Riley let out another sigh. “Quinn. You’re family. It’s not a bother to see you and know what’s going on with your life, good or bad. But, considering that I broke up with your brother for a few weeks because I didn’t want to let him know what was going on with my life, I guess I’ll give you a pass this time.”
“Are you doing okay? Multiple Sclerosis. That’s got to be a big adjustment.”
“It was. But I’m dealing much better now that I’ve gotten everything out in the open, and nobody is trying to kill us anymore. Your brother is, as always, both a huge godsend and a giant pain in the ass.”
Quinn chuckled. “That sounds about right for you two.”
Riley looked around the living room. She was suitably less impressed than Jess had been with the wallpaper. “What are you doing here, Quinn?”
“Here in this house or here in Wyoming?”
“Both.” She walked from the living room into the kitchen. “Good Lord, I’ve never seen this much wallpaper in one house.”
“Yeah. It’s a lot. But I got this place at a good rate.”
“I would hope so.”
“Do you want a cup of coffee or anything?”
It was after eight p.m. on a Friday night, but Quinn wasn’t about to turn Riley away.
“No, I have something else in mind.” She turned away from the wallpaper. “But first, I heard about your job at Harvard.”
“Did Kendrick tell you?”
“No, actually, we heard it from someone else.”
That was even worse. “Baby?” She tried to keep her voice neutral. Maybe he’d discovered the details of everything that had happened back East and that’s why he’d decided he was out-of-pocket.
Riley crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing. “Baby Bollinger found out you’d lost your job at Harvard before Riley and I did?”
Quinn winced. “I was with him when Kendrick brought it up. Kendrick was one of my students a few years ago, and he recognized me, so we were chatting.”
Riley raised an eyebrow. “You were chatting with Kendrick while you were on a date with Baby?”
Quinn wished she could hide. Hearing the words come out of Riley’s mouth made the fact that she’d gone out with him seem all the more ridiculous.
“Yeah.” She waited for the mockery. The cougar jokes. The announcement that she’d be another notch in Baby’s bedpost.
But to her surprise Riley merely nodded. “Yeah, I can see it. Baby is a good guy. How did you meet him?”
That was it? The lack of drama caught Quinn a little off guard. “Um, I met him at the Eagle’s Nest. I’m waiting tables there for the lunch shift.”
Riley nodded, and when she didn’t turn around shocked, Quinn realized this was information she already knew.
“Waiting tables,” she murmured. “What’s going on, Quinn? Are you in trouble? Can we help you? You know we will.”
Was she in trouble? She wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Her life was different, so drastically different, than it had been six months ago.
Almost unrecognizable to what it had been three years ago.
Three years ago, she’d thought she had everything figured out. Knew exactly what path she would take to get to where she wanted to go. The divorce had changed the path, but not the destination. She’d still had her career, plans to publish, obtain tenure. She’d just do it alone.
And then her reputation had been ruined, the nest egg she’d built stolen, and her career ripped from her.
Was she in trouble?
No, not in the way Riley was asking. She didn’t have a mob boss or something after her.
Drowning, on the other hand...well, maybe.
“I’m okay. I’ll be okay.” Eventually.
Riley walked over and rubbed Quinn’s arm. “It’s alright to not know what the future holds and to be a little afraid of that. Believe me, I know.”
That was true. Riley’s life had changed so much with her MS diagnosis. Quinn’s problems paled in comparison.
Riley shook her head. “And before you think it, this is not the misery Olympics. My problems are not any bigger or more important than yours. But we all have to play the hand we’re dealt. If you are making a new start, then hell, Oak Creek is as good a place as any. But if you’re in trouble, in any way, then Riley and I both want to do whatever we can to help. We’ve already talked about it.”
“I’m not on the run or anything like that. I got fired, accused of things I didn’t do,