Chapter Five
West
Monday afternoon, I’mgrilling steaks and corn in my outdoor kitchen while Ham headbutts me, probably for eating his long-lost cousin.Wyatt should be showing up any minute.We may all live on this ranch, but we don’t live in each other’s pockets more than we need to.My family knows you call ahead when you’re coming to my house.A boundary I put in place after being caught jerking off on my damn front porch by my brother’s and Cash.Didn’t live that one down for a long time.
Wyatt’s bright orange truck tears up the drive and pulls to a stop just inches from my back bumper.He’s always driven like a maniac.I blame Wade for teaching him to bash around the pastures at ten.
“Smells good,” Wyatt shouts from his open window.
“Get on up here then, it’s ready.”
My brother collects the stack of books from the front seat and climbs out, bumping it with his hip to close the door.
I grab a paper plate from the counter and throw on a steak, some charred bell peppers, and a couple cobs of corn and hold it up out of Ham’s reach.He’ll eat anything at head height.Wyatt places the stack of books on the table and takes the food I offer.I fix my plate, and pull a couple of beers from the mini fridge.When we turn back around, Ham is licking the stack of paperbacks.
“Hey, outta that.”I growl.Bull spit is fucking sticky, and I don’t want the pages of Wade’s newest dragon rider books ruined before I can find out what the hell happened after that cliffhanger.
“I still can’t believe we’re not eating this little shit,” Wyatt says.
Ham bellows at him as if he knows exactly what he’s saying.
“Don’t you talk that way about my son.”I throw Ham a cob of corn and tuck into my meal, suddenly ravenous.“Took you long enough to finish this one, by the way.”
“I needed a little extra time with Xaiden.”
I wrinkle my nose.“Dude, bull saliva better be the only thing tacking up those pages.”
My brother grins.“Maybe you should think about getting a kindle.”
“All I’m taking from that is I need a full hazmat suit to read those books.”
“Couldn’t hurt.”He shrugs.“Speaking of blowing your load, how’s driving Miss Daisy?”
“Knock it off,” I say sternly.
Wyatt laughs.“So touchy.”
“Thanks for telling Lemon about my reading habits, by the way.She had a field day with that one.Even brought it up in conversation to the date she set me up on.”
Wyatt says, “I heard you got bitch slapped.Besides, you know what Lemon’s like.It’s impossible to keep anything from her.”
“Be honest, she beat it outta you, didn’t she?”
“She twisted my arm, like literally.And she’s really damn strong.”We both laugh, because our sister has always been kind of a bully.I sip my beer and grin when my phone buzzes in my pocket, hoping it’s a text from Daisy.My smile quickly vanishes, when I get a 911 sent from Wade, only this is not to the family group chat, but to a chat I share with only my brothers, Colt, and Cash.Wyatt glances at his phone too, his face dropping, and I call Wade as we both stand and head for his truck.
“Brother, what’s happening?”
“You gotta get down here, I was driving past the east pasture.There’s ...hundreds of them.West ...”static crackling filters through the speaker.
“You’re breaking up,” I say, climbing in the cab of Wyatt’s truck.He peels out of the drive and heads east.“Hundreds of what?”
“Just ...down ...”More static.This is bullshit.I’m getting about every second word Wade is saying.“I don’t ...wrong with ’em.”
The call cuts out.I slam my fist against the glove compartment.It pops open, and I rifle through it for a walkie.Cell reception often sucks here on the ranch, so we always have walkies handy for this very reason.
“Where’s your walkie?”
