red hill - jamie mcguire

“Skeeter” Bryce said.
The man struggled against the beam of my flashlight to see who called his name. “Who’s that”
“It’s me, Bryce! Coop’s here, too! I can’t believe you made it!”
I lifted the flashlight so the light bounced off the ceiling and cast a dim glow over the entire room.
Skeeter pulled his gun away from Joey and shook Bryce’s and then Cooper’s hands.
“Holy hell, boys!” Skeeter said, pulling his hat off his head.
“What are you doing here” Cooper said, a wide grin on his face.
I was completely confused. Bryce and Cooper seemed to know this man, but Joey didn’t.
“Skeeter McGee, nice to meet ya,” he said, shaking Joey’s hand. “Sorry ’bout that. I’ve had some
run-ins with some assholes. You know how it is.”
Joey shook his hand, bewildered.
“I knew the girls’ old man’s place was out this way. I thought I’d try to catch up to y’all, but I got
stuck here. This place is crawlin’ with creepers!”
“Creepers,” Cooper said with a chuckle. “I like that.”
“No,” I said. “It’s ted. Zoe wouldn’t like it if we changed it.”
Skeeter’s face fell, and turned white. “What’d you say”
I glanced around the room. No one else seemed to know why his mood had suddenly changed,
either, and I worried the boys didn’t know him as well as they thought. Whether the boys knew this
man or not, we needed to protect everyone we left at home. “We just made a group decision on what
to call those things. It’s pretty silly, actually . . .”
“No, ma’am. You just said Zoe. Like little Zoe, ’bout yay high. Light brown hair” he asked, karate
chopping his chin to show the length.
“How do you know Zoe” I said, instantly suspicious.
Skeeter ran over to me. “She’s my niece. You’ve seen her Where is she Is she with her dad”
“Your niece” I said, wondering why Nathan had never said anything about a brother.
“Aubrey is my sister. Nathan’s wife. Have you seen them”
Nathan’s wife. The words stung.
“Yes, we’ve seen them,” Bryce said. “They’re at Red Hill Ranch. They’re safe.”
Skeeter laughed once, and then stumbled backward, falling onto the couch. “Oh, thank God,” he
said, flattening the palm of his hand against the side of his face. After a moment, he covered his face
in his hands, bent at the waist, and then the big, burly man began to cry.
We all traded glances, unsure of what to do. The one thing I was sure of was that as of that
moment, there were ten of us.
“Skeeter” I said. I touched his shoulder. “Skeeter. We’re heading out tomorrow after we clear.
You’re welcome to come with us.”
“Clear”
“Yes. My daughters are meeting me at Red Hill, and we’re making sure they don’t run into
trouble.”
He nodded. “Then I’ll help you.”