Page 53 of Reckless Harmony

“She was over the moon thrilled when my cousin got engaged to his boyfriend. She couldn’t have been happier for them because she actually understands what it means to be a Christian.”

Rayna sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to hope that they aren’t over-the-top obnoxious with the protesting.”

“Ian and Lennox are bachelors at the fundraiser, right?” Emma said.

“Yes,” Rayna said. “Why?”

“They’re deputies. They might be willing to speak with him if there is a protest. Maybe they could even ask other deputies to show up and do crowd control or something.”

“I don’t think it’ll get that crazy. Do you?” Rayna gave Emma a worried look.

“Probably not, but it wouldn’t hurt to give them the heads up. I know Wanda’s on dispatch at the station tomorrow morning. I’ll call and mention it to her.”

“Thank you, Emmy. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Okay, I really do need to go.” With one last pat to Bea, Emma stood and gave Rayna a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you at the community center at two tomorrow.”

“You bet.” She walked Emma to the door and waved goodbye before returning to the couch. She flopped down on it and stared moodily at the two kittens who were climbing all over Freddie. The black and white cat’s tail flicked rapidly, but he made no effort to discipline the babies who were now biting at his tail.

“You’ll regret spoiling them when they’re twice that size, Freddie,” Rayna said.

He ignored her, and she grabbed her phone and scrolled to Stark’s name in her text messages. She typed rapidly and, before she could chicken out, hit the send button.

Rayna

Thank you for the gym access card.

She tossed her phone onto the couch and considered opening her laptop to check the rescue emails before grabbing her phone again. Her pulse fluttered when she saw the dots indicating Stark was replying, and she was annoyed with herself at her excitement.

“Who cares what he has to say,” she said to Bea, who had heaved herself onto the couch beside her. She stroked Bea’s ears, her fingers pausing when Stark’s reply came through.

Stark

You’re welcome.

“You’re welcome? That’s it?” she said to Bea. She sat and stewed for a moment before typing and hitting send.

Rayna

I appreciate the gesture, but I’m still not selling my property to you.

Stark

I gave you access to my gym, Ms. Abrams because using your gym equipment will get you killed. It’s called being nice. You should consider trying it sometime.

Rayna

Ha, ha. Why do you care if my gym equipment kills me?

Stark

I don’t like bad smells.

Rayna

Unlike you, I am a nice person with friends. My dead body would be discovered long before it started to smell.

Stark

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