Alibi (Brantley Walker Off the Books #5) - Nicole Edwards Page 0,8

plethora of carnival rides and games.

But it was the decor that caught his attention, had Brantley taking it all in with a smile.

“I think they managed to find every shade of blue there is,” Reese noted when they stepped onto the sidewalk that lined Main Street, where the vendors had set up in front of the shops that were also participating.

In this section, there was cotton candy, funnel cakes, face painting, and you could even get your hair painted with some blue sparkly shit if you were so inclined. Brantley figured he would pass on that.

“Well, look at this!”

Brantley turned at the shout from behind him, smiling when he saw his cousin Sawyer and his wife, Kennedy, walking their way. Their four-year-old son, Matthew, was perched on Sawyer’s shoulders while two-year-old Brody was chilling in a stroller, their dog, Buster, trotting along beside him, snagging caramel popcorn as it fell.

“Didn’t figure y’all’d get the day off,” Sawyer said, gripping Matthew’s knees and holding him firmly in place.

“Didn’t want to miss the first festival of the year.”

Kennedy chuckled. “Well, if you did, you just need to blink and there’s another one.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Sawyer said, bumping his wife’s shoulder with his. “She’s all about these festivals. In fact, she was on the decoratin’ committee for this one.”

“Is that right?” Brantley nodded his chin toward the large plastic snowflakes dangling overhead. “Those your idea?”

“As a matter of fact…” Kennedy shook her head and grinned. “Lorrie’s.”

“Kennedy’s contribution was the snow machine,” Sawyer told them.

She blushed and elbowed Sawyer’s side.

“Well, we’re headin’ for the horse rides,” Sawyer explained, shifting to move around them. “I don’t think we’ll survive if we somehow miss out.”

Horses? But Curtis and Lorrie owned a ranch.

Brantley’s forehead creased in confusion. “Don’t you have access to horses whenever you want?”

“We do,” Sawyer said, nodding dramatically and looking a tad bit deranged. “You’d never guess it.”

Laughing, Brantley moved out of the way, allowed them to move through.

That was pretty much how the next hour went. They encountered Brantley’s sister Tori and her husband, Killian, along with little Eric, who was begging and pleading for his parents to let him ride the Ferris wheel for the eighth time. Then they passed his cousin Jared and his wife, Hope, with their two little ones, Derrick and Kassidy.

No one stuck around for long, moving kids along, getting them to their destinations. To his shock, the parents were taking it all in stride, most laughing and smiling despite all the screams and shouts coming from the little ones. He figured that wouldn’t be the case at the end of the day, but at least for now they could enjoy some time outside.

“Is that Zane?” Reese asked, elbowing Brantley to redirect his attention.

He looked where Reese was gesturing, saw Zane, Beau, and Braydon working to corral probably a dozen kids. Kaden, Keegan, and Ethan were nearby, helping to keep them contained as best they could.

“You wanna go over there?” Brantley dared to ask.

Reese’s look was one of … yes, it was possibly fear when he said, “Nah. I’m good if you are.”

They quickly turned the other way before getting noticed and asked to help out. While Brantley loved all those kids, there was only so much he could handle at one time.

“Finally,” he drawled when he saw the line of games that had been set up. “You ready for this?”

“I don’t think anyone’s ready for this,” Reese said with a laugh. “But I’m in if you are.”

*

Sitting at her desk, JJ stared at her computer screen, pretending not to hear the conversation taking place downstairs.

As of half an hour ago, the team had dispersed, Trey and Charlie excusing themselves to join the festivities downtown. When Charlie had suggested JJ go with her, she had politely declined. Although it would probably be a decent distraction from the chaos that had become her life, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. No sense in bringing everyone else down today.

“Yes, Molly, I heard you,” Baz said, his raspy voice drifting up to JJ’s ears.

JJ hated that she was eavesdropping, but it wasn’t like Baz was looking for privacy. If he had been, he would’ve stepped outside to take the call like he did the half dozen other times that woman called him.

And boy, did she call. Like every hour on the hour, it seemed.

“I’m not arguing with you,” Baz grumbled, clearly frustrated.

JJ glanced at her headphones, considered putting them on. Any other time, she probably would have, but