“You’re committed now. This will be good for you.” Flo’s enthusiasm gushed through the phone. “There’s beach reading, hiking, biking, boat rides, shopping, movies, gambling, miniature golf…You shouldn’t be bored. And maybe those felines will scare off any mouse population in the cabin, so you’re doing me a big favor.”
“Sure I am. Now you’re going to owe me.”
“Go pack. We’ll talk on the phone early next week, and you can call me sooner if you need to.”
“Thanks. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.” Tess never would have admitted that before her injury. Some things changed a person—like imagining your own funeral and who might be in attendance because they’d really miss you.
“You either did something magnificent in a prior existence to be blessed with me in your life, or something so bad it warrants all these decades of my torturing you.”
“Don’t give me too much credit, but I’ll take the magnificent,” Tess replied.
They both laughed as they ended the call. Tess thought how good it felt as she stood there alone in her office. She wanted to laugh more.
Bree O’Brian managed to open one eye in her effort to glance in the direction of all that persistent banging this morning. Falling asleep last night hadn’t been easy. Her mind wouldn’t shut down. She was on the cusp of leaving her old life behind as she started a new one. She was facing a new job in this new city, and as the start date approached, her anxiety about all the change was increasing.
It could only be her brother, Hank, because Rachelle didn’t approach any door in that impatient battering ram style, and sixteen-year-old Gabby was at a sleepover. Bree allowed a chuckle to escape. Style—not usually used in reference to her older brother. Okay, Hank knew how to finesse a situation if he deemed it necessary, but with her, he preferred falling back into their sibling dynamic—teasing, pushing, poking, unrestrained. And the bottom line, deep caring.
“Go away.”
“Is TP in there with you?” Hank couldn’t hide the bullshit in his voice to save his life. And sharing forty years of his life with her had made Bree an expert at reading him. Looking for TP was just an excuse to check on her.
“If The Purrfessor was in here with me, he’d be under the bed if he has an ounce of feline survival instinct. No respectable fight-or-flight creature would pass upflightwith you out there offering maximum acoustic annoyance.”
“Are you decent? Can I come in?”
“Would a doubleNostop you?”
The door swung open, followed by Hank’s entrance with TP. It might currently be her space, but it was Hank and Rachelle’s guest room.
She gave Hank her severest admonishing look, then also offered The Purrfessor one for his role as an accomplice. Hank shrugged, and the cat couldn’t have cared less.
Bree knew she’d have her own place soon. It had beenalmost a week since she’d vacated the house in LA that she’d rented after her marriage had ended. She’d spent months contemplating her future and decided that one priority was to be closer to Hank and Rachelle and Gabby. Now she was waiting on a small rental house a few blocks away.
Eighteen long months had followed the challenging end of her marriage. At least challenging for her heart and her ego, and the instigating reason she’d sought and welcomed this relocation. Cora had happily moved on to her next relationship. That she’d been Cora’s third wife should have been a clue, but she’d been so busy ascending to partner in her LA law practice, defending the accused, that it hadn’t dawned on her that Cora wasn’t the committed wife Bree had assumed.
Bree had learned her lesson. There was no woman worth derailing her future. Cora had almost done that with what she’d put Bree through, and Bree certainly wasn’t interested in repeating that mistake. She wasn’t sure if her badly bruised heart would ever allow her to reconsider another deep relationship. Besides, she had more than enough on her plate with the move and the new judgeship. This was her new life and she had to make it work.
“Hear ye, hear ye. All rise.” Hank’s booming pronouncement was followed by a grin. Bree had no doubt this Saturday morning wake-up call was designed to precede some brilliant utterance that was intended to make her day. Well, the rest of her day—it was almost noon.
“I was thinking…” Hank hesitated, so Bree knew he was figuring out his approach so that he could better present his case. What was he going to promote now?
“That’s a good start,” Bree said. “And…?”
“You’ve still got a few weeks before you start that big new job that will make us all proud—dispensing justice to the world.” Hank placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chestin a comical manner, obviously orchestrated to entertain her, but then he grew serious. “Rachelle and I’ve noticed that it’s causing you some stress, so maybe you’d like to use the Tahoe cabin to get away for a bit, decompress. The one that belongs to Rachelle’s dad. You know, rather than hang around here and sleep until noon because you’re bored silly with TP, Rachelle, Gabby, and me.”
“You should give TP, Rachelle, and Gabby more credit.” Bree tried to stifle a yawn while she considered his offer. Then she softened her tone. “Thanks. You’re a great big brother.”
“Here’s the key. Go spend a week or so up there before the job starts. When you get back, I’ll help you haul all your crap from my garage to your new place.” Hank smiled as he set the key on the table next to the bed.
Bree lay there and considered. She couldn’t take up residence in the house she’d rented here in Corazon Cove for another week and a half, and then she’d have another four or five days to settle in before her job started. Sitting here reviewing her past mistakes and future challenges wouldn’t make that time pass any faster.
The key was on a ring with a metal charm that hung from a short chain. Bree picked it up and noticed the charm was in the shape of the lake. TP jumped onto the mattress and headbutted her before he started to knead the comforter. He continued to work the fabric and purr as she climbed out of bed and gathered up her dirty clothes to wash.
She could see no reason not to head north as soon as she was organized. She wouldn’t arrive at Tahoe until late tonight, but she could be sitting lakeside this weekend. A little time to herself to relax before all the new adjustments would be good. This was a chance to leave behind the stagnant life that she’d been living since the divorce. A chance to start making new memories.
Chapter Two
Tess sat up and tried to orient herself. The cats had just awakened her when they’d suddenly jumped off the bed. She was at Flo’s Tahoe cabin. God, a memory of the last time she’d been in this bed flashed through her mind—when she was recovering from the gunshot wound. She touched the scar, then remembered that it had healed, and she was here now for some vacation time. The bedside clock declared it was fifteen minutes until midnight.
