Page 9 of Through the Storms

Lana tilted her head and took a good look at the picture for the first time. “Is that a Picasso?”

“Not a real one.”

Lana rolled her eyes. “Shocker. Who would have guessed you couldn’t pick up a real Picasso at the flea market?”

“You should see hisMona Lisa. It would look great in your office.”

“I refuse to buy my artwork at a flea market.”

“Snob.” Carol nodded toward the corner of the painting. “Grab an end and be of use.”

“How’d you get it this far? It’s as tall as you are.”

Carol glowered. “I’m five-foot-three.”

“Wearing three-inch heels.” Lana picked up the other end of the painting.

“Whatever. But isn’t it cool? It’s calledGuernica.”

Lana turned up her nose. “It would give me nightmares.”

“Good thing you’re not sleeping in my office.”

“Do you really think we can hang this monstrosity?” Lana asked as they lugged it to Carol’s office.

Carol flipped on the light to her office. “Let’s put it in the corner. First, I want to know what’s bugging you.”

Lana puffed out her cheeks. “You’re just going to jump right in, aren’t you?”

“Yep. The entire drive here I was speculating.”

“Any conclusions?”

“Oakley.”

Lana snorted and plopped into the chair across from Carol’s desk. “It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to come up with that.”

“True.” Carol nodded as she perched on the corner of her desk and let her short legs dangle. “Then let me be more specific. I’m thinking her being all secretive and getting all those strange calls has something to do with it.”

Lana sat up from her slouching position. “It’s not what you think.”

“Whoa.” Carol put up her hand. “I’m not saying she’s cheating. Oakley may be a lot of things, but a cheater isn’t one of them.”

Lana’s jaw relaxed, and she waited for Carol to go on.

“My guess is that dream you’ve been carrying around the last couple of weeks got flattened in Oakley’s path of destruction.”

Lana knew Carol was using a weather analogy to soften the blow, but it had the opposite effect. The image of Oakley laying waste to her dreams was too vivid to find funny.

“Sorry, bad attempt at weather humor.” Carol leaned forward. “I’ve seen you two go rounds before, but this seems different.”

Tears welled in Lana’s eyes.Damn it.She’d sworn she wasn’t going to cry. “It feels different. I guess I’m finally tired of waiting for Oakley to settle down,” Lana said in a voice barely over a whisper. “I’m not sure if it’s going to work out.”

Carol’s eyes widened. “Holy hell. You mean it, don’t you?”

Lana looked down at her hands, no longer wanting to make eye contact with Carol. “I think I do. I don’t want to be disappointed anymore. I don’t want to wait for her to put me—us—first. There will always be another tornado to chase. I’m all for her having a career, but not at the expense of our relationship.”

“Didn’t she and Asher bring in Todd so they could get a little time off?”