Page 70 of Sundown Somewhere

“D’ya know that Seth Jennings is on the town council?” I ask them, still trying to sort it all out.

“Who?” Anton asks.

“Jennings Plumbing,” Jace answers.

“I thought his name was Steve.”

Jace shakes his head. “Seth.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Naw, the guy who came and did the sprinklers for the greenhouse was definitely Steve. I remember his shirt.”

“Then you can’t read. We went to school with Seth,” Jace tells him. “You’re making up Steve.”

“It’s definitely Seth,” I chime in. I might not be able to remember the last time I saw him, but I remember the guy’s name.

“What’s definitely Seth?” Gus asks, walking into the office. He leans against Anton’s desk, stretching his legs out in front of him.

“The plumber. Who is apparently on the town council? Did you know this?” Sending a pleading look his way, I also toss up a silent prayer that our uptight, know-it-all oldest brother is going to put all that to good use and have some information here.

“Steve owns Jennings Plumbing. He’s Auggie’s age. Seth—who yes, is on the council, replaced Ellen Potter after she passed last year—is his son. Where have you been?”

Of course he knows. Normally, I’d flip him off for his sarcastic question there at the end, but am so thankful for making the bickering between the other two end, I hold back. Sometimes Grumpy Gus has his uses.

“He’s the holdout.”

A mix of a “what?” and “huh?” jumbles together as all three of them respond simultaneously. I nod, not sure what else to say. Mostly because I can’t work it out. None of this tracks. None of it.

“Holdout for what?”

“He’s the one that voted against Project: Second Star. The one who said it wasn’t a good use of town funds.”

“How do you know?” Gus asks.

I shoot him a look. One that says he doesn’t want to know. But he pushes anyway.

“Those votes are confidential.”

“I am aware.”

I am also aware that this is a small town. And like I said, nothing stays secret for long. Gus should know that better than anyone right about now. Just look at how his “secret” relationship with Margeaux went.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t talk. Dolly and I are keeping a pretty big secret ourselves.

“But I know now,” I continue. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do about it.”

“Nothing. You can’t. Because you can’t know,” Gus chides.

Fucking rule-following big brothers…

“What’d you do to him?” Anton asks.

“No idea. I honestly don’t even know the last time we crossed paths. I haven’t talked to him in…” I think about it again, racking my brain. I can’t even come up with a town event where I saw him from afar. “I don’t fucking know.”

“Did you kick his ass in high school or something?” Gus questions.