I wanted to defend her, and yet at this instant, all I could think was that she could be three or more states away and I would not know. I couldn’t swoop in and save her because she was wandering around in the dark, probably barefoot, making friends with strangers and sharing questionable items with them that could be smoked or imbibed in other unknown ways.
Potentially criminal items to boot.
“She left me to do needlecrafts and take drugs and now she’s stranded in the desert.”
Twenty-Seven
Ryan was not in the desert, and I would have realized she wouldn’t have had time to reach one in the time allotted via wheeled transport had I not been on the verge of manful terror.
Instead, it took Dex to remind me of that little logistical tidbit before he drove himself home, now sobered up after hours of dry business talk and copious amounts of water.
She was actually not all that far away. Not all that close either. I had to look up Bear Mountain Park on my GPS, and from Kensington Square to there would take about three hours if I did not get lost.
Tomorrow I had that meeting with Mrs. Donnelly first thing. Our many times rescheduled meeting.
But technically, she wasn’t my client anymore. So, Dex could handle her if need be. And I simply couldn’t care when I knew Ryan needed me.
Even if she couldn’t admit it.
Miss Moon: DO NOT COME HERE. WE R ALL SET.
PMS: I’m coming, baby. You don’t have to be strong.
Miss Moon: Be strong? It’s a flat. I’m not afrd of the dark & everyone is perfctly nice.
I was driving so I didn’t reply. A short time later, another text came through.
Miss Moon: U called me baby.
Even in my darkened car, I flushed. I tossed my phone aside and ignored it. It also was not safe to text and drive.
Then she called me.
Reluctantly, I took the call through the in-dash system.
“Yeah?”
“You called me baby.”
“You misread. I typed bubby.”
“Preston, I’m serious. We’re fine. The flat isn’t even an issue anymore thanks to Brock. If you come here, my mom will give you half a dozen of her hook holders that didn’t sell and then what?”
I frowned. “Hook holders?”
“I mean, penis warmers.”
I started to laugh. “Baby, if my penis gets warmed any more, it will be a medical emergency. The humidity is insane. And yes, I did say baby, and you can just deal with it. It may be heat stroke.”
In the background, I heard a feminine voice say loudly, “Oh, penis warmers! Yes!”
Ryan sighed. “I need a vacation from my vacation.”
“You should have thought of that before you completed not even one full week of work. Wages of sin and all that.”
“A week was all I was scheduled for, if you recall. Because April is your actual assistant. I was just a fill-in.”
“I believe actually I filled, but you came through in the clutch admirably. Until you left without permission. Now let me alone so I can traverse these twisty as hell back roads in the dark and come rescue you.”