“That’s what I want to hear.”
“Actually, Xan, would you mind grabbing the cash box from my car?” I tossed them my keys. “Just in case anybody wants to buy some swag.”
“Sure thing.”
I laid out the last of the straws and napkins and stepped back to admire the spread.
“It looks great, Nessie,” Kaylani said, resting a land on my shoulder. “Seriously, it’s been so fun doing the festival with you again. I couldn’t have asked for a better homecoming.”
“Good enough to entice you back next year, I hope.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “What if I told you that we might stick around town a little bit longer?”
That was news to me. Kaylani had never been known to stick around one place for longer than a candle’s burn time.
“How much longer?”
“Oh, I’d say at least nine months, give or take.”
My hand shot up to cover my mouth. “Are you serious?!” I screamed, nearly choking on my words.
She nodded, the tears already welling in her eyes. No wonder she had been sick so often the last couple of weeks and sipping on orange soda like she was thirteen again. Children had never been on my bucket list, but Kaylani had wanted to be a mom since before we’d known where babies came from. While some of us doodled and crafted cootie catchers, Kaylani had put together her list of future baby names.
In alphabetical order.
“I’m so happy for you, Kay,” I said when she finally backed away from my hug. “And Ryan. Is he excited?”
Her shoulders lifted nearly to her ears. “I haven’t told him yet.”
“Really?”
“I’m planning to after the race today. Actually, I was wondering if you might be able to help?”
I held my hand up, shielding the sun from my eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
It only took a few minutes for her to fill me in on her plan. Kaylani had just finished zipping up her hoodie to conceal the surprise when the first batch of runners came barreling down First Street.
With Dani leading the pack.
Such a badass. GG would have liked her.
She breezed down the street a good thirty yards ahead of the next runner. Her chunky green headphones and goth-chic ensemble made her look like she was running from Beetlejuice rather than toward the finish line.
She crashed through the pink ribbon and made a beeline toward the booze.
“Damn, Dani.” I handed her the flight of drinks. “You killed that.”
“I know.”
She drained the first glass in one gulp.
Sure enough, Jared was amongst the next batch of finishers to run up on my table.
“How did you beat me?” he demanded between breaths. “I had you at mile two.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t stopped to pet every dog you passed.”
I flat-out grinned. In our brief time together, I had quickly come to realize that Jared loved all furry creatures—me included. Earlier this morning, after he’d fucked me with my vibrator until I’d made a mess of his sheets, I’d caught him scolding the bunnies in his yard for nibbling on his lettuce. Scolding was too harsh; gentle parenting was more accurate.
