Page 10 of Legacy of Lies
Chapter 3
They followed their noses through the silent dining room into the bright, cheery kitchen. The moment he set foot on the shiny red-and-white tiles, his spirits lifted. Memories of past meals, family crowded around the kitchen table, chattering and laughing, anchored him to this room. Better times, back then.
“Hi, boys!” Garrison’s sister, Shelby, blew an orange curl off her forehead and waved the hand that didn’t hold a spatula. She flipped burgers in a skillet and stirred a steaming pot. The sizzling pops and scents of hot, fresh food tantalized his ears and filled his nostrils as his belly growled loudly.
“No calls? You’re on dinner duty tonight?” he asked. “Thanks.”
With a grin, she answered, “Yup, stupid hiker season ended a month ago, and the snows haven’t started yet. So search and rescue gets a break before stupid skier season starts. I’m technically on call, but it’s unlikely I’ll be needed for another few weeks.”
Garrison crossed his arms. “No one’s happy you’re still going into the Tetons, especially with the increased earthquake activity.”
She shrugged. “Even more reason to get in there and help folks. Look, just because some mountain on the West Coast exploded is no reason to assume the Tetons are going anywhere.”
“The Tetons don’t worry me. It’s the earthquakes kicked off from that caldera of lava next door that sits on a fault line: Yellowstone.”
When she glared at him and flicked her gaze at Zach, Garrison clamped his mouth shut against any more misgivings. Didn’t matter if she was a grown woman, Shelby was still his baby sister.
Straightening, she said, “And about dinner? You’re welcome. If I don’t cook once in a while, you all would never get anything green to eat, ever.”
“Yuck, green stuff.” Zach pulled a face.
Shelby crossed her eyes, looking even funnier with the wild curls that had escaped her ponytail and framed her face. A fake tuxedo apron engulfed her tall, slim frame.
“Broccoli.” She raised the spoon in a mock menace at Zach between stirs.
“Oh, no!” Zach said in a high-pitched voice as he pretended to cower.
“But with ooey-gooey awesome cheese all over it!”
His son licked his lips again. Hook, line, and sinker. Shel was pure manipulation when it came to Zach, and Garrison loved her for it. She’d filled in as best she could over the past year after Tiffani left.
“Cheese! That sounds great, Auntie Shelby.”
She pressed the ground meat patties with a spatula. “How about you quit your drooling, little man, and set the table?”
“Okay!” He ran around the kitchen like a dervish, slamming drawers and clanking plates so hard that Garrison cringed.
Damn, if only he could get that sort of enthusiasm out of Zach. How great would it be if things were easier between them? They would have good, solid father-son talks while riding horses or eating dinner. But good parenting took time and practice.
Time. Something else he lacked.
While Zach scampered around the table, Shelby pinned Garrison with a gold-flecked brown gaze beneath an arched eyebrow.
“So, how was the meeting today?” she asked.
Garrison gave her a curt shake of his head and eased into a spindled wood chair at one end of the table. She pressed her lips together with a wary expression and turned back to the food on the stove.
With a frown of concentration, Zach filled four glasses with milk and set one next to each plate. No spills. A wistful swell grew in Garrison’s chest. His son was growing up too fast.
“Hey, Zach Attack, go get Grandpa,” Shelby called over her shoulder.
He took off at full tilt, careening around the doorway and disappearing into the depths of the big ranch house. Garrison winced at the bangs and slams that drifted back to the kitchen.
“So?” She turned away from the stovetop and crossed her arms. If not for the serious frown, he would’ve laughed out loud at the tall version of Little Orphan Annie glaring at him.
“Teacher says he’s acting out some.”
“How come?”
