“Oh, it’s not,” she insisted.
“Then yeah, I’d appreciate that.”
She headed back into the shop, and Noah shrugged. “Hope you guys don’t mind.”
Charlie and Reece agreed they didn’t, but Micky let out a string of curses. Shane grabbed him by the nape. “This ain’t about you, dude.”
Their party waited at a nearby bar—a mini-bachelor party of sorts. Micky continued grumbling, but his bad mood passed as he spent his time guzzling and eye-fucking one woman after another.
“Maybe it’s a good thing my big bro couldn’t wrangle a date,” Noah quipped. “Now Neve doesn’t have to go solo.”
Yeah, and there was another thank-you Reece owed Cantrell. He wouldn’t be coming along for the ride.
Charlie cheerfully added, “Good to know she’s got a plus-one to take my place.”
The comment unsettled Reece. The thought of his brother and Neve had always bugged him for reasons that were both clear and not so clear. Charlie insisted nothing physical had ever happened between them, but the affection they had shared during those events had told a different story that Reece wasn’t quite willing to dismiss.
Shane took a pull from his longneck. “Must be nice to have all that money and move in billionaire circles.”
Micky, who had been straining to check out some chick over his shoulder, came back to the conversation and chuffed, “That isdefinitelynot a circle any of us moves in.”
Reece took a swallow of Sprite—he was now the designated driver since they were no longer spending the night—to give himself something to do. Talking money around Micky was always uncomfortable. The guy had come from humble beginnings, unlike Reece and his brothers, and though he earned a good living, his spending habits kept him from getting ahead. Shane didn’t come from money either, nor did he live an extravagant lifestyle, but he’d managed to buy a house on his own and build up a nest egg.
Fortunately, Shane steered the conversation away from money.Unfortunately, he did so by steering it into Reece’s future. “Did you tell these guys about your crazy-ass plan to move to Vermont?”
Silence descended over the table like a giant glass jar, seeming to dull the surrounding din of people talking and pool cues clicking as they struck their targets.
Noah threw himself back in his chair. “Da fuck, Reece?”
With his eyes firmly fastened on Reece, Charlie jabbed a thumb toward Shane. “Is he pulling our legs?”
Reece fired daggers at the deputy, who merely leaned back and smiled like Wile E. Coyote after lighting the fuse to his latest bomb. Too bad it wouldn’t blow up in his face like it always did with the hapless cartoon character.
“Thanks, asshole,” Reece muttered.
“Yeah, no problem, dude.”
Noah gaped at Reece. “Why? Where?”
“I’m looking at a few different places that need to add to their SAR teams.” Now wasn’t the time to let them know he’d accepted a position with Stowe Mountain Rescue, pending an in-person interview and fitness test after New Year’s—formalities he had no doubt he would pass. He hadn’t even needed Chelsea to get him in the door. In fact, both Chaffee and Summit Counties had reached out to him when they learned he had stepped away. Sure, he was flattered, but Vermont offered challenging terrain, the opportunity to make a difference on a small squad, and enough distance that he could get the fresh start he needed. Knowing he was getting back to what he loved didn’t blunt the stab in his chest every time he thought about the move—and moving day was fast approaching.
“He’s looking at Summit,” Shane added helpfully. “He wants to work with the glamorous, glitzy crowd. Celebs, stuck-up snobs whose shit doesn’t stink. You know—all the kinds of fancy folks Reecelovesto hang out with.”
Micky chimed in. “Since when?”
Reece’s defense shields rose and locked into place. “Since I found out they actuallypaytheir search and rescue members.” Micky didn’t need to know he wasn’t going to either county, and playing along was a good cover for the truth.
Micky nodded. “That makes sense. No offense, dude, but the way you couch surf from one place to the next ... Did you blow all that money you made on the sale of your house? About the only nice thing you own is that truck of yours. Summit County ought to like that shiny red thing. You’ll fit right in.” Micky slapped Reece’s arm. “And bonus if you hire on with those guys: You won’t have to work the bar for your brother to earn a few bucks and some free meals.”
“Shut the fuck up, Mick,” Noah growled.
Micky threw up his hands in surrender. “Just sayin’. Isn’t it obvious to anyone else that Reece is broke as fuck?”
Shane whacked Micky in the chest and nearly sent him sprawling backward. “Takes one broke son of a bitch to know another one, huh?”
Reece kept his finances tight to his chest. Only his family had an inkling of his net worth. His buddies, including Shane, guessed he’d been mortgaged to the eyeballs and on the verge of foreclosure when he’d sold. He didn’t bother changing their perception. So while Shane didn’t know money was one worry Reecedidn’thave, Reece appreciated his buddy having his back—even if that idiot buddy was the one who had started them down this path.
Charlie had been silent until now, merely staring at Reece, his usual smile MIA. “You really want to move away?”
