Page 64 of Crossing Paths
Poo. Next week?
I’d rather stab myself in the face repeatedly than sing in front of strangers.
Chloe sent a line of laughing emojis before giving in.Fine. We’ll be spectators then.
Next week. No singing.
Promise.
Norah doubted that, since Chloe followed it up with a devil emoji. Norah tried to frown but didn’t quite manage it. She’d somehow found herself a boyfriend and a friend and a burgeoning social life. Her smile broke free as she headed toward home.
Fifteen
When she entered the kitchen early the next morning, only Molly and Cara were there—well, and Warrant, who was stretched out in his favorite place under the table. Norah’s eyes darted to the empty chairs. “Charlie, Fifi, and Bennett aren’t back yet?”
“No.” Molly scowled, worry evident in the deep line between her brows.
She looked intensely tired, making Norah wonder if her sister had even gone to bed the night before. Feeling almost guilty that she’d slept like a baby after a blessedly Leifsen-free evening of researching Dash, she topped off her sisters’ mugs before getting her own coffee.
“Where are they now?” She hoped the information she’d pulled from the security video hadn’t sent them on a wild goose chase across the country. The house felt too quiet without them.
Molly made a face that was interrupted by a yawn. “Charlie gave the latest update last night, so all we know is that they’resafe somewhere in one of the Dakotas.”
“Well, they’re safe at least,” Cara said with forced optimism, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself. “You look like you’re dressed for a workout. Training with Dash?”
“The gym is still closed—” Norah started, but Molly interrupted before she could continue.
“Is it still a crime scene? What’s taking them so long?”
With a negative shake of her head, Norah said, “The police released the scene. Dash doesn’t think there’s any damage to the gym, but he can’t reopen until the insurance company checks it out.”
Cara leaned over as if trying to see through the kitchen doorway. “How do you know all this? Do you have Dash stashed away in your bedroom?”
With a snort, Molly attempted—poorly—to hide her smile behind her coffee mug. “Have you seen Dash? There’s no way he’d fit in Norah’s bedroom.”
“True.”
There was a lilting note to Cara’s voice that told Norah more teasing was coming, and she tried to control the blood rushing to her cheeks. Quickly, she shook her head. “He texted me this morning.”
Anything more Cara was going to say about the whole Dash topic was cut off by a glance at her phone. “Eep! Gotta go, or I’ll be late for class.” Shoving her laptop into her backpack, she flew toward the door to the garage.
“Be safe! Got your weapons?” Molly called after her.
“Yes!” Cara answered before the door closed behind her.
“Bye,” Norah said, but she doubted her sister heard her,since she’d already disappeared.
“No training session today then?” Molly picked up the conversational thread they’d dropped to tease her.
“No…I mean, kind of.” Norah’s dreaded blush was back. Talking about anything to do with Dash seemed to bring it on. “Not a regular session. We’re going to go for a trail run.”
Molly perked up, some of her tiredness seeming to fade. “That actually sounds good. With Fifi gone, I’ve been slacking, and I’m feeling like a blob. Mind if I come along?”
“Sure.” With all the time she’d been spending with Dash, Norah hadn’t seen her sister as much as she usually did, and she missed Molly. “He’s coming here, and then we’re going to run the main south trail loop.”
Molly stood just as her phone beeped with a text. Glancing down at her phone, she gave Norah a sheepish look. “John’s on his way over. Mind if he tags along?”
With both Molly and John there, that meant they would be divided into couples, which meant the run would feel a lot like a double date. Actually, Norah’s brain corrected her, Molly and John were family, so it would be more like a family get-together kind of run. Although Molly had met Dash before, John had not, and he could be a bit of a wild card. Norah liked Molly’s boyfriend, but the man had no brain-to-mouth filter and loved to tease. Who knew what he’d say to Dash. Norah’s stomach butterflies began swooping around again as sweat prickled along her hairline.
