behind the counter and checked his stock.“Well, I suppose I could give you a few strips.”
“You know Dad would if he were here,” I said. “If anything could talk me into moving back, it’s Dad’s jerky.”
That part wasn’t exactly a lie. Dad’s jerky was the thing I missed the most about Lakeview. Bill tossed a couple strips in a bag, waved off my offer of payment, and we were on our way.
“Are you going to let me try it?” Addison askedas I laid the bag on the backseat.
“Not a chance. The stuff is like crack. One bite, and you’re hooked. We need it to bribe Sergio into releasing the security tapes. But we’re gonna have to be stealthy about it.”
“Okay...?”
I giggled. “Silence your phone. This is gonna be fun.”
