Page 65 of All Autumn
Back at the house I stuck the pizzas in the oven on warm while Autumn rummaged through my cabinets, collecting plates and bowls. For a minute I watched her, thinking how much I liked seeing her in my kitchen, playing hostess. I glanced at Beau, sitting at her feet, his intent gaze on her. He was probably hoping a chip or pretzel would fall. I liked him here, too. I shook off those crazy thoughts and opened a bag of chips, sneaking Beau one.
35
~ Autumn ~
“What one objectin your home are you most embarrassed about owning?” I read aloud and followed it with a groan. “Why me?” Jenn had managed to get away from Vincennes early and had arrived around nine thirty. We were playing Loaded Questions, and I read the card again, hoping I’d read it wrong. I hadn’t. The only thing that came to mind was my vibrator.
“Spit it out, Autumn,” Connor said, his lips fighting a grin.
Of course he knew what I was thinking of, as did every-smirking-one else sitting around the table. “Obviously, y’all know my answer, so I don’t see why I have to say it.”
“Them’s the rules, my friend,” Adam said, his grin matching Connor’s. “From your mouth to our ears.”
“It’s my vibrator, okay?” I rolled my eyes. “Satisfied?” It wasn’t that I was embarrassed I owned one, but that I had to say it in front of three men.
Sitting next to me, Connor leaned over and whispered, “Not yet.”
I kicked him under the table, getting a chuckle.
“What color is it?” Jenn asked.
I stared at her in disbelief. “What happened to us girls sticking together?”
She laughed as she held up her wine. “My second glass happened.”
“Red gets loose-lipped around that second glass,” Dylan said, smiling at his wife. “That’s why I haven’t told her I’m a spy in my secret life. Ply her with wine and all bets are off.”
“So, what color is your vibrator?” Connor said.
“It’s awesomely big and purple.” It wasn’t oversize, and it was pink, but that got the laughter from my friends that I’d been going for.
Connor, next to answer a question, flicked the card he’d just picked up into the air. “I think I’m in trouble.”
“We’re identical twins, so I know you’re not awesomely big and purple,” Adam said. “You are in trouble, brother.”
It was impossible to play a serious game with these guys, but who cared? There was nothing better than laughter with the people I loved and counted as my friends.
I grabbed the card Connor had tossed. “It says—”
A nails-on-the-chalkboard screech filled the room as the emergency radio on Connor’s kitchen counter blared. Immediately three cell phones—Connor’s, Adam’s, and Dylan’s—emitted an alert signal.
“I’ll call in,” Dylan said as he punched numbers into his phone.
Jenn and I shared a worried glance. All three of our guys were on the volunteer rescue team, the reason each of them had been paged. Someone was in trouble. It was approaching eleven, and whatever this was about, they’d head out into the dark to try and save whoever it was. That could be all kinds of dangerous.
“A five-year-old boy’s missing,” Dylan said after tucking his phone back into his pocket. “His family’s camping out at Mountain Pines Campground. They went for a short hike before it got dark. One minute the kid was with them, the next he wasn’t. The parents looked for him for a while, and when they couldn’t find him, the mother made her way back to the campground to call for help. The dad’s still out there somewhere.”
“And now we probably have a lost father along with the boy,” Connor said as he stood. “We can take the Jeep.”
“I’ve got my bag in the car,” Dylan said, heading for the door.
“Me, too.” Adam followed him out.
Everyone on the rescue team kept a bag in their cars with suitable clothing and emergency supplies. Dylan and Adam returned, and they all went up to Connor’s bedroom to change.
“I hate when they have to go out at night,” Jenn said.
“Yeah, me, too. And it’s supposed to rain soon.”
