right?”
When Cru’s gaze fell on Val, he felt like he was fourteen all over again and struggling to get the cool boys to like him. Maybe he had never stopped feeling like that. Maybe that was why he had spent his entire life trying to prove his coolness by living in the coolest city, driving the coolest cars, traveling to the coolest countries, and writing the coolest thrillers. But he wasn’t cool. He was just a liar. Not only to his friends, but also to himself.
“Sam came back,” he said.
The Double Diamond boys exchanged looks before Lincoln spoke. “When?”
“The next day. Y’all were out herding cattle and I had talked Lucas into letting me muck out the barn because I was scared to death to get back on a horse again. I was cleaning a stall when Sam showed up to get his saddle. I tried to hide, but he saw me. He was pretty pissed off and started yelling about me getting him fired. He grabbed me by the shirt and I got so scared that I blacked out. When I came to, he was gone.”
Lincoln studied him. “Have you told anyone about this besides us?”
“Chester knows Sam was here. I didn’t tell him. He just knew.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he saw Sam coming out of the barn.”
“Fuck.” Lincoln rubbed his temples. “That’s not good. That’s not good at all.”
“Oh, come on, Linc,” Cru said. “You can’t honestly think that Chester caught Sam and killed him.”
“No. As much as he talks, I can’t see Chester killing anyone in cold blood. We all know that. Unfortunately, other people might not see it that way.”
“He’s right,” Holden said. “Chester has threatened so many people with his shotgun that most of the town is afraid to come out here uninvited.”
“Then we need to keep what happened on this ranch between us until Linc can figure out what happened to him.” Logan said. “That means no talking to Maisy.”
“She’s gone,” Val said. “She headed to Abilene for a rodeo.”
Logan nodded. “Good. I don’t want her coming out here and getting Lucas and Chester to feel sorry for her and say more than they should.” He looked around. “So it’s agreed that we keep our mouths shut about what we discussed here.” He held up his index finger with his other fingers touching his thumb to form a circle. It was the letter D in sign language. Sawyer had taught it to them and they’d used the sign as teens whenever they made a pact. “Double Diamond Pact.”
Val and Cru followed his lead right away, but Holden and Lincoln took a little longer. Probably because Lincoln and Holden knew the penalties for withholding evidence if this did turn into a criminal case. But their love for Chester won out and they made the sign.
“Double Diamond Pact,” they all said in unison.
As they lowered their hands, Holden looked at Val. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened? We were roommates, Val. I thought we shared everything.”
“I’m sorry. I was already the uncool fat kid. I didn’t want to add scared shitless to my adjectives.”
“Uncool?” Holden stared at him. “Where did you get that? Not only did you tell amazing ghost stories, but you were also one of the kindest guys I’d ever met. And that kindness helped me get through the most difficult time in my life after my sister died. Yeah, okay, maybe you did look a little nerdy. But you taught me that cool has nothing to do with the outside. It has to do with the inside.”
“Holden is right,” Logan said. “While the rest of us showed up at the ranch trying to prove we were tough and didn’t care about anyone, you showed up caring about everyone. You were always willing to jump in and help someone finish their job. If we needed encouragement, you were there to give it. If someone was feeling down, you shared one of the cookies or cupcakes your mother sent you. We were all so busy trying to be cool, but you showed us what cool really was, Val.”
“Hell yeah, you did,” Lincoln said. “And look at you now. You’re cooler than all of us.”
“I wouldn’t say all of us, “Cru said with a teasing grin. “But you’re pretty damned cool.”
Val looked around at his friends and wanted to laugh at the irony. He had spent most his life trying to become worthy of being a Double Diamond boy and come to find out he’d