She managed to smile along as they moved on to the other arrangements, letting Maddie take the lead for all the specifics. Maddie threw her a few confused, concerned glances, so Ryann squeezed her hand a couple of times in reassurance. However, Ryann remained in a tumult. By the end of the session, she almost ran for the door.

Chapter Seven

Outside, the air was still piercing, but as Ryann stood there nearly panting, the sun was warm on her skin. She closed her eyes, tilting her face toward the light, breathing deeply to calm down. Stuart had mentioned the elevation when he first moved here, but until she’d been here herself, she hadn’t realized how much it would affect her. The air seemed thin, insufficient somehow as she took it in.

“You okay?” Maddie asked, startling her.

She managed a weak smile. “Sure. I was getting a headache in there with all those flowers.”

Maddie narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure that’s all? You got kind of funny after we almost—”

“I’m fine.”

Maddie continued to squint at her before finally lifting one shoulder, dismissing the issue. She checked her watch.

“We’ve got almost two hours before the next appointment. Anything you need to do in the meantime?”

“I should probably check in with the office.”

“Do you need to go back to the hotel?”

Ryann paused. “No. I can do everything on my phone and tablet. I just need somewhere quiet to work for an hour or two. I have a phone call and some email to catch up on.”

“Great. I was gonna drop in on the remailing program, see if I can help for a bit. It’s not my shift, but they always need extra hands. It’s on the way to the bakery, so it will save us a trip back downtown if we go there from here. They have a little table in the break room you could use while I’m busy. Would that work?”

“As long as I won’t be in the way, that’ll be fine for me.”

They made their way back to the Bronco. It was colder inside than out, and Maddie glanced her way.

“Still want the heat?”

“Please.”

They drove in relative silence, Maddie pointing out her old high school and a few other landmarks, classical music playing softly all the while. Verdi, this time. A few minutes into the drive, Ryann started to relax again. She’d been afraid Maddie would bring up the not-quite kiss, and she didn’t want to talk about it. The less said about that near disaster, the better. In fact, if they never talked about it at all, she’d be much happier about the whole situation. She’d blame the elevation.

“What are you smiling about over there?” Maddie asked.

“Inside joke.”