Page 45 of When We Dare

Casey’s hazel eyes widened as she eyed me thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” she finally said after a long pause. “I really love it. I think the answer is yes, but—” She paused. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, you’ll figure it out,” I said, just as Tish arrived with Phoebe.

“Hey!” Tish gave me a quick side hug.

“Hi, ladies,” Casey said. “The usual for both of you?”

“Yes, please,” Tish began, before correcting, “Add an extra shot of espresso to mine. I’m exhausted.” Her gaze shifted to Casey. “My son is almost two years old. He has a cold and he’s sleeping horribly. As a result, no one else is sleeping either.”

Maisie arrived at the tail end of this comment, offering a sympathetic glance. “I love my kids, but I will never miss when they’re sick. It’s like an entire household project. You can’t avoid it.”

“And, they swap germs like a competitive sport,” Phoebe offered with a sympathetic glance.

“I like my sleep, but it’ll be worth losing it if I have kids, right?” I teased.

“I advise only having kids if you definitely want kids,” Tish interjected. “My baby wasn’t planned, but I thought about it long and hard. It’s not easy.”

“I work in family law,” I interjected. “There are so many people who have kids when they didn’t really want them. They liked the idea, but not the reality. They do keep lawyers in business, but it’s so sad sometimes.”

“Totally makes sense.” Casey’s ponytail swung as she nodded along.

“You need to come to card night,” Maisie announced.

After a moment, Casey pointed toward herself. “Are you talking about me?”

“Yes!” Maisie said enthusiastically. “It’s on Friday at my place this time. The kids are spending the night with Beck’s mom and I told him he wasn’t allowed to come home until after ten.”

“You should go,” I encouraged Casey when she looked uncertain.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

Tish smiled over at her. “Please. Stella and I are still pretty new to town –”

Phoebe cut in, “You’ve been here almost two years now.”

Tish rolled her eyes. “You grew up here, Phoebe.”

Phoebe nodded agreeably. “True.”

“I promise, it’ll be fun,” I encouraged Casey. “If you want, I’ll pick you up. Just let me know where.”

“I ended up with this job because I’m renting an apartment from Janet.” She gestured to the side. “In the building next door.”

“Oh, right. Janet rents those apartments upstairs,” Tish said.

“Speaking of that, do you know if the one across the hall is still available?” Maisie asked.

Casey nodded as she slid several drinks across the counter and began ringing everyone up. “Yeah, Janet said a couple moved out. Now, it’s empty. I’m sure it’s nice. My place is adorable and it’s furnished, for the win!” She lifted one fist in the air in a mini-cheer.

“I’ll pick you up, say around…?” I glanced to Maisie.

“Six,” Maisie said firmly.

“Awesome! Everyone seems really nice here,” Casey replied.

“Most everyone is,” Janet said, hearing Casey’s comment as she came through the swinging half-door that led to the kitchen. “And, you should hang out with these girls. They’re all nice and they’ll take care of you. Watch out though, if you have something against firefighters, they’re probably gonna end up setting you up with one,” she teased.

Casey’s eyes widened. “I don’t need to be set up with anyone,” she said, firmly enough that I assumed there was a story there.

---