Page 9 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell (Rock Canyon, Idaho 7)

Charlie deflated, and under any other circumstance, Gracie would have ripped into Travis about expecting too much from a twelve-year-old, but with Gemma so sick, emotions were running high.

Gracie went over and gave Charlie a hug. “You stay with Uncle Mike, and tomorrow morning, I’ll pick you up with donuts, and we will come right back here to check on your mom.”

“Okay, but can I see her now?” Charlie asked.

“Sure, bud. Let’s go back.” Travis addressed the rest of them as a group. “They only allow three visitors to a room, so…”

“It’s okay,” Gracie said. “I can come back tomorrow and pester her. Will you just tell her I love her and if she ever scares me like that again, she’ll be sleeping with the fishes?”

“You got it.” Travis and Charlie disappeared behind the doors, and Gracie released a gigantic sigh of relief. She didn’t know what she’d do without her best friend.

Gracie pulled out her phone and snapped a selfie of her making a sad face. She texted it to her with the message: I love you. See you in the morning.

Her phone beeped seconds later with a picture of Gemma, who had dark circles around her eyes and a tired smile. I love you too.

Gracie hated to leave without seeing Gemma, but with Gemma’s sister waiting and all she’d been through, Gemma needed rest instead of reassuring the rest of them she was going to be okay.

“If you’re ready…” Eric seemed hesitant to press her, but she wasn’t mad. She was drained.

“Yeah, if you could give me a ride back to my car, that would be great.”

“Sure.”

Gracie hugged Mike and Dawn and then followed Eric out the double doors to the parking lot. The temperature had dropped and the sky was an ugly gray as the mass of clouds gathered above.

“Feels like snow,” Eric said.

“Yeah, my weather app showed it was coming.” Gracie pulled her jean jacket closed over her breasts, but the thin material was meant for style, not warmth.

Eric pressed a button on his keys, and his car roared to life.

Gracie smiled as she waited for him to unlock her door. “Automatic start, huh? That’s nice.”

“Especially on days when it’s too cold to function.”

“That’s why God invented

coffee,” she said as she climbed inside.

“You’re an addict.”

“Flatterer.”

He closed the door with a grin, and she relaxed against the seat, enjoying the rush of hot air blasting her. Since she was the best friend not on kid patrol, she was going to have to bust out the phone tree to let everyone from the shower know that Gemma was okay, starting with Gemma’s close friends, Ryan Phillips and Callie Jacobsen. It was going to be a really long night.

Eric got in and blew on his hands. “Shit, I say I wouldn’t ever live anywhere else, and then the cold weather hits, and I think Hawaii sounds nice this time of year.”

“I like the cold, as long as I’m able to stay home in my fleece-lined leggings and comfy sweater.”

“I can’t wear leggings. My thighs are too big,” Eric joked.

The image of big, bearded Eric Henderson strolling around in tights sent Gracie into the giggles. Soon, she could hardly breathe, she was laughing so hysterically.

“Really? The image of me in skintight cotton is that funny?”

Suddenly, her whole body sagged and her mirth turned into gut-wrenching sobs. When Eric’s large arms wrapped around her and pulled her across the middle console, she buried her face in his chest and let it all go.

“Hey, don’t cry. You can laugh at me all you want.”