Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Brooke winced. “Yeah, I thought it was clunky, too. I understand the need to move things quickly and in the dark, but the paintings look weird.”
He had a solution. “But the pulley system is right there. And it’s in layers to accommodate four rows of curtains. Why not use one for the artwork and the mirror? Then it would look like it was hung on the walls.”
She stopped in the middle of the street, her expression going to what he’d come to think of as her thinking face.
He let her stop because it wasn’t like there were cars coming.
“I like it, Shane.” She nodded as though she could see the thing in her head. “You could hang them by strings so they’re fragile and could break easily. Like the sisters. It’s a good idea, and it would move just as quickly.”
“More.” A thrill of pride went through him, the kind he always got when he solved a problem. “Because you move it from backstage.”
Brooke smiled, sending another kind of thrill through him. “That is smart. You should talk to Cleo about it in the morning. I know she’s got some issues with the set design. Is it weird that I’m kind of excited to be working for very little money? I think I’m being paid in popcorn and free passes.”
He squeezed her hand. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re helping out.”
“Hey, guys.” Bay stood on the sidewalk opposite them. “We seem to have a problem.”
Brooke’s expression fell. “What?”
Shane started to lead her toward Bay. “What’s happening?”
“Someone slashed our tires.” Bay frowned. “You know, I don’t expect that here. We’re not even into high tourist season. Who’s going around slashing the tires of a shitty old truck?”
A chill crept along Shane’s spine. He let go of Brooke’s hand and went back to inspect the truck himself. Sure enough, all four tires were done in, and someone had smashed the passenger’s side window and rifled through the cab. Not that they had anything to steal.
“Hey, Elisa.” Brooke had her cell to her ear as she and Bay joined him. “We’ve had our truck vandalized. We’re in the parking lot across from the theater. Yes. We want to file a report at least. Sure. See you in a couple of minutes.” She hung up. “Elisa’s coming. She won’t be long.”
“Why would…” Bay’s head shook. “Never mind. I know why. People are assholes. Unless this is the work of the Sasquatches. Mel warned me.”
“It wasn’t a Sasquatch.” Shane was worried it was something else. Something tied to their past. It had been months and they hadn’t heard anything. He thought they’d left it all behind when they fled in the night. “Do you think there’s any way this is Kingman?”
Brooke’s head turned, like she’d scented an excellent story. “Kingman? Like Kale Kingman, the rancher who owns a big portion of Wyoming? Why would he slash your tires?”
“Well, I don’t think he would do it himself.” Shane’s gut was in a knot. Had it taken the man this long to find them? They hadn’t talked a lot during their short stay on the ranch, so it was definitely possible no one knew about their connections here in Bliss.
Bay’s head shook. “Nah, he has people for that.”
“He has people to do crimes?” Brooke asked, her eyes wide. “And you’ve seen this? You saw Kale Kingman’s ranch hands commit crimes for him? I knew they got that show from somewhere.”
“I never watched the show. I have to deal with ranch shit all day. I’m not going to sit around and watch it at night.” It was precisely why he liked shows about other times in history. And action shows. And science fiction. And anything but damn Westerns where they usually got shit wrong. Ranch work was boring. Well, for the most part. Apparently not so much if the rancher was Kale Kingman.
“We never saw that,” Bay countered, and there was something about his sigh that raised Shane’s hackles. He sounded dismissive. “Of course there were rumors, and Shane once thought he saw something, but it wasn’t anything. There were always jokes about how if you found yourself on the wrong end of Kingman, there was a nice canyon you would spend eternity in, but that’s not real. Shane overheard some talk, but again, it was only talk. It was more of an excuse to get us out of there.”
Brooke turned Shane’s way. “Bay said you saw something.”
He was surprised his brother didn’t believe him. “I overheard something the night we left. They talked about handling the new guys. We were the new guys.”
“See, I know he’s saying he doesn’t watch Yellowstone, but I assure you everyone in the bunkhouse did, and I think that got into Shane’s head and when he heard something about the new guys, his imagination went a little nutsy,” Bay offered. “He was unhappy there. Hell, I was unhappy there, but they paid well. He woke me up in the middle of the night and we took off. It’s been more than five months. It’s not like anyone has come after us.”