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I glanced toward Snake’s barn then back to my sprawling land.
Why did I have a feeling this was just the beginning?
CHAPTER5
Phoenix
Raunchy Ride.
I’d purposely stayed away from the honky-tonk bar since the last time I’d had too much tequila, roughing up one of the regular customers. Hell, they’d deserved it, but the incident had added to my less than stellar reputation.
As I strode inside, I noticed two other Zullies had sidled up to the long bar. I snickered as I repeated the nickname that had been bestowed to the group of smokejumpers a long time before I came to work with the team. As much as I hated to say it, they’d been more like a family than I’d experienced my entire life.
Life was good at this point, no need to allow my mind to shift to the past. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get Wren out of my mind, still second guessing going to the damn wedding. I’d heard far too many ugly stories about how my Pops had been best friends with Gregory Tillman. They’d been partners in the early days, determined to buy up a good portion of Missoula.
Then there’d been some kind of betrayal, which had led to my Pops leaving Montana but not before trying to destroy his former friend. After I’d heard the story a few times, I’d tuned out. The question was would Gregory recognize me after all these years? Then again, did I give a shit?
The answer was a clear no.
I noticed Gage and Marshall on the other side of the room and headed in their direction. It had been a long time since the three of us had been able to grab a beer outside of the house, our work schedules clashing. I pushed my way through the crowd, giving high fives to a couple of the other people I knew, including Jake Travers, otherwise known as Hawk. He’d had been overseas in Afghanistan at the same time I’d been, our respective teams working in collaboration on a couple of missions. Also a helicopter pilot, the shit he’d gone through with another team had hit me hard, Snake a member. We all had stories from serving our time, but his entire team had come through, which is more than I could say for a lot of them.
“How’s it going?” Hawk asked as he grinned.
“Pretty damn well. How’s married life?”
He was the person who gave me hope that one day I might find the right girl. That sure wouldn’t come from Gage, the divorce he’d gone through more like a damn firestorm.
“Bryce keeps me on my toes.”
I had to laugh. “Then she’s doing a good job. Hey, is she still a reporter?”
“On and off while being a mother. Why?”
“I wondered if she’d caught wind of a possible serial arsonist.”
“Not that she’s told me. I’ll check with her. You know Bryce. If there’s some insidious mystery to be solved, she’ll dig until she finds out what it’s all about.”
“That’s what I was hoping for.”
He frowned. “Is it anything I should be worried about?”
He owned a huge ranch that had been in his family for years. “No. Gage was asking.”
After rubbing his jaw, he nodded. “I’ll ask her to give you a call.”
“I’d appreciate it. Good running into you.”
“Yeah, dude. Don’t be a stranger.”
I moved through the crowd, joining Gage and Marshall at a table near the stage. As I sat down, I sensed Marshall had already been told about my night of raw passion.
“I took the liberty of ordering you a beer,” he told me, his hand firmly wrapped around the base, the grin on his face one I’d normally wipe off with my fist. “For a price.”
“You told him,” I snarled at Gage.
“Hey. You didn’t tell me to keep it a secret.” Gage grinned as he sat back in his chair.
“Fine. Yes, I rescued a damsel in distress, and we had hot sex. Okay?”
