Chapter 29

LYNN

Ishake my head at Joey and then turn my attention to my remaining brothers. "You guys look ridiculous out here. Stop being so obvious, and at least go inside and watch from the kitchen window."

They meet each other's gazes and silently agree to follow my suggestion. Joey and I trail behind by a few feet.

"Next thing you know, they're going to pee on Mama's front door to mark their territory," I hiss as we approach the bright yellow front door decorated with a Bigfoot sign that says "Believe."

We all file down the hall and into the kitchen before Joey speaks up again. "So, uh, what's going on?"

Denny runs his fingers through his light brown waves as he looks Joey up and down. Here we go. "Anybody want to explain what Joey Martel is doing in Mama's kitchen?"

I step in front of Joey as a human shield. "I invited him."

For once, Carter sets his caveman tendencies aside and answers Joey's initial question. "Developers come sniffing around now and then wanting to buy up these three properties—either to build a mountain mansion or clear the forest and build a whole neighborhood of them, I don't know. Either way, it doesn't matter because we're not selling."

"They can do that?" Miller asks. "Clear the forest?"

Carter shrugs and heads for the refrigerator before pulling out a few bottled waters and offering them around. Joey and I each take one.

"They can do anything they damn well please if they get the properties." Carter opens a bottle and throws back half its contents in one go.

"But the Blue Ridge Parkway," Denny says, and I'm unsure of his exact meaning. "These properties all back up into the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park land."

"No. They can't touch the state lands or any of the national parklands. But anything private that butts up to it is fair game," Carter explains.

I try to imagine what it would look like to have Winston's entire property cleared of trees and filled with fancy houses. "Why would someone ever want to clear the forest? That's… crazy!" I exclaim.

I'm surprised when Joey is the one to answer. "For a picturesque view. For money. Because they can. You've got to be careful with these kinds of assholes with big budgets. They have their ways of getting you to sell, even if you don't want to. I'd watch your backs for sure."

Everyone falls silent for a few seconds until Miller thrusts his balled fist into the doorjamb. "Fuck! If Winston folds, I'm gonna punch him in his shriveled old balls."

My brother will have to get in line. Winston is a quiet but grumpy old neighbor who keeps to himself when he's not birdwatching in his underwear from his back porch. He's not the best neighbor, but I never thought he'd think of selling.

"Where's Mama?" I ask, glancing around in case I somehow missed her.

"At the senior center. They've got a resident art exhibit she's helping set up."

"Oh, god, tell me it's not more penis bouquet paintings." Denny winces from his spot in front of the kitchen window, where he's watching Winston's house for activity. When Joey looks like he's about to ask for some explanation, I wave him off in a gesture I hope communicates that he's better off not knowing. Mama told me about some of the art instructor's previous projects with the senior center residents, and it sounds like she enjoys letting them explore their creativity in lots of ways I don't need to witness.

"Well, we need to call her and tell her." I pull my phone from my pocket, but Cart swipes it from me before I can dial. I glare at him.

"No way. She doesn't need to worry about this until we know there's something to worry about."

My eyes flash Joey's way as if to say, see what I'm dealing with here. But his expression signals he agrees with my brothers, so I huff my indignance and decide to save my fight for the next battle.

"I say we all go over and knock on the door. See what they have to say for themselves," Denny suggests.

"Four burly dudes and a mad-as-hell woman pounding down his front door isn't the way to reason with Winston," I argue.

Denny cusses and then concedes, "Yeah, you probably have a point."

"Mama is the best one to talk to him. He likes her, and she can sweet-talk him into confiding in her. You know it's true."

"Lynnie's right," Carter admits, and I fight the smile that's trying to take over my lips. Damn straight, I am. Mama can talk a bald man into buying a curling iron. She can certainly get the dirt from an old man.

"Just make sure Adrina isn't within a two-mile radius when she does," Denny adds, making all of us but Joey nod in agreement. On the occasions I've witnessed them together, Adrina and Winston butted heads on every topic. Best to keep her clear for sure.

We all stare out the window, drinking our water for a few silent minutes, and I'm sure my brothers' minds are racing just as fast as mine. A strange prickling sensation starts at the base of my spine and works its way up to the back of my neck, where it shocks me like mid-winter static. Now I understand what people mean when they say a ghost just walked over their grave.

"Joey?" He turns at the sound of my voice. "What did you mean when you said these people have ways of making you sell even if you don't want to?"

As my words hang in the air, Cart, Denny, and Miller turn their eyes to me one at a time. We share heavy glances before every single one of us simultaneously mutters, "Shit."

* * *

"I don't get it.How did we get from a real estate developer inquiring about a property to arson, burglary, and attempted murder?" Joey asks from his spot next to me on the sofa. He doesn't look so good. Maybe I should get him to lie down.

All my brothers but Denny have scattered, each taking off for work and likely racking their brains like we're doing. We collectively decided it wouldn't be smart to tip the developer lady off until we'd had more time to think. Denny summoned Luca up the mountain to compare notes with him as well. In addition to being neighbors, the two of them have been best friends since the womb, so it's no surprise Luca was brought into the circle. He can keep his mouth shut so his mom doesn't hear about it and parade over to Winston's with a pitchfork to demand the developer woman's head.

In the meantime, I've dug the woman's card out of the junk drawer in the kitchen, and we're all gathered around the coffee table in the den staring at it. Maude E. Christopher works for a company called The Diamond Group as a developmental specialist, whatever that means.

"Does Martel need to be here?" Denny asks instead of answering Joey's question.

"Yes." My voice is firm as I throw daggers at my brother.

"What's going on between you two?" His jaw tightens, and I fight another eye roll. This surgery is getting closer and closer, I swear.

Joey's "We're dating" and my "None of your business" leave our mouths at the exact same second.

At Joey's words, I cradle my forehead in my hand, bracing for what comes next.

What I don't expect is for Luca to speak first. "Cool." He reaches a hand across to Joey, and my sort-of, kind-of new boyfriend (EEK!) takes it. "Luca Carmichael. I guess we haven't officially met."

When I chance a peek at Denny, hoping maybe he's taken a cue from his best friend, I'm unsurprised to see his jaw ticcing under the scruff on his chin. I send him what I can only describe as a glare combined with an expectant jerk of my chin. A glare-jerk for my jerk of a brother.

But instead of being a grown adult like Luca, Denny averts his gaze and finally answers Joey's question. "It's obviously just conjecture at this point, but a lot of shit has been swirling around our family in the last year and a half, and not all of it can be explained. Like the fire that was set behind the house—it could have burned all three houses to the ground, and the cops never caught whoever set it. It would be a hell of a lot easier convincing three reluctant landowners to sell if their houses were no longer standing, right?"

We all nod before I take over. "Then the break-in at the brewery when Larry was stolen. He's the only thing of real value our family owns. If Mama were to get in real financial trouble—like, say, a fire that burned her house down—having Larry's value to fall back on might become crucial. Cash and Cart are barely in the black with the brewery, Miller can't be making much, and Mama's job at the senior center sure as hell isn't about making money."

"I bring home an okay paycheck, but not the kind that can save a house," Denny adds.

"So, you think the developers might have set the fire and stolen Larry?" Joey shoots me a concerned look. I know what he's thinking. I haven't told my brothers I found Larry yet.

Denny shrugs and collapses back in the armchair across from us, finally having loosened his tight jaw. "Hell if I know."

Thankfully, Joey lets the Larry thing go for now, asking instead, "And the, um, attempted murder?" He looks decidedly uncomfortable.

"Okay, that one's a stretch." Denny rolls his eyes at me. "Lynn still has faith that our little brother can drive a car without crashing it."

I narrow my eyes at my brother. "Miller is a good driver when I'm in the car with him. It's not like him to run a red light and crash into a fence. He's got great reflexes from his dirt bike days." I'm pretty much the only one who ever comes to Miller's defense, although he's earned a lot more respect this past year, for sure. Still, old habits die hard.

"Yeah, he drives carefully with you because you're precious cargo." Well, shit. How am I supposed to glare at Denny when he puts it like that?

Joey nudges me with his knee, and when I glance over, he's not even trying to hide his grin. All these men will be the death of me.

Luca decides to shed more light on the situation for our newcomer. "Miller crashed Carter's car last year, breaking his arm and getting banged up real good. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. He kept saying the brakes weren't working, but we all pretty much decided he was full of shit. Now Lynnie is backtracking."

"Because we have new information!"

"So you think developers tried to kill Miller?" Joey's incredulous expression has me thinking twice.

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds a little far-fetched." Chagrinned, I lean back into the sofa cushions before giving my last comment on the subject. "To be fair, it was Carter's car, and up until very recently, he was making bank working for that senator and on his way to becoming a big shot. The kind of big shot who could bail his entire family out if needed." I throw my hands out. "That's all I'm saying." Yeah, probably not.

"What about the guys who broke in here and trashed the place last spring? They tried getting into my parents' house too," Luca says.

"Nah," Denny waves him off. "That was Carter's crooked politicians, Clarence Cody and Grace Hopkins, looking for their blood money."

I glance at Joey to see his face has lost some color. Perhaps I should have eased him into this a little slower.

"Or not!" Luca gets to his knees from his spot on the rug. "It could have been somebody trying to make our parents feel unsafe. Maybe move in closer to town?"

Our gazes bounce from face to face for a few silent beats before Denny pulls his phone from his back pocket. "I'm calling Cart."

We all get on our phones, Denny to make his call, me looking up The Diamond Group, and Luca doing who knows what. The only one without thumbs racing over his phone screen is Joey.

He rests his elbows on his knees and looks my way with a weary expression. "FYI, your definition of a ‘normal' family is way different from mine."