Page 164 of Ransom

I'm halfway to the bank when familiar faces emerge from Miller's Real Estate office. Maverick and Cadence step out with Sarah Miller herself.

"Blair!" Maverick waves, tugging on his loosened tie. He sticks out in his fancy suit. "Nice to see you again."

"Hi..." I glance between them and Sarah, who's practically bouncing on her heels with excitement. What could Ransom's brother possibly want with our local realtor?

"Sorry to rush," Sarah cuts in, checking her watch. "But we really need to get to that appointment."

"Of course." Cadence's grin is warm and excited. "We'll catch up later, Blair."

They hurry off down the sidewalk, Sarah's heels clicking against the concrete. I watch them turn the corner, my deposit book forgotten in my hands. What appointment? There's barely anything to see in Badger Falls, let alone?—

Movement in the diner window catches my eye. I do a double-take. Jonas, Ransom's quietest brother, sits at a table with Angie of all people. They're bent over what looks like paperwork, deep in conversation. Angie's hair is standing up on top. She tugs on her hair when she's stressed, and judging by that rat's nest, she's really fucking stressed. Why are they together? What did he do to upset her so much?

What the fuck is going on around here?

I check my phone—fifteen minutes until the bank closes. But my mind's spinning with questions. Why are Ransom's brothers scattered around town? And why do they look like they're doing business rather than just visiting?

I hurry through my deposit at the bank, making it just before closing. Coming out into the afternoon sun, I detour past the diner again, but Jonas and Angie are nowhere to be seen. What on earth could those two be talking about? I’m tempted to go straight to the grocery store to get the scoop from Angie herself, but I don’t want to be that nosy.

Well I do. But I don’t want to be obvious about it. I’m sure if I give it a day, I’ll get the gossip from someone in town, but I’m not feeling very patient.

Maybe Ransom knows what’s going on. He has to right? They’re his family.

Heading for the garage, my steps slow as I spot a bizarre sight down the block. Outside Henderson's Hardware, Earl and Pete occupy their usual lawn chairs, but they've been joined by a third person—Colton, Ransom's massive brother, squeezed into sparkly pink overalls.What the actual fuck?

"Well, if it isn't little Blair McKenna," Earl calls out, tipping his John Deere cap. "Come meet our new friend."

"Earl, Pete." I grin at the familiar faces. These two have been fixtures outside the hardware store since I was a kid. They still call melittle, which is dumb, but I won’t call them on it. "I see you've got company today."

"This fancy man's from the city," Pete says, gesturing with his ever-present coffee cup. He says 'from the city' the way you'd say 'that should be hung in a museum' to a three-year-old presenting you with their 100th finger painting. Just the perfect mix of condescension mixed with sarcasm. "I guess they dress different out there."

Colton shrugs, completely at ease. "I wanted to fit in. I borrowed them from a friend. He's a dancer."

I choke as I realize exactly what dancer he's referring to. There was definitely a picture of these overalls on the singing messenger's website. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing. "Oh. Um, they look good on you." I look between them. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just spending time with the locals. Learning about the town." Colton winks at me. "And getting the gossip. I can tell these men are the best sources of news in the whole town."

Pete and Earl both puff up a little at that, looking pleased. And Colton's not wrong. These two guys spend almost every day here, chatting, getting the goods from everyone that passes by. They're like our town's built-in Google.

"You should've seen Mrs. Patterson's face when she walked by," Pete chuckles. "Thought her eyes were gonna pop right out."

Colton grins. "My brother Jonas told me I looked like a hallucination. I think it was a compliment."

God, these guys are fun.

I don't try to hide my laugh, and thankfully, Colton doesn't seem at all offended. I like that about him.

"Speaking of Jonas," I start, but Earl cuts in.

"Blair, honey, I was just telling him about that time your daddy had to rescue Pete's cat from the hardware store roof. You remember that?"

"How could I forget? Pete wouldn't stop bringing him pies after that." Pretty sure my dad put on ten pounds that month. We ate pie for dinner more than once. Dad didn’t even try and justify it. It was food he didn’t have to prepare, so why the hell not.

I wonder if that had something to do with his heart problems?

"Best month of Robert's life," Pete nods sagely. "My Martha makes the best pies in three counties." Honestly, it was the best month of my life up to that point, too.

I try again to bring up Jonas and the others, but Earl launches into another story.

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