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let
anything spoil it.
    She was also going to spend some time checking on her home.
Luckily, her tenants had moved out a couple of months ago, and rather than
renting it right away, Dani had told the property management company to leave
it sit. Now, she had a place to stay while she was here, and she could make
some necessary repairs and changes while she was at it. She had always rented
the place furnished, at least with the necessities, but she was thinking that,
after the wedding, she would pack it up and empty the house out. Most of the
furniture was old and outdated at this point anyway. It would rent easier
unfurnished. So…since she was here…
    She turned around, finally remembering where the rental car
desks were, and started walking that direction. She waited in line, thankfully
only behind two people, and signed the needed paperwork to get her car. She had
called and made a reservation weeks ago. Instead of getting a little subcompact
that was sensible, she had rented a Land Rover like she drove at home. It was a
silly expense, but she lived frugally even though she made decent money. She
would rather drive something she was comfortable in.
    She pocketed the keys and turned to go to the baggage claim.
Just as she rounded the corner, checking the boards for her flight information
to get her luggage, she heard a familiar squeal. She spun her head around to
see Jenn running toward her in full hug mode. Dani quickly dropped her carry-on
at her feet and braced herself. Jenn was nothing if not enthusiastic. More than
once, Dani was awed that they had remained friends.
    After her warm welcome, Jenn stepped back and looked at her
friend. “You look amazing. You always do, but I know you were nervous about
coming back here, plus you’ve been so busy at work. At some point, you have to
look tired, right? I mean, it’s so not fair that you always look amazing!”
    Dani laughed and gave her standard answer to this little
rant. “Vitamins and clean living. You should try it some time.”
    Jenn rolled her eyes, laughing as she did. “Yeah, genetics
have nothing to do with it.” Dani’s mom had looked to be in her late twenties
even when she’d died at forty-five. Dani had gotten good genes, and she knew
it.
    “Okay, let’s grab your bags. We can catch up on the way
home.” It was a twenty-minute drive, without traffic, from the airport to their
neighborhood.
    “Jenn, I would have told you if you’d asked, but I rented a
car. You didn’t need to pick me up.” Dani looked a little chagrined.
    “Well, conveniently, I knew you would, so I had Brian drop
me off here so I could ride back with you. I knew there was no way you would
come to town without your own escape route.”
    Dani shook her head. Jenn was right, she knew Dani well, but
then why would she come here?
    Jenn saw the confusion, laughed a little and answered the
unspoken question. “There was no way I was giving up thirty minutes of alone
time to catch up on girl talk before we get back to the chaos!”
    Dani laughed, grabbing her bag off the track and loading it
onto the luggage cart. “Well, good…maybe we’ll stretch that out and stop for
coffee. I actually got on the plane without any caffeine this morning, so it is
almost a necessity. Do you have anything planned we need to get back for right
away?”
    “Nope, I cleared the entire afternoon. We’re going to meet
everyone tonight at the bar—you remember Hooligan’s, right? Well, we’re meeting
everyone there tonight at seven p.m. That gives us…,” she glanced down at her
watch, “over six hours of freedom before I deposit you into the fray.”
    Dani mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t quite
ready for what a five-year absence would bring. Questions, hugs, stories of
what she’d missed as well as filling everyone in on her life. She knew she
should have come back sooner, but it had been so much easier to just stay away.
Now, she would suffer the consequences.
    But not for