“What look?” Emma says, her eyes wide.
“Right. The secret art of feminine communication.” I down the coffee then set the mug in the sink. “That’ll keep me going another fifteen minutes until I get home, enjoy my pizza in front of the TV, and try to ride out this storm. So, what are you two doing here?”
“Geneva just left,” Danni says. “She redid the website with Tank’s help and Emma and my suggestions. We were just talking about it.” She spins her laptop around and shows me the Heaven website. “I love it. She’s a genius, and I hope she never graduates andneverleaves us.”
“You could lock her in her cottage,” I say.
Danni winces. “Sorry. I know that was a joke, but it hits a little too close to home.” She flips her laptop back around and types on her computer before turning it so I can see it again. “Have you ever seen this sign?”
I squint at the picture. “Is that the turnoff to Heaven?”
She nods, expanding the photo on the screen and tapping on the screen. “This right here is that huge magnolia tree. This photograph must have been taken fifty years ago. You think you and Bear could make another sign like this?”
I pull my cell out and snap a photo. “You want it to be exactly like this?”
“Same wording. Turn here for Heaven. Taller and bigger, though. Since the tree’s grown exponentially. We don’t want the sign to be dwarfed by the tree. What do you think?”
“You got a timeline? Because something tells me we’re going to be doing storm cleanup for the next week, but you’re going to want this yesterday.”
“Whenever you guys can get to it. I promise I won’t nag.”
“How’s Tank?” I ask Emma.
Her face lights up. “He took Hudson to Universal Studios for the day. They were both so excited. Hopefully, they won’t haveany trouble getting back home. Danni said sometimes they have to close off the causeway.”
I swipe open my phone and check the weather app again. “At this point, they’re predicting the windspeed could be up to 45 miles per hour.”
Emma’s eyes widen.
“At its worst. I’m sure Tank’ll use good sense either way.”
Danni snaps her laptop closed. “Thank goodness we got most of the dead trees cut around the cottages during the lull between major storms last week.”
Emma stands. “Presh and I are going to walk back to my cottage, so we don’t get blown away. Come on, Presh.” Emma gives me a quick side hug. “Say hi to Wren for me. Tell her if she needs anything, that I’m in Cottage 10. We haven’t met formally—just a quick hi when she’s going past. Presh and her dog have sniffed noses a few times.”
Danni hugs Emma. “Use the radio if you need to, Em.” Emma and Presh leave, and Danni shifts her gaze to me. “Can you remind Wren that she can use the radio if she needsanything?Lacy and I are going to take turns monitoring the radio.”
“Yep.”
“I better get back to May Ranch.” She slides her laptop into a bag. “I want to beat the flooding.”
“You have Bear’s pickup?”
“Nope. I got my own. You didn’t see it out there?”
“Didn’t pay attention. Does it have good tires?”
“It does, and they’re bigger than Bear’s.”
“Bet he’s envious.”
“I let him drive it once in a while.” She grins. “Oh, I almost forgot—Wren’s in Cottage 15, past the Hobbit Cottage. The path’s too narrow to get your truck all the way there. Ned was thinking about asking Robert Greene to come in with his tractorand open up the path a little, so campers can drive down that path, but we’re not sure if we want traffic going to and from those two cottages. He says they’ve always been secluded and that’s part of the charm.”
“No problem.” I swipe another piece of candy for the road.
“You got an umbrella?”
“Real men don’t use umbrellas, Danni. Didn’t Bear tell you that? They wear cowboy hats with wide brims.”
