Page 72 of Lost and Found

The dark and the glow of the town hide the mountains from view, but I can feel them there, solid and strong.

"Looking forward to it. Especially if you bring another basket of Dani's pastries."

Kaia smiles, studying me for a moment. "I like her for you, Grant."

"Glad you approve. I always did say you're one of the smartest people I know."

She laughs, as I'd hoped she would, and hugs me. I watch her walk to her car, chatting with her colleagues, before turning to go toward my truck.

"Grant? Grant fucking Holiday?"

I turn to see a guy, a big guy with an even bigger beard, and even bigger muscles. The guy is like a tank and I have no idea who he is.

"That's me." I take a step back in case he's angrier than he seems. It's hard to tell with the beard.

"Please don't tell me you've forgotten me, man. It's Asher. Asher Aldridge."

I study him and then I see it, the boy I remember hidden within the giant in front of me. "Asher? Holy shit. How are you?"

"Better than I was when you knew me, man." He wraps one large arm around my shoulders and pulls me in hard for a hug, slapping my back with his free hand. "Worlds better."

I hug him. He'd been so, so angry the last time I'd seen him. Also, he'd been the best friend I've ever had.

I step back. "How long has it been? Ten? eleven years?"

"Nine years. Nine long years since I set foot in Catalpa Creek." He steps closer, hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry about your tent, man. Your parents still pissed?"

Asher was that friend my parents considered a bad influence. He was always causing trouble, and I was right there with him, following his lead, living wild and free. Until we nearly burned down the forest and my best friend disappeared into the night, never to be seen again. "They were more pissed about the wildfire we started. But they got over that pretty quick when we spent three weeks thinking you'd been burned alive."

He runs a hand through his hair, a tattoo of a palm tree stretching on his biceps. "I'm sorry about that, man. I needed to get out of here and I couldn't… I couldn't go to juvie, Grant." He shakes his head. "Least that's what I thought. Turns out prison is a hell of a lot worse than juvie."

I open my mouth to ask, but close it. Not my business.

Asher laughs. "Stole a car when I was twenty. Had a bad few years, but I've got my shit together now. Got a job at the gym in town. I'm working as a trainer." He shakes his head. "Good to see you, man. We should catch up sometime. Grab lunch or something."

"That would be great."

We exchange numbers, and I get into my truck. By the streetlight, I flip through the pages Kaia gave me. All names of people I know, most of them people I like. Should I add Asher to that list? It's the kind of mischief he would have loved when we were kids, and he always hated the idea of development in the woods around here.

I close the folder and sigh. I hate this. With everything I am, I hope I don't have to turn in someone I like.

My phone pings and I pick it up to see a text.

RuleBreaker: Yoo-hoo, Ranger. I'm in a tent at the Bobwhite campsite and I haven't paid the fee. Get up here and punish me.

The tension drains from me and I laugh out loud. I don't know why Dani's summoning me, and I don't care. I'm just grateful for another opportunity to see her. I snap on my seatbelt and start the engine, ready to get up to that campsite faster than I ever have before.

A tapping at my window stops me and I turn to see Martin Yardley, owner of Yardley Construction. I sigh as I roll down my window for the man. He was a couple years ahead of me in school and I don't know him well, but he's been stopping me every time he sees me to ask questions about the resort and let me know how excited he is for it to be built.

"Hey, Martin. What can I do for you?"

"Grant. I heard the construction crew up at the site might be antsy about all the vandalism. If y'all are looking for a new construction company, put me on the top of the list."

Damn it. That just put him on a list he doesn't want to be a part of. I look him over. He's a fit guy, but I have no idea if he can race through the woods in a Bigfoot costume faster than me. "I'll do that, Martin, but I haven't heard anything about them looking for a new contractor or crew."

Martin shakes his head. "That's a shame, Grant. Town would be a lot happier with them if they used more locals on the construction end."

"I'll let 'em know."