“I’m Grace,” I cringed. His skin was tough and tan like leather hide that had been left out to dry. “Deputy?”
“Yep, Dubois’s finest,” he said with a chuckle.
“Around here, they’ll give anyone a badge and a gun,” Joe teased.
“Except for you, Short Stack.” Wyatt let out a husky laugh.
Joe flexed his thick bicep. “I come fully equipped,” he said, turning his wrist in and out. The veins on his arms bounced.
I noticed Joe and Wyatt acted more like brothers than Calvin and Joe did.
“Put those away before you hurt yourself,” Wyatt said. He redirected his attention back to me. “Calvin here tells me you’re his Airbnb guest?”
“That’s right.” I glanced over at Calvin, who was busy replacing the propane tank on the gas grill.
Curiosity got the best of me and I asked, “Did you guys ever find that missing girl? Sheriff was over here the other night.”
“Nope.” Wyatt shook his head. “But we did find her car broken down on a back road a couple of miles outside of town yesterday. The car was cleaned out—except we found her cell phone under her driver’s seat, hence why her sister wasn’t able to get ahold of her. We’re thinking she hitched a ride with someone, and hopefully, she’s just having a hard time getting back home with no cell or car.” He took a swig of his beer and slid a hand in his pocket.
Calvin put the empty propane tank to the side and dusted off his hands. “I hope you find her, but not sure why the sheriff was here asking me questions when he knew she never even checked in.”
“That’s the new sheriff for ya.” Wyatt nodded. “He does things a little differently. I wouldn’t take offense to it though, Calv. We had nothing to go on until we found her car.”
Calvin shrugged and started up the grill. “Yeah, I figured that much.”
“They just now found her car?” I tilted my head, making eye contact with Wyatt. “That seems odd since she’s been missing for a couple of weeks, right?”
Wyatt parted his mouth, about to respond, but his head snapped toward the side of the house. I turned my head to see what suddenly stole his attention. It was Charlotte.
“Happy birthday,” she called out.
Her face was bright, her smile was wide, and her makeup was apparent, unlike the other times I’d seen her all fresh-faced. Actually, wait—her makeup looked exactly like mine: long, dark eyelashes, glossy lips, and rosy cheeks. On top of that, she was dressed like me, in blue jean shorts and a black crop top.
“Hey, Char, grab yourself a beer,” Calvin said, pointing to the coolers.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” she said with a laugh. “Betty went in through the front with her honey cake,” she added as she plucked a beer from the cooler.
“Hey, C. I missed you,” Wyatt said.
Charlotte’s face went sour when she laid eyes on him. “Don’t call me C. That’s a letter, not a name.”
“Damn, Charlotte. Did you bring anything else other than your nasty attitude?” Wyatt sniped back.
Charlotte simply dismissed him by shaking her head, so I assumed this wasn’t the first time he had said something like that to her. She popped the cap off her beer and took a swig. Her eyes went to me. “Have you started packing yet, Grace?”
Apparently, her nasty attitude wasn’t reserved just for Wyatt. It was for me too.
Before I could speak, Joe cut in. “She’s here for another four nights. Why would she start packing?” He gave her a peculiar look and shook his head.
Joe clearly didn’t understand that Charlotte wanted me out of Calvin’s house. The sliding door opened and out walked Betty, dressed in a full bee suit.
“What are you doing?” Joe laughed.
“Well, I figured while I was here, I may as well check on my honey-bees.”
“Betty, you’re never not working. Make it quick, I’m about to throw the meat on the grill.” Calvin flipped a spatula in the air and caught it again.
“I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Betty carefully walked down the steps of the deck and headed toward the apiary just in front of the woods.
I took a seat and watched Calvin work the grill while Charlotte stared at him longingly. How could he not see how she felt about him? That girl was more than in love. She was obsessed. Maybe he knew that. And maybe he liked the attention. But why the hell was she dressed like me? I looked down at my clothing, then back at hers, and considered changing into something else. But imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. Joe and Wyatt tossed around a football. Every time Wyatt threw or caught the ball, he looked over at Charlotte. He was like a child seeking his parent’s attention to show off how talented he was—but she was paying him no mind.
Charlotte walked over to Calvin, engaging him in a whispered conversation. She playfully tapped his forearm and giggled like a schoolgirl.
Wyatt, realizing he wasn’t getting the attention he desired, stopped playing catch and took a seat on the love seat across from me. Joe sat down next to him, putting his feet up on the coffee table. I was about to ask about the missing girl again, but Wyatt spoke first.
“So, you got a man back home?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
Wyatt flashed a smile and nudged Joe with his elbow.
“You like my brother?” Joe asked.
I cleared my throat and glanced at Calvin, who was still in whispered conversations with Charlotte.
“I think I might.”
Joe let on a small smile. “Well, like I was trying to say earlier, I’d be careful with my brother there. He tends to fall hard.”
I tilted my head. “How hard?” I wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Joe’s eyes narrowed slightly and he quickly glanced back at his brother.
“Joe, what are you telling her?” Calvin called from the grill.
He cleared his throat and relaxed his eyes. “Just that you’re a big softie.”
Calvin’s face turned a little red. “Get over here and man this thing.”
Joe stood from his chair. “If I don’t mess with him, he’ll be at that grill all night and you won’t have any time with him. You’re welcome.” He winked, grabbed the spatula and tongs from Calvin, and took his spot in front of the grill. It was like Joe felt he owed Calvin something, but I wasn’t sure why that was.
Calvin picked up two beers and sat down beside me, handing one over. Charlotte was only a few steps behind him like a puppy following its human. She took Joe’s open seat right next to Wyatt. He sat up a little taller. Charlotte glanced at Wyatt and gave him a challenging look, but he just smiled back.
“Anyone else coming?” Wyatt asked.
Calvin placed his hand on my knee and gave it a gentle pat. I leaned a little into him. “Yeah, Dr. Reed and Patsy.”
I looked to Wyatt and Charlotte. “So, you two are exes?”
“Don’t remind me,” she scoffed.
“We are not exes. We’re just taking a break,” Wyatt challenged.
She jutted out her chin. “We’re not getting back together, Wyatt. That means we’re exes.”
“I’m not giving up on us.” He shifted in his seat, angling himself toward her. “You randomly broke up with me for no good reason.”