beneath his hat.
He watched her with an unreadable expression as he petted her dog. Bailey woofed in greeting and relished the attention.
‘You must be the Miss Cortez I’ve been hearing so much about,’ he offered his hand.
‘Um humm,’ she nodded slowly, her voice disappearing as she shook his hand, clutching onto the blanket for dear life in case she accidentally flashed the local Sheriff, who also appeared to be Kelley’s father, apparently.
‘August Ryan,’ he introduced himself, ‘but most folks around here call me Gus. I see you’re already well acquainted with my boy.’ He nodded toward Kelley who was yawning silently.
‘Dad, what are you doing up here?’ he squinted, wishing he had his glasses.
‘Got a call from Francis down at the Pack and Plate yesterday afternoon, says there was an incident involving you, a woman and a dog.’
‘Yeah sorry about that,’ Kelley sat up, ‘we’ll go down and apologize later.’
‘Oh God, I really am sorry about that,’ Ava flushed. ‘You can blame that giant idiot there; she can’t resist fish gut aroma. If it stinks you bet your ass, she’s gonna roll in it. I may never get the smell out of my truck.’
Gus laughed, a slow warm rumble in his chest as his eyes twinkled in amusement. He reached out and ruffled Bailey’s fur.
‘She sure is a big girl.’
‘Yeah well,’ Ava muttered sourly, ‘she is half moose.’
He chuckled again.
‘Are you two going to get dressed? Or am I going to have to haul you in for public indecency?’
‘Last I checked this was private property,’ Kelley replied easily.
‘Tell that to your brother, who was heading up behind me with a full crew and several large trucks of equipment.’
‘SHIT.’ Ava’s eyes widened as she leapt up and shuffled to the end of the truck, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around herself as she slid off the tailgate and dashed for the RV, leaving Kelley scrambling to cover himself with the small towel.
‘I like her,’ Gus watched as the door to the RV slammed shut. ‘Make sure you bring your girl home to meet your mama.’
‘She’s not my girl,’ he flashed a cheeky grin, ‘but I’m working on it.’
‘So I see,’ he sighed. ‘Just keep the public nudity to a minimum.’
‘You got it,’ he climbed down from the truck carefully, wearing nothing but the towel knotted around his waist.
‘Where are your clothes?’ Gus frowned.
‘In the trunk of my car covered in fish guts and goop.’
Gus shook his head slowly.
‘Honestly Kelley, I don’t know how you get yourself into these messes sometimes. It’s like the spring formal all over again.’
‘Hey, that wasn’t my fault,’ Kelley protested.
Suddenly he felt a tug and the towel loosened around his hips. It slid from his skin and he just about managed to snag it in time, holding it up in front of himself as Bailey growled and pulled on the other end.
‘Bailey, ah shit…. cut it out, will you?’ he swore as he yanked hard on the towel.
She growled again playfully, her tail wagging as she enjoyed their impromptu game of tug of war.
‘I’m serious,’ he hissed to the dog as his father stood back with his arms crossed, his eyes filled with amusement. ‘Um a little help here?’
‘Sorry son,’ he shook his head. ‘You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out.’
‘That’s just cruel,’ Kelley scowled.
‘It’s character building,’ Gus informed him.
Suddenly Kelley heard the loud blare of a horn and several trucks rumbling into the clearing. Bailey gave a final yank and the towel slid from his grasp as he tried to cover himself.
‘BAILEY!’ he growled as she pranced out of reach with the spoils of war dangling from her mouth like a 1st place ribbon.
Spinning around, he searched frantically for something to cover himself with. He ended up grabbing the nearest item, which happened to be one of Ava’s brand-new frying pans which were stacked next to the fire pit. He held it in front of him like a shield.
The trucks parked up one by one and doors began to open as the crew piled out, laughing openly and wondering what the hell they’d just walked into.
Killian climbed out and headed over with a wide grin, as he nodded first to his dad then to his naked twin.
‘What the hell did you do this time?’
‘Nothing,’ Kelley replied, tilting his chin and trying for as much dignity as he could manage while wearing nothing but a kitchen utensil.
Killian lifted his phone and Kelley heard the unmistakable click.
‘Oh, come on,’ he whined.
‘You wait till Hope