Page 84 of High Water

“Healing. Still not a hundred percent, but the doctor said that’s normal with this kind of injury. Could take some time.”

“So no more shoot-outs then?” I joke, but Levi’s face clouds.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Rowan’s coming out, and Grant’s given us some extra guys. I already have a couple of drones patrolling from a lookout on the mountain. Then, with Anson’s construction crew in and out on the road regularly while they work on the homestead, I’ve got him making reports back to us if they see anything unusual. It should give us a nice perimeter to keep prying eyes out of here.” Levi shifts on his feet, folding his arms over his chest as he surveys the area beyond where Aspen’s working.

“A lot of acres to monitor out here.”

“If you want your old team out here, you just say the word. We’ll foot the bill for the extra security.”

“I think we’re good for now, but if you’re seeing anything or getting any reports back, I say we don’t hesitate. I think keeping an around-the-clock presence is a good idea. Aspen’s honestly excited about camping out. If you’d have told me that…” I shake my head, chuckling again.

“Yeah, she likes being out in the field. Every summer, she’d travel to this far-flung place or that one. Taking Fallon with her a lot of the time.” Levi fills in some more of the past I’ve missed.

“Wish I could have been around.”

“I know you do. But you’ve got now. Which is a hell of a lot better than never.” He gives me a pointed look.

“True enough,” I agree.

“You’re sure you want to stay out here all night?” I ask when Aspen sits down in the camping chair with her dinner. I prepped it while she finished a quick shower in the fifth wheeler Levi has set up on the road. With the spring thaw, the ground’s muddy as hell, and there’s too much of a risk of it getting stuck down here by the site, so we traded off taking hot showers.

“This isn’t half bad,” she mumbles around a bite of her food, tearing her eyes away from the data in front of her to stare down at the bowl of chicken and mashed potato casserole.

“Thanks. Worked hard on the boiling water.” I tap my spoon on the now-empty pot I used to rehydrate our camping meals. We’re up on the ridge here with a clear view of the valley below from our makeshift dining table, and one of Grant’s longest-serving security teams sits at the work site to keep a closer eye on it in the dark.

She flashes a smile and stuffs another bite into her mouth. She barely stopped to eat a snack all day, and I can tell she’s starving now, seeing as she’s complimenting a tear-and-pour camping meal.

“And yes,” she says when she swallows the next bite. “I want to stay out here. It means we can get started right away in the morning. We’ve got two more sites to test. Clear those, and we can plan to start a new grid the day after if need be.”

“You’ve definitely changed since I knew you.”

“Meaning?” She shoots me a look over the bowl as she devours another bite.

“I just mean I never saw you as much of a camper when you were younger. Voluntarily being out here, I’m impressed, is all.”

“I’ve spent plenty of time in the field in less bougie conditions than this.” She rolls her eyes, flicking the screen to scroll to a new page on her tablet.

“So Levi said.”

“Talking about me to my brother again?” Her tone is sharp, but the flash of a smile tells me she’s mostly teasing.

“Hard not to since he wanted a report this afternoon, and you were too busy to give it.”

“Well, if you all want this done quickly, we have to stay focused.”

“Not so focused you run yourself into the ground.”

“I’m fine. I just want to get this done sooner rather than later. I know Levi and Grant will rest easier once we’ve got this sword back in their hands. Then we can all move on and close this chapter. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Unless it’s not out there.”

“Why wouldn’t it be out there?”

“What if they found it first?”

“We’d see evidence of ground disturbance. That’s why I scanned the area with the drones first. With the fire having come through, it’s harder to see evidence of it from when you originally buried it, but if it was something in the last few months, we’d know.”

“Or if your dad came back for it.”