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“That’s cool, man.”
“I’ll give you half the proceeds.”
“As long as you didn’t sell him the two I was eyeing, I’m good.” Dax rubbed his bloodshot eyes, the deep lines on his face making him look more like Jim’s father than his older brother. “I’m gonna head inside and get some shut-eye. I’m beat.”
Jim raised one eyebrow. “What’ve you been doing today?”
“Ridin’.”
“Not using again?”
Dax chuckled. “I’m just old, brother. See you around, Scarlett.”
“Thanks for washing my car.”
He nodded and then tromped past them, his boots heavy on the steps. He closed the front door behind him with a slam.
Biting the side of his thumb, Jim stared at the door. “Something’s not right with him.”
“That applies to a lot of people around here.” Scarlett dug her keys from her purse. “I’m going back to my place.”
“When I get my tires changed, I’ll come over and install those locks for you.”
“I’ll be there. Sorry about your bike, sorry it happened on the rez.”
“Not your fault. I’m just wondering if we’d taken your car if the same thing would’ve happened.”
“Something tells me it would have.”
She slid into her car with her lips still tingling from Jim’s soft kiss. She’d wondered what would’ve happened to her car if they’d taken it to the reservation, but even more, she was wondering what would’ve happened if Dax hadn’t interrupted that kiss.
* * *
HER COUSIN ANNIE aimed the hose at the last window in the front, spraying water against the glass streaked with flame retardant. “They make a bigger mess putting out the fire than the fire itself.”
“Not quite.” When the water stopped, Scarlett scrubbed the window with a cloth and then sluiced the water off with a squeegee. “I really appreciate your help, Annie.”
“I’m just glad you weren’t hurt. Who would do something so stupid? This is just not your year.”
“It’s gotta get better, right?” She traced her bottom lip with her finger. Running into Jim this trip had just about made everything a little better.
Annie turned off the water and wound up the hose. “I think getting rid of all those trees in front of your place is a blessing in disguise. I never liked parking beyond the copse of trees and then walking through them on that path—creepy.”
“But very private.”
“Too private if you ask me. When’s Tony coming out to clear the land?”
“Tomorrow. I’m hiring him to do some landscaping, too.”
“Do you need me to do anything else? I’m meeting some friends in Port Angeles tonight and need to get going.”
“No. I can do the rest. Thanks again.”
She helped Annie pack up some of her cleaning supplies and load them into the van she used for her cleaning business. When she pulled onto the road, Scarlett turned toward the house. She’d skipped lunch, so she popped open a carton of yogurt and carried it to the hall closet, which she used for storage.
The cabin didn’t have a garage, just a shed out back, but Scarlett didn’t store much beyond paint supplies there. Any photos or newspaper clippings or cards she’d boxed and stashed on the top shelves of this closet.
She dragged a chair in front of the closet and pulled two boxes from the top shelf. Would she have kept something as inconsequential as a ribbon?
Once Granny brought it up, Scarlett remembered filching it from Granny’s knitting basket. It had been important enough for her to steal back because of the way it had made her feel.
It was sort of like when she and her girlfriends would go out to the woods and spin around and around just to feel dizzy. Stroking the ribbon had given her the same sensation.
When Granny had sat her down and explained to her about the gift of the shamans, it had never occurred to Scarlett that the pink ribbon was momentous in that way.
Tucking one box under each arm, she returned to the living room and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the fireplace. She pulled the first box toward her and rummaged through its contents.
