Page 41 of Fake It Till We Fall
Grayson
By the time I pulled into the driveway of my childhood home, which Brody bought from Mom when she moved south a few years ago, the place was lit up with over-the-top Christmas lights strung from every available surface. I smiled and shook my head as I walked up the walk. No doubt, Quinn had a say in how Uncle Brody decorated.
Warm light spilled from the windows, and the sound of laughter greeted me as I stepped through the front door.
I shook off the cold and inhaled deeply the scent of seasoned beef and peppers that told me it was taco night. My stomach growled, but my chest tightened because I knew I’d rather be upstairs at Willa’s Whisk, in Harper and Willa’s tiny apartment, helping them string lights on their tree.
“It’s about time,” Reid called from the dining room.
I popped my head around the corner for a moment to see my brother. Avery was seated by his side, a platter of taco shells in her hand.
Everyone was there.Almosteveryone.
The door banged open behind me. I spun back into the front entry as my youngest brother stumbled in. He was covered in snow up to his thighs, looking once again as if he’d just emerged from a snowbank, which he likely had. Preston had a scowl on his face as he brushed the equivalent of a snowdrift from his shoulders.
“Don’t bring that in here!” Brody yelled. “At least knock your boots off outside.”
Preston shook his head, ignoring him.
“Everything okay?” I asked Preston, arching a brow.
“No,” he grumbled. “Did you know the whole lower trail system out in the nature park isn’t actually owned by the trail association?”
I shook my head. “Who owns it?”
“A private investor.” He held up his fingers, mimicking quotation marks. “Who’s looking to sell.”
“What?”
“Seriously?” Brody popped his head around the corner. He cocked his eyebrow at the snow at Preston’s feet, but with a sigh, ignored it. “What do you mean, they’re selling?”
Preston shook his head and stepped over the puddles he’d created. “That’s the rumor,” he said as we followed him into the dining room. “Apparently, there’s a development firm looking to come in and build a bunch of cabins that will appeal to out-of-towners.”
“You know how I feel about out-of-towners,” Reid piped up, earning him a playful smack on his arm from his wife, who up until recently had been considered an “out-of-towner.”
“That sucks,” Ethan said. “What part of the trails does it affect?”
“Way too much.” Preston slumped into a chair and helped himself to some taco shells. “Mostly the current entrance to the beginner mountain biking tracks and the general access.” Hegroaned. “If this sale goes through, the trail association will have to reconfigure everything to keep the trail system usable. I’m all for growth and progress and all that, but what the hell?”
I slid into a seat across from him and next to Delaney. I smiled a hello and waved at Quinn, who was shoveling rice in her mouth. “I have to agree,” I said. “Progress is inevitable, but we should be working to protect the spaces that make this town so special.”
“Who is the developer?” Brody asked. “Maybe you can ask Jess who it is?”
“Jess Anderson?” Delaney asked. “She came to ladies’ night last week.”
Avery nodded. “Didn’t she mention a fiancé who was a land developer?”
“What?” Ethan almost choked on his taco. “Jess is getting married?”
“To a land developer?” Preston’s mouth fell open. “It has to be a coincidence.”
“I may have gotten it wrong.” Avery held up her hands. “I just met her, and we talked about a lot of things.”
Preston let out a sharp laugh. “Unbelievable. A local girl is going to marry the guy who wants to carve up the best parts of the forest. Ridiculous.”
“We don’t know that,” Brody offered. “I’m sure that Jess?—”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Preston continued. “She always was?—”
