“Yeah, but I knew he’d be here. Not hard to find someone in a town this small.”
Okay, so maybe he was teasing her. It was kind of hard not to. Easton deserved the eye roll she aimed at him. “Har har.”
He took another bite. “They won’t let you film in town, River. It’s kind of our policy.”
“Whose policy? From what I can tell, no one is actually in charge around here.”
“Oh, Graham’s in charge. He’s just really good at pretending otherwise.”
“Any idea where I can find this Graham?” He wasn’t going to answer, and she must have known, because River snorted. “Of course not. He’s in hiding. Well, they can’t stop me if they don’t see me. What will they do? Have someone follow us around to tattle?”
When he didn’t immediately answer, those stunning blue eyes turned to him, narrowing. Easton held a hand up innocently. “Nope, not me. Do I look like the kind of guy who can sneak around?”
“You could be sneakier than you appear.” River finished her half of the sandwich. “Well, I’m not giving up. Sorry, Moose Springs.”
“Feel free to try, but you won’t get anything for your trouble other than escorted to the county line. By the way, I said they wouldn’t let you film in town,” Easton told her. “But there’s a lot out there worth filming.”
When Easton jutted his chin toward the mountains surrounding them, she looked, then kept looking. A speculative expression crossed her features.
She turned, taking in the mountains around them. “Most of the people who come here do so for the skiing, right?”
He nodded.
“You know what, Easton Lockett? You might have earned yourself another twenty bucks.”
Easton barked out a laugh. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, scratching a number on it. “Here. Call this number. This expedition company is based out of Anchorage. They’ll take you and your people around to the spots worth seeing.”
She pocketed the number with a murmured thanks. “Hey, Easton? Sorry I accused you of being an evil mastermind and for kicking your tire. And thanks for the awful sandwich. I was getting hungry.”
He winked at her in reply. “No worries. And, River?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t bother with Moose Springs. We’re really not worth the trouble.”
• • •
So far, he’d doubled the money he’d made that day by playing poker that night. Which meant Easton’s sister felt obliged to take it all in one fell swoop.
It wasn’t ideal to play with only the three of them—Easton, Ash, and Rick Harding—but Graham was having a hard time making it to game nights lately. The “break” he was on wasn’t so much of a break as Jonah had implied. Easton had seen the amount of paperwork stacked in Graham’s place.
“Bring Zoey next time,” Easton suggested to his sister as Rick dealt out the next hand. “We could use some fresh blood.”
They’d gathered at one of the tables near the bar, in case Rick needed to help a customer. Currently, the pool hall was empty, even though it was open. If someone wanted to come in, no one was stopping them, least of all Rick. But in the meantime, there were cards to play. Money to lose. And in Ash’s case, money to take.
“If I bring Zoey,” Ash said, “she and Graham will spend the whole time making googly eyes at each other. At least Rick and Lana can maintain a semblance of decorum. Usually.”
Rick chuckled at her comment. “Lana’s been gone for almost two weeks. My decorum was officially shot days ago.”
“Eww.” Ash made a face. “I didn’t need to know that.”
Rick had been dating the socialite turned Moose Springs property owner since Christmas, and from what Easton could tell, the two were getting serious, fast. Rick had an almost constant smile on his face these days, especially since Lana had agreed to pack up her longtime suite at the resort and move in with him.
The massive condominiums next to the resort were Lana’s…or technically, they belonged to the company her family owned. No one really wanted the condos there, bringing in a more permanent type of tourism, but Easton understood Lana’s reasoning behind them. Both Lana and Graham wanted the best for Moose Springs, even if they were at odds as to what that meant. Trying to enforce restrictions on Lana’s condos took up the bulk of Graham’s focus these days…and the bulk of all that paperwork.
Even though Lana had set up her permanent office out of Moose Springs, she still traveled a lot for work. Rick was a homebody, although he’d accompanied her a few times overseas. Easton didn’t know how they managed to make the separation work, but every time they were together, it was clear both were incredibly happy.
Happy was good. Not being lonely was even better. Easton wasn’t lonely. But he wasn’t sure he was all that happy either. Lately, he’d felt like something was missing. Something more than a game of cards with friends could fix.
“Why isn’t Jonah here?” Ash nodded her chin to Rick. “Two cards.”
She was as easy to read as a book…at least to Easton anyway. Ash loved to win, and her entire body showed her hand, from the upright posture to the tiny smirk that tugged the corner of her lips.
“Something made his day worse for the wear.” Easton couldn’t help the humor in his voice.
“Sounds like the men in town met their match today, pizza boy.”
Easton rolled his eyes at the newest nickname she’d found for him that evening. Ash had tried several on for size. “I liked ‘traffic cone’ better,” he said.
Unlike his sister, Easton’s cards were crap, but he didn’t fold. Rick’s eye kept drifting down to his hand, then sliding away, a tell—if a subtle one. Easton wasn’t going to give his money away, but it was hard not to stay in an extra round for the guy. Just because Rick was in a relationship with Lana didn’t mean he was well-off. The pool hall wasn’t making ends meet and hadn’t for a long time now. One day, Rick would open to tourists, but that day wasn’t there yet. He was pretty certain Rick lived off cereal and sheer grit.
“Two pairs.” Rick laid down his cards.
“I’ve got nothing.” Dropping his hand on the table, Easton leaned backward with a grunt.
“Three aces. Read ’em and weep, boys.” Sweeping the chips over to her side of the table, Ash gloated, “One of these days, you’ll learn not to play with the master.”
“One of these days, you’ll learn to win without rubbing it in.”
She made a face at him, the same face she’d been making behind their parents’ backs since they were toddlers. Since no one was looking, Easton indulged himself in the same, adding a tongue sticking out. Hearing his twin’s peal of laughter was totally worth whatever lack of dignity his already-bruised pride had suffered today at the hands of a stranger.