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“Really… because I seem to remember that they liked how you smelled, Porter,” Grey cut in. “Didn’t you get five spider bites one night?”
Porter had, and he took his chances with the bears and slept outside after that. He grimaced.
“Hey,” Grey said. “How about I sweeten the deal? Sky said she’d bake a nice strawberry pie for anyone who helps out.”
Sky was Grey’s high school flame. Ah yes,andshe was a fiery one. Grey should know something about worming his way into the heart of a sassy beauty, since the two finally managed to tie the knot after many rocky years of breakups and makeups. Besides a little advice, Porter could also use Grey’s expertise from the man’s stint in the Navy SEALs. Didn’t they have ways of getting to the truth? The guy owed them after they risked their lives to get him out of trouble last spring.
“I’ll bring an army to help you out with the painting on Saturday if you do something for me,” Porter said. “I need your Navy SEAL skills.”
Grey’s eyes glistened like the coming storm—it was no accident that his momma named him after the color of his eyes. It was also no secret that his heart was still set on adventure. Grey lowered his voice. “What do you have for me?”
“Tell me who is living in Emily’s apartment.”
“Are you kidding me?” Grey complained. “I should’ve known you were angling for something stupid.”
“Believe me,” Cole said. “This is of utmost importance. She’s cute.” Porter shot him an annoyed look. Cole had no trouble ratting out his brother. “If we can get this guy to quit moping about his long-lost twin, you’ll have me painting there on Saturday until my arm falls off.”
Porter didn’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed.
Grey’s focus shot to the apartment above Sudz and his jaw tightened. “Done. You come Saturday and the information is yours. By the way, Sky wants to come over tomorrow. She’s dying to pay your momma a visit. You okay if she brings over a casserole?”
Porter swallowed, unable to reply. The stress of his mother’ illness was getting to him and he let Cole take over, who nodded. “We’ll let our mother know,” Cole said. “She’s always grateful for visitors.”
“Good.” Grey seemed slightly uncomfortable about bringing up their momma, but he manfully worked through the thick emotion that had settled over them all and nodded. “I heard one of your cows took out a bear.”
That was only last night. News sure traveled fast in this small town, especially when Funches was involved. The one thing that had surprised Porter most about hanging out with the old coot was that when the man wasn’t out shooting at trespassers, he was gabbing all over the territory about what his new friends were up to.
“Yeah,” Cole was quick to describe everything that had happened. “Nina came at the bear when it went after her calf. That cow is one tough momma.”
“Sounds like it,” Grey said. “I also heard that you can’t pick a winning driver, Porter, and you keep losing your driver matchups to Funches and now you have to clean up all his garbage in that junkyard of his to pay up for all your losses.”
That was the final straw. Nothing was sacred anymore, not even NASCAR night. Funches was a regular old gossip, and now that Grey was his new nephew-in-law and closest neighbor, his friend knew pretty much everything going on at the Slade household.
Porter shook his head, closing the tailgate. “Tell Funches, since he seems to beyournew best friend, that I’m taking him down next Saturday night. My money’s on Buck Henderson.” The NASCAR driver was new on the scene and was the dark horse destined to win everything, so said the insiders that Porter had been listening to on his podcasts.
“You’re hanging out with Funches on all your free Saturday nights, huh?” Grey said, as he wandered away, “Sounds like he’syourbest friend.”
Maybe.
“Don’t worry, Cole,” Grey called over to his brother. “I’ll find out more about this girl. We need to get Porter a girlfriend, or he’s destined to hide out in Funches’s bunker for the rest of his days.”
What was wrong with that? Anyway, Porter couldn’t blame Funches as the one who’d tattled on him for falling apart because of his twin’s field trip to the big city. The whole town knew. Porter scowled and headed for the driver’s side of the pickup truck.
“Oh, I’ve got a present in there for you,” Cole said with a smirk.
Porter wrenched open his door and jumped back with a shouted exclamation. The bridal skull he’d been tormenting Cole with sat on his driver’s seat. He clenched his jaw against his brother’s whoops of laughter, just as something else flew out at him—something white and furry. Porter let out another shout worthy of bloody murder seconds before he felt the soft fur from a puppy’s floppy ears. “What?”
“Hatch is giving away a litter of Akbash puppy mixes,” Cole said. He looked mighty proud of himself. “He said they’d make great chicken guards.”
“Chicken guards?” Porter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’ve been had. Hatch would say anything to get rid of more mouths to feed.”
“You said yourself that we’re losing more chickens to predators,” Cole said. He wasn’t backing down. “These little guys imprint on the chickens and will do anything to keep them safe.”
Porter shook his head. “Didn’t you learn a lesson from West’s latest acquisition?”
Cole snorted. “Lizardman is a domestic animal. This puppy’s going to make us money.”
Porter sighed. The one good thing about his twin leaving for Nashville was that it gave West no excuse to leave his new puppy behind because he couldn’t take care of it. Nash had become Lizardman’s overpriced dogsitter.
