Page 10 of Bad Seed

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. And I got a very desperate hug from a little boy when I pulled him out of the weeds.”

Shirley’s eyes welled. “Bless his little heart. How will they manage in the dark?”

“I think the only thing they’re still waiting on is a commercial tow truck with a lift to get that bus rolled back over, but they have floodlights.”

She sighed. “Of course. But you know me, I’m bound to worry. Now, go say hi to your brother. I’m making steaks and baked potatoes. You’re invited to supper.”

“I better be,” he said, and kissed her on the cheek and then left the kitchen.

Ava was sitting in Sean’s lap at the computer and, with his instructions, learning how to play a game he’d pulled up, when Brendan walked in.

Sean looked up. “Hey, BJ. How’s the hotel business?”

“We’re supposed to call him Brendan,” Ava muttered, without taking her gaze from the computer screen.

Sean grinned and ignored her.

“The hotel business is sketchy,” Brendan muttered.

Sean frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t trust the manager Ray hired, and his daughter, who lives with him, is a royal pain. I can’t goanywhere in the hotel without her popping up out of nowhere. She’s a nutcase. I’m sick of her and her father.”

Sean frowned. “Has anyone talked to Ray about them?”

“Nobody wants to worry Ray. Stress is the last thing he needs. Liz is there. She’s still the go-between for her dad and knows what’s going on about most things, so we leave it up to her to share what she thinks he can handle.”

“What are you going to do?” Sean said.

“Put up with Larry, and ignore the daughter until I can’t,” Brendan said. “Enough about all that. Hey, Ava, what are you playing?”

Her eyes were still glued to the computer screen and the moving figures. “A game,” she muttered.

Sean wiggled his eyebrows at his brother and took another bite of the cookie Ava brought him.

Brendan left them to it and returned to the kitchen to help his mom and Amalie finish supper.

“Want me to grill the steaks?” he asked.

Shirley handed him a pair of tongs. “With my blessing,” she said.

Amalie elbowed him teasingly. “You’re handy dandy in the kitchen, little brother. You’re going to make some woman happy.”

“Cooking is only one of my skills,” he said.

Shirley blushed.

Amalie laughed.

Brendan grinned. Women didn’t scare him. In fact,now that he thought about it, nothing scared him much anymore.

***

It was very late by the time the road had been cleared and Wiley was finally headed home. He’d already talked to Linette and asked her to check on Lisa Hamilton and her son, Davey, and to see if Alex Fallin had come through surgery okay so he could let Brendan know.

Linette was staying at the hospital, taking a double shift to help cover the influx of injured patients, and his mom had already called to tell him she’d put Ava to bed, so he was going home alone. He would stop by the house early in the morning with clean clothes for Ava, then take her on to school.

The drive up the mountain felt longer than usual, but someone had graded the road, making the drive a little easier. By the time he pulled up to the house, all he could think about was a hot bath.

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