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I sobered. “Don’t push yourself too hard. This is a huge step. Take things slowly and step away if you get too overwhelmed. You can’t race up the mountain.”
Carrie placed her hands on her hips. “I sure as hell can try.”
I shook my head, smirking. She’d come a long way from the battered and frightened woman who showed up on our doorstep. I loved the tenacious woman she was reclaiming.
“What is the job?” Tyr asked her.
“In a past life, I was a hairstylist.”
His brow furrowed, and Aya snickered. She spoke in another language to him, what I assumed was Norwegian. I couldn’t be sure, since I’d rarely heard Aya speak it, but it made the most sense.
Tyr nodded as she spoke. It seemed she was explaining the phrase to him.
“What are your plans, Astrid?” Carrie asked. She tilted her head to give me a pointed look. “It’s your day off, so I expect you to not do anything work-related unless it’s a legitimate emergency.”
I shot her a sheepish smile. “Well, I had some paperwork I planned to get done—”
She pointed at me. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s just a little paperwork,” I tried to defend. “It’s important, and I’m behind.”
I felt Aya’s stern gaze on me as much as Carrie’s. When a third set of eyes bored into me, I frowned and turned to Tyr. “Not you, too.”
“Don’t overwork yourself. Balance between work and the rest of your life is important.”
I blew a strand of hair away from my face. “Not like any of you can stop me once you start going about your days.”
Carrie lifted an eyebrow, and Aya snickered. “Tyr, you up for keeping an eye on our workaholic?”
My mouth fell open. “You can’t volunteer someone to babysit me.”
Tyr chuckled. “I’d be happy to.”
“What are you happy to do?” Diego asked, walking into the house. He wore his motocross jersey, pants, and boots. Angel happily trotted after him, her tongue lolling.
Aya smirked. “We’re making sure someone is watching Astrid, so she doesn’t work today.”
Diego shot me a pointed look. “You’d better not. I’ll cancel my plans today if you’re too difficult.”
I huffed. This was ridiculous. If I wanted to get some quiet paperwork done, I should be allowed to do so. “Fine, I’ll stay away from anything work-related.”
Diego smiled and snagged a set of keys off the key rack. “Good. I’m going to head out, then.”
“Got your brain bucket?” I asked.
He nodded. “All my gear is in the truck.”
“Don’t do any crazy stunts, and be safe,” I said.
He chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
I knew he would do one or two. He and his motocross buddies liked to show off, regardless of whether they were at the track or on the trails. They wanted to either one-up each other, or impress someone, usually a guest that tagged along. But I hoped he’d be at least a little careful.
“Have fun.”
Diego smiled and left. I ignored the twinging sensation in my chest when he disappeared from sight. He was allowed to go hang out with friends all day and not with me. The motocross scene didn’t interest me, and it was good for us to have separate hobbies. It was stupid to feel left out or hate the time apart from him, especially since we werejustfriends.I need more friends.
That was the understatement of the century. Most of the ones I had were from college, and not only were those few in numbers, none of them lived close enough to work out times to hang out. And while I had gaming nights with some of them, they were becoming fewer and fewer as my friend’s lives changed, and they had less time to sit down and play.
