Tootsie shook her head. “It’s not a request. It’s an order.”

“She made me read after Gerald left. I thought she was crazy.” Diana smiled. “But after I’d read five books in a week, I figured out that she was one smart cookie. When I was reading, I didn’t think about him at all.”

“How come no one ever recommended that one to me?” Joanie asked.

Carmen read the first paragraph and smiled. “You can read it when I finish.”

Carmen was a slow reader, so it would be Christmas before she finished the book. Joanie settled back in her seat and continued reading the book she’d pulled up on her Kindle.

At noon, Luke steered the motor home into the parking lot of a barbecue joint. Joanie hated to put her Kindle aside long enough for lunch, but she was hungry. The aroma of barbecue blended with all kinds of other delicious flavors floated across the parking lot as they got out of the motor home.

“It’s my day to cook, so lunch is on me,” she said.

Tootsie waggled a finger under her nose. “This is my trip, and you’re doing me a favor by keeping me company on it, so I pay for gas and food. If you want a souvenir or a bag of candy when we make our stops, then that’s on you. But don’t argue with me about food or fuel.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Luke said. “But it doesn’t rest easy on me to let a lady pay for things.”

“Then we’ll compromise,” Tootsie said. “Here’s my credit card. You keep it, fuel up the motor home when it’s needed, and pay the café and grocery store bills with it. And if I catch you switching cards to use one of yours, I will fire your ass and send you home. I can drive this rig if I need to. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled.

Joanie bit her lip to keep from giggling. A big handsome man like Luke backing down from tiny Tootsie was truly something funny, but the expression on Tootsie’s face said that she was as serious as a heart attack.

“Now that we got that settled, let’s go get some dinner, or lunch, if y’all want to call it that. I didn’t eat breakfast because I knew this was where we were stopping.” Tootsie led the way across the parking lot.

“Bossy, ain’t she?” Luke chuckled.

Tootsie whipped around with a wide grin on her face. “Yes, I am, and don’t none of y’all forget it.”

Joanie’s phone rang as they were entering the restaurant, so she stepped back to take the call.

“Hello, darlin’. Is breakfast ready?”

“It’s noon here in Texas, Brett.” Her hands shook as she sat down on a bench right outside the door. Just hearing his voice always made her happy, but there was that feeling, just for a second, that he would be calling with bad news.

“Where are you? I hear traffic.”

“You’re never going to believe where I am right now.” She told him the same thing that Carmen had relayed to Eli earlier. “I figured Eli would’ve filled you in.”

“He did, but we decided Carmen was just shootin’ him a line of shit because she’s mad at him over this divorce,” Brett said. “I can’t believe you’re making this kind of move without discussing it with me.”

“There is a me outside of us, and I’ve had to rely on me a lot more than us our whole marriage, so it never occurred to me to ask your permission.” She was on the defensive and knew it, but there didn’t seem to be a damned thing she could do about it.

“Hey, don’t go getting radical on me,” Brett said. “I called to tell you I love you, not fight with you.”

“Okay, then, truce,” she said. “I love you, too.”

“How’s Carmen holdin’ up?” Brett asked.

“Not good, but then she got slammed with this thing. I imagine she feels a lot like she got a shotgun blast in the gut. Why’d Eli do this? Is it another woman?”

“I’m not sayin’ anything, but he’s determined, so Carmen might as well sign the papers and get it over with.” Brett’s brevity spoke volumes.

“Is it?” she pressured.

“I’ve got to go now. I’ll be glad when I can talk to Zoe again. I miss her so much,” he said.

Changing the subject to avoid the inevitable—that’s what Brett always did. And she always, always found out the truth eventually.

“Well, darlin’, if it is another woman, this is where I draw the line,” Joanie said. “I stood by when Gerald divorced Diana and even went to some family events when he brought his new woman. I felt guilty every time, but I won’t do this again, Brett. I’m not taking another woman into our home and treating her like a friend.”

“Eli and Gerald have been my teammates for almost twenty years,” Brett said. “I didn’t turn my back on Gerald, and I won’t on Eli.”

“Well, I’m damn sure not turning my back on Carmen,” Joanie said.

“I don’t expect you to,” Brett groaned.

“Stay safe and come home to me,” she whispered.

It was another woman. There was no doubt in her mind.

Joanie shoved the phone into her purse, plastered a smile on her face, and went into the café. She spotted her group at a table near the back, pointed toward the restroom sign, and headed that way. She sat on the toilet and leaned her face against the cool metal wall of the stall. Why did life have to be so damned complicated, and what had driven Eli into another woman’s arms?

“You okay in there?” Carmen’s voice sounded concerned. “Is everything all right with the team?”

“Everything is fine. He was calling to tell me that he loves me,” Joanie said.

Idiot! She doesn’t need to hear that. Eli calls to tell her that he’s determined to get a divorce, and you say something like that, the pesky voice in Joanie’s head fussed at her.

“Okay, then,” Carmen said. “I just came in to check on you and wash my hands. Got lemon juice on them when I squeezed it into my sweet tea. Hey, do you think Luke is kind of cute?”

“You already looking for a rebound feller?” Joanie asked.

“Nope, but Diana might be,” Carmen said.

“No way.” Joanie pushed out of the stall and went straight for the sink. “After Gerald, she swore off men.”