“This is my first.”
“Mine, too.” Cole came up on her other side. “I’m gonna start with Rance. Who’s with me?”
“Me.” Rio moved up, too, falling into step with Luis. “Hey, look at us, striding along with purpose, like we’re heading for the OK Corral.”
That made her laugh. “I’ll be Wyatt. He was the cutest.”
“You’re thinking of Kevin Costner, sis.”
“No, I looked up his actual picture and he was hot.”
“If you say so. I see Morgan as more your type. Then are we all heading for Rance’s line?”
“I’m fine with that.” Luis looked over at her. “You in?”
She shook her head. “I’m starting with Oksana.”
“Oh, then maybe I’ll?—”
“You don’t need to come with me. Her line’s shorter so I won’t be long. I’ll catch up with you guys.”
“What if I want to come with you? I’ll grab one of her books from the kitchen. Wouldn’t hurt for me to learn something about what’s it’s like to be a miserable tween girl.”
Cole chuckled. “You’re showing your hand, Bridger.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Luis decided to play along with Cole’s comment. “Might as well show my cards. She’s already seen ’em.”
“We all have,” Rio said. “We’re just waiting for Jordan to play hers.”
“Oh, good grief.” Jordan rolled her eyes. “I don’t have any cards. Enough with the poker metaphors.”
“Aw, c’mon.” Cole put his arm around her and gave her a sideways hug. “The moment was begging for a poker metaphor. Especially since you wanna be Wyatt, who was a card shark. And by the way, Luis, don’t ever play poker with this woman. She’ll fudging clean you out.”
“I believe you.”
“Hey, Cole.” Rio glanced down their four-person line. “Is it a coincidence that you say fudging a lot and Jordan’s horse is named Fudge?”
“No, it is not. I’ll tell you the story while we’re in line to get Rance’s autograph.”
“Deal.”
The conversation ended when they switched to walking single-file up the steps past lines for Desiree and Rance. Luis led the way to the kitchen.
The boxes in the pantry were already open and partly depleted. He quickly passed out books and the foursome split up.
The tables for Desiree and Rance were set up in the large room to the left of the front doors. Oksana was in the smaller one on the right.
After they got in the back of the line, Jordan glanced around. “This room’s all non-fiction?”
“Right. Fiction is in the larger room across the hall. This used to be my great-grandmother’s parlor.”
“It still has that feel, with the antique chairs and lamps. It’s perfect for Oksana’s signing. More intimate.”
“By Christmas it’ll be even cozier. Angie’s crew will create a coffee shop in the room on the other side of that wall. I think they’re putting in an arched doorway to connect with this room.”
“I can picture this house decorated for Christmas. It’ll be gorgeous.”
