“I told you, my job’s making sure you’re grounded. Anchored. As relaxed as possible.” Rae adopted a lower, more somber tone. “Your fear can and will make the clock go faster on this ghost. Those photo cards seemed to make you happy at one point. I think a little dressing up and going out could do the same. Give the team more time to figure out a solution.”
“Playing dress-up isn’t going to calm my anxiety.”
“And how do you know that?” She held the tickets up again. “I’m thinking we find something to match. What do you say? Join my group?”
I groaned while she laughed.
“And prance around in front of a town of strangers? Yeah, no. A thousand dollars isn’t enough to buy my pride,” I said. “Now, come on. We should head to the library and check in with the others. It’s getting dark.”
I moved to untie Frog.
“Sure. We’ll put a pin in this!” Rae beamed and went to Kat.
I led us back onto the main road, scanning the darkened storefronts, hoping to find something to distract Rae. Therewas nothing but tumbleweeds and small groups of night walkers. Thankfully, the ride to the library only took a few minutes. And Rae didn’t find the need to probe me about matching denim.
“Are we running with this friend thing for a reason?” She dismounted in tandem with me when we stopped in front of the library. Rae was a quick learner. I did my best not to stare at her ass while she did so. Her business slacks didn’t hinder movement in the slightest. How the hell did she find time to get something tailored when she was always on the go?
“I’m not exactly hurrying to tell the public my ranch has…problems. I need to reach for a boarding business. Good news only.”
“Fair enough.” She gestured to the large RV taking up three parking spaces in the six-space lot. “So what story should I pass on to the crew? Are they also old friends? And how do we explain the…robust vehicle?”
Damn it. It would be hard to come up with a solid story for this many new people. Heaven forbid someone looked up their names—an inevitability.
“For now, tell them you’re in the construction business,” I decided. “Try not to give them your last name. No one’s tech savvy enough in these parts to narrow down an identity off first names and vibes.”
“Do you underestimate your fellow Alpiners?”
“I don’t like umbrella terms; it hints of me being part of a collective.”
“Do you think you’re a lone wolf because of hopping from place to place as a kid? Or is it your natural state of being?”
“Born from town hopping, now my natural state of being,” I said simply.
“Ever wondered about the other side?”
“Of what?”
“Lone wolf-hood.” She pointed to their RV. “It’s quite cozy; I could give you a tour.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I started up the library steps, and she followed.
Alpine’s library was once a bank. They redesigned the interior substantially, making it resemble a typical, stuffy library, and included rows of towering wooden bookshelves and old computers with chunky gray monitors.
I’d been in here once when I needed to fax the ranch’s deed to the state. Much like then, now the space was low-lit and empty. The buzzing of a space heater and the weight of our footsteps may as well have been a rock band’s final set.
In the back, the bank’s old vault doors remained. The door was open, and its interior held an extensive DVD and Blu-ray collection. Rae eyed them with budding interest.
“They’re over there.” I urged her to focus.
She blinked, nodding as she took the lead.
Jonah chewed on the cap of his pen. He stood behind a seated Nico, who was typing so fast his fingers were a blur. It was a surprise to find Esther in the seat beside them, her gaze focused on the screen.
“So?” Rae grabbed a chair from another desk, placing it next to Nico’s. But instead of sitting down, she gestured for me to claim it. I hesitated, but she’d already moved on, grabbing another seat for herself.
“How’s it looking?” Rae settled in behind me, releasing a nearly inaudible sigh of relief as she folded her ankle over her thigh and massaged it.
“Looking up,” Nico said with a smile and a slight stretch. “Thanks to yours truly. So, get this: Elmwood’s traded hands about a dozen times in the past few decades.”
