Chapter 38

The sun was higher than Sean had thought it would be when they’d woken up. It had been a relief to see the teens had taken care of the kids, and everyone was fed and clothed by the time Sean and Rider had managed a morning shower and plodded to the coffee pot.

Now, Sean looked at Rider, who had finished his coffee and leaned back in his deck chair, his face toward the rays of sun that barely grazed his dark features. It was a warm morning, or midmorning, more like. Everything was just right until Mikael strode around the corner of the old house, and Sean could tell by his expression something was amiss.

“What is it?” Sean asked, straightening his pose in his chair.

Mikael sat at the table they used for gatherings and spread down some sheets of paper. “We need to rush with the Metsala farm. Apparently the new guys are coming in two weeks instead of at the end of the summer.”

“What?” Rider leaned forward and looked at Mikael. “But Anna said nothing when I picked Nico up.”