been doing community service at the firehouse.” She shouldn’t even say that much. But she trusted her friends. “Anything else in the rumor mill? Are we up to speed now?”
Jessica rested her elbow on the bar and propped her head on her hand. “Here’s one. Is it true you might be going back to LA?”
“What?” This time she was genuinely blown away. She’d just barely gotten the offer a few days ago. “People know about that? How is that possible?”
Jessica laughed and put a comforting hand on her arm. “Don’t worry, no one else knows about that one. I was setting up a flower delivery schedule with Emma and she seemed very upset. I asked her what was wrong and got an earful.”
“Whew.” Kate let out a breath of relief. “I was starting to wonder if there was a surveillance camera in my house. It’s true, my old law firm invited me to come back.”
She still savored every second of that phone call, which she’d memorized word for word. “We were highly impressed with your testimony in the Kramer case and have come to see that you behaved ethically under the circumstances. We’d like you to consider coming back to work for us. Take a few days to decide.”
After she’d finished dancing across her Kama Sutra carpet hooting with triumph, the other side of the equation set in.
Darius. She wasn’t ready to leave Darius.
“I haven’t decided yet,” she told her friends.
Toni cocked her head and folded her arms across her chest. “I know you, Kate. You’re trying to be logical about it. What are the pros and cons?”
“The pros are that I’d get my old life back. I’d have to find a new place to live and buy a new car, but at least I’d be practicing law again. The cons are…” She hesitated. The biggest one—besides leaving Darius—was that she still wasn’t sure LA was safe for her. But her friends didn’t know about that part. “I’d miss the peony harvest, and I promised Emma I would help. But with S.G. and Dylan and a few other helpers, she can manage without me.”
“She’d miss you,” said Jessica softly.
Her heart twisted with regret. “She would. And I’d miss her. I’d miss you guys too. But I can always come visit, so that doesn’t seem like a big deal.” She made a weighing gesture with her two hands, with one hand coming way up, the other all the way under the bar. “High-paying legal job versus part-time peony farmer. Honestly, logically, there’s not much to debate here.”
“No no.” Jessica waved both her hands, as if wiping away those words. “This isn’t a situation for logic. It’s about gut instinct. What is your heart telling you? Not your brain.”
“My heart is too busy pumping blood through my body to have an opinion,” Kate said dryly.
“Do you want me to consult my pendulum for you?” Jessica offered. “I get very reliable guidance from it.”
Toni snorted and gave an epic eye roll. “Don’t get her started on her pendulum, Kate. Just let me ask you this. Do you want to be a peony farmer for the rest of your life?”
“No, but—”
“That’s not the right question.” Jessica interrupted with a frown for Toni. “You know that saying, ‘Even if I could go back, I wouldn’t belong there anymore’? Everything you said was about ‘getting your old life back.’ But is that really what you want? If you ask me, you’re not the same Kate Robinson anymore.”
“It’s only been a couple of months.”
“Time is irrelevant. It’s more about the soul growth you’ve gone through. ”
Toni wagged a finger at Jessica. “How many times do I have to tell you the Olde Salt is a no-soul-growth zone? I’ll pour tequila on that shit.”
“Someday, Toni Tequila, you’re going to come begging to consult my pendulum,” said Jessica, tossing her head so her long auburn hair caught the dim light. “That will be one of the happiest days of my life.”
Kate burst out laughing. “I love you guys, but this is a decision I have to make by myself.”
“Of course you do,” Jessica said soothingly. “We’re just here for support.”
“And shots,” added Toni, picking up the bottle.
“Oh, I’m done.” Kate covered her glass with her hand. “Any more and I’ll be singing sea shanties to a spider, the way Old Crow used to.”
They launched into stories from their summer boardwalk days, but in the back of her mind, Kate was still sorting through pros and cons and gut instincts.
After