Page 28 of Theirs for the Holidays

“Seventy-something, to hear her tell it. But it doesn’t stop the contractors from coming around. The summer before last, she had someone out working on her porch, and Dylan, the mailman says he saw them in a ‘heated embrace’ on the porch swing.”

All three of them make faces of disgust. “I don’t even want to know what that means,” Rhett says, shuddering.

“Do you think they’re just angling for better tips?” Sawyer asks. “I mean, lonely old lady with more money than shame sounds like a good way to cash in.”

“Thinking about trying your luck?” Lennox gives him a faintly amused look, and Sawyer flips him off.

“I’m not that desperate.” It lacks any of the usual bite between the three of them, and I thank the warmth and easy atmosphere for that. “Maybe Dylan the mailman just reads too many romance novels.”

“Maybe. But I’m not digging too deep into that.”

Rhett grabs another slice and takes a bite. “I don’t blame you. I wish I could unlearn all of that. What else have you got?”

“Hmm, let’s see… you remember Mr. Herbert?”

Rhett frowns, chewing and swallowing. “Old guy? Ran the video store?”

“That’s the one.”

“This isn’t going to be about him getting freaky with anyone, right?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “No, no, nothing like that. You probably noticed the video store is closed down now, right?”

They all nod. “I thought it just went out of business because everyone’s streaming shit now,” Rhett adds.

“It went out of business a few years ago. Because Mr. Herbert disappeared. One day the store just didn’t open. He didn’t sell the store or his house or anything. He just vanished.”

“What happened to his stuff?” Lennox asks.

“It’s all still there. There was a town meeting a couple years ago to see if the mayor should start trying to figure out how to legally sell his house and the store, but most people voted to leave it alone.”

“Because they think he’s coming back or for some small town superstitious shit?” Sawyer wants to know.

I laugh. “Little column A, little column B. But mostly column B.”

“Tracks.”

“I guess it’s nice that this place hasn’t changed all that much,” Lennox says. “The world can be full of horrible shit and uproar and change, but Sweetwater Lake is always going to be superstitious and weird. And gossipy.”

“Always,” I agree. “Considering how many looks we got while we were out today, there’s going to be a lot of gossip floating around about us too.”

“That was the whole point,” Sawyer says. “It’ll help sell things. The problem is that people are going to be yapping about it for years after we leave again.”

The mention of them leaving again serves as a stark remind that it’s a thing that has to happen. They all have lives elsewhere, things to take them back away from Sweetwater Lake. This is only temporary, and that’s… that’s for the best. This charade would be exhausting to keep up all the time.

“Speaking of you guys leaving,” I say, looking to Sawyer, “what do you do when you’re not here? You travel all over the place, but is that for work or just because you want to?”

Rhett snorts. “Sawyer doesn’t have a job. That would require responsibility and commitment.”

I frown, turning that over in my mind. “But wait… I know the security company you all founded fell apart, so how do you not have another job?”

That immediately is like a bucket of cold water on the warmth in the room. The tension sharpens, something going quiet and strained between all of them.

“Zephyr didn’t fall apart,” Sawyer says. “We sold it. About three years ago.”

“Oh.” I blink. “I had no idea. It must have sold well if you can afford to not work now.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement,” Lennox replies. “We’re all very comfortable now.”