Page 1 of Too Far To Sea
1
There werea thousand better ways to use PTO than nursing a sprained ankle. Especially two days before starting vacation. Fortunately, Hastings Security gave compensation time for work-related injuries regardless of how silly the cause.
Abandoning her crutches, Dana stumbled and toppled onto the couch. She pressed an ice pack against her swollen ankle and winced.
Across the small living area of her apartment, her TV displayed a message from the streaming provider asking if she was still watching. It must not be used to her having the service on more than an hour. In the five hours since returning from the emergency room she’d watched more television than she’d seen in months, outside of children’s shows that is.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the end of school picnic at the park with her young charges. Which app should she order from tonight?
The doorbell buzzed. Who could be here? She glanced down at her clothes, a Hastings Security t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, not exactly ready for company. She pulled up the TwoGarden Tower app and saw Brit and Simone standing outside her door with a take-out bag from her favorite Italian restaurant.
Dana tapped the option on the app that unlocked the door. “Come on in.”
“How are you feeling? Tian said you sprained your ankle playing soccer with the kids.” Brit set a box marked “cannoli” on the coffee table.
“I thought Tian was flying to Boston. How did she know?” As soon as she asked the question, the obvious answer came. Tian’s husband Chris had been working the protection detail with her. “Never mind. The newlywed news network strikes again.”
“I think they have a way to communicate faster than a phone.” Simone held up the other takeout box. “The manicotti is warm. Do you want it now or in the fridge?”
“Now please.” Dana took the box, napkin, and bamboo fork from Simone.
Simone sat down at the other end of the couch. “What are you watching?”
“Nothing very interesting.”
“We could watchPersuasion. Maybe it would give you inspiration to find your own Captain Wentworth on your cruise.” Brit scrolled through the viewing options.
“Persuasionis a second chance love story. Is there anyone in your past you are pining for?” asked Simone.
“Not even a kindergarten crush. And absolutely no one from the last four years. Either guys want to challenge me to wrestle them because I am a bodyguard or they think I am an uneducated airhead because I am a nanny.”
“There is always Javier,” said Simone with a wink. The head of building security had refined the art of flirting as if it were an Olympic sport.
“Not dating a coworker.” Dana slid the fork around the takeout box, gathering every last bit of cheese from the manicotti.
“I think you should have a vacation romance. Cruise ship plus Ireland, that adds up to a Love Boat connection. There could be some cute purser or there’s always the best man.”
Dana held up a finger. “One, cruise ship employees aren’t supposed to date passengers. Two, I’ve met my sister’s fiancé. Wealthy, snooty, and rude, and I assume the groomsmen are all the same.”
“You shouldn’t make assumptions,” said Brit.
Dana rolled her eyes. “As thehalf-sisterof the bride, I won’t have time to myself. Plus, once Motherzilla-of-the-Bride sees this—” Dana pointed to her foot, “—she’ll exclude me from everything she hasn’t already. No chance to flirt if I wanted to.”
Simone opened the cannoli bag. “We got two for you and one for each of us. Your mom can be the worst.”
“Please don’t call her my ‘mom.’ Mom is a term of endearment. I’ve grown out of calling her my ‘Momster,’ so please use Sheila, mostly because she hates her first name. Or if you must, you can call her my mother in the most biological sense.” Dana so rarely mentioned her mother that she doubted either friend even knew her name.
“Have you told Cheyanne about the crutches yet?” asked Brit.
“She is so stressed. Between the wedding and moving to London and dealing with the Motherzilla, I’m trying to avoid the conversation until she can see I’m alright. The doctor said I should only have to stay off of my foot for the next three or four days. I’ll be fine by the end of the cruise and the wedding.”
“They’ll figure it out when you are in a wheelchair at the airport,” said Simone.
“No wheelchair.” Her sister would think her helpless and if a photo ever got back to her co-workers, she would never liveit down. As it was, the teasing texts over the work app were multiplying. Somehow, ZoElle added a whack-a-mole image that randomly popped up on the conversation channel.
Brit shook her head. “I know you are a tough Hastings Security bodyguard, I mean personal protector, but O’Hare and crutches are not a good mix. Do you have an aisle seat?”
Before Dana could respond, a knock came at the door leading to the Ogilvie’s residence. Brit hopped up to answer it.
