Bowen pretends to shudder and crosses to the picnic table across from us, his back to the top and his long legs sprawling. “Landry’s grabbing a couple of drinks. It’s been ages since we’ve had a beer together.”
“It’s been ages since you’ve had a beer togetherlegally,” Calder says.
Bowen’s casual grin makes him look a lot more approachable. “By the time he turned twenty-one, he was jet-setting across the world.”
Landry enters with a mug of beer in each hand. “Is he jealous of me again?”
He hands off a glass to Bowen, and they both take a long pull, stopping at the same time and wiping the backs of their wrists across their mouths.
I give Calder a sidelong glance to see if he noticed, only to catch him doing the same to me. Giggles erupt. I press my fingers to my lips.
“Care to clue the rest of us in?” Landry rests his glass on his knee. Like Bowen, he’s not as rigid as he was when he first blew into town. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen him. “Or have you always felt outnumbered, and that’s why you recruited the Winslow?”
There’s no heat in his words, but he’s not quite joking.
“I asked her to move in with me.”
Two sets of shocked gazes level on us.
“Shit,” Bowen says, turning his attention to me. “What’d you say?”
“Nothing yet,” Calder answers for me. “It’s a big ask, and she needs time.”
Landry swirls his glass, watching the foam lift and slide down the sides. “And if you move, you likely agree to sell, which you don’t want to do.”
I nod, not trusting my voice. Basically.
Bowen rests his arm on the tabletop behind him. “Saturday’s going to tell us a lot, huh?”
I have a week to hope that three hard, bitter men will open their hearts back up and live again. Likewise, that’s seven days for Calder to show me why I should choose him over everything I know.
THIRTY-NINE
CALDER
I hop out of the back seat of Dad’s old pickup and into the ditch by the bridge. Carlos does the same from the passenger seat. The buzz of cicadas and the croaking of frogs surrounds us, and the wind rustles through the leaves of the trees. By the time I’ve circled the front of the pickup, Landry and Bowen are out. Both are scowling at the crash site like they’re trying to decipher how it all played out. It’s something we keep doing. Are they coming up short like I am? How did so much damage occur on the passenger side? How was Dad going fast enough to roll over twice? The ditch is wide enough for the car to roll more than once before hitting the tree line, but it isn’t that steep.
Carlos takes his cowboy hat off and holds it in front of his chest, his expression reverent. “I haven’t been out here since that day,” he says, his voice thick. “Thanks for coming with me. After seeing the car, I really want to find the camera for that girl. Of all the things her sister left behind, she’ll want the last photos.”
We’re all out here for the same reason. To help Meredith get some closure, and to get at least one damn answer.
Landry skirts behind us to wander across the mouth of the road leading to the parking area for the trails along the shore. “Do you think someone wasn’t paying attention and drove out ofhere, frightening Dad so much that he swerved…?” He lifts his arm, following an invisible trajectory. “He would still have had to be going fast.”
“Ram didn’t speed.” Carlos stuffs his hat back on his head. “We’re too old for that shit. The reason why they took their Monday drives was to slow down and get away from the stress of it all.”
I’d have to drive for an hour or two to do that around Denver. With commuters, tourists, and outdoorsy folk, all the prime spots are crowded with people.
Landry paces in front of the road. “It makes more sense than the sheriff’s bullshit story.”
Bowen comes to stand by us, turning left then right like he’s playing the scene again from a different scenario. “Who would’ve done that and not stopped when they saw the car roll?”
“A drunk kid?” It doesn’t feel right.
His brow’s furrowed. “Maybe.”
“Whoever it was,” Carlos says, “it’s highly likely it would be someone he knew.”
“And they just fucking drove away.” Anger flashes through Bowen’s eyes.
