Page 40 of A Cowboy's Twinkling Lights Lasso
Dani frowns. “We have a problem. Flora got the job.”
“What job?”
“Her dream job.” She sighs and walks past me into our suite.
I step aside for Wilma and Faye and shut the door.
“Your nose is lookin’ sore.” Dani smiles.
Theo glares. “No thanks to you.”
“Oh, Theo.” Faye rushes into the kitchen to make an ice pack with cubes and a tea towel. “Put this on your eye for the swelling.”
“Thanks.” He presses it against his eye, but his other eye still scowls at Dani.
“Go put a shirt on,” she says.
He lifts his arms. “Why hide what I’ve sculpted.”
Wilma makes herself at home, filling mugs for the three, who settle comfortably around the small table. Theo also pulls up a chair, turns it around, and straddles it.
I lean my hip against the counter and cross my arms over my front. “More details about this dream job would help.”
“This morning, she got an email from the travel magazine she’s been waiting to hear back from, and they accepted her as lead travel photographer.”
A bone-deep chill creeps through my veins. “Travel?”
“Yes. She’s leaving. For weeks or months at a time to travel the world. The one thing she’s been working her life to do. And we haven’t even sealed the deal yet.”
Faye rests her hand over Dani’s. “Sweetheart, is she leaving today?”
“No. But when she sees the email, it will be where all her focus goes. The rest of the weekend will be shot.”
“She hasn’t seen it?” Wilma drawls, quietly observing from her spot.
Dani shakes her head. “She was sleeping when it popped up on her phone. So I got rid of the notification and hid the email.”
“Good.” Faye grabs a few packets of sugar and tears them open. “She doesn’t need to see that yet.” She sprinkles the sugar in her coffee.
“I can delete the email.” Dani looks between everyone for confirmation.
“Yes,” Wilma and Faye say at the same time.
“She’ll never know,” Dani adds.
“By the time she finds out, she’ll be settled back home.” Wilma drinks her coffee black.
“And she’ll never know we hid it.” A smile plays on Dani’s mouth.
“And then when she gets another email, she won’t want to leave.” Faye rips open three more sugar packets.
“Perfect—”
“Hold up,” I tell them all. “Do you hear yourselves? You can’t do either.”
Theo snickers. “This group is evil.”
“We can.” Wilma stares at me with that serious, no-nonsense dare.
