24
The house was filled with laughter tonight as Reed and Logan carried in bags of piping hot food from a local restaurant. Ava’s stomach growled in anticipation. She and Kaylee had been working and they’d forgotten to eat. A fact that Logan was currently teasing her about.
She was an introvert usually, but she couldn’t help loving how full the house was with their friends. They’d all come to Montana to attend the fundraiser and then spend some time together, which they didn’t get a chance to do nearly enough.
Logan and Ava had opened up their Corville home to their friends, and they’d spent the day before everyone arrived airing out rooms and putting fresh sheets on the beds. She was getting used to a quiet home since Colt and Brianna had gone off to university last fall, although after years of chaos it had seemed strange at first.
The twins had left for Seattle yesterday. They were watching the house and the dogs while she and Logan were here. Brianna was taking a summer school course that would start next week and Colt had a summer job stocking shelves at a local store. They’d both been sad that they wouldn’t be able to attend Amanda’s birthday party, but it was the same with several of the children. They were all growing up and had their own lives and responsibilities now. She’d almost fainted when she’d seen Cherish and Hope. They looked so grown up, not the gangly teenagers they’d been just a year ago.
It was all going so fast.
Most of the time Ava didn’t mind growing older. It was a gift that not everyone got to have, after all. Sometimes her back or knees hurt, and she tired out a bit more quickly than twenty years ago, but as far as she was concerned, her mind was just a sharp. She also hoped that perhaps she’d learned a thing or two along the way. She was definitely calmer, not letting the little shit ruffle her feathers or stress her out. And most things were little shit. Unless it was a serial killer coming after them, everything else pretty much paled in comparison. The kids fighting or a burnt dinner just didn’t even make her blink anymore.
They’d put Jason and Brinley in one room, Reed and Kaylee in another, and Josh in a third. Sami hadn’t come on this trip since she was at summer camp.
Josh would, on the other hand, be staying in the house all summer since he was working on Tanner’s campaign. It had seemed easier that way. He wouldn’t have to find accommodation for only three months. In return, he’d promised to put a fresh coat of paint on the front porch. They’d told him he didn’t have to do it, but he’d insisted since they wouldn’t take any money from him.
They were unpacking the food and checking it against the list they’d sent with the men. Ava frowned as she ticked off the items.
“Wait…we didn’t get Josh anything. Shit, he’s a growing boy. He can’t be missing meals.”
Colt never missed a meal. In fact, he ate pretty much from sunup to sundown. It had been weird how after he’d left for college, a bag of potato chips would last all week.
“He has a date tonight,” Kaylee said with a sly smile. “With Amanda.”
“Amanda?” Ava echoed. “As in Amanda Marks? Have I missed something here? Did everyone know but me?”
Reed had a big smile on his face as well.
“Yes, and I don’t think he could choose any better. We adore her, and he seems quite smitten. And no, you didn’t miss anything. We just found out ourselves. Apparently, they’ve become close while working together.”
“It was really only a matter of time, if you think about it,” Brinley said, pouring wine into glasses on the kitchen island. “With all of these kids hanging out and spending so much time together, a couple was bound to pop up. I’m shocked it took this long.”
“I’m surprised,” Jason said. “I thought they thought of each other as siblings, not potential romantic partners.”
“Maybe they did, but now they don’t,” Kaylee replied. “Things change and people grow up. Sometimes they grow apart, and sometimes they grow towards one another. I think it’s sweet. I don’t think Josh has been in love yet. At least he hasn’t said anything to us.”
“Whoa, Josh didn’t say he was in love,” Reed said with a laugh. “He said he liked her. That he had feelings for her. Not one word about love.”
“He might fall in love with her,” Kaylee said. “They know each other so well.”
Everyone sat down at the large table and began to eat, the conversation turning away from young love and to the still-unsolved murder.
“Who are the prime suspects?” Brinley asked. “Who had the most motive?”
“I’d say there are three main suspects at this time. Abby, of course, because she and Marty were seen arguing just hours before he was shot. Andrew Parnham, because everyone says that they hated one another. Maybe Marty was going to cut him off the gravy train,” Logan replied. “I also think Janice Gates needs to be looked at. She had reason to be angry and her alibi sucks.”
“Let’s not forget the neighbors,” Jason pointed out. “They were suing Abby and Marty, plus if the friends are to be believed they’ve blown the entire situation out of proportion. There’s a real open question as to whether there were loud, crazy parties with naked people running around. They could be lying.”
“A real estate murder?” Ava queried, her brows pinched together. “I’ve never seen anyone killed over a house. I get that they want Abby and Marty’s home, but murder seems an outsized reaction.”
“Maybe they didn’t mean to shoot him,” Reed postulated. “Maybe they took the gun to scare him and things got out of hand. But we are going to talk to some of the other neighbors around the house and see what they have to say about the parties. We need to talk to someone that isn’t suing Marty and Abby.”
Logan laughed and shook his head.
“She’s not feeling the neighbors. Who is your prime suspect, sweetheart?”
“The son,” Ava replied immediately. “I’ve seen many people murdered for money. Marty had it and Andrew wanted it. Plain and simple.”