“What’s the play, Chief?” Myra asked.
“Well, I for one, am going for that beer,” Crow said.
“No,” all three of us Reeds said.
“This is your mess,” I said. “You finish the clean up.”
“Clean it up. Stay away. You girls have got to make up your mind,” he grouched.
“You go with Myra,” I said, and she nodded. “Jean, is Hogan staying with you?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, so you’re covering south side of the city. Think you can call in Kelby or Hatter or Shoe to cover central?”
She frowned, “Kelby’s available. Maybe Than?”
“Yeah, they could team up. Myra, you and Crow can take north.”
They were all silent for a second.
“What part of town are you taking?” Crow asked with an innocent lilt that was totally fake.
“No part.” I grabbed Ryder’s hand, and it was warm and somehow dry. “I’m going on vacation.”
Chapter Twelve
A flashof yellow lit up the rearview mirror, the earth to sky beam massive and thick before it winked out of existence.
“We can turn around,” Ryder said, as he slowed the truck.
“I know.”
“It’s another cursed object.”
“I know. But they’ve got it covered. Everyone in town has it covered.”
“You sure? The place might be a mess by the time we get back.”
“That’s okay. Life is messy. So is Ordinary.”
He shot me a glance, then stretched his hand out over the console toward me. “It’s going to be okay.”
“It is.” I waited, because I could tell he was just bursting with the need to tell me all about the cabin he’d rented. “So,” I said. “Tell me about the place you picked.”
He exhaled and grinned. “You sure you want to know? Or would you rather it be a surprise?”
“We’ve got four hours of driving—”
“—at least five—”
“—at least five hours of driving, and we’re trying to shoot the gap between storms. Talk to me, Ryder. Tell me about our first vacation place together.”
“For starters, it has no monsters.”
I laughed. “I like it already.”
“And it’s out past the Three Sisters, in the middle of nowhere facing a fir grove with a stream.”
