16. Reese
Reese
Zachary said he’d need a few days to prepare for the town prank. I didn’t know what to think. He wouldn’t tell me a thing about the plan, and neither would the rest of my brothers. For all I knew, the whole thing was aimed at me. An old-fashioned welcome-back hazing.
In the meantime, I got started helping Dad and Josiah on the house while Summer looked for work.
It took her all of an afternoon to land a job at the Copper Kettle Diner.
We didn’t have her new ID yet, but she told the owner, Rob Landon, that she’d lost some things in the move.
He was an old friend of the family and didn’t ask questions—just offered to pay her in cash until she could get things sorted.
Mom offered to watch Nate while she worked, and I could bring him to the remodel at least some of the time. He was old enough to learn some basic skills with tools, and my Dad was an expert at keeping kids busy, even on a jobsite.
I still wasn’t sure how to handle the way my family had reacted to my homecoming.
I’d expected the worst. And maybe if I’d returned ten years earlier, that’s what would have happened.
But we’d all grown up and matured a lot.
My brothers had been through their own stuff and come out the other side.
They were business owners, husbands, family men.
No longer the wild bunch of kids who settled things with childish taunts and sometimes fists.
Still, it was hard to let go of the guilt—especially the feeling that I hadn’t given them enough credit. I’d underestimated them, and because of that, I’d missed a lot.
And they didn’t hate me for it.
Maybe the weight of my guilt was punishment enough.
Or maybe my brothers had something else in store.
Finally, almost a week later, I got a text from Z.
Angel Cakes Bakery. Midnight.
The prank was on.
I told Summer I’d be out that night and not to worry. Although she seemed curious, she didn’t ask a lot of questions. It was just as well. I didn’t know how to explain what pranking meant in Tilikum to someone who hadn’t grown up there.
When I left a little before midnight, it felt like I was a kid again, sneaking out of the house.
Zachary had probably been the brother to get in trouble the most, but he’d been brazen about it.
My brand of rebellion had usually been quieter—less likely to get me caught—but I’d been as much of a troublemaker as he’d ever been.
The town was peaceful in the middle of the night. The streets and sidewalks were empty, and even the squirrels were tucked away wherever squirrels went. I drove to Angel Cakes Bakery and pulled into the parking lot behind the building.
There were a surprising number of vehicles, and what looked like at least a dozen people—maybe more—moved around in the dark. Guys hauled storage totes and boxes from a box truck into the passenger vehicles. It looked an awful lot like a coordinated theft.
I jumped out of my SUV and looked for Zachary. Garrett was there, so unless he was a dirty cop—and there was no way—I hadn’t stumbled on a hijacking.
“There you are.” Zachary appeared carrying a clipboard. “I thought you weren’t gonna show.”
“What the hell is going on?”
His mouth curled in a grin. “I told you, it’s a prank.”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.” I caught sight of one of the guys loading something into the back of a truck and had to do a double take. “Is that one of the Baileys?”
“Yeah, they’re all here. Except Asher. He’s on duty at the firehouse tonight. Couldn’t make it. I also got a bunch of the SPS guys to help.”
“What are we doing that requires this many people?”
He grinned again. “Tomorrow, when everyone wakes up, it’s going to be Christmas.”
Luke walked by carrying a big cutout of a snowman. “Is there room for this in your rig?”
“If you put the back seats down.”
“Awesome.”
I turned back to Z. “We’re decorating the town for Christmas?”
“Pretty good huh?” Zachary chuckled. “There’s more to it, but I’ll get to that later. First, we need to get all the decorations up before sunrise.”
I had to admit, it was funny. And the scale was bigger than anything we’d pulled when we were younger.
I got to work moving things from the box truck into my SUV.
Zachary directed the operation like a supervisor on a construction site.
His clipboard had a map of the downtown area divided into zones and notes about what decorations were supposed to go in each area.
I didn’t ask how he’d gotten his hands on the town’s stash of Christmas decor. You never knew with Zachary.
A noise behind me made me pause. It sounded like animal hooves clicking on the pavement. I turned to find someone—was that Gavin Bailey?—leading a reindeer into the parking lot.
“Holy shit, Gav,” Zachary said. “You took one of the reindeer?”
“It’s fine,” Gavin said. “I left a note. Where do we want him?”
“Let’s put him in Lumberjack Park.”
“Sounds good, man. I’ll lead him over there.” Gavin clicked his tongue a few times and the reindeer walked with him.
I watched with my mouth hanging open as Gavin led the reindeer away. “Where did he get a reindeer?”
“Cook Family Farm, where they have Christmas Village,” Zachary said. “I hate to admit it, but he’s a prank genius. Anyway, you can take this stuff down to city hall. Theo and Garrett will meet you there.”
Once my SUV was stuffed with Christmas decorations, I drove the short distance to city hall. Theo pulled up behind me, and Garrett was waiting for us. We got to work unloading.
“Is there a plan for where this stuff goes, or are we winging it?” I asked.
“I don’t think it matters,” Theo said. “As long as it looks good.”
“Mom says you’re getting married. Congratulations.”
He smiled. “Thanks. Pen’s the best. I’m excited for you to meet her. How’s your girl doing? Getting settled?”
“She’s good. But you get that she’s not actually my girl, right?”
“Oh, sure,” he said, although I couldn’t tell if he meant that or if he was being sarcastic. “When do you move into the house?”
“Probably another week.”
“That’s—” His eyes widened and he crouched. “Get down.”
A car approached, driving slowly. Not just any car. It was one of the sheriff’s deputies.
I crouched next to Theo, wondering where Garrett was. Probably hiding.
To my surprise, Garrett stepped out into the street and gestured for the car to keep going. “Nothing to see here, Spangler. I’ve got it under control.”
The deputy gave him a casual salute and kept driving.
I stood. “I’m glad we got Garrett.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Theo handed me a tangled ball of lights. “Can you untangle these?”
We kept working well into the night, but even under cover of darkness, I could see the prank taking shape. Lights zigzagged back and forth across the streets. Wreaths and garland decorated storefronts, and candy canes, snowmen, and Santas lined the sidewalks.
As ridiculous as it all was, there was something about being out there—being included—that hit me deep in my chest. It wasn’t just about a prank. It was about trust. About drawing me back into their world.
Luke and Josiah brought us more lights and stayed to help hang them as we worked our way down the street. Eventually, Zachary showed up to check our progress, and the six of us shot the shit for a while.
Finally, it looked like we were finished. When Tilikum woke up in the morning, they were going to find their town fully decked out for Christmas.
My brothers and I exchanged high fives and fist bumps, and we congratulated Zachary on a well-executed prank.
“Prank’s not over,” Zachary said with a smirk. “Lumberjack Park. Nine a.m. Be there.”
Everyone dispersed to their vehicles without asking questions, although Garrett said he’d be on duty. Zachary took a few backward steps toward his truck and winked at me before turning to get in.
Suspicious.
What else did he have planned? We’d pulled off one of the biggest pranks in Tilikum history. What else was there to do?
Apparently, I was going to find out.
Despite being out half the night, I was up early. I thought about going into town just to see the first moments of surprise. But Summer wasn’t awake yet, and I was reluctant to leave before seeing her.
I was just being polite. It made sense to let her know what I was doing.
When she came out, her hair was messy, and she wore an oversize T-shirt and shorts. I poured her a cup of coffee, and we sat on the stools at the kitchen island.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me over the rim of her mug. “Am I allowed to ask what you were doing last night?”
“You’ll see when you go into town. Keep in mind, big pranks are kind of a thing here.”
“Pranks? Funny ones or mean ones?”
“This one’s funny.” I took a sip of coffee. “I actually have to go back into town soon. Zachary said to meet him at nine.”
“More shenanigans?”
“Something. I don’t know what he has planned. I’m kind of afraid to find out.”
“Well, maybe I’ll see you there. I have to work soon.”
“How’s the job going?”
“You know, it’s good.” She sounded surprised. “Everyone is so nice. They have a lot of questions about you. I’ve been keeping it vague.”
“Tilikum people are nosy as all hell.”
“It’s fine. I’ve been telling people we’ve only been married for a couple years. That seems to keep them from asking questions about anything before that.”
I nodded. That was good. I still needed to come clean to Summer about my past. But it wasn’t the time.
Finishing my coffee, I got ready to leave. Dad had already offered to take Summer to work—she didn’t need to be there until ten thirty—so I said goodbye and headed out.
As soon as I drove into town, I had to chuckle. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun blazed in the sky. But aside from the lack of snow, it looked like Christmas had truly come to Tilikum.
People wandered the sidewalks, pointing at the decorations. From what I could see, the store and restaurant owners were rolling with it. No one had taken anything down.