Page 45 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

“Yup!” Paisley grabbed her phone from its charger and shoved it in her hip pocket before shrugging into a still-warm flannel shirt. She dashed into the main room where Cadence stood by the door. “I’m ready!”

“Let’s go then.” Cadence shook her head and held the door for Paisley to precede her.

“No golf cart?” Paisley asked. “We have to hoof it?”

“Yep. We need to hurry.”

“You just want to see Graham.”

“Guilty as charged. Although I’m hungry, too. I was in the lodge earlier and it smelled delectable.”

“Even though I wasn’t in charge of the camp kitchen, I felt like everything was on me, you know? I’m so glad to just show up for a meal again and then leave, knowing other people are paid to cook and do dishes.”

“It’s a sweet gig, that’s for sure. And wasn’t Weston the one in charge?”

“Of his own stuff.” Paisley shrugged as they lengthened their strides. “But I planned all the activities, so a lot still fell on me.”

“But the other female chaperone ran the kitchen?”

“Yes, but what about ‘I still felt in charge’ are you missing? Someone had to oversee the whole thing. And don’t say Weston just because he’s a Sullivan or male.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Cadence giggled. “I kept hoping you’d come back all triumphant that you’d finally snagged your man.”

“As if.”

“Hey, where did your optimism go?”

“It took a deep dive in a mountain lake so cold the ice had barely melted.” Right along with Matthew Amstutz.

“That’s very specific.”

“It was a cold lake.” And she’d relished her hardiness at watering the horses until Weston blamed her for abetting Matthew’s rebellion.

“You’ll have to share some photos of the trip with me to put on social media. Maybe we can get more groups requesting out-trips like that. What do you think?”

“My phone went dead almost immediately, so I don’t have many pictures. You’ll have to ask Weston or the Littles.”

Cadence glanced at her. “Theirs didn’t die?”

“Apparently not.” They might have started with topped-up batteries. Or remembered to turn their devices onto airplane mode. But Weston had actually used his phone quite a lot, even so. Hmm.

“I can’t imagine going without technology for days. What if something happened, and I didn’t know about it?”

“Nothing ever happens.” Not that Paisley had even checked her emails or messages since they’d returned. She’d stuck it on the charger then stayed busy with her reports and laundry. Now, as they neared the lodge, she pulled it from her pocket and turned it on. Not that anyone ever contacted?—

Whoa. A whole slew of messages from her sister filled the screen. Paisley frowned. What on earth did Kait want that desperately? They often went weeks without any contact.

She thumbed into the texting app and scanned the list. Her blood chilled, and she stopped in the middle of the road.

“You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“My mom. She… My sister texted me…”

Cadence retraced her few steps back to where Paisley stood rooted in the road. “What happened to your mother?”

“She OD’d.”

“Overdosed?” Cadence clutched Paisley’s arm. “But she was clean! Did she die?”

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