Page 59 of Darling Beasts

Ugh, Ozzie thought, shooting daggers. He really wished she’d stop pretending to be on his side when obviously she hadn’t wanted him here, same as Talia.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” Brody said. “The ground crew will follow along. Wherever we land, they’ll pick us up.”

“We don’t know where we’re going to land?” Gabby said. Talia went to say something, too, but Brody blasted the propane, drowning them both out.

At last, the crew stepped away from the basket, waving as the balloon lifted them up, up, up and away. Ozzie closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Well, if they went down in literal flames, at least he wouldn’t have to listen to his sisters bitch about this for the next three to five years.

“Raj is recording us,” Gabby said, craning over the basket. “Or taking pictures. Maybe Montana and Bea can do something with it.”

“That’ll get Dad some eyeballs,” Talia said. The fire roared again. “The last known photograph of Marston Gunn’s three children. All presumed dead.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Gabby

The mood in the balloon had gone from very tense to... whatever this was. Probably on account of Talia pounding champagne. The lines between her brows had all but disappeared, and now she stood on the other side of the balloon, marveling at the views, whooping it up. Meanwhile I smiled blandly into the void, wishing I hadn’t googled “how fire hot air balloon” back when we were still on the ground. The search results offered no explanations, just a bunch of videos of balloons catching on actual fire and news stories counting the number of people dead.

If Talia can enjoy this, you certainly can, I told myself. Peering down, my eyes swept the land beneath us, from the hills to the golf courses to the racetrack. With the Pacific Ocean glittering ten miles in the distance, I felt a semblance of peace. Until Brody hocked a big one over the side.

“Ew!” I yelped. “Gross!”

“My bad,” he said. “Should’ve given you a heads-up. It’s how I measure which way we’re goin’. The wind changes speed and direction based on altitude, and my job is to figure out how to ride each stream. Some people use wood shavings, but why shell out for supplies when I have everything I need inside?” He patted his belly.

“How resourceful!” I chirped, and tried not to think too hardabout the fact our pilot considered wood chips a luxury. Also, he undeniably reeked of pot. Maybe it calmed him. Maybe it was medicinal.

Brody fired the propane like a very large bong. Talia continued to take swigs of her champagne, and I avoided looking at my brother because I couldn’t bear it.Dammit, Ozzie.He’d been doing so well, and this was going to end up as another black mark. Why did he have to make everything so hard on himself?

“Look at us!” Talia said, as Brody juiced the burner again. “A real family bonding session. Three thousand feet in the air. Let’s all go around and say one thing we love about California.”

Oh, God, she was doing this now? When she was drunk, and we were sober (aside from Brody, possibly), and a small stroke of bad luck away from catching on fire? But this was Talia, and she hated to let something go.

“Fresh corn on the cob,” I said, and Ozzie snorted.

“The weather is sick,” he said.

“I’m glad we’re all together,” Talia said. “Truly.” She looked at Ozzie, pointedly, and my gut constricted. Like, maybe don’t directly address the fact you never wanted him here? “I know you think I’m prone to false nostalgia.”

“Facts,” Ozzie said, squatting to pour himself a glass of champagne.

“I loved being together the other night, in the recreation pavilion, even though, if I’m being honest, it made me sad.” She paused, staring wistfully out toward the horizon as she sipped her champagne. “It was a reminder of how you guys were always together, engaging in your shenanigans, and I was always left out. Not that I was interested in biking around Southampton to egg people’s tennis courts—”

“RIP Mrs. Merchin’s newly coiffed hair,” Ozzie said as he rose to standing.

“For the record,” I said. “I never really had a choice with the ‘shenanigans.’ He didn’t warn me in advance.”

“Oh, poor Gabby,” Ozzie grumbled.

“But you went along for the ride,” Talia said. “It would’ve been nice to be included every once in a while.”

Suddenly, Brody let out a yelp. We all cranked in his direction.

“It’s all good!” he said, voice cracking. “We’re a wee bit off course. Just need to change elevations and catch the wind moving west.”

Grimacing, I reminded myself this was very normal. It’s why we had to “ride the streams” while the crew followed along in a truck. This would be fine, right? I checked my skin and found it rash-free. The air smelled crisp and clean. My PBS sensors detected no imminent danger.

“Oh my God,” Talia said when Brody whoa-nellied again. “Can we land this damned thing?”

“Yeah, deadass, bro,” Ozzie said. “It’s feeling kinda sketchy.”

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