Page 110 of In Safe Hands

Rory nodded. “I have something that I’m pretty sure is girl time appropriate, then.”

Three pairs of eyes fastened on her.

“Well, spill it,” Lou urged, propping her elbows on the counter and leaning in. “Don’t make us drag it out of you. All that training with Deputy Chris has made us a bunch of badasses, so we could force you to talk if we need to.”

Rory was actually blushing, which made Daisy even more curious.

“Here.” Rory slapped a glossy brochure on the counter. All three reached for it, but Ellie was the quickest and managed to whip it away from the others’ grabbing hands.

“What is this?” Ellie looked confused as she flipped it over. “Safe rooms? Is that like a panic room?”

Realization hit Daisy, and she shrieked and grabbed Rory’s arm. The other women looked alarmed. “He actually did it?”

Leaning back warily, Rory said, “By ‘it,’ do you mean propose? If so, then yes.”

It was Lou’s turn to scream as she barreled around the counter for the second time. “He proposed?” She lunged to hug Rory, but then paused in midreach. “Wait. Did you say yes?”

Rory didn’t look like she wanted to answer, but she finally gave a short nod. With another shriek, Lou dove toward her and hugged her hard, apparently oblivious to Rory’s panicked expression and stiff frame.

“Hold on!” Ellie had to almost shout to be heard over Lou’s expressions of happiness. “I don’t get it. Did Ian propose to you using a safe-room brochure rather than a ring?”

“Yes.” Rory’s face softened at the thought. “He said he was going to get me a gun, instead, but he figured I had plenty of those.”

“Congratulations!” Hopping off her stool, Ellie dove into the hug, turning it into a three-way. As Rory’s expression changed from panic to resignation, Daisy grinned at her and wrapped her arms around the cluster of women, joining in the group hug.

Her laugh burbled out of her, sheer happiness making it impossible to hold back. If this was girl time, then girl time was awesome.