Page 12 of On the Wild Side

“Come on, we have to get you ready for your overnight slumber party at Holly’s house. I packed most of your stuff, but I need to know what pillow you want to take.”

The toy is digging into my back, so I take it out of my pants and shove it into my pocket as I follow Daisy up the stairs. Once I’m in her room, I stash it under her pillows.

“The pink one,” she says, as if I should just automatically know that.

“You always change which one is your favorite,” I remind her. “Erin will be here soon to get you.”

Once a month, Holly and Daisy get a slumber party, and we switch back and forth on which house they stay at. This month,it’s at the Wild River Ranch. The girls look forward to it every month.

“Are you excited to be out of school for the holiday break?”

“No,” she says with a frown.

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll miss my friends,” she says.

Daisy is the most social person I know. Shethrivesaround other people. She’s never met a stranger, and sometimes that makes me nervous.

Beep-beep.

“Well, you’ll get to see everyone in a couple of weeks. Come on, that was Erin’s horn in the driveway.”

“Yay!” Daisy runs out of her bedroom, leaving me to carry her backpack and pillow and Mr. Bunny.

“Hi, guys,” I call out with a smile as I walk outside, carrying all of Daisy’s gear. My daughter is hugging Holly like she hasn’t seen her in a month. “Didn’t you guys just see each other at school?”

They laugh and hop into Erin’s big SUV, and Erin offers me a hug.

“So, what are you going to do with a whole night to yourself?” she asks.

I can’t exactly say, “I’m going to use the new toy I got to get my rocks off.” So, I smile and shrug a shoulder. “I’ll catch up on some stuff.”

“Let me know if you get bored. You’re always welcome to come out to our place, have some wine, and chat.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks, friend.”

Erin grins and then climbs into her SUV.

I return inside and unpack Daisy’s backpack, clean her lunch box, and get everything put away before I take an hour to clean the house a bit. I got home from work just twenty minutes beforeDaisy arrived, and I’ve felt like I’ve been ignoring the things that need to get done around here.

Finally, with one last glance around the living room, I head upstairs to Daisy’s room and check under the pillows for my toy, but it’s not there.

I toss all the pillows onto the floor. Nothing.

With my heart hammering in my chest, I yank the covers back on the bed and still come up empty.

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” I mutter as I pull my phone out of my back pocket and call Erin.

“Hey, are you coming out here after all?”

“No, listen, I need to ask you to do something for me, and I don’t want you to judge me.”

Erin clears her throat on the other end of the line. “Are we going to bury someone, Abbi?”

I can’t help but laugh at that. “It’s notthatdramatic, but it’s embarrassing.” I tell her about the toy and my attempt to hide it from my daughter.

She’s laughing on the other end of the line when I say, “I need you to check Daisy’s overnight bag and her pillow and see if I managed to put it in there.”

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