Page 164 of The Woman By the Lake

On that thought, he got back to work.

THIRTY-FOUR

Family

Riggs

That night, Riggs was lounging on a blanket on the ground with his back to the blanket-covered log next to the fire he and Murphy had built, Nadia draped up his chest through his bent legs.

He’d spent an hour making a playlist, and it set the mood.

So right now, “Year of the Cat” was playing loud enough to be heard, but low enough people didn’t have to shout at each other, and Riggs had noted earlier that none of his friends gave that first shit his music was setting the night to chill. They were just as good with mellowing out with some chips, dogs, beer, tequila shooters and pot as they were with loud and rowdy accompanied by chips, dogs, beer, tequila shooters and pot.

In fact, maybe more so, considering Easton was making out hot and heavy with Courtney across the fire from him and Nadia. His bud Jaeger was sitting close and deep in conversation with Ashley on the blanket to the west side of the fire. And Riggs had enough experience doing the same thing, he saw Storm, successfully on the make, sitting next to Lynne on a log.

By his estimation, those two would be leaving soon.

Harry, he knew, was behind him on his furniture, talking with Rus, something he could do every day at work, but also Murphy, something he couldn’t.

He’d prefer Harry talking to Lynne, who was a fine woman Riggs sensed was looking for more than a good time, one reason why he and Lynne had always only been friends. But Storm was a good and decent man, so maybe that would take, and Viggo would have a fine woman in his life like Ledger now did.

But it was a minor victory Harry was there at all.

Step one, he’d taken off his wedding ring.

Step two, showing at Riggs’s for a party.

And Riggs hoped step three would lead to good things.

Maribeth was standing off to his left with a huddle of his work crew, doubled over laughing, so he suspected they were entertaining her with stories of how he could be a detail-oriented hardass when they were on a job.

He’d called Hutch to ask how Gia would respond to this situation, and Hutch felt it was too soon to introduce her to thirty people and a party at Riggs’s lake. So she was confined to the cabin.

Another reason to keep the noise down. If she heard it, she might not like it, and considering Nadia wasn’t with her, they didn’t know how she’d respond to that either.

“Brother, share,” he heard from above him.

He looked up, and Murphy was standing there holding out his hand, the tip of his forefinger pressed to his thumb.

Riggs drew off the joint pinched in his fingers then handed it to his bud.

He held that smoke deep.

“Always been a weed hog,” Murphy grumbled and strolled off.

Nadia giggled.

Riggs exhaled.

He hadn’t put the pressure on, but he’d offered it, and she didn’t hesitate taking it. He’d asked, and she told him that wasn’t her first time smoking weed, and it wasn’t Maribeth’s either.

Riggs had noted there was one difference between the two outside the color of their skin.

Maribeth got high.

But Nadia got chill.

“Year of the Cat” slid into “Steal Away” as Riggs dragged her up his chest and kissed her.

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