“Mark my words, girlfriend, that bitch has got bitch written all over her. You got your hands full, hon. Lucky for you, you got your posse and his family at your back. After she made that play, they were all whispering, worried about you. Not him. They know your boy sees it for what it is. They were worried about you ’cause they know her for what she is and they know this is play one and right now she’s got her nose in her playbook, decidin’ what to do for play two. Chin up. He’ll see her play for what it is and he’ll be on the lookout for her next one. You just gotta ride that wave.”

Kentucky, for the first time in a while, was looking good again.

This time, though, I was packing up Brock, Joel, and Rex to take with me.

I said good-bye to Elvira, walked back to the house, and was struck by Ellie Lightning the minute I made it through the door.

“Tangled!” she screeched.

I pushed aside my thoughts and smiled down at her.

“Tangled,” I agreed.

Thus I found myself up in Fern’s bedroom lying across the foot of the bed with Ellie in her princess dress tucked in front of me.

Kalie and Kellie wandered up and camped out on the floor. Jill and Fern came as well and lay behind us in the bed. Lenore and Laura were with the boys watching football.

Tangled turned to Beauty and the Beast, which was one of my favorite movies ever, animated or not.

Still, I’d just had Thanksgiving dinner and it was Thanksgiving law to pass out shortly after consumption of said dinner and therefore I zonked out in the middle of the movie.

Therefore, when I heard Ellie whisper loudly, “Uncle Slim, she’s sleeping,” I woke up.

I blinked my eyes, surprised that I had drifted off, to see Mulan playing behind Brock, who was crouched by the bed. My eyes opened right before his hand curled warm around my neck.

“Time to go, sleepyhead,” he said softly to me. “Gotta get the boys home.”

Home. To Olivia’s.

I nodded, pushed up from the bed after giving Ellie a brief snuggle, tried to pull myself together through hugs and farewells, and then found myself in the passenger seat of my own car, Brock driving, the boys in the back, the same arrangement as when we arrived.

They chatted about football.

I stared out the window.

We drove into the elegant drive of a big house in Cherry Hills Village, which meant that when Brock said Olivia’s new husband was loaded, he actually meant loaded.

“Later, Tess,” Joel said to me.

“Later, honey,” I said to Joel, turning to the backseat.

“Later, Tess. Thanks for the pecan pie and the pumpkin pie and the cheesecake I ate during football,” Rex shared his gratitude.

I smiled at him.