“I think you’ve got me and Cassie mixed up with you and Bernice.” She shrugged. “It’s not trouble as much as a lack of contact. She’s been busy pulling double shifts every day, and when she’s not working, I’m sleeping, so I haven’t seen much of her. A couple of quick visits before she starts her shift, but that’s about it.”
“Mm. She did look exhausted when she dropped CeDora at the hotel.”
“Huh?” Taryn should’ve been happy that her best friend and her…and Cassie had hit it off well enough to see each other separately from her, yet she couldn’t deny the illogical sting of missing out. Why could Cassie find time to see Andi but not her? “What’s CeDora?”
“Not what—who. CeDora, née Buster, our adopted baby.” Andi grinned and pulled out her phone to show Taryn a picture of her and Bernice with a giant boxer dog. “Cassie didn’t go into much detail; she just said the dog needed a new home, and that you’d mentioned we both loved dogs. Isn’t he gorgeous?”
Taryn nodded and smiled, immediately wanting to know the full story behind Buster’s release. Cassie visiting her mom was never a pleasant experience, but how had she ended up with the dog? “I’m surprised she could fit him in her car.”
“She had to put the top down to make room, and he left quite the slobbery mess on her upholstery.” Andi tilted her head. “Seems like there’s more to the story. Do you know something?”
Taryn shook her head. “Nope. She doesn’t have a great relationship with her mom, and I know that the dog wasn’t being properly taken care of, so it’s great that you’ve got him… I love that you’ve renamed him aftertheCeDora. That’s really cool.”
“I know I’m misgendering the dog, but I think I can get away with it. I’m sure if he could talk, he’d confirm that being named after the most daring girl on earth would be okay.”
Taryn chuckled then clutched her arms around her ribs. “Don’t. It hurts to laugh.”
“I’m sure,” Andi said. “On that note, Sedge has left.”
She frowned. “Why?” It had been Sedge whose helmet had made intimate acquaintance with Taryn’s ribs when she misjudged the globe timing.
“She emailed me from the road saying that she was sorry, but she couldn’t stick around. Too guilt-ridden to face everyone, especially you since you were the one most damaged by her ‘inattentiveness.’ I tried to call her cell, but the number’s out of service.”
Taryn pressed her head back into the pillow. Sedge had a lot of potential, but if she was already gone, there was nothing Taryn could do about it. “She shouldn’t have left. Accidents happen. We know that in this business.”
“And what about peoplenotin this business?” Andi looked at her pointedly.
“What do you mean?”
“Cassie.”
Taryn pushed herself back up into a sitting position. “What about Cassie? She’s an ER doctor; she knows better than most how easily accidents can happen.”
Andi’s mouth twitched. “I don’t think that makes it any easier when they happen to the person you’re sleeping with… The person you’re in love with.”
“What are you talking about? Cassie’s not in love with me. We’re just having fun, that’s all. She’s the one who wanted casual,” she grinned when she recalled exactly what Cassie had said, “and she said she only wanted me for my body.”
“Laugh it up,” Andi said. “You and I were oblivious at our celebration, but Bernice said that Cassie’s reaction to your revelation about our business development was less than happy.”
Taryn shook her head. “Bernice’s imagining it. Just because you’re both loved up doesn’t mean that everyone else is. Cassie said it was great news.”
Andi huffed. “What someone says out loud and what they’re feeling inside don’t always match, Tar. Bernice is sure Cassie is in love with you, and she’s had more experience of that emotion than you and me combined.”
Taryn thought back to first seeing Cassie after the accident. Had she been crying? And if she had, were her tears for Taryn and the possibility that she might’ve been seriously hurt or worse?
“You need to talk to her, Tar. But before you do, you need to really think about how you feel. Do you love her?”
Taryn shrugged. It felt like the kind of fun she could have forever, but what would that even mean for their future? “I don’t know. How didyouknow—with Bernice?”
Andi leaned back in her chair and put her boots on the edge of Taryn’s bed. “You’re asking me to talk about my feelings?”
“If I have to, then you definitely have to.” Taryn smiled, relieved for a tiny break from the seriousness of their conversation.
“Fine.” Andi’s eyes glazed over, and a wistful expression overtook her face. “I guess…I guess everything just feels so right.” She frowned and rubbed at her forehead as if that might make the genie of love emerge from her ears and explain everything so that she didn’t have to. “I’m not saying everything is perfect. Boy, when we argue, the roof of that hotel blows off.” She smiled, clearly remembering one such incident. “But the makeup sex is amazing, and even the conflict feelsright. Which is a stupid thing to say. Love has made me a soppy mess.” She shook her head. “I know what life was before her, and I know what life is now. Basically, I can’t even imagine going back to what it was before, and hell, I don’t want to.” She fell silent for a moment. “That’s all I’ve got, Tar. You know Gwen is the one to talk to about this kind of thing.”
“Gwen is all about soulmates and destiny,” Taryn said. “I don’t know if I can get onboard with that.” She glanced out the window at the view of the desert. In some respects, that’s what her life had been. Could it be that Cassie was her oasis? “We’re in such different places, geographically and metaphorically. I can’t stay here. I can’t stay in any one place. And Cassie is obviously settled. Her life and career are in Vegas.” She looked back at Andi. “And remember her reaction when I broached the idea of her coming up to your ranch when I’m recruiting for the expansion? She blew me off.” Taryn shook her head. “So it doesn’t matter how I feel. I think Bernice’s wrong.”
Andi tilted her head. “Don’t you owe it to yourself to find out for sure?”
