Nic had turned out to be an engaging partner to drive with. There was none of the awkwardness she’d feared and thankfully no mention of the arrangement they’d struck up. They’d actually chatted as if they’d known each other for years, although Nic tended to skip over anything that had to do with her childhood. Perhaps she was estranged from her parents. She talked about her uncle a lot, the man who Abby guessed was the father-figure in her life. Nic also said she knew his landscaping business would be hers one day, but that subject, too, she didn’t linger on. She seemed more interested in asking questions than answering them.

And she asked a ton of questions about Red River and what the snow would be like and whether they could take a sleigh ride. And Nic had her describe the house to her. Abby found herself sharing little tidbits of her early life, stories she’d not shared with anyone in years, if ever. For a pretend girlfriend, Nic was being extremely attentive. But they only had another four or five hours on the road. There was still so much to go over.

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” Nic said without taking her eyes off the road. “And I thought you were sleeping.”

Abby sat up and stretched her arms out. “I feel better. Do you want me to drive?”

“I can make another hour.”

Abby reached for the water bottle that was in the console. “My mother will ask you a lot of questions. She’s nosy that way. You’ll need to set the ground rules right away with her or she’ll get way deep into your business.”

“Okay. So where did we meet?”

“How about the truth? She already knows I have lunch out in the courtyard most days.”

The smile left Nic’s face. “So where do I work?”

Abby studied her. “How about the truth?”

Nic shook her head. “Not very glamourous. What does Holly do?”

Abby sighed. “She’s an attorney, works for her father’s firm.”

“See? Now that’s glamourous. You don’t want your new girlfriend to be a common laborer. That’s stepping down several notches for you.”

“Okay. So, what do you want to be? Doctor? Professor?”

Nic laughed. “How about we tell them I own the business and we have a fleet of twenty or thirty crews that branch out all over Dallas?” Nic glanced at her. “And I never have to get my hands dirty.”

“I’d guess that you like getting your hands dirty and you’d be bored silly working in the office all day. Right?”

Nic gave a heavy sigh and nodded. “Right.”

“How many crews do you have now?”