Chapter Two
CHAPTER TWO
Canon turned into the Double D ranch’s drive. He slowed as Josiah Barnes, the ranch foreman, walked toward his truck.
“Looks like you’re a little late to the party,” Josiah said with a smile.
“Only fashionably so,” Canon replied, smiling.
Josiah pointed in the barn’s direction. “Drive past the barn and turn right. You’ll see a lane. Follow the tracks. They’ll have a large fire going by this time. I’m glad they’ll have a representative there from the firehouse.”
“I always carry my handy-dandy extinguisher to a bonfire in case things get out of hand,” Canon said.
“Is it something special?” Josiah’s curiosity peaked.
“Some think so,” Canon laughed. “I pee on the fire to put it out.”
Josiah shook his head. “I’m glad I didn’t ask you to show me.” He waved Canon on, still shaking his head.
Canon bumped over the primitive road, the shocks working overtime. The sunlight had hung on long enough for him to see the pillar of smoke in the distance. The tent he spotted looked lopsided. He’d have to help them fix it or else it could slip in the night and scare the bejesus out of them.
He turned off the ignition and pushed open the door. Brad Davidson, B.J. Johnson, and Jasen DeLay all approached. By the time Canon had lowered his pickup’s gate and climbed in the bed, the men had caught up to him. “Howdy y’all. I’ve got coolers with beer.” He pulled the blue cooler forward.
“Grab a handle,” B.J. ordered Jasen. Each man took a handle and carried it toward the fire.
Canon admired B.J. and Jasen. In their early thirties, both men had successful careers. One was the supervisor of a property management company and the other was Fortuna’s honorable mayor.
“Need help?” Brad asked, “Can I carry that, son?”
Grateful, Canon smiled. He’d packed the cooler full and didn’t know if Brad could handle the weight.
Brad owned the Big Deal ranch and might have been a tough cowboy at one time, but now he was older and a paper pusher. The oldest of the book club members, Brad had to be close to a hundred. Although, maybe not, because his daughter was thirty.
“Thanks Brad, but I’ve got it.” Canon took both handles and hoisted it. It was heavy, but nothing different from what he carried at the station. Nothing like the weight of his gear.
B.J. and Jasen joined Parker Ford and Forrest Greene in a ring of chairs around a fire pit. Parker stirred a large kettle suspended over the fire.
Canon followed B.J. and Jasen, setting his cooler next to theirs. B.J. and Jasen looked winded, but it could have been from the tug of war he saw them playing with the cooler.
The heavenly aroma of chili hung in the air. Canon’s stomach rumbled.
“Now that we’re all here—” the mayor started.
“What’s the status of the food?” Oh God, I interrupted the mayor . Canon quickly lifted the lid of the cooler and grabbed a bottle of beer. He offered it to Brad.
“Age before beauty,” BJ teased, crossing his arms.
Brad’s bristly mustache twitched with a smile. “I’ve earned it, you whipper-snapper.” Brad twisted off the cap. He settled in a seat next to Forrest and raised the longneck.
Canon quickly handed out bottles to everyone who wanted one. They all raised their beverages.
“To my mother Undine Love-Davidson and her freakish book hoarding tendencies. May the good Lord give her an enormous mansion with thousands of books,” Brad clicked Forrest’s water bottle, then Canon’s beer.
“Here, here,” Canon said.
Parker returned to the kettle and stirred.
“Now that we’re all here—” Jasen started again, his eyes narrowing at Canon.
Canon shrunk back and swallowed.
Parker sniffed the kettle, closed his eyes and said, “Soups on.”
Canon jumped up. “Awesome! What can I do to help?”
“Get the fixin’s out of the cooler,” Parker ordered, pointing to a small red cooler while he began pulling bowls out of a canvas bag. Brad spooned the chili into his bowl first and topped it with peppers. He smiled and sighed. It was a good sign.
Once Canon had his, he ladled a large spoonful into his mouth. He savored the sting of the spice. Parker’s was the best chili he’d ever had, next to Grammie Nan’s. He kept spooning mouthfuls in.
“Too hot for you?” Jasen asked.
Canon glanced over to B.J. He switched from blowing on his bowl to gulping his beer.
Jasen took his first spoonful while B.J. glowered at him. “God, Parker, this is fabulous. Holy cow.”
“Mm-hmm,” Canon hummed, nodding his head and holding his empty bowl out for more.
“Damn. How did you eat that so fast?” B.J. asked.
“He’s not a pansy like you.” Forrest took a large bite.
B.J. must have taken it as a challenge because he took a large spoonful. Everybody in Fortuna knew B.J. didn’t back down from challenges or dares. He was the one who’d started the romance reading fad in town. He’d accepted a dare to read a romance novel and found he loved them. Soon he dared other men and voilà—book club.
B.J.’s face grew red as he moved the food from one cheek to another. He swallowed, then lifted the beer bottle to his lips and chugged it until it was empty. Sweat beaded on his brow.
Everyone laughed. Parker finally sat to eat and dived in with a satisfied smile.
Canon took a trash bag and opened it. “Put your empty bottles and bowls in here.” He collected the group’s garbage. He’d lock it in the truck’s cab to keep unwanted critters away.
Parker lifted the lid on a container. Inside sat the most perfect chocolate chip cookies Canon had ever seen. They looked plastic and too good to eat.
“Lisa made these special for y’all. I hope you don’t like them, so there’s more for me.” Parker passed the plate. Canon took one and devoured ti.
Jasen took a cookie, then sampled it. His eyes rolled back, and he moaned.
“Geez, Jasen, you eat too much processed food,” Forrest said, then nibbled the cookie and moaned.
“I know, right?” Canon said, swiping another cookie as the plate passed back.
“Please give Lisa my compliments. These are excellent.” Brad popped the last bite into his mouth.
Parker smiled and nodded. “I’ll be sure to tell her.”
“How are you two doing?” Forrest asked, wiping crumbs from his face.
Canon’s gaze volleyed from Forrest to Parker. Parker and Lisa Ford were quite a pair. He knew two things about the couple. One was that they used to fight all the time. He knew this firsthand from a yelling match he’d witnessed in Hammered, the local restaurant. The second was something he was glad he didn’t witness. Parker had gotten caught by the police while trying to act out a favorite romance novel hero. Unfortunately for him, he was sans clothes when the officers found him.
The book fad had elevated public fighters to public lovers, and he’d heard women wish their man was more like Parker Ford.
Forrest was married, too. He and his wife, Ivy, had a little girl. But Forrest hadn’t made it to Parker’s level of notoriety. He might have attempted things, but his wife worked for the Fortuna police as a dispatcher, and it probably wouldn’t look good if she or her husband were arrested.
“Well,” Parker started, his round cheeks turned pink, “She’s good. She recently discovered the books at city hall.”
“Oh God,” Jasen groaned, covering his face.
Forrest leaned forward, appearing intrigued. “Ivy has asked about the stash of books, too. Any luck?”
Parker chuckled, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “A little. My suggestion is: let her pick something.”
Jasen put his arms out like someone was safe at home plate. “I know you don’t believe me, but just for the record, those novels are not in my office. I’ll state once again I didn’t ask to have a bookshelf or the BDSM books placed there.” He threw B.J. the stink eye.
“Says you.” B.J. smirked and leaned back with crossed arms.
Jasen furrowed his brow and puckered his lips, like he smelled something rank. He shot his hand out and pushed the corner of B.J.’s folding chair next to his shoulder. B.J. teetered with his arms and legs flailing. The chair tipped, and he landed in a plume of dust with his feet in the air.
Canon bit his tongue to keep from laughing.
B.J. jumped to his feet with balled fists, a red vein bulging on his forehead.
Jasen ignored B.J. and popped another cookie into his mouth. Canon held his breath, waiting to see if the men would fight.
Brad pointed to B.J.’s chair, and B.J. took the hint and righted it, then sat. “What are we going to read next?”
Canon admired Brad’s even-tempered response. He could’ve gotten mad when the grown men acted like stupid kids. Nice redirect.
Forrest glanced up at the stars, stroking his ginger beard.
“How about historical?” Jasen suggested.
B.J. laughed. “Bodice rippers.”
“You like them,” Jasen said with a smirk.
“Yes, you do B.J.” Forrest said. “I’ve seen them at your office.”
B.J. shrugged. “I read them all. I don’t discriminate.”
A few days ago in Nockerville, Canon had picked up a romance set in Montana. He’d read the first few chapters and liked it. The author had two series with several books and would be a great read for the book club. “We could do western romance, but somewhere new, like Montana or Colorado.”
“I’ll make a list.” Jasen opened a notebook and began writing. “We can read them all, eventually.”
“Cool. I liked Sweet Vengeance . It had vampires, sorcerers, and werewolves. Why don’t we do werewolves?” Canon raised his arms and curled his fingers like claws. “Aah-oo,” he howled.
Forrest rolled his eyes. “Can we take a break from paranormal for a while? How about romantic comedy? Something in a small town, maybe.”
“You just want something easy to act out,” Parker teased.
Forrest’s eyes widened, and he turned bright red.
“Hot damn, Parker is right!” B.J. clapped his hands together, then he jumped up. He started pacing within the circle of chairs.
“Oh crap,” Brad said as he met Jasen’s gaze.
Canon watched B.J. move. His brow was crinkled as he mulled something over. After a few minutes, he stopped, then turned to face them, jabbing a finger into the air. “I have an idea.”
“Here it comes,” Jasen muttered with pen poised.
B.J. ignored him and said, “Let’s draw.”
As far as Canon could tell, Jasen was the only man with a pen. “I don’t have a pencil.”
“No you goof. Like this…” B.J. turned to Jasen. “Can I use your notebook?” With a nod, Jasen handed it over. B.J. tore six sheets out, then handed it back.
He ripped the sheets in thirds, then handed each man three pieces. “On the top paper list a setting. Like a city, the mountains, or a diner. Whatever. Think where you’d like to read.”
B.J. handed the pen to Forrest. He scribbled his place, then passed the pen to Brad.
When the men had finished, B.J. asked, “Brad, may I borrow your cowboy hat?” The men folded the slips of paper and added them to the hat.
“Draw one and make sure it isn’t yours. Keep what you receive to yourself. Tuck it in your chair’s cup holder.”
Canon reached in and chose a slip of paper.
“Now think of a subgenre you’d like to read or act out.” B.J. wiggled his brows, earning a few chuckles. “I guess it could be a common trope, like the secret baby or friends to lovers.”
Once more, the pen circled the group, then the men dropped their ideas into the hat.
B.J. shook Brad’s hat, then offered him first dibs. He selected a paper.
After they each had picked a subgenre, B.J. said, “Now select a character. Not someone specific, but like a clown or shop owner.”
Canon chuckled, then wrote something he hoped Forrest would get. He threw his paper in the pot. When it was his turn, he drew a character.
“Jasen, write these down,” B.J. ordered.
Jasen nodded with pen poised.
The silence stretched. Forrest mouthed something to Brad that Canon didn’t catch. Brad shrugged and glanced at the fire.
Canon liked the idea of randomly picking reading topics. It was a fresh idea.
“Look at your paper,” B.J. smirked and pointed to Forrest. “I dare you to act these out with your wife. And you,” he said, pointing to Parker. “The rest of us need to find someone.”
Brad and Jasen shared a look. Both were widowers. They’d lost their wives in tragic accidents.
The image of Canon’s frumpy neighbor in his arms popped into his head. He shook it away. “I, uh,” Canon stuttered. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Are you afraid of a little dare?” B.J. taunted.
“Neither do you,” Jasen said to B.J.
B.J.’s brows rose. “Don’t worry, I’m looking forward to dressing up like …” He shuffled his papers and croaked, “A prince.”
Canon sucked in a breath and stymied his laughter, but Forrest had no such control.
“Charming,” Jasen teased.
“Not.” Parker snorted.
“What’s your trope?” Canon leaned forward.
B.J. unfolded a second paper. “MC. What the hell is MC?”
“Motorcycle club.” Canon smirked.
“You get to be a royal bad boy,” Brad said.
“More like a royal pain in the ass,” Jasen grinned.
“Who likes leather,” Parker added. “You might want to visit Jasen’s bookshelf for ideas.” He winked.
“What’s your setting B.J.?” Canon asked.
“Haunted coffee shop.” B.J. shook his head. “A coffee shop would be easy enough but haunted? How the hell am I going to pull that off?”
Canon laughed. He’d like to see him figure it out, too. “Are you afraid of your own dare?”
B.J. snarled and dropped into his seat. He glowered at the fire.
“Listen, son,” Brad started, catching everyone’s undivided attention. “You could be a singer formally known as Prince imitator who drives a Harley and sings haunting melodies at hipster coffee shops.”
“Have you heard B.J. sing?” Forrest asked. “I have at church. It would be haunting, all right. It’d scare the shiznack out of them.”
“Ha Ha.” B.J. rubbed his chin. “I like Brad’s interpretation. I suppose we can manipulate our choices as long as they can be described in the original terminology. What did you get Brad?”
Brad smoothed the folds out of his papers as he read, “Alien, fairytale, and library.”
Jasen hastily jotted it down.
Parker offered, “Mine are a dancer, a billionaire with a hidden past, and Scotland. I think Lisa will like the kilt.”
“Anyone want to switch?” Forrest asked, waving his slips of paper.
“No switching,” B.J. said, looking like the devil.
“This is such bull-crap.” Forrest scowled at B.J., then sighed. “A vampire mystery at a club.”
“That bites,” Parker teased.
Forrest had lamented reading vampires, and that’s why Canon threw the blood sucker into the hat. He bit his tongue to hide his pleasure.
“What do you have, Canon?” Parker asked.
With all eyes on him, he heated. “My character has to be a superhero, set in the past, on a train.”
“That’s easy.” Brad met his eyes. “The Lone Ranger. You can skip the tights.”
B.J. opened the drinks cooler and offered everyone another round. Canon accepted one and smiled. Even though he was the youngest member of the group, they treated him with respect and he didn’t feel like a kid. Most of the time.
The only one not to reveal his dare was, “Jasen?” B.J. beat Canon to asking.
Jasen sighed. “I have no clue how to pull this off. A cowboy fantasy in the theatre.”
“Why?” Canon asked, leaning forward.
“The main reason is I don’t have a wife, girlfriend or even someone I’d remotely want to take to coffee, let alone cos-play with.” Jasen frowned and looked away.
“I don’t either,” Brad said, sympathizing.
“That’s not true, Brad.” B.J. said, flashing a wily smile.
Brad’s mouth dropped open, but he didn’t utter a word.
“For once, I agree with B.J.” Jasen raised his bottle.
One member of their book club was missing. The expert in all things bookish and feminine. Those happened to be Brad’s words about Fortuna’s librarian: Ophelia Cox. She’d joined the club to keep them on task and offer a woman’s point of view. He’d learned a lot about plots, characterization, and whatnot. Canon had noticed she admired Brad, but maybe it was more.
“Are you guys talking about Ms. Ophelia?” Canon glanced from B.J. and Jasen to Brad.
“Yes, Ophelia.” B.J. said scrutinizing Brad. “I seem to recall she contacts you first when we need to change a time. She always gushes about how sexy mustaches are, too.”
Canon had always envied Brad’s bushy mustache. He reminded Canon of Sam Elliot.
Brad touched his whiskers with a hint of a grin.
“I’ve got one, so does Jasen,” Forrest said, stroking his beard.
“Dude. You do not have a mustache. You have a beard. A long, bushy, probably can find last week’s food stored in it, beard. And Jasen’s isn’t really a beard, or is it? It’s like three days’ growth,” Canon said.
“I call it lazy,” B.J. said.
“It is,” Jasen admitted. “Until I need to trim it.”
They compared facial hair care techniques and Canon zoned out. Mostly because he couldn’t grow a full beard. When he let it grow, his face looked like a molting chicken.
Canon thought about the dare. The superhero part would be easy—but set in the past on a train? He scratched his patchy five o’clock shadow.
“Your beard care is fascinating, Jasen, but how about we pick books? Then we can read awhile before we retire,” Brad offered.
Canon sat up. “Where are the books?”
“Better yet, how can we retire if there’s only one tent?” Parker posed. “I mean, I like all y’all all right, but I’m not fixin’ to bunk with the five of you.”
Jasen and B.J. shared a look.
“Oh.” Canon stood. “Can I put the other tents up?” He picked up the pack before anyone could reply.
“Sure, knock yourself out,” B.J. said.
Canon had always enjoyed putting tents together. He and his cousins were scouts, and they used to race to see who could put them up the fastest. The tent he pulled out of the bag was familiar because it was his. He put the poles together, then placed them into the slots. Like a puzzle. Within a few minutes, he’d completed the task.
“How the hell did you do that?” B.J. asked, sitting up wide-eyed.
“I was a scout. Plus, this one was mine.” Canon couldn’t help but grin. “Where are the books?”
Parker brought the totes of books near enough to the firelight so the men could see. “There are aliens and spaceships in these three.” Canon looked up.
“Sci-fi?” Parker glanced at Forrest, who nodded. “Okay?”
With everyone in agreement, they passed the books around, reading the backs until everyone had picked one. Next week they would switch, but tonight Canon was sure he’d picked a good one. His fingers itched to open it.
Brad and Canon shared a tent. Canon quickly undressed and slid on a pair of basketball shorts. He laid on his sleeping bag and began reading while Brad pulled off his boots and jeans.
The humanoid alien was naked in the first chapter and, “Oh my.” Canon blinked at Brad. “This one is going to be saucy. Awesome.”
Canon turned his attention back to the book and read three chapters before dousing the lantern.