truth was stranger than fiction. “Oh, well…after tomorrow that’ll be it. We’ll go our separate ways.”
Surely their paths wouldn’t cross again.
Chapter Four
“Five million dollars? Seriously? Dang…” Kyd grinned at his brother. “Mom won’t know how to act.”
“Probably not.” Clint studied the ground as they checked out the freshly dug ditch next to Possum Creek. “I hope she’ll do some things she’s always wanted to do – like travel. Maybe take a cruise to the Bahamas or something.”
“Yea, she’s sacrificed so much in her life.”
Clint pointed to where Kyd was walking. “Watch your step. One of the electricians saw a rattlesnake near here the other day.”
“Crap.” He fell back in line to move behind Clint. “That’s all I need. I got stung by a damn wasp last week.”
“Lucky you’re not allergic like Rowan.”
They stopped to check a length of pipe that lay to one side ready to be buried. “Everything has been done according to specs. I think we’re going to be all right.” Clint knelt down to run his finger around a joint. “I think we’ll pass inspection.”
“I hope so.” Kyd stepped away to stand by a small tree.
“What are you doing?” About that time Clint heard a zipper being undone. “You couldn’t wait?”
“Nope. Three cups of coffee.”
“If you’d get more sleep you wouldn’t have to drink so much caffeine.” Clint stood up and surveyed the land, gazing toward the building project. “We were lucky that tornado passed us by.”
“Yep.” Kyd adjusted his clothes. “Hey, what’s that?”
Clint turned to see what his brother was referring to. “I don’t see anything.”
“There’s some type of engine over here in this tall grass.” Kyd stepped gingerly toward the rusted mass of iron and aluminum. “It’s part of an old truck.”
“How old?” Clint came close enough to see. “Oh, that’s been there a long time. Maybe even back to the Jarrell tornado. Parts of trucks, cars, and farm machinery were strewn everywhere.”
“There’s more of it than I thought. Part of a bumper. Part of a windshield.”
“We’ll have to get it moved out. We don’t want kids from the complex playing back here and getting cut on the sharp pieces of metal.”
Clint waited for Kyd to turn around. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s blue. A Ford F150.”
“Yea?” Clint came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kyd. From this vantage point he could see the flakes of blue paint still adhered to the mangled metal. “I see that.”
“It looks like it could be Dad’s old truck, Clint.”
“Oh…I don’t…”
“What if it is?” Kyd whirled to face his older brother. “What if this is Dad’s truck?”
“Well, I don’t know how we’d tell.”
Oblivious to the danger, Kyd went closer, climbing onto the remnants of the old truck. “There’s a vin number here, Clint. Take this number down.”
Clint took out his phone and called up a note app. “All right.” He typed the numbers his brother read off the shattered windshield.
“We can have ownership traced through this number, can’t we?”
“I think so,” Clint muttered. “We can give it a try. There’s no trace of a license plate or anything is there?”
Kyd scrambled around to look more closely. “No, I don’t see one.” Both men stood a moment, staring at the rusty remnants. “You know what this would mean, don’t you?”
“Yea, if this is Dad’s truck, he didn’t abandon us,” Clint spoke softly. “Let’s don’t jump to conclusions until we know something for certain. And let’s keep it to ourselves for now. No use upsetting mom and the girls until we know more.”
“I agree.”
“Come on. The utility line looks fine.” Clint began to make his way across the property.
“Who are we gonna call to check out ownership of the truck?”
“I’ll get in touch with Aron’s friend, Kane Saucier. He’s sheriff of Kerr County and he’ll keep it quiet.”
Kyd laid a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know. Anything involving you is news.”
“Right. Things get blown all out of proportion. I’d rather we just deal with this on our own.”
“Sounds good.”
As they approached the building site, the sound of concrete mixers and automatic nail guns could be heard. “The work is coming right along. If there’s nothing else you need me for,” Clint said as he pocketed his phone, “I’ve got some errands to run.”
“Like what? Anything you need help with?”
“No, not really. I’m meeting a real estate agent to go look at a piece of property.”
“Where at?” The two brothers made their way over to where they were parked.
“Down Nameless Road, just before you get into Jonestown on 1431. The place is called Sunrise