She led us into the open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area that had floor-to-ceiling windows on the back wall, allowing us to take in the glory of the view. The space was already packed with the Colson crew.
Rhodes and Anson were in the kitchen, working on what looked like a salad. Kye was kicked back in an overstuffed chair, a beer in hand. Fallon was bent over a puzzle with Trace’s six-year-old daughter, Keely, as the Colson sister I knew the least looked on.
Arden was stunningly beautiful with dark hair and eyes a mix of gray and violet, but she held things close to the vest and didn’t venture out too often. If I created the incredible sculptures that she did, I might not leave my workshop either.
Thea and Shep were cuddled together on the couch, looking as happy as could be, while Trace sat bent over his phone, fingers flying. The eldest Colson was likely neck-deep in a case of one sort or another. Over the past few months, I’d learned that no one was as dedicated to justice as he was.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of Cope’s presence. He’d probably gone back to Seattle for the weekend or something. The only other person I didn’t see was?—
“Lolli!” Fallon squeaked. “What are you wearing?”
I braced as the woman in her mid-eighties appeared from the hallway doing some sort of twirl. She wore cowboy boots, a sequined miniskirt, and a T-shirt with a bedazzled pot leaf on it that readMary Jane Queen. “What do you think? I made the shirt myself. I thought us girls could hit the town after dinner. Get us some action.”
“Supergran, you aresosparkly,” Keely whispered in awe. “Can I have a shirt just like yours?”
Lolli crossed to her great-granddaughter. “Of course, you?—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Trace warned. “It’s bad enough her camp counselor pulled me aside and told me she was talking all about this new game she heard her supergran talking about calledknocking boots.”
Kye choked on a sip of beer and then raised his bottle to Lolli. “Get it, Lolls.”
She sent him a wink. “You know I will.”
Shep groaned. “Not information I need…ever.”
“Quit being such prudes. Live a little. What d’you say, girls? Cowboy bar after dinner?” Lolli asked, doing a shimmy shake.
“I can’t,” Fallon said, placing a piece in the puzzle. “I have to make a home visit after this.”
That had Kye narrowing his eyes on her. “Where?”
She let out a little huff. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Fallon…” he growled.
Over the past few months of getting to know the Colson crew better, I’d noticed that Kye was especially protective of Fallon. I understood it in a way. It was clear she had a tender heart and the twohad a special bond. But there were times I swore they were communicating without words, as if they had their own silent language only they could understand.
“The Pines,” Fallon muttered, pushing to her feet.
“I’m going with you,” Kye demanded.
Fallon squared her shoulders and pinned Kye with a look that would’ve had me taking a step back. “This is my job, Kyler. I can’t have you tagging along, glaring at everyone who looks at me sideways.”
A muscle began fluttering wildly in his cheek, and his grip on the beer bottle tightened. “I’ll stay in my truck, but you’re not going alone. You know that area is rough at best.”
Her dark-blue eyes, so similar to Cope’s, flashed. “Yes. And I also know there are good people in hard situations there.”
“It’s not the good people I’m worried about,” Kye muttered.
“Take Fletcher,” Trace cut in. “He’s on duty tonight.”
“I don’t need?—”
“Fallon,” Trace cut her off. “There’s determined, and then there’s stupid. Going alone, at night, to an area that’s known for drug activity and plenty of violence borders on the latter. You know the sheriff’s department will provide backup to any social worker who requests it.”
Fallon let out a huff of breath that sent the hair around her face fluttering. “Fine.”
Kye’s grip on his beer bottle loosened, making the ink covering his hands shift sort of like an animated film. But the tension in his shoulders stayed, along with the look of worry deep in his eyes.
