Page 26 of Sanctuary

They only stopped when their bottles were empty. A beer-soaked Woody clambered out of the pit and shook like a wet dog all over RB and Solo, but Gabe managed to scramble out of the way.

“I’ve missed you guys,” Gabe said, keeping the softness out of her voice, though the expressions on the rest of the gang’s faces as she looked at them all made it clear they felt the same.

“But now we’re all together, the mayhem can begin again.” Solo handed out fresh beers. “The grill reminds me of a heart,” she said.

“That’s because you’ve turned into a soppy romantic,” Gabe said. “I think it looks like the killer’s mask from the Scream movies.”

“Of course you would,” Lightning said. “Did you know that mask was based on the Edvard Munch painting of the same name?”

Gabe didn’t manage to suppress her laughter. “Trust the Yale graduate to elevate the conversation.”

Lightning gave a bright smile. “The beautiful thing about being among lots of strong and self-assured women is that I don’t have to dumb my intellect down. Correct?”

Gabe pressed her hands together and bowed her head. “One hundred and ten percent correct.”

“So, are you going to text her back and meet her?” Lightning asked. “Just to discuss your very generous offer, of course.”

Gabe didn’t rise to Lightning’s light sarcasm. “If everyone is onboard with it, yeah, I really want to do it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a project like this.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever had a project like this, have you?” Lightning did that tricky thing with her eyebrow.

“Have I told you lately that you can be like a sledgehammer?” Gabe asked.

“It’s been a while.” Lightning fluttered her eyelashes. “Go on then, text her. You have us all invested. We need to know if we’re giving up our social life for the next six months for your charity woman.”

“It’s for Max too, not just… Never mind.” Gabe pulled out her cell, opened the message, and reread it.

“There’s that grin again,” Solo said. “Buddy, you’ve got it bad.”

“Shut up.” Gabe thumbed a quick message. That would be great. I told my team about it, and they’re happy to help too. Are you free Saturday?

“Wow,” Solo said, hanging over her shoulder, “way to keep it formal, Jacko.”

Gabe hovered her thumb over send. “It is kind of formal, isn’t it?” She looked to Lightning for direction, but she just smiled knowingly. “Forget it. It’ll do just fine.” She sent the message, shoved the phone back in her pocket, and raised her beer bottle again. “A toast. To finally realizing our dream.”

They all did the same and emptied their bottles. Everyone looked to Solo expectantly.

“It’s all good,” she said. “I’ve got more.”

While Solo went back to the cooler and got beer for everyone, Gabe’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She fought the instant desire to see if it was Lori, and she also dismissed the thought that Lori had been waiting for word from her. That kind of Pavlovian chain of thought would be warranted if there was any chance of a relationship between them, but Lori had made it clear that friendship was the only thing she was offering. Which was fine, wasn’t it? Because it had to be. And friendship was better than nothing.

Gabe poured the next beer down her throat, hoping it would drown the flicker of hope for something more.

CHAPTER NINE

“What do you think?” Lori asked after she’d finished explaining her plans for the car and the old building.

On the video call, her mom nodded and smiled. “I think a couple of things,” she said and held up her finger. “One, it’s about time you did something about that vehicle. It feels like it’s become a symbol of your old life, and I couldn’t be happier that you’re not only getting rid of it, but also that it has the potential to have a very positive outcome. But,” she wagged her finger at the screen, “we’ll get Bruce to draw up a contract and liaise with Ms. Jackson’s attorney to ensure the particulars of your agreement are set in stone.”

That lightened her burden considerably. The only lawyer she knew other than the lawyer was her divorce attorney. And Bruce had been the family attorney before Lori was even born; he was family in all but name. “Amazing, Mom, thank you. After everything that’s happened over the past year or so, I want to make sure I have all the pieces in place and don’t go into this blind.”

“I understand, sweetheart. The lawyer seemed like a generous person too, didn’t she?”

Lori took a deep breath and glanced away from the tablet for a brief moment. If her mom had been there in person, she would’ve gone in for a hug. But with over a thousand miles between them, she didn’t want to take the lid off her emotions right now. Avoiding eye contact gave her a second to recompose herself. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m not being harsh?”

“You shouldn’t second-guess yourself. After what the lawyer did to you, it’s little wonder that you’d be reluctant to trust anyone for a while, no matter how nice they might seem.”

Lori smiled, appreciating her mom’s willingness not to name her ex-wife.

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