“We bought ninety-five acres,” he said, then pointed to the east.“And we’re gonna close on another two hundred in the next couple of weeks.It’s more than we anticipated when we started lookin’.We’ll be relocating the current Camp K-9 from Embers Ridge to here once it’s complete.”
“The sign says Storme Shelter.Is that something different?”
Trey nodded, pulling a set of keys from his pocket and unlocking the door of the small construction trailer.
“It’s a rescue sanctuary,” he explained.“The shelters in the area are so overcrowded, and there aren’t many options for large farm animals—horses and whatnot.Ava talked us into expanding.”
Archer smiled.Trey sounded put out, but his tone didn’t quite match the smile on his face.
“Here’s the blueprint,” Trey said, walking over to a large wooden table.“We finalized it last week.”
Archer skimmed the drawing, noticing there was a house and several other structures on the plan.
“We’ve got an aggressive timeline,” Trey explained.“We’re hopin’ to have it completed by March.”
“Six months?”
“Like I said.Aggressive.”
“Doable?”Archer asked, chuckling.
“With Ava driving, I’d say so.She managed to get all the permits before we even signed the papers.”Trey looked up, his grin growing wide.“Speak of the devil and she will appear.”
Archer glanced out the window to see a man and a woman heading toward them at a jog.No.Not a jog.They were running full out and not in a straight line.
“Is he … chasing her?”
Trey laughed.“He is.And if I’m right, he’ll paddle her ass when he catches her.”
A moment later, the door swung open and the woman barreled inside, giggling and squealing.
The man wasn’t far behind, growling softly.
Trey cleared his throat.“Magnus.Ava.”
They stopped instantly, clearly just realizing they weren’t alone.
“Hi,” Ava said, waving as she gasped for air.
Magnus looked at Trey, then at Archer.“Hey.”
“Archer, this is Magnus Storme and Ava March.My soon-to-be husband and wife.”
“Husbandandwife.Interesting.”Archer shook their hands.
“Best of both worlds,” Magnus said, gripping his hand firmly.“You’re the investigator the task force just hired, huh?”
Archer nodded.It wasn’t official, but he figured it probably should be.There was no reason for him to pretend otherwise.“And you must be the Storme in Storme Shelter.”
“In my defense, I didn’t come up with the name.”Magnus’s eyes were a bit dreamy as he looked at Ava.
“What do you think of the plans?”Ava asked, glancing from him to the blueprints on the table.
“It’s impressive.”
“We hope it will be,” she said.“For the animals, anyway.”
“I think it’s commendable what you do.”
