Read Online Dang Near Dead (An Aggie Mundeen Mystery Book 2) by Nancy G. West - Free Book Online

He slid onto the bench at a center table.
    When Sunny stopped singing to put steaks on the grill, Ranger requested “When Will I Be Loved?” Sunny started the song, and Ranger was ready. He cocked his head back like a howling coyote and sang loud, harmonizing with Sunny: “I’ve been cheated…been mistreated. When will I be loved? I’ve been put down; I’ve been pushed ‘round. When will I be loved? When I find a new girl that I want for mine she always breaks my heart in two. It happens every time… I’ve been made blue, I’ve been lied to. When will I be loved?”
    By the time they got to the last line, every woman in the place looked ready to volunteer to help one or both men feel loved.
    Vicki’s brother slipped in and slouched at a table near the edge of the patio. Ink black hair swept his shoulders, and his tank top left bronzed muscles exposed. He wore cut-offs and flip-flops—minimal clothing, I supposed, in case he felt the urge to dive into the nearest water.
    Sunny saw him and played “Up a Lazy River.”
    “Yeah,” River Rat breathed.
    The girls tittered.
    Sunny stopped singing long enough to turn over the steaks. When he cradled the guitar again and sang “Cool Clear Water,” Ranger looked downright jealous.
    I wondered where the rest of the cowboys were. The Tensels appeared, with George looking tuckered out and Selma appearing flustered. I wondered how long they’d last at the BVSBar Ranch. Sunny sensed their desire to be elsewhere and launched into Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again.”
    The man had a sense of humor.
    By the time the steaks were done and we’d lined up to serve our plates, the sun had nearly set.
    I didn’t see Bertha anywhere. She apparently thought Vicki could handle the rest of the evening.
    The only light came from candles on tables and soft lights glowing from corners of the patio. Sam smiled at me. I wished I could go to sleep in his arms listening to Sunny Barlow sing.
    Sunny looked toward the back of the patio and frowned. I craned around to see Wayne Rickoff and Monty stroll in late to the barbecue. Maybe they’d been trying to fix the skeet trap machine. Sunny studied Rickoff with a dark scowl. Rickoff didn’t seem to notice. He and Monty ambled to the grill, collected their food and returned to the back of the patio.
    I heard the girls talking about why Sunny wore makeup.
    “Maybe he’s afraid some girl he ditched will show up and recognize him.” Jangles giggled. “I’d love to discuss his history with him while I remove his makeup, flake by flake.”
    Vicki put marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers on a fireside table. Everybody swarmed around her to make s’mores and carry the treasures to their tables.
    Vicki slipped off the patio into the darkness. I guess she figured she’d done her job. Somebody else would clean up.
    Rickoff finished eating and left. Monty and Ranger Travis left a few minutes later. Everybody Vicki’d had trouble with left shortly after she did, like an exodus of foxes scenting a rabbit. Goosebumps rippled across my shoulders.
    When the Tensels left, our suitemates rose to follow. Sam, apparently oblivious to the departing guests, scarfed down another s’more. Unable to sit still another minute, I rose to leave. Meredith and I waved good night to Sunny Barlow and thanked him for the music. He said he’d stay to clean up. It was getting very dark.
    As we navigated the path to our cabins, it grew even darker. Sunny must have doused the campfire. We slowed and walked carefully, adjusting our eyes to seeing by moonlight. The cicadas grew louder, as if to warn us of impending danger. An owl hooted.
    I grabbed Meredith’s arm. “What’s that noise in the brush?”
    “Some animal that feeds at night, raccoon…opossum.”
    “How can they see to eat anything? We can barely see three feet ahead,” I said.
    “It might be armadillos digging with their snouts and claws, loosening the soil to find