“Thanks. Any problems while I was gone?”

“None that we couldn’t handle. We got that shipment off in time for the Oklahoma Oyster Chow-Down this weekend. The committee sends their thanks for such prompt service.”

Kaegan smiled. “We want to keep our clients happy.”

He glanced at his watch. “I’m only here for a few. Then I have an off-site meeting.” He’d talked to both Reid and Ray and both wanted to meet with him in a few hours.

* * *

“I’M SURE KAEGAN is happy that you aced your test,” Vashti said.

Bryce tossed a file in the inbox of her desk while talking to Vashti on the phone. “I wouldn’t know since I haven’t heard from him. According to my parents, they haven’t seen him in two days. Of course, they are concerned since he usually drops in at the café almost every day. They figure that he must be pretty busy.”

“Sawyer mentioned he left Sunday to go out of town on an unexpected business trip.”

Bryce sat up straight in her chair. “He did?”

“Yes. I thought you knew. Otherwise I would have mentioned it.”

No, she hadn’t known. “We didn’t exactly part ways Saturday the best of friends.”

“Oh? You didn’t tell me that part.”

Bryce rolled her eyes. “Mainly because you got hung up on the part I told you about—the kiss. Then if you recall, I heard noise in my backyard and we ended the call when you sent your husband over to investigate.”

“Sawyer mentioned he’d found footprints in your backyard.”

“Belonging to Mr. Chelsey. I spoke with him yesterday. Butterball got out again and he was looking for him.”

“Well, still, you can never be too careful.”

“I just hate Sawyer came over here for nothing. He looked tired.”

“Hey, don’t have pity on him. He might have looked tired but he wasn’t too tired to rock my world and his own when he got back, trust me.”

Bryce couldn’t help but giggle. “I guess being pregnant hasn’t slowed you guys down.”

“Not at all.”

“Well, I need to get back to work. It’s going to take me the rest of the week to get caught up in my office. And I appreciate you and Ashley taking the time to meet with me next Thursday for lunch.” She had reached out to Vashti for marketing tips and Vashti suggested she include Ashley. Ashley and her business partner, Emmie Givens, had founded StayNTouch, a highly successful social-media-network firm. Hopefully the two of them could give her suggestions on how to jump-start her career.

Ashley had been kind enough to invite them to lunch. Presently, she and Ray were living in the house Ray owned before they married while their new home on the ocean was being built. According to Ashley, they expected the house to be finished before the babies arrived.

A few hours later Bryce was entering her home. She’d just placed her purse down when her phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and clicked it on without glancing to see who was calling. “Hello.”