Page 6 of Colton’s Inferno

“So, you know Ted,” she said, letting her palm slip from his.

“He’s my brother from another mother. Literally. He was raised by his grandmother, and when she passed, he came to live with us.”

Before Lucy could say anything else, one of the carnival workers approached. The woman wore the same bright yellow T-shirt and purple hat as the rest of the Bryant Bros. Carnival staff.

“Ms. Harris,” she said, “I hate to interrupt. But we need more helium tanks. Do you know where they’re stored?”

“Sure do.” Lucy pointed toward a cluster of outbuildings to the left of where the fair had been set up. To Aiden, they looked like old barns. “They’re all stored over there,” she began. “How many tanks do you need? I know where they are. I can get them.”

“Four or five would be great,” said the woman. “Can you take them to the balloon tent?”

“Give me a minute and I’ll be right over.”

The carnival worker nodded her head in thanks and jogged off.

“Well,” said Lucy, slipping her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “I guess duty calls.”

“I guess it does.”

“It was nice meeting you,” she said.

“Same.”

He watched as she walked away, admiring the curve of her hips and the sway of her ass. Then, she disappeared, swallowed by the crowd. Lucy Harris was someone he wanted to get to know better.

Ted let out a huff. “What the hell, man?”

Aiden turned to his foster brother. “What the hell, what?”

“Why’d you interrupt?”

A sick feeling settled in his gut. Was Ted interested in Lucy? To be honest, she wore jeans and flannels and didn’t seem like his foster brother’s type. But she was also beautiful, and that meant lots of guys would be interested.

The family had joked that Ted would never marry. He was already wed to his job as mayor. But just because it was a joke didn’t mean it was true. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a thing for Lucy.”

“Me? Lucy? No way. She’s nice and all, but I don’t have time for a relationship. You know that. I was trying to talk to her about a business proposition. Then, the kid interrupted.”

Was it his imagination or was there a bite to Ted’s tone? “Don’t blame Sammy. I pointed you out.”

“Here’s some of my favorite fellas,” said Aiden’s mom as she approached.

Matti and Ryan were right behind.

Ted kissed Emily’s cheek. “You look amazing as always.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked Ted.

“You know, the whole mayor thing.” He pressed his hand to his stomach. “I judged the barbecue cook-off.”

“How was it?” asked Ryan.

“Everything was delicious. It was hard to pick a winner.”

As he watched Ted, Aiden took a bite of his sundae. The ice cream had melted, and the hot fudge sauce had cooled. His stomach churned and it had nothing to do with his dessert. Watching Ted switch from irritated to gracious and back again was giving him whiplash.

He glanced at Aiden. “Everything okay?”

“I was just wondering the same about you.”