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"When you're ready, we probably need to talk about how to tackle the lists we made today," I said, setting Chance’s coffee in front of him.
He pulled me into his lap and set my mug of tea on the desk. "I bet you're glad that we're finally making some progress on all of this."
"We've still got a lot to do. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine." He pulled up his shirt so I could see how the scratches from the chupacabra were healing.
I ran my hand gently over the scratches. "They look a lot better."
"Yeah, but I'd be happy for you to continue your investigation a little later."
I pulled his shirt back down.
"Why don't you go talk to Rick about where he is on contractors? We really need to get all of this moving forward and the contractor is going to be key."
"Are you trying to get rid of me for a while?"
"Yes, but only because I need to rest for a few hours. I guess the healing is taking more out of me than I expected. Why don't you go visit Laurie, then meet with Rick, and bring back dinner from Hairy's?"
"Are you sure you're OK?"
"I'm fine. Just a little tired."
I never remember Chance admitting he was tired. It worried me a little. I laid the back of my hand on his forehead. "You feel a little warm."
"I'm fine. I promise. I just need to take care of a few emails, then I'm going to get some rest."
I left him in the office and made some calls and notes before heading out.
XXX
The bell over the door jingled when I walked into the consignment store Laurie's family owns. She's been running it since her father took ill before I moved to Wilkins' Gap. "Hi, stranger."
"Em, hi. What are you doing here?"
"I just stopped by to visit. I'm headed to Hairy's to take care of some cafe business. How are you doing?"
"I'm OK. How was the hunt?"
"It was good."
"Tom said Chance got hurt. Did you push him off another cliff?"
Tom was Laurie's brother and Chance's best friend. I dated him before I got involved with Chance. He was one of the members of my guyumvirate. "Chance did get injured, but it's not serious. And no, I did not push him off a cliff or shoot him."
"I'm glad to hear that," she laughed.
"Have you decided what to do about the ideas we talked about on the way home from..." Fudge, I hated to bring up her boyfriend's funeral, but I couldn't really avoid it now.
"From Jim's funeral," she finished for me. "It's OK, Em. I'm fine." On the drive home from the funeral, we tried to focus on the future rather than dredging up old memories. Laurie didn't plan to make a career out of running the consignment shop, but she wasn't sure what she wanted to do for a job. We brainstormed ideas, but I wasn't sure we'd come up with anything she would actually pursue.
"I've been doing some research on the event planning thing. It's got possibilities. I like the idea, but I'm still concerned that I wouldn't have enough business to make it financially viable."
"I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Chance is a whiz at business plans and budget projections. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you but a plan together. Maybe once you see it on paper, you can figure out a way to make it work."
"I appreciate that, but I know you guys are overwhelmed with your own projects at the moment."
"We're making progress. I'll talk to Chance. You can come over for dinner some night, and we can talk through the specifics."
I visited a little longer with Laurie, and then headed for Hairy's. I was worried about Chance, but he promised to rest and his scratches looked like they were healing well.
I had just pulled into the Hairy’s parking lot when my phone rang. The screen said it was Gracie Layne.
"Hi, Gracie Layne. How's school?"
"Almost over. How are things in Wilkins' Gap?"
"We're crazy busy, but I think we're starting to make progress on the museum plans."
"That's good."
She was in her last semester of classes for her masters degree. Unfortunately, the terrorists behind the cryptid experiments at the BITES lab had used a fake job opportunity to kidnap my sister in a bid to get me to reveal the location of a bigfoot family unit that escaped from the lab. We're still trying to piece together information about why that family group was so important to the terrorists.
"Any new job offers?" I asked. It was kind of a sore subject.
"I'm sending out resumes and applying on line, but I've only had one interesting opportunity so far."
"Great. Tell me about it. What's the company? Where's the job?"
She laughed. "I think I'll handle this one on my own," she said.
"You know what happened last time you did that."
"I know, but I think I'm safe this time. I'll let you know if I decide to pursue it." The last time she flew to an interview, I ended up getting shot in the process of rescuing her from her kidnappers.
"I just wanted to check in," she said. "I have to go. I have a date."
"Really. Who's the lucky guy."
"Not ready to get into that yet. It's just a date," she said.
"What number date is it?"
"What? Are we in high school? I haven't been counting."
"Of course you have, and it's been more than one. So how many?"
"Goodbye, Em."