Across the Vanishing Sky (Starlight Grove, #1)(9)

Maverick snorted. “It’s his nerdtastic computer.”

“I’d watch your tone about Betty Lou, or I’ll make sure you can’t access a single bank account, social media profile, or email.”

“Dexter,” Uncle Waylon warned. “We have a deal.”

“No hacking on your property,” I grumbled.

“Speaking of this property,” Kol interjected, “what guest cabin do you think you’re staying in?”

I blinked back at my brother a few times. “The one and only guest cabin on the ranch.”

Mav and Kol shared another look.

“What now?” I groaned.





3





DEX





I stood in the open door of the guest cabin. That was as far as I could make it when every single inch of the small cabin was piled high with crap. Uncle Waylon wouldn’t see the items as such, but I sure as hell did. Especially when it was between me and the shower I desperately needed.

Waylon scratched his thick beard. “I thought I cleaned this place out.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You thought?”

“Well, I had it on a to-do list somewhere. I didn’t see it, so I assumed I already did it.”

“Pepper probably ate it,” Maverick said, laughter in his voice.

I turned and scowled at him. “You probably fed it to that damn goat.”

Mav held up both hands. “Whoa, grumpy much?”

“There are five hundred million clocks and clock parts between me and a hot shower, so yes, yes I am,” I groused.

“There’s a buncha trail cams and Bigfoot calls in there, too,” Waylon amended.

Of course there were. Clocks and Bigfoot, the true loves of Waylon’s life.

Kol’s lips twitched. “Take a drive by Blaze’s. He might have a rental you can use.”

“In the height of tourist season?” I challenged.

Kol just shrugged.

“You can stay in the main house with me,” Waylon offered. “There’s plenty of room.”

There were also four dozen cuckoo clocks that went off every hour on the hour, all day and all night. I tried to fight the grimace rising to my mouth. “Thanks, Uncle Waylon, but I’ll try Blaze first. It would be nice to have my own space while my place is getting built.”

Waylon let out a huff. “Still don’t know why you hired that fancy builder. Me, Blaze, and Zeke could’ve built it for you.”

I was sure they could’ve—complete with eighty-seven clocks, thirteen secret passageways, twenty-two trapdoors, and a layout that made no sense to anyone but them. “You’ve got enough on your plate,” I hedged.

Mav started laughing, and I sent a hard elbow back into his gut, which changed the laugh to a cough.

“All right. Well, I’m here if you need me,” Waylon muttered.

I crossed to my great-uncle and pulled him into a hard hug. “You always are.”

And it was true. When everything fell apart, not a single relative wanted to touch the Archer brothers with a ten-foot pole. No one but my dad’s uncle, who might not have been a man of many words but was a man of swift action. He’d made us all rooms and set us up with school, sports if we wanted, and a local therapist. He’d given us a home.

Waylon thumped me on the back. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I said as I released him. “I’ll be back after I see Blaze.”

“Good luck,” Kol said, lifting Skylar onto his hip.

“Bye, Uncle Dex,” she said, waving. “When you come back, we can play dress-up war games.”

I let out a soft chuckle. Being raised by six men since her mom had dropped her on Kol’s doorstep as a baby, without him being aware of her existence, meant Skylar was the perfect blend of princess and commando.

“Can’t wait, Little Princess,” I called as I got into my SUV.

I made the drive back into town much faster than when I’d left it, almost breaking my three-miles-an-hour-over-the-speed-limit rule. But I was desperate. Downtown was more crowded now, and I eased off the brake and put on my blinker when I saw a station wagon with bikes on the back pull out.

But before I could snag the parking spot, a maroon SUV turned in from the opposite lane.

Seriously?

My back molars clamped down as I realized it was the same damn one as earlier. Half a dozen silent expletives left my lips as the dog shoved its head out the window, tongue lolling as if sticking it out at me.

Movement a block down caught my attention, and I bolted for the new space opening up. I slid in right on the heels of the sedan, not leaving anything to chance, and made my way to the brick building that housed Blaze’s rental company.

I took the wooden stairs two at a time, praying that by some miracle, he’d have an opening. I’d take a cabin with an outhouse as long as I could set up my Wi-Fi.

The door was one of those wood-and-glass deals where the glass was rippled, so you couldn’t see through. The lettering read Amazin’ Blazin’ Rentals. One corner of my mouth kicked up as I knocked.

There was a long pause and then an almost musical, “Come in.”

I opened the door and stepped into the sun-filled office. The rays caught on suncatchers, crystals, and an endless array of house plants, including some with distinctly shaped leaves.