Suzy screwed her mouth into a frown. “I just remembered I’ve got to run an errand. Think you can handle this on your own?” She began to pass the pumpkins to me, losing several in the transfer.
“But I don’t know what you have in mind. I’ve never even been bowling, much less pumpkin bowling.” My protests fell on deaf ears.
Unencumbered by the pumpkins, Suzy spun me around and pointed to a tent. “Just draw some faces on those bowling pins and stack the pumpkins over there. I’ll be back in just a bit.”
I stood by, helpless, while Suzy stalked down the sidewalk and disappeared around the corner. Something was going on in Ido. Something I needed to figure out, and fast.
CHAPTER 26
JASPER
I tried dialingthe last number I had for my older brother. A recorded voice came on the line saying it had been disconnected. Colin had to be the one who’d left those dogs in the barn. But why?
If what my dad read in the paper that morning had any merit to it, the dog-fighting ring Bodie had been chasing around for the past couple of years might be closer than we thought. And I had a fairly good idea how to find out for sure. The whole way back to the barn, I tried to figure out how to handle it.
I needed things to go well tonight. For Lacey, for Ido, for my family. There was no guarantee Colin would be back for the dogs soon. Maybe we’d make it through the Fall Festival, and I could confront my brother tomorrow. Once Delilah was safely on her way back to Dallas.
But if I knew my brother at all, I had a sinking feeling in my gut that whatever Colin had planned for those dogs would be happening tonight. Like Dad said, there would be plenty of people around for the festival, so if there was something happening with the dogs, it would be hard to tell with all the extra activity.
I couldn’t let him get away with it. Colin had done nothing but lie, steal, and cheat. I had looked the other way once and it had cost me. I didn’t have a choice but to try to get to my brother before someone else did.
Abby wasn’t in her room when I got back to the house. She’d be performing later on that afternoon and had probably already left for practice. I searched through her drawer for the old phone I’d given her. Mom and Dad wouldn’t let her have one of her own yet, so I’d taken out the SIM card and let her use it for apps.
She’d loaded an app that could track her device, and I synced it with my own phone. It would have been much easier asking Bodie for help, but I couldn’t afford the risk.
I headed back to the barn, a tiny part of me hoping that Colin had come back for the dogs in the short time I’d been gone. Then I could let myself off the hook, tell myself I’d tried but it was too late.
But there they were. I wasn’t sure what kind of temperament they might have so I picked the one that looked to be the friendliest and opened up the cage. The dog let out a low growl, its ears flattening against its head.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” I held out a cookie I’d grabbed on my way through my mom’s kitchen.
The dog sniffed at it. After a few good whiffs of my mama’s homemade snickerdoodle, the pup gave it a lick. As it cautiously nibbled, I secured the old phone to the inside of the plastic kennel. Odds were, my plan wouldn’t work. But I had to try.
“I wish I had something for all of you.” I broke off several small bites of cookie and handed them out to the other dogs. “Don’t worry. I’m going to get you out of this mess. Just hang tight until later tonight, okay?”
With phase one of my plan complete, I stood, brushed off my jeans, and headed back to my truck. No matter what my assholebrother was up to, I needed to show Delilah the time of her life tonight. I had to secure the win.
Two hours later I’d checked in with my brothers, changed into a nicer pair of jeans, and was letting my gaze drift over the gorgeous woman in the seat next to me. She wore her sash over a deep red dress that matched the color of her lips. I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off her, even almost drove us off the road when she’d pulled my hand into her lap and tangled her fingers with mine.
“You ready for this?” I held her door while she climbed out of the truck. The smell of apple turnovers and simmering apple cider reached my nose.
“What’s that smell?” She turned her nose in the air and inhaled.
“That’s the scent of Ido’s Fall Festival. Get ready to have your senses overloaded. Do you want to start with apples or pumpkins?”
“What does that mean?” She wrinkled her nose, making her eyes crinkle at the edges.
“There are two schools of thought around town. You love fall for either the apples or the pumpkins. Before we go any further, I’m going to need to know which side you’re on.” It might sound ridiculous to an outsider, but that’s the way we’d celebrated in Ido for as long as I could remember.
“Which side are you on?” Her brow furrowed like she was afraid of making the wrong decision.
“I can’t tell you that.” I smiled as she rubbed her lips together.
“Apple strudel is the best. But I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie.”
I lifted a shoulder. “What’s it going to be?”
“I don’t know. Can I try a little bit of everything and give you an answer at the end?”
