“Jennifer, Dylan’s sister. The 1950s cook,” Traci said. “Dylan said she’s real fond of casseroles. I haven’t had a decent casserole in forever. Doesn’t that sound so good? Something warm and hot with melted cheese on top and maybe crushed crackers or potato chips on top?”
Kimber looked horrified. “I’ve got a magazine shoot in two weeks. I can’t go around eating casseroles with potato chips.”
“That’s too bad. You’ll be missing out.”
“I would be all about it, you know . . . if, after my shoot, we had a casserole like that in our future,” Kimber replied as she stared into the empty freezer. “Which, we do not.”
Ignoring the casserole talk, Shannon smiled at Kimber. “You didn’t tell me about your new job. Congratulations! Is that the spread you were hoping to get?”
Kimber smiled. “Yep. I couldn’t believe it when my agent called this morning. It’s for a bathing suit and sportswear magazine. Five days in Cozumel wearing string bikinis and skimpy clothes.”
“Better you than me,” Shannon said, imagining how much she’d hate to be barely dressed in front of a bunch of people analyzing how she looked. It was hard enough dancing in front of judges. “Kimber, do you ever get tired of everyone judging you?”
“Sometimes, but then I remind myself that they’re paying me a small fortune. That usually helps.”
Traci grinned. “Do you need someone to carry your luggage?”
“Sorry, I’m not bringing much more than a backpack,” Kimber said.
Shannon was fascinated. “Really? That’s all you’ll need? What about all your beauty products?” She and Traci had teased Kimber more than once about her forty-minute beauty routines—and the array of lotions and potions that took up half the bathroom counter.
“They’ll have makeup and hair people and all the clothing. All I have to do is show up on time and look decent.”
“But what about clothes for when you go out at night? I heard there are some great clubs in Cozumel.”
“I’m not going to be clubbing.” Kimber looked incredulous. “Honey, all I’ll be doing is sleeping at night.”
“Really?” Traci looked pretty disappointed. “I thought models partied all the time.”
“Not this one. Plus, I can’t risk getting bloated by beer. Those bikinis are tiny.” She winked at Shannon. “Things do get awkward if I look like I’ve gained weight.”
Shannon was starting to get a whole new appreciation for the pressures of Kimber’s job. “I guess even a pound would show up when you’re wearing practically nothing.”
“Unfortunately, yes. That’s why I’ll be drinking bottled water in Mexico . . . and not eating any casseroles until I get back to Ohio.”
Now that they were talking about food again, Shannon said, “Speaking of casseroles, I think I just made a really stupid mistake.”
“What? Why?” Kimber asked.
“When I walked out to give Dylan a cup of coffee, I asked him in, but he said ‘Jen’ probably had a meal for him. I didn’t put two and two together and got jealous.”
Kimber smiled. “Here you thought he had a girlfriend and it’s just a sister.”
“Yes, which is embarrassing. We had a whole meal with Jennifer.”
Traci opened the refrigerator again and pulled out a Dr. Pepper, which seemed to be her favorite thing in the world. “Backtrack a sec, Shannon. When did you see Dylan?”
“When he was directing traffic in front of our house.”
“He looked good, too.” Kimber snickered. “Just a little chilled.”
“He was out there a long time.”
“So you just decided to bring him a cup of coffee?” Traci looked incredulous.
“Well, yes.”
“She met him on the median,” Kimber supplied. “It was super cute.”
“You shouldn’t have gone out there. Vehicles were sliding everywhere. You could’ve gotten hurt.”
“Dylan said the same thing.”
“Because he was right. Some of those drivers are idiots.”
“I was careful. And for the record, I can’t say that I was real excited about watching Dylan stand in the middle of the intersection while cars and trucks were sliding around.”
“We’re trained, you know. You are not.”
“Traci, I’m fine. I was only out there for a few minutes and then I got sent back inside.”
“Good.”
“Oh, please. Don’t act like a grown woman can’t deliver a cup of coffee.”
“I didn’t say that. But you have to be careful.”
“I could say the same thing about you, Traci. Kimber and I were worried about you today.”
Traci froze for a moment before an expression came over her face that told everything.
Shannon realized then that her spunky, brave sister wasn’t used to have people looking out for her. Sadness gripped her hard, hating that she’d been so cosseted as a child while Traci had only known the opposite of that.
Even though Shannon knew she was making herself vulnerable, she said, “You two are just going to have to get used to being worried about. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to y’all.”
Kimber blinked hard. “I feel the same way. For so long I wondered when I was going to fit in. You gals made me realize that I just had to wait for you two.”
“I feel the same way,” Traci said. She turned away abruptly. “But I’m going to eat my foot if we don’t get something going.”
“You know, since no casseroles are in our future, we really need to eat something.” Kimber walked to her side. “We have lettuce. I could make a salad.”
“We have ham, cheese, and eggs. How about omelets?” Shannon asked.
“That’s perfect,” Traci said. “And I’ll make hot chocolate and cookies for dessert.”
“You know how to make cookies?” Shannon asked.
“Well, I know how to make the slice and bake ones,” Traci said.
“That’s it. I’m going to call Dylan’s sister and ask her to make some meals for y’all,” Kimber said. “Unless you want to do the calling, Shannon?” she added with a gleam in her eye. “Who knows, maybe she’ll give you some more information about Dylan.”