Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Big hands clamped down on Dave’s shoulders, and strong fingers dug into his tight muscles.
He dropped his chin to his chest, immediately surrendering to the massage.
The music and voices blurred into a swirl of background noise as muscles loosened.
His impromptu masseuse stopped much too soon and patted his shoulders.
He rubbed his head with rough affection then settled into the chair beside him.
It was, of course, Cody. He appeared to be at least one drink over the legal limit as he slouched, manspreading into the next county and smiling.
“How you doing, little bro?”
“Doing okay. You good?”
“Fine as the pubes on a frog.”
Dave made a face. “That’s gross.”
“You’re gross.”
“So’s your mom.”
They looked at one another in surprise before bursting into laughter.
“She’s your mom, too!” Cody said.
“I know!” Dave felt warm all of a sudden and reached for his beer, only to find the glass empty.
“Need another?”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Maybe not. But do you want it?”
Dave hesitated then grinned. “Yeah.”
“There he is.” Cody leaned back, nearly spilling out of the chair as he struggled to pull his phone from his front pocket.
“Too much meatloaf.”
“Sorry, what?” He held his middle finger up behind an earlobe.
As Cody read the text he’d just received, Dave took in the bar.
The Hollow Leg was small, but at that moment, it was stuffed full of love and happiness from their family and friends.
Oliver, Robin, Demetrius, and Clarabell were on the small dance floor, moving and shaking to a Cher song.
Lucia and her girlfriend, fellow sheriff’s deputy, Gayle, were out there as well.
Tracey Mumm and Zenona were at the bar talking with Jugs and Agatha, glasses of beer in front of each of them.
Oliver’s grandmother, Eileen, and Demetrius’s Aunt Amelia were talking and laughing with their live-in boyfriends, Dieter and Otis.
“All right, three more beers, coming up.” Cody stood.
“Just one!”
“Right. Three.” Cody flashed that disarming smile. “And a few surprises.”
“Surprises?” His hands pressed against the tabletop. “What are you planning?”
“Who, me?”
Dave reached for him as Cody headed toward the bar but missed. “No strippers. You hear me? No strippers!”
The music faded just in time for the word ‘strippers’ to ring out across the bar. He winced as his face went hot. Hell, his entire body.
“There’s going to be strippers? Hot damn!” Eileen said.
The whole bar laughed. Dave hid his burning face in his hands. Someone came up behind him, touching his shoulder as they sat beside him. He peeked through his fingers, saw it was Oliver, and dropped his hands.
“Hi.” Dave gave him a slow up and down. The smile on his face felt sly and mischievous. “You’re so hot.”
“Aw, thanks babe. Here, drink this.” Oliver pushed a glass toward him.
“Oh, thanks, but Cody’s getting me something.”
“Uh huh. Drink this first. You’ll thank me later.”
“It’s water, isn’t it?”
“That it is. Bottoms up.”
Dave drank half of the glass. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Having fun?”
“I am.”
“Ready to leave yet? Be honest.”
Oliver grinned. “Honestly, I would have stayed in bed once we got back from booking the gardens yesterday.” He looked around the bar.
“But this is really nice. It’s good to see all our friends having fun instead of running for their lives from some nightmarish terror.
We need to have get-togethers like this more often. ”
Dave took his hand and ran a thumb over the ridges of his knuckles. “We can go if you like.”
The door bumped open, and three tall men entered the bar. One of them had to duck to miss the top of the frame. It took Dave several seconds to recognize them, as well as the shorter man and woman who came in behind them.
“Where is he?” The tallest man shouted, his deep voice bringing all conversation to a stop and cutting through the music from the jukebox.
“Brady, stop that posturing right now,” scolded the woman.
“Mom?” Dave sat back. “What…?”
Cody set a beer on the table in front of him, along with a shot glass filled with something golden. “Surprise, little brother.”
Dave stood, swaying slightly. Grant, Roman, and Brady swarmed him. They delivered brotherly hugs, slightly painful backslaps, and affectionate greetings couched inside gentle insults.
“What are you all doing here?” Dave pushed his brothers aside and wrapped his arms first around his mom and then his dad. “I thought you were coming in tomorrow.”
“Some dickhead got an idea about us coming in early.” Roman smacked the back of a hand against Cody’s chest. “We were going to sneak into town early and have a day to chill until your party tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, Daves,” Grant said in his laid-back, cannabis-fueled style. “What’s the deal, little bro? Why’d Codes make us rush over right from the airport?”
“Don’t call me that,” Cody said, but Grant didn’t acknowledge him.
“Oh, hey, is that Dems? Hey, man, good to see you little bro-in-law.” Grant pulled Demetrius into a warm hug.
“Don’t call him that,” Cody said, once again ignored.
“Well, things have been a bit crazy. The venue flooded—”
“What?” His mom practically shrieked.
Dave held up his hands in a placating manner. “But we’ve found someplace better.”
“On such short notice?” His father’s eyes were wide and slightly panicked. “How can that be better if it was just sitting there available? Is it more expensive?” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Do you need money?”
“Hey, how about we all get some drinks,” Demetrius suggested. “We can toast to the happy couple…” He tugged Oliver up against his side, arm around his shoulders. “And then have some fun.”
Oliver smiled, but the corners of his eyes were tight. “It’s really great to see everyone.”
“But, where is this new place?” Dave’s mom said. “Do we need to decorate it? Will it hold all your guests?”
“Mom…” Cody slid an arm around her, leading her off toward the bar. Dave was relieved to see his father follow. Demetrius trailed after them, and Oliver started explaining to a wide-eyed Robin the identities of the new arrivals.
“You okay, big brother?” Brady asked. Three years younger than Dave, he was the baby of the family. At six foot seven, he was the tallest.
“I’m okay. It’s just been a lot lately with the venue issues and work and stuff.” He loved his family, but he also hoped Sunday came quickly.
“Yeah? You sure? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“I know.” Dave nudged him. “Phones work both ways, you know.”
Brady grinned, teeth white inside his dark beard. Dave remembered the fall off the swings in their backyard that caused the faded scar at the corner of Brady’s left eyebrow. How was this giant of a man that same small kid he’d comforted?
“What about you?” Dave sat and waved to the chair beside him.
“Things are going well. Erin’s growing like a weed.” He shrugged a bit sheepishly. “Hilari stayed home with her, but she’s also taking care of her dad. He’s been pretty sick lately.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How old is he?”
“Well, he just turned seventy-seven but refuses to see a doctor. No idea what it might be, and it’s pretty upsetting for her.”
“Show me pictures of Erin.”
Like any proud father, Brady had an album dedicated to his daughter. As he swiped through, Dave marveled over every photo. Cody returned and took the chair on Brady’s other side, leaning in to see as well.
“Damn, good thing she got Hilari’s looks.” Cody rubbed a hand across the top of Brady’s head.
Brady smacked his hand away. “Cut it out, doofus.”
Grant and Roman joined them, and the trash talk soon turned to family updates.
Grant’s kids were almost done with school for the year, and his cannabis business was growing.
Roman’s smile was bright and proud as he told them his daughter, Summer, had a full ride to Sarah Lawrence in the fall, and that his son had already hit a home run for his summer Little League.
Memories of summer days spent terrorizing each other in the backyard and all across Parson’s Hollow came next. Cody waxed poetic about the go cart he’d built from scrap wood and old skateboards.
“Too bad you forgot to include brakes,” Brady said.
Roman and Grant recalled the day their parents had brought Cody home from the hospital, and after a few hours of listening to him cry, Roman had asked if they could take him back.
At a lull in the conversation, as Dave’s chest still felt warm from shared family history and connection, Roman tipped his bottle toward him. “You’re really sure you want to do this?”
“Yes, Roman, I’m sure.” Dave downed the shot Cody had set before him. Completely unrelated to Roman’s questioning, of course.
“I mean, you’ve been pretty serious about, you know, people in the past. Like that girl down in Atlanta a few years ago.”
“I love Oliver. End of subject.”
“Jesus, dude,” Cody snapped. “Lay off him.”
“What? I’m checking to make sure my little brother isn’t rushing into something.”
“I’m not. I love him, and we’re getting married Saturday.”
“I know, and I’m happy for you—”
The bitterness in his own laugh surprised him.
Roman continued. “I am happy for you.”
“But?” Dave prompted.
Roman nodded. “But, it’s a huge lifestyle change.”
“Oh, really?” Cody’s expression was tight, cheeks coloring slightly. “Tell us all something we don’t know.”
Roman rolled his eyes. “Just because you did it doesn’t mean he should.”
Dave clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his beer. A number of responses flashed through his mind, all of them guaranteed to incinerate the flimsy strands of connection between him and Roman. He settled for asking, “Why did you come?”
Before Roman could respond to that, Grant, the oldest, stepped in. “Romes, Dave’s embracing his feminine side, and we all should be celebrating with him.”
“Nope, that’s not really what it’s about.” Dave tried to explain, but it was drowned out by Roman telling Grant to stop calling him that.
“Come on, Romes, Ols is, like, a really great addition to the family.”
“Thank you, Grant,” Dave said, then wrinkled his nose. “Ols?”
Grant smiled. “Yeah, man, you’re welcome.”
Dave shifted his attention back to Roman. “I’m glad you’re here, I am, but you need to shut down your natural instinct to interfere and try to sow doubt.”
Roman’s eyes went wide and his expression slack. “What? That’s not what I’m doing.”
“It’s what you always do, and I will not permit you to do it just days before my wedding. Is that clear?”
“All I wanted to do was make sure—”
“Did I make myself clear?” Dave put an icy edge into his tone.
Roman sank back in his seat, eyes half closed and mouth a thin line. He gave a single nod before turning away and taking a drink from his beer.
The door to the parking lot opened, and a big man entered. Dave’s whole body went cold. He pushed to his feet so abruptly the legs of his chair skittered across the floor. His brothers stopped mid-argument and turned to follow his gaze.
Detective Carter stood by the door. He wore a suit coat and pants with a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top, and no tie.
“What the fuck?” Dave rounded the table.
“Whoa there, big fella.” Lucia grabbed his arm and brought him to a stop. “We don’t need you getting arrested, too.”
Cody was beside him, jaw thrust out, body still. “Who is that? Is he that fucking detective?”
“Yeah,” Dave said. “Way out of his fucking jurisdiction.”
Lucia pointed between them both. “You two stay right fucking here. Got it? I will talk with him.”
“Oh, shit.” Oliver came up on Dave’s other side. “What’s he doing here?”
Carter spotted Oliver and started forward, turning side to side to make his way through the crowd.
“All of you stay here,” Lucia said. “I’ll handle this.”
She crossed the bar, planting her feet in front of Carter. Dave couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he appreciated the way Lucia widened her stance and held her ground. After a minute or two of conversation, Lucia gestured for Oliver to approach.
Dave followed. When Cody tried to join them, Dave placed a hand on his chest and gave him a gentle push back. “It’s okay. Just stay here.”
He felt the rumble of Cody’s growl beneath his palm.
“You’ve been here all day?” Carter was asking Oliver.
“Well, not all day,” Oliver said. “We got here about seven this evening. Why?”
“Do you have an alibi for earlier today and last night?”
“Yeah, he does.” Dave stood behind Oliver, hands tight on shoulders. “He was with me. We’ve been together all day for the last two days.”
Carter’s stare was hard. “You’ll sign a statement to that effect?”
“Absolutely.”
“What’s this about?” Oliver asked. “I’m out on bail, and I’m in my own home town. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Carter blew out a breath and rested his hands on his hips. His suit coat shifted, displaying the badge clipped to his belt and the butt of his gun inside a shoulder holster. Dave noticed the tables closest to them go quiet.
“I can attest to both being present since seven this evening,” Lucia said. “And I’ve spoken with Oliver several times over the last two days.”
“Not a long drive to Glenmont though, is it?” Carter focused on Dave. “You’ve been with him non-stop the last two days?”
“I have. I’m off work while we prepare for our wedding Saturday. I haven’t left his side.” Dave waved a hand behind him, indicating the group in the bar. “Care to have a beer on us?”
“Thanks, but I’m on duty.”
“Why are you patrolling Parson’s Hollow?” Oliver asked. “What’s happened to make you drive over here?”
Carter folded his arms and let out a heavy breath. “Another member of the team is missing. Dylan Cambras.”