“Who could you get in five seconds?” Jack wondered. Emma shot him a laughing look over her shoulder as she carried in dishes.

“I’ll be right in,” Del told Laurel. “I just need to take care of something first.”

“If you’re more than five minutes, I’m sticking you with the pans.

When Del pulled out his phone, Mrs. Grady looked up from Laurel’s sketchbook. “What are you up to?”

“Just looking out for my sister.” He wandered off to make a call.

IT WASN’T EXACTLY LIKE HERDING CATS, LAUREL SUPPOSED, BUT IT was pretty damn close. Here were people who successfully ran their own businesses, who taught the youth of the country, who represented citizens in the court of law—and none of them could get to one place at one time.

A dozen essential items were remembered at the last minute, then retrieved. Debates broke out on the system of loading the van, then on Parker’s seat assignments.

Laurel dug a soft drink out of one of the coolers and, popping it open, walked over to sit on one of the low garden walls while chaos reigned.

“Why aren’t you over there fixing this?” she asked Parker when her friend sat down beside her.

“They’re having fun.” She held out a hand for the drink. “And I built an extra twenty minutes into the load time.”

“Naturally. Did you really purge files all afternoon?”

“Some people do crossword puzzles.”

“How many calls did you get?”

“Five.”

“Some holiday.”

“It works for me. Things seem to be working for you, too.”

Laurel followed Parker’s gaze and watched Del rearrange the placement of a hamper and a pair of folding chairs. “We haven’t had a fight. It’s kind of nerve-racking.”

“Oh, you’ll get back to that.” Parker patted Laurel’s knee, then rose. “All right, people, this bus is leaving the station. Everyone into their assigned seats.”

Del shut the back door of the van then walked over to take Laurel’s hand. “You get to sit beside me. My sister fixed it.”

“It’s going to be pretty crowded. I might have to sit on your lap.”

He grinned as she climbed in. “We can hope.”

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE

THANKS TO PARKER’S SCHEDULE THEY ARRIVED EARLY ENOUGH TO claim a good location for what Laurel thought of as their camp. Folding chairs were unfolded, blankets spread, hampers and coolers hauled.

Del tossed a ball glove into Laurel’s lap. “Right field.”

“I always get stuck back in right field,” she complained. “I want to play first base.”

Dating status notwithstanding, he looked at her with pity. “Face it, McBane, you field like a girl. Most of the shots are going to stay in the infield, so I need Parker on first.”

“Parker’s a girl.”