Page 48 of Beyond Oblivion

Hazel kissed at him.

I stared at Beck and Sylvie. “You don’t have appointments for four hours. Why are you here?”

“Hazel said there was news. We were on our way to breakfast.”

I glared at Hazel. “You have Freya in ten,” I said as I glanced at the screen, impatiently waiting for the scheduling software to load.

“Copy that,” Hazel said, turning on her heels for the hall.

“She watches serial killer documentaries to relax,” Trenton grumbled, staring at the mouth of the hallway where Hazel, Beck, and Sylvie filtered out of sight.

I clicked my mouse a few times and then turned to peck his mouth. “Ignore her. And congratulations to us. It definitely makes me feel better.”

He grinned. “Good.”

“Don’t forget, your brother and Falyn are flying in tonight.”

“As if Olive would let me forget. She’s texted me like ten times this morning. Was Dad doing okay?”

“He was sad to see Thomas and Liis go. He wanted them to stay until Taylor got here.”

“I hate that I missed seeing them off. Why can’t Cal schedule these damn meetings with that stupid business guru during office hours? It’s a waste of money. You’ve already improved this place a hundred-fold.”

“Everyone understood. Don’t sweat it.”

“It’s hard to watch him tell his kids goodbye. He’s not getting any younger, ya know. He misses having everyone home at once. I do, too. It gets harder and harder every year to get everyone together.”

“It’ll cheer him up to hear the No Contact Order was approved. I think he worries more than he lets on.”

“He probably knew before we did.”

“I have no doubt. Dax will be here soon to finish his sleeve.”

“On it,” he said, kissing the back of my neck before returning to his room.

The morning crawled by at a snail’s pace, but once Trenton and I finished our iced coffee and Target lunch date, the rest of the day zipped by. I finished the nightly audit while Trenton wiped down the surfaces and Hazel swept the lobby. Beck broke down the workstations, making sure every machine was cleaned and wrapped, while Sylvie restocked the ink trays and secured the supply shelves. Before long, we were packing up, exchanging see-you-laters, and heading out the door.

Once Sylvie and Beck left, Trenton seemed to be in a rush to lock up, but he stopped to kiss me first. “I’m going to check on Dad and then get a workout in, but I’ll see you at home later. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I lilted, closing the cash drawer. The doorbell didn’t chime, so I looked up. “Are you leaving?”

Trenton made a face as if I should know better. “Since when do I ever leave you girls here alone?”

Hazel swished by, pretending to punch him in the gut before she pushed through the door, her face twisting with disappointment when he didn’t flinch.

I jingled my keys and picked up my pace, noticing Trenton fidgeting with impatience, eager to get to Jim’s. He brushed a quick kiss on my lips before stepping outside, waiting as I twisted the jagged metal into the lock.

“See you soon, gorgeous,” he said, jogging to his truck.

Just as I reached my car, a black Cadillac SUV pulled in next to it. I tried to hurry and get into the seat so I could lock the door, but a pair of hands grabbed my side.

“Hey!” Raegan screamed from behind me.

“Jesus! Ray!” I yelped, giggling after the momentary terror subsided.

She stood with me between our vehicles, grinning. “I was trying to get here before you closed. Drinks?”

“Is Trenton invited?”

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