Crazy Thing (The Brighton Family #5)

Chapter 4

4

DARIUS

M ason sets down his empty beer bottle, shooting me a skeptical glance from across the table. “So what’s the plan, Darius?”

“Yeah, we know you spent your whole day looking into this situation.” Felix stuffs a pretzel into his face. “What can we do? What information did you find?”

After this morning’s frustrating gathering at the waterfall, Felix quickly returned to work where our brother-in-law, Mason, was handling the medical clinic’s caseload. As for me, I headed to my office and immediately reached out to my lawyer.

But I couldn’t just sit around, waiting for Frank to get back to me with a solution. So I set everything else aside for the day to focus all my energy on coming up with a plan for dealing with this Edison situation.

After a few hours, I found myself going in circles, and by the end of the work day, I was about ready to lose my mind. Even still, saving this waterfall is all I could focus on.

Late in the afternoon, my brothers called, trying to convince me to join them at the local basketball court. A lot of the time, it helps to step away from the problem for a moment and come back to it later with fresh eyes. And my brothers know that shooting some hoops has always been my favorite way to clear my head.

But today, I told them to go on without me. Today, I just wanted to shut out the world and hunker down at my desk and pour my attention into fixing this mess.

I did eventually come down here to join them at The North Node Tavern, though. It’s the old-fashioned bar Nolan took over from our grandfather when he retired six or seven years ago. But the main reason I’m here tonight is to check on the renovations.

Nolan finally agreed to let me partner with him on renovating this place. So I recently wrote a six-figure check to a local construction company and hired them to bring this dingy bar into the twenty-first century. Ever since the construction started, I like to swing by every now and then to see how things are coming along. So, I may be hanging out at a bar but technically, I’m still on the clock.

In any case, that’s the story of how I ended up here with my sweaty-ass brothers. We have a couple of the hightop tables pushed together, and the conversation so far has centered around the waterfall situation.

“Nothing conclusive yet,” I tell the guys with a shrug. “I’ve been looking into land usage restrictions. I’ve also been researching historical land use in the county. Anything that might give us some ground to block the sale altogether.” I push my half-empty bottle aside and grab a French fry from Archer’s plate. The bastard smacks my wrist. “Ouch!”

“Get your own,” he mumbles.

He’s right. I probably should grab a meal. I haven’t made the time to eat anything all day, and we’re already on our third round of drinks here. I need my mind to be sharp for this.

This situation has really gotten under my skin. I can’t figure out why I feel so strongly about it. Maybe it’s because of how passionate the rest of the town is over this mess. Maybe it’s because of how close the land is to my parents’s ranch. Or maybe it’s my own history down at the waterfall. No, it’s not that. It can’t be that.

The bottom line is, I really, really don’t want Edison The Asshole to get his hands on that land.

Nolan sets down a tray of beer refills and drags over a chair from a nearby table. “Well, the falls are definitely historical. We should look further into that.”

“I don’t know about any of that nerdy realtor stuff, but I was thinking we should make up some rumors about the waterfall being haunted,” Ronan grins. Like the genius he is. “No one will wanna go swimming in a pond where some dead ghost lady is going to reach up and pull you under.”He wiggles his fingers in the air while making what I assume are supposed to be spooky noises.

Wow. “This is why you’ll never be able to live down the dumb jock stereotypes.” Nolan slaps the back of Ronan’s head. Immediately, they’re bickering. I swear, they’ve been bickering for the last 27 years.

Those two are grumpy and sunshine—identical twin edition.

Nolan is the serious single dad who’s dedicated to running this bar and keeping a roof over his daughter, Stella’s, head. Meanwhile, Ronan is the hopeless goofball who plays professional hockey for a living when he isn’t busy driving the rest of us crazy.

Mason chuckles. “Okay, I’m not sure your ghost stories are going to deter Edison and his buddies. ”

“Maybe we should go with something that’s at least true,” Archer suggests. “Like how the land is overrun with thousands of those tiny ass frogs every summer.”

At 36 years old, Archer is the oldest of my brothers. Bearded lumberjack. Former military. Wearer of a permanent scowl. He’s an imposing guy and a man of few words. But he’s the most reliable person I know.

“Ugh. Yeah. The frogs.” Felix cackles uproariously. “Remember how when we were kids, we’d set up all sorts of frog traps to get rid of them?”

Felix is one of those people who’s always in a good mood. It’s annoying as hell. But I guess it works for him. He’s the doctor of the family. At 32 years old, he now owns the medical clinic that our dad opened when we were just kids.

“Traps that never worked,” Nolan grumbles.

I give my head a wag, shaking off the guys’ stupid suggestions. “I know you’re all only half-joking but—hell—I’m open to anything that would get Edison to back the fuck off.”

The front door swings open and Nolan glances over his shoulder. The biggest smile comes over his face and he’s out of his seat, almost knocking the chair to the ground. That could only mean one thing…

“My girl’s here…” he declares as Inez hurries through the door, her head urgently whipping left to right in search of her man.

Nolan ditches us in a heartbeat. In a few footsteps, he’s already across the room, swooping Inez up and spinning her around and kissing her like they’re in some cheesy television commercial.

When they’re done with their shameless make-out session, Inez grins widely and waves across at our table. But when she makes a move to come over, Nolan promptly throws her over his shoulder and races down the hall toward his back office. Doesn’t take a psychic to figure out what my brother has in mind for his girlfriend.

Inez recently got a big-time acting role in a television show that films in the nearby town of Reyfield. That means she’s been traveling back and forth quite a bit these days.

Every time she leaves town, Nolan mopes around like a lovesick puppy, counting the days till she gets back. And whenever she’s at home, the two of them are inseparable.

My brother is whipped.

He was secretly in love with Inez for years when she worked here as a bartender. Now that they’re together, he’s a shameless simp for her.

A few minutes later, Karli bursts through the door with Nicky and Daphne following closely behind.

Nicky sidles up to Ronan, hugging him from behind and nibbling on his jaw. Daphne hurriedly slides onto Felix’s lap with a sweet smile and starts spewing the newest details of their wedding plans.

I notice the hopeful expression on Archer’s face as his eyes linger on the entrance. I’d bet my last dollar that he’s checking for Layla to come through that door. But she’s probably at home with her toddler son, Skylar, tonight.

Archer gets caught completely off-guard when our hellion little sister practically elbows him off of his stool so she can squeeze in next to Mason.

“Hey, husband,” she purrs.

“Hey, wife,” Mason responds, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Did you get prettier while you were studying at the library all day? How is that even possible?”

“Fuck, Dr. Pretty Boy—you’re sexy when you butter me up with compliments.” Karli moans offensively and gives Mason a sloppy kiss that has the rest of us booing and gagging violently.

One of the guys kicks Mason under the table and he howls.

Mason Westbrook is a great dude but every now and then, we like to threaten his life. Keeps him on his toes and ensures that he continues to treat our sister like a princess.

Karli is the baby of the family. She recently turned 26. She’s been through a lot over the past few years. But she’s gritty. She’s a fighter. Even still, as her older brothers, it’s basically our evolutionary duty to be obnoxiously protective of her. We take that duty seriously.

She turns to the table and grins. “Hello, brothers. Fancy running into you here. You guys stink, by the way.” She wrinkles her nose. “I really thought once you all past puberty that you’d start wearing deodorant regularly.”

She’s not wrong. The guys smell like shit after playing basketball.

Daphne dips her face into Felix’s neck and takes a mighty sniff. “I don’t know about the rest of them, but mine smells divine.” She sighs blissfully.

As for Ronan and Nicky, they aren’t even tuned into the conversation. They’re too busy grinning and whispering and rubbing all over each other like cats doing a grooming ritual.

They’re nauseating. All of them.

Archer and I share a look.

We’re the last remaining Brighton bachelors. I know that Archer’s got his heart all tangled in knots over Layla. But me? I’m perfectly unattached.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to see that my sister and three of my brothers have found love. If that’s what floats their boats, then I’m all for it. But love isn’t an interest of mine.

I’ve got shit to do.

In my experience, relationships only slow you down. They only distract you from what’s truly important in life—building a legacy, an empire.

Full disclosure—every now and then, I need to get laid. Finding a willing bed buddy is never a problem. But before taking any woman to my bed, I make it abundantly clear to her that I’m not looking for any level of a relationship.

Just sex. Only sex. I’m not interested in anything more.

Karli grabs a French fry off of Archer’s plate. “Any progress yet with the waterfall situation?” she asks.

Archer tucks his fries against his chest like a kid who doesn’t want to share. “Why are you assholes always eating my food…?” he grumbles.

Karli responds by leaning over and stealing another French fry.

My brothers start filling the girls in, repeating the information we’ve poured over a dozen times already. They keep on discussing, but I zone out of the conversation. No time for idle chatter. The workday isn’t over for me. I’m still on the clock.

I turn my attention to my phone, sifting through the newest emails in my inbox and moving things around in my calendar.

Then, the door opens again and I feel a whoosh of incense-scented air sweep through the room. I instinctively glance up.

And I spot Ziggy Beaumont fluttering into the bar.

She’s still wearing that long, flowy skirt, with her wavy pale-pink hair trailing down her back. She’s adorned with colorful bangles and glittery gemstones dangling from her ears. Still just as beautiful as she was earlier today. Goddamn.

Daphne waves an arm in the air, trying to get her sister’s attention. “Zig—over here!”

“Oh my gosh!” the pretty fairy girl says with a chuckle, starting in our direction. “Finding parking out there was a nightmare. And whose idea was it to put the parking lot in that tiny, little alley out back?!”

When our eyes meet, the laugh falls off of Ziggy’s face. Her slight shoulders go rigid and her delicate nostrils flare.

Instead of joining us at our table, she abruptly turns. She bolts straight for the bar. “What the hell?” Daphne peels herself out of Felix’s arms. “I’ll be right back.” She scampers off after her sister. The other girls follow along.

I stare across the bar, my eyes on Ziggy.

She’s perched on a stool at the bar where Inez and Nolan are now shoulder to shoulder, mixing drinks. Ziggy is gesturing wildly with her hands as she speaks, like she’s giving the bartenders instructions on exactly how she wants her drink.

When Nolan slides a glass across the counter to her, Ziggy takes a little sip. She shakes her head in disapproval. That causes the rest of the girls to laugh. Inez adds a few more ingredients to the cocktail and Ziggy sips again. But she’s still not satisfied.

Then Ziggy is out of her seat and rounding the counter. Before I know what’s happening, she’s slicing lemons and grabbing liquor off of the shelf. Then she’s tossing ingredients into a pitcher.

A grin tickles the corners of my lips. She’s a strange, little creature. I wonder what she’s whipping up over there.

Moments later, she’s handing out samples of her cocktail creation .

Daphne takes a sip and her eyes roll back into her head. Inez finishes her glass in one long gulp and quickly pours a refill from the pitcher. Nolan tips his glass back, tapping the bottom like he doesn’t want to miss a single drop.

Meanwhile, Ziggy beams proudly at her adoring little crowd. And I can’t take my eyes off her.

It’s been well over a decade since I last saw her. Since she went roaming to some other nearby town, and I moved across the country to complete my education. Even still, it’s a strange miracle that our small world hasn’t forced the two of us into the same room at some point over the years. All I know is, Ziggy Beaumont is still just as captivating tonight as she was during our teenage days.

She turns her head suddenly and catches me staring. The moment her eyes fall on me, her forehead crinkles and her lips pucker into a sour scowl. It’s like her whole mood shifts in the blink of an eye. Yet all she did was glance in my direction.I seem to have that effect on people these days.

But I can be the bigger person here. I can act civil and melt some of the tension.

So I force a grim smile. One that she doesn’t return.

Well, damn.

She shifts her attention back to her captivated audience around the bar. I know she can still feel me staring. I can tell by her rigid spine and the way she holds her shoulders like she’s bracing for a fight.

Y’know what? I feel annoyed, too. Sure—I gave her good reason to be mad at me. But that was a long time ago. I thought she’d have let it go by now.

Isn’t she spiritual or something? Isn’t she all about peace and love? Or does forgiveness not fit into her whole woo woo philosophy?

Tipping my head back, I take an angry chug from my lukewarm beer bottle. I keep on ruminating and I have no idea why it bugs me so much that Ziggy is clearly trying to avoid me. I’m not a man who requires the validation of others. Why am I giving this practical stranger the power to affect my mood?

I should be focused on putting a stop to Edison and saving the waterfall. But right now, Ziggy is all I can concentrate on.

Out of nowhere, a thought pops into my head. And once it does, I can’t get rid of it. Shit .

I know damn well that Ziggy Beaumont wants nothing to do with me. But at the same time, I have a feeling that she might be the very key to fixing this whole big mess.