The expression on Vic’s face must have been amusing because Winona laughed. “Climbing is a sickness you can’t cure. Have you met my brother?”
“Yes.” Vic’s gaze returned to the roof in time to see Chaska, his long dark hair tied back in a ponytail, drop over the other side of the house, while Jesse stood on the roof in a climbing harness, rope in hand.
Eric peered over the edge to watch, a big grin appearing on his face. “It works.”
By the time everyone was off the roof, Austin was pulling steaks off the grill, and it was time to gather around the table.
Vic found herself sitting next to Eric, the press of his hard thigh against hers more than a little distracting. She scooted closer to Lexi.
“I don’t bite,” he whispered, then added in a louder voice, “You got water?”
“Yes, Mom.” She held up her ice water as proof, just as Austin tapped a beer bottle with the blade of his steak knife.
“Before you dig in, I just wanted to thank you all for agreeing to stand with us.”
“Hey, I signed on for the beer,” Jesse joked.
“Your support has meant so much to us over the years, and it’s going to mean a lot on Saturday. Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
And there it was—that lump that formed in her throat every time she thought about Lexi getting married. She needed to knock it off, or she’d be a blubbering mess at the ceremony.
They had just started in on dessert—strawberry shortcake—when aboomshocked the air, stopping the conversation and turning everyone’s heads toward town.
Eric got to his feet, pager in hand before the tone sounded.
“They’re playing your song,” Austin said.
“Well, shit. It looks like Hank blew up his house. I told him to do that shit outside.” He slid his pager back onto the waistband of his jeans, his gaze shifting to Vic. “Want to come with me and see my team in action?”
Was he serious?
“Do you really mean that?”
From the distance, came the sound of sirens.
“You’ll have to stay in the truck—no getting out and getting me into trouble. Also, we have to leaveright now.”
Excitement had her on her feet. She followed Eric as he hurried down the steps, calling over her shoulder to Lexi and Austin. “Thanks for supper. It was delicious.”
“Bring water!” Eric shouted back to her.
Chapter 5
By the timeVic had fastened her seatbelt, Eric was backing out of Austin and Lexi’s driveway, chatter coming over his radio, most of which she couldn’t understand.
He drove the quarter-mile stretch of dirt road down to the highway, stopping to wait for traffic before taking a left. “Hang on.”
He accelerated onto the road, reaching down to flick a switch on his dashboard.
Flashes of red, blue, and white light danced on the hood of his truck.
“Your truck has lights?” She hadn’t seen anything on the roof.
“They’re hidden behind the rearview mirror. There’s a set on the back window and one on the grill out front.”
“Clever.” She leaned forward to look behind the mirror, amazed that something so bright could be so small.