Page 61 of Mystery in the Mountains

“Just ready for my first shift,” Sunny said with a smile.

She just raised a doubtful eyebrow. “Well, get back here. Let me show you the ropes.”

Chapter

Twenty

ASHER

The gravel crunched under his tires as Asher pulled into his spot at their workshop. He’d been MIA since Sunny’s return, and hearing the saw running told his brother was putting in a late night in his absence.

When he walked in, Abe turned off the saw and turned to him. “Hey, I was wondering if I was going to see you today.”

“Sorry, I’ve been busy at Sunny’s.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Abe said as he picked up the freshly cut wood.

“What are you working on?”

“I’m making few rockers to have down at Midsommer Fest. We’re all caught up on orders, so I thought I’d work on some of this.”

“Okay, I can come in and stain or paint them.”

“Okay, how’s Sunny’s house coming along?”

“Good.”

“How are things with Sunny going?”

Asher gave him a warning look; he wasn’t used to Abe asking personal questions like this.

“Just checking in,” he said, encouraging him to share.

Julie did this. Julie turned Abe into someone who wanted to talk about his feelings. While all the changes in Abe after he found Julie had been positive, he wasn’t a big fan of this one at the moment.

“Things are good. I’m actually going to head down and pick her up from the bar soon. I just wanted to stop in and see what we need to do to get ready for the festival.”

Abe snatched a yellow pad of paper off the shelf and checked. “I’m on track for the builds. If you’re busy, I can stain and do basic paint, but you know me, I don’t have your skill.”

Asher took the paper from him. “Okay, I should be able to get some painting done.”

“How about Sunny’s house?”

“I’ll let you know. I got her porch fixed, and with the banister fixed, I think the rest of the fixes are pretty small.”

“Well, why don’t you guys make a list of what still needs to be done, and on Saturday, Julie, Ruby, and I will head down, and we can have a workday and a cookout.”

“Yeah, let me check with Sunny, but that sounds wonderful. Any word on Esther?”

Abe shook his head. “She calls to talk to Ruby every night, but that’s it right now. She’s been gone for over a week.”

“Weird. Okay, well, I’m gonna clean up and go to the bar. I’ll head over tomorrow and get some of this done,” he said as he set the list back on the counter.

About an hour later, he was walking into the bar with a smile stretched wide across his face as he watched Sunny bend over the cooler. He took a seat at the end of the bar and waited for her to notice him.

She blew her hair out of her face as she topped off the Jack and Coke and handed it to Mitch Montgomery, who was sitting at the other end of the bar.

He watched as her body shifted like she had just felt a breeze, even though they were in a dark, smoky space. Her head perked up, and her eyes began to scan the room before finding him.

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