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"We should escape while we can, Birdy," I stand up and give her hand a tug to pull her up after me. "This is going to get real ugly, real fast."
"Did Mable and Vera really steal your grandmother's goats?" She giggles as she lets me lead her through the mounting chaos toward the back door so we can sneak out before we get caught up in this mess.
"Probably," I mutter.
"They won't hurt them, will they?"
"The goats will be fine, Birdy. Not sure I'd make the same bet for Vera and Mable."
Sparrow looks back at the scene we're ducking out of with a smile on her face that makes my chest clench tight.
"Don't we need to talk to deputy Hawkins anyway?"
Is my girl really looking for an excuse to stick around and spend more time with my crazy relatives?
I chuckle deep and shake my head, thinking about what the new deputy on the ridge is about to get dragged into.
"I'll call Hawk tomorrow morning-- he's going to have enough keeping him busy tonight."
ChapterFour
Sparrow
It was so easy to get caught up in the energy of the family dynamic.
Everyone was so welcoming, and his parents were so immediately accepting; even though I'm so much younger than Vale, no one raised an eyebrow over our age difference or that we've known each other less than a month and are (supposedly) already engaged. The only issue the Diazes have is that the oldest son would dare to ask a woman to marry him before he'd brought her home to meet his family.
Their home is full of so much laughter, even Vale's usual stoic demeanor melted in the warmth of his family. It makes me see him in new light, what kind of father he would be, makes me wish this was real even more.
"So this was your great grandfather's cabin?" I ask as I follow Vale through the old house that was built large for its time, with three full bedrooms-- the modern bathrooms were added in the 1960s when his parents lived here as newlyweds, he explains.
"Great, great,great, grandfather. Martin Diaz, yeah. He built it for his fiancée, Rebecca Montgomery, as a wedding present."
I follow Vale into one of the big bedrooms that branch off one side of the house. Two queen size beds could easily fit in here, along with more than one dresser, but there's just one modest double bed to one side of the room, a dresser, and a comfy-looking arm chair, and a lot of empty space.
"Your grandfather was telling me some of the family history," I mention, stalling for time, desperately hoping for some sign that the affection he was openly showing in front of his family wasn't all a show.
"He said there are waterfalls near here that are named after your great, great, great grandfather?" I carefully tick off all three "greats."
"Yeah, Martin is the only person in history know to have survived going over them," Vale tells me, dropping my bag on the chair near the window. "The townspeople named it 'Diaz Drop' before anyone knew he was still alive though. Rebecca almost jumped off the falls too. Guess it's a good thing she didn't, or I wouldn't be here now."
Vale's brow furrows as he looks around the room like he disapproves.
"What happened?" I watch Vale straighten his shoulders and march over to the window and begin inspecting it as if it's somehow unsatisfactory.
Vale's grandfather, Alex, had been telling me some of how his great, great grandfather was one of the original founders of Moonshine Ridge back in the 1860s, and I definitely got the impression that there was a story behind it.
"This window needs new weather stripping," Vale mutters under his breath. Then he turns around and gives me a thoughtful look.
"I can take you down there on the snowmobile if you want," he tells me. "The old mule trail is a serious bitch of a Jeep trail in the summer months, but it's a beaut for the sled when there's this much snow on the ground to fill in the rocks and ruts. Maybe we'll go up there over the weekend."
Before I can enthusiastically agree to that plan, however, his dark eyes go hard again.
"I mean, if we haven't gotten things straightened out by then and you're still stuck up here with me."
How do I make sure I'm still stuck here with him?
* * *
