“I’m confused,” Rance said. “Some dude who’s going on Sara’s tour wants you to open a third bookshop?”
“That’s what he said in the voicemail. He’s a big fan of Mom’s books and he thinks L’Amour and More would do well in Mustang Valley”
“Hm. It’s close as the crow flies but if you’re not a crow….”
Lucky nodded. “You gotta go up and around Missoula. Unless you take the shortcut through the mountains.”
“The widow maker.” Rance shuddered. “I drove it once. Got the gray hairs to prove it. As Kieran would say, what the feck?”
“Accordin’ to Sara, they’re gonna fix that road soon,” Kieran said. “That could put Mustang Valley on the map. Could be a grand opportunity for L’Amour and More.”
“Or they don’t fix the road and Lucky’s left holding the bag.”
Lucky punched him lightly on the arm. “Where’s your spirit of adventure? Where’s the can-do Rance we all know and love?”
“Sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Lucky’s grin faded and his jaw tightened. “We’ve got your back, bro. We’re all—hey, Lani, how’s it going?”
Rance turned in surprise. How had he missed her approach? Usually his Lani radar kicked in.
She gave him a quick glance before focusing on Lucky. “I’ve had a wonderful time. Great party. Sorry to barge in, but I was just talking with Desiree and Andy about the book and there’s a scene we all agree needs tweaking, so?—”
“Don’t say what it is.” Lucky took a step back, palms up. “I want to read it all before I hear a word about it.”
“Yeah, Lani, don’t get specific.” Hot damn. Looked like she was setting the stage.
“I won’t. I came over to give you a heads up before I forgot. In fact, I wrote down the page numbers.” She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket. “But as I was walking over here, suddenly the whole scene played in my head like a movie clip.”
And there it was. The excuse and his cue. He didn’t have to fake his excitement. “Yeah? And you think it works?”
“I think so.”
“Sure wish I had my laptop handy. I could make notes on my phone but it would be better if I had the manuscript in front of me.”
“D’ya want the copy you gave Sara and me t’make notes on? I’d hafta ask her but I think she’d say sure.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not mark up your copy. I think better with my fingers on the keys.” He didn’t look at Lani. One misstep and the whole shebang would crash and burn.
“I’m the same,” she said. “I didn’t think this through. I mean, you’re in the middle of a celebration, and here I’m?—”
“Hey, I’m glad you did and I don’t want you to lose that image you have in your head.” He doubted it was a scene from his book. “It’s almost Granny’s bedtime anyway. Would you be willing to ride over to the cabin with us?”
“I could do that.”
Her super casual tone was so perfect he almost lost it. “Excellent. That way we can work from the master file. I promise I won’t keep you long.” He clenched his jaw to keep from grinning.
“Sounds good. I’m ready to pack it in, too.” She smothered a yawn.
Or what looked like a yawn. More likely a swallowed laugh. Her high school drama training had served her well. “Then I’ll go find Granny and we’ll be off.”
Just his luck Granny was playing poker with Buck, Marybeth and Lani’s folks. He quickly explained the situation and found out Lani’s folks were getting ready to leave, too.
“I don’t know how much time we’ll need to spend on the manuscript.” He busied himself helping Granny out of her chair so he didn’t have to look Harry and Vanessa in the eye while he spun the tall tale. “But it shouldn’t take long.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Harry waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not like we’ll wait up for her.”
Just what he wanted to hear. “Then we’ll see you all later.”
