Page 24

Surrendering to the inevitable, Hadley got up and looked out of the window. The children were out in the garden, splaying themselves into strange shapes that Florence was modeling. If she didn't know better, she'd say that Florence was teaching them Tai Chi. AKA: martial arts for grandmas. She rolled her eyes.

She couldn't quite get a grip on Florence. There was something so other-worldly about her. At times, Hadley pitied her, at other times she was irritated as all hell with her. But she was damned if she had a clue what made Florence tick.

She did note to herself that whatever her staid uniforms might hide, Florence had a very rounded and very grab-able backside in the yoga pants she was wearing for the kids' exercise time.

A thought that she put out of her mind as promptly as it had appeared. She yawned. The kids had been up early and she'd spent the morning with them, which meant she was officially at a loose end for the afternoon.

Since a nap was out of the question, maybe she'd go track down some coffee instead.

She was just coming out of her room when the phone rang. She saw Brent's name on the display and was already grinning as she answered the call.

“Hey there, stranger.”

“Stranger yourself,” he responded. “Where the hell are you? No one's seen you for days!”

“I'm off in the country, working my new job,” she said with a hint of pride. Brent was a solid friend, she'd known him for years, and nobody would be more surprised than him that she'd finally committed to something real.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, I'm for real.”

There was a stunned silence. “Um, yeah, okay, whatevs. So, you're going to have to quit.”

She was half-way down the stairs, just before the twist that would take her down the final flight to the kitchen. “Huh? What?”

“Burning Man, baby. I got tickets and I got a bus and guess who's going?”

She stopped dead in the middle of the stairs. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Her heart was pounding. Burning Man. The festival had been a dream for like... forever. She'd just never had the opportunity to go before and now here it was, all served up on a plate and ready to eat and she could almost taste it.

“Quit my job,” she said.

“Yeah, no biggie, right? You'll get another one.”

“Quit my job and go to Burning Man?” Just as she said the words, trying to make them real, Florence came hurrying up the stairs, almost bumping into her.

“That's right,” Brent was saying. “I've got it all figured out...”

Florence had obviously heard because her blue eyes were sparkling looking up at her and Hadley couldn't guess what exactly she was thinking. Was she pleased to finally be getting the job that she thought should be all hers? Disappointed that she was going to be alone with the kids?

And things snapped into place.

“Yeah, I'm not sure, Brent.”

“For real, Had? Come on.”

Florence was raising an eyebrow and Hadley took a deep breath and closed her eyes before saying: “No, sorry, but it's a no this time. Hope you have an awesome time, truly, I do.”

She hung up before she could change her mind.

“Huh. Didn't think you were a quitter,” Florence said, eyebrow still raised.

“Shouldn't you be with the kids?”

“I'm just changing while they get a snack.”