Chapter 12 #2
Definitely a sign that she was crushing hard, if there ever was one.
So…friends, career, Arrow…everything was going almost too well.
The only drawback, really, was that there’d still been no word from the detective about whether the remains that had been found in his burnt-out car was Nolan’s or not.
His bank accounts hadn’t been touched, nothing in his apartment back in North Carolina had been removed. All evidence was pointing to the fact that he was dead. But Kara was afraid to believe it, even as she desperately wanted to think she was free of the nightmare she’d been living.
She didn’t know why it wouldn’t have been him in that car, but until they had DNA confirmation, she was doing what she could to stay alert.
And most of the time now, she didn’t mind being alone during the day.
She stayed locked in Arrow’s house, feeling safe with the security system and the baseball bat she kept by her side at all times.
As each day passed, and nothing happened, she relaxed just a little bit more.
Which had been amazing for her creativity.
She’d been working on her latest novel, and it was coming along fabulously.
Arrow loved to tease her, trying to look over her shoulder when she wrote in the evenings and still trying to get her pen name out of her.
It wasn’t as if she was ashamed of her novels, but the thought that this man, one she admired a hell of a lot, might read her words and not like them, was tough. It would devastate her.
She was sitting at the table, still wearing a small smile on her face and thinking about how much her life had changed in the last month, feeling as if maybe her luck had changed for the better, when her phone rang. Looking down, she saw it was Penny.
“Hey, girl,” she said as she answered.
“Hi! Heads-up, Laryn and I are about three minutes away.”
“What? Why?”
“We need someone else’s opinion about the reception we’re planning. We have very different ideas about food, decorations, seating charts, things like that, and we need a non-biased third party’s intervention. We voted you in.”
“Um…I’m not sure I’m the best person for this,” Kara admitted.
“Which is why you’re perfect. We just didn’t want to scare you by knocking on the door unexpectedly. We’ll be there soon! See ya!”
Kara stared at her phone for a beat, then chuckled. After saving the spreadsheet she’d been working on, she closed the laptop and headed for the kitchen, getting the “healthy” taco dip that she’d made earlier out of the fridge. She’d intended to serve it tonight when Edge came over to play poker.
When she first heard about it, she’d thought it sounded gross, but then she tried it and now she was addicted.
The best thing was how easy it was to make.
A small tub of cottage cheese, a can of Ro-Tel—which was simply tomatoes and green chilies mixed together—and taco seasoning to taste.
After blending it all together, it was creamy and delicious and perfect with chips or veggies, or even as a dressing on a salad or on tacos or anything, really.
And since cottage cheese was high in protein, she didn’t feel guilty eating a ton of it.
She put the chips and dip on the table, moved her laptop to her bedroom, and got some glasses out of the cabinet. She heard a car in the driveway and looked out the window to see Laryn’s Civic pulling in.
She turned off the alarm and opened the front door. The women walked toward her with their arms full of notebooks, fabric, and who knew what else.
“I hope you’re ready for this,” Laryn said a little grumpily. “Penny is being stubborn.”
“Because while I love you like a sister, I don’t think we need wrenches as table decorations,” Penny retorted.
Kara chuckled and reset the alarm as soon as they were inside. “What do you guys want to drink? I’ve got water, OJ, lemonade, and if you’re feeling frisky, Penny, wine or beer.”
“Wine, definitely,” Penny said. “I’m not driving.”
“I can’t wait until I can have a beer again. Water for me, please,” Laryn said.
“How’re you feeling? The babies are really growing,” Kara said.
“I know. I’m getting fat as a house.”
“Whatever,” Penny said. “For the record, you look amazing. Being pregnant suits you.”
Laryn blushed. “My back hurts, I have to pee all the time, but honestly? I never knew how amazing the whole process of being pregnant could be. I love these little girls so much and they aren’t even here yet.”
Kara loved that for her.
“And Casper…he’s gonna spoil them rotten. You should see all the shit he’s already bought. It looks like a giant-ass bottle of Pepto Bismol erupted all over the babies’ room. I’m desperately trying to counter his over-the-top girly fetish with things like trucks and dinosaurs.”
“And plastic tool sets, of course,” Penny said.
“Of course. That’s a given. My girls are gonna know how to change their own oil and flat tires and check spark plugs, at a minimum.”
“I don’t have a car yet, but you know, I would love to learn that stuff too,” Kara said.
Laryn smiled. “Name the time and day and we’ll have a lesson.”
“That’s a great idea,” Penny said. “We could all learn that. Can Bowie come too?”
“Yes!” Laryn said enthusiastically. “How awesome would it be for her to be able to change a tire without being able to see a damn thing while her date stands by helplessly?”
Everyone chuckled.
“Go ahead and have a seat. Help yourself to the chips and taco dip while I get your drinks.”
“Taco dip? I’m in!” Laryn said. “Man, I swear I’m always hungry these days. I don’t have any specific cravings though, I just crave food. Any food. All food.”
Kara smiled, loving how easy the conversation was, how at home she felt with these women.
She brought their drinks to the table and put them down before sitting.
“Oh my God, I don’t know what’s in this dip but it’s like crack. I swear I’m gonna weigh a million pounds by the time these babies are born,” Laryn said, as she shoved another tortilla chip covered in dip into her mouth.
“I doubt that, but rest assured, this dip is the good-for-you kind. At least, better than a lot of things,” Kara reassured her.
“Really? What’s it made of?”
Kara was reluctant to tell them. Some people hated cottage cheese and had a visceral reaction to anything made with it. And since Laryn was enjoying it so much, she didn’t want to ruin the experience for her.
“Trade secret,” she said breezily.
“Seriously? You aren’t going to tell me so I can have Casper make it for me at home?”
“Nope,” Kara said with a grin. “You’ll have to come see me to get it.”
“Fine. I’ll be here every afternoon after work then,” Laryn grumbled.
Kara and Penny shared an amused look.
“Right, so…wedding reception. We’re having issues coming to an agreement on certain details,” Penny said. “Neither of us wants anything super-swanky. But we also don’t want to throw a bunch of pizza boxes on folding tables in someone’s yard either.”
“You’re having it at Anchor Point, right?” Kara asked.
“Yeah. We paid to have the place to ourselves. The guys are inviting people from work, and there will be all of us girls and a few of our friends, but it’ll mostly be Army and Navy guys,” Laryn said.
“Mandy has one or two teachers from her school who she wants to invite, and Zita said there’s one medic she works with who she wouldn’t mind including, but since the rest of us work from home, we don’t exactly have a lot of girlfriends. But a bunch of guys is fine with me!” Penny said with a grin.
“Oh yeah, being around a bunch of men in uniform is such a hardship,” Kara joked.
“Exactly,” Penny agreed. “Anyway, so we want it to be a fun time, but not cheap-looking. We know we need to have chicken fingers or my daughter will revolt, but we’re not sure what else to serve. And of course, we’re struggling with the decorations.”
“I’m guessing you need something hearty to eat. I mean, if most of the people are going to be guys, they won’t want finger food or anything fancy,” Kara suggested.
“Yes,” Laryn agreed.
“Is budget an issue?” Kara asked.
“Not really. Tate and Pyro have told us both that whatever we want, we should get,” Laryn said.
“Are you getting a caterer, or are the cooks from Anchor Point making the food?”
“Anchor Point.”
“Okay. I’m thinking since so many of the guests will be familiar with the bar already, why don’t you get with the owner and see if you can make a limited menu for the night?
Like, put together a few special appetizers, main dishes, and desserts, and let everyone pick what they want?
You could also do a buffet, but that’s pretty limiting,” Kara said.
Laryn’s eyes lit up. “Why didn’t we think of that?
We could let them pick one of four things from each section of the menu.
That way, it won’t be too overwhelming for the kitchen staff.
And it’ll be just like ordering dinner there on any other night.
You know…people can come and go as their schedules allow.
We all know the military isn’t the best at being able to plan things, so if someone’s late they can still get food, and it’ll be hot and not have been sitting on warming trays for who knows how long. ”
“And since neither of us really want presents, we could say that in lieu of gifts, guests should tip the waitresses and cooks instead,” Penny suggested.
“As far as seating…why have a seating chart at all? You want it to be kind of low-key, right? Anchor Point’s not that big anyway. We can reserve a table or two for you guys, of course, but maybe everyone else can sit where they like?” Kara suggested tentatively.
“Why were we making this so hard?” Laryn asked Penny.
She laughed. “We? If I remember correctly, you were the one having a meltdown because we couldn’t agree if we should have pork or chicken.”
“All right, I might’ve been a little stressed-out that day. But I’m pregnant, I have an excuse,” Laryn said with a laugh.
“And you’re going to milk that excuse for as long as you can, aren’t you?” Penny asked.