Chapter Three
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Brantley had to admit, he hadn’t expectedReese to pull off a get-together so quickly. He’d said it as a joke, trying to get a rise out of Reese. Instead, the man had agreed to a cookout for the entire task force.
Guy was a saint, that was for damn sure.
Then again, Brantley hadn’t expected every single member—new and old—of the team to agree to dinner at their house. He’d honestly expected at least half of them to decline for one reason or another.
Nope. Even Decker Bromwell had driven down from Dallas specifically for this event.
And now their usually empty house—complete with what Reese referred to as a brand-new dining room suite—was full.
If Brantley was being honest, it wasn’t as awkward as he’d expected it to be. Even now, as he sipped his beer and casually watched everyone interacting, there was what he would call arelatively normalvibe to the organized chaos.
Evan Vaughn was standing half in the kitchen, half in the living room, watching as his daughter, Sophia—who had turned eight last month—had an animated discussion with Rebecca Richter’s seven-year-old daughter, Carly. From the instant the two girls had been introduced, they’d been chattering away about things only little girls understood.
Standing near the back door, Holly and Elana were laughing about something on Holly’s phone. At the breakfast bar, Jay, Allison, and Charlie were deep in a discussion about some of their more exciting moments doing police work. On the back deck, Trey, Luca, and Slade were talking Reese’s ear off while Reese manned the grill. In the yard, Tesha was keeping JJ busy throwing the ball, while JJ talked to Darius and Rebecca, a.k.a. Becs, about things only the geek squad was familiar with. And last but not least, Baz and Deck were sitting at the patio table, drinking beer and watching everything around them.
They’d gone from three members originally, then quickly to six, then on to nine, and now to sixteen in just under a year, and Brantley couldn’t deny he was looking forward to seeing what they could accomplish. Last night, he’d called RT, updating him on the status. Brantley’s boss had seemed relatively impressed that the team had come together so easily. Brantley wasn’t sureeasilywas the right word, but it had come together, and in the coming weeks, as the newbies started to trickle in full time, they’d be off and running.
He figured it was too early in the relationships to determine whether or not this group would result in a cohesive unit. Only time would tell that, but if they were lucky, it would work itself out. He’d already picked up on a few distinct personality traits—Allison liked to believe she was in charge, Slade enjoyed the flirtatious banter that could very well cross a line if they weren’t careful, and Becs was the mother hen. But Brantley knew all too well how those personality traits could give way to others as a group of people tossed together became a team.
“What exactly is an L-O-L, anyway?” Slade asked, stepping up beside Brantley.
Brantley took a swig of beer, frowned. “How the hell should I know?”
Slade nodded at the two little girls playing with palm-sized dolls with a dozen accessories scattered on the coffee table. “They said it. Not me.”
Brantley couldn’t even pretend to translate little-girl speak. He’d listened to them earlier and hadn’t followed a single word. It was like being around his nieces, which was nice, but it always left him feeling a tad overwhelmed.
Slade stepped in front of him. “I wanted to say thanks, you know, for givin’ me this opportunity.”
“Wasn’t nothin’ given,” he told the man. “They think you’re a good fit for the team. Now it’s up to you to prove yourself.”
“I’ll give it two hundred percent.”
Brantley knew he would. Slade had been the one to approach him, taking a brief moment after Kylie’s funeral to introduce himself and let Brantley know he was around if they needed anything at all. Although they’d grown up in the same small town, he didn’t know Slade all that well. Since Slade was five years younger, they’d never run in the same circles but had interacted a time or two at various family functions considering his aunt Lorrie’s family was as ingrained in Coyote Ridge as Brantley’s own.
“Did you and Reese hang out when you were kids?” he inquired, realizing they were roughly the same age.
Slade’s dark brown eyes shifted to the sliding glass doors and beyond. “He was a grade higher. I remember him, but we didn’t hang out, no.”
One never knew in this town.
“Hey, boss,” Charlie called out. “Reese is looking for you.”
Brantley excused himself to join Reese outside. He was then relegated to carrying in the food, put to work dishing it up, too. He should’ve known his man wouldn’t let him sit back with his feet up. Not that he minded doing a favor for Reese.
After all, he had every intention of calling in that favor later tonight.
“Looks like you might have another mouth to feed,” Evan informed him when he took a plate loaded down with French fries that Charlie had kindly cooked in the oven.
Brantley looked up, saw Magnus Storme talking to Reese on the back deck. Tesha had strolled over to him, clearly wanting to greet her trainer friend. Brantley watched as Trey took a few steps back, putting distance between them but never taking his eyes off Magnus. He recalled the conversation he’d had with Trey when his brother first showed interest in Magnus. He knew curiosity when he heard it, and his brother had certainly been curious about Magnus. The question was, why?
As he watched Trey watching Magnus, he thought back to New Year’s at Moonshiners when Magnus had flirted ruthlessly with Trey. Had they…? Surely not. What could those two possibly have in common?
Brantley’s thoughts dislodged when he noticed Jay Hernandez approaching.
