Page 4 of Tripp

“Kid, in a small town like this, everyone’s your fuc—freaking uncle.”

“Dani Lynn!”

“Don’t start with me, old man. I’m not in the mood.” She grinned at me, hugging my neck again.

“Nice to see nothing changes around here.” I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“He can’t help himself.” She shrugged.

“She tests my nerves daily.” I heard Gabe’s chuckle this time. “She is her mother’s daughter,” he said, coming out of a big door on the left of where I stood. The sign next to the jamb said ‘Sheriff.’

Dani Lynn smirked. “He forgets himself sometimes. Some people in town say I’m just like him.” She took a step back, bringing her full attention back to me. “I’m sorry we missed you the last time you were in town.”

“You were popping out a baby the last couple times he’s skirted through here. He never stays long, so there was no way to get him to the house,” Gabe remarked, giving my outstretched hand a shake before pulling me into a big bear hug. “Nice to see your ugly mug, man. What brings you back down this way?”

“I’m sorry I missed y’all too. It was probably for the best. I’ve not always been in the right headspace when I’m here. It’s usually my unwind and recover time. Some of these people—I guess y’all get it.”

“Yeah, no need to explain. We’ve all been through some shit the last few years.” Dani Lynn looked at her dad, his features dimmed.

I met his gaze, assessing his mood, then looked around as I spoke. “I was coming to see my boy. And I don’t stay long because a man has to make money. I got bills to pay.” I took a step back, giving everyone their space. That wasn’t the full truth though. I did come for those reasons I’d said, but I didn’t stay long because seeing Casey, and knowing I’d fucked up—hurt.

“That’s fair,” Dani Lynn replied, smiling. “You’re here now. Everything okay though?” she asked, her voice lowering an octave.

“Yeah, just a little catch-up time with Phoenix. Or that was my intent. On the way here, I got a call from a friend that his sister might be missing.”

Gabe gave me a sharp look. Before either of us could say anything else, there was a rustle of doors opening behind me.

“Okay, we’re here, what happened?”

I turned to see who was coming in.

“About fucking time, Jesus.” Dani Lynn turned to the two men.

“Derek, my boy, can you pull the footage from the street cams? I’m looking for anyone leaving the bar, big blue pick-up. Asshole skipped out on a $10 bar tab. They were said to be headed to the motel, but they’ve just up and disappeared. Charlie’s out on patrol looking for them.”

“Sure thing. I can get that—do you need it now or can it wait about two hours?”

“A couple of hours is fine. They’re just getting a ticket. Brayden isn’t pressing charges or anything. If we can find a tag, we will mail it to them.”

“Okay, got it.”

I scowled when I got a good look at the men. The one who’d given me a ticket was coming in behind the one talking to Derek. I did a double-take.

“Am I going nuts or are there two of them?” I shook my head. Maybe I was a lot more tired than I thought.

Dani Lynn snorted out a laugh. “If I didn’t have things going on, I’d say there was only one of them. See how far we could take this joke.”

I gave her a look. “Don’t sass me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She waved at me dismissively. “This is my husband Drew, and this one is his brother Jackson. Landry brothers, this is Dad’s old Army buddy, Tripp Cavannagh.”

“We’ve met,” the one she’d called Jackson said.

“Yeah, I got his autograph and all,” I added, pulling the ticket from my pocket.

“There are speed limit signs for a reason,” Dani Lynn stated, her eyes narrowing in on the ticket. “Musta been going a good clip ’cause that one isn’t as strict as the others are.”

Gabe, the asshole, chuckled, taking the ticket from me. “We’ll sort this out later.”

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