Free Love a Little Sideways by Shannon Stacey Page A

doesn’t feel right to you, make sure you call me. And my dad’s got a knack for cars. You should take him with you if you go look at something. Not that you’re not capable of a test drive, but a second opinion never hurts.”
    He knew he was talking just to keep her on the phone, but he couldn’t help it. At the rate he was going, she was going to start thinking he was stalking her and wouldn’t that be an awkward complaint for his department to field.
    But then she mentioned she was on her way to see Rose and they talked about the lodge for a while, and then his dad and Rosie’s relationship, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. Before he knew it, almost twenty minutes had passed.
    “You’re not still sitting in the parking lot, are you?” he asked when she finished telling him how she had a very hazy memory of being hidden at the end of the couch the day Rose told Frank Kowalski that if Andy Miller was allowed to visit the Northern Star, she’d quit. The fact they were thinking about eloping to Vegas still boggled their minds.
    “Yeah, I am. I didn’t want to start the car because your engine’s a little loud, plus there’s the whole talking on the phone while driving thing. I’ve heard the local police frown on that.”
    “They’re real hard-asses,” Drew agreed. “I’ll let you go before Rose thinks you stood her up. I’ll probably see you tomorrow for lunch.”
    “It’s a date,” she said nonchalantly, and hung up.
    It was just an expression, he told himself. But he still got barely any work done that afternoon.
    * * *
    Still in her Trailside Diner T-shirt, Liz drove up to the front of the lodge and killed the engine. She’d promised Rose she’d stop by after work and, after sitting in her car talking on the phone with Drew for far too long, she was running late enough so she didn’t go home and change first.
    Paige’s car was in the driveway, too, which meant there would probably be tea and visiting before they got around to whatever it was Rose wanted a hand with, or to talk to her about or whatever.
    Sure enough, the two women were sitting at the kitchen table when she went in, and there was a plate of fresh-baked brownies on the table.
    “How was work, Liz?” Rose asked, going to the stove to pour her some tea.
    “It was good. It’s a different climate than the truck stop I worked at last and I really like it.”
    Paige drew her hand over her forehead in a gesture of exaggerated relief. “Thank goodness. I’ve gotten used to having a little more free time when Mitch is home.”
    They talked about the diner for a few minutes. Paige’s schedule was going to be fairly fluid. She’d spend more time at the diner when Mitch was traveling or during times the ATV traffic would be heavy, but she’d be more hands-off when her husband was in town. That worked just fine for Liz.
    “Speaking of schedules,” Rose said, “I talked to Mary this morning and she had a wonderful idea.”
    Uh-oh. A wonderful idea cooked up by Rosie and Aunt Mary couldn’t mean anything good for anybody named Kowalski. “Do I want to know?”
    “Every year they go camping for two weeks. All of them—the kids, grandkids. It’s become a family tradition, I guess.”
    Liz didn’t hear anything but the words camping and two weeks. Her brain added the word no.
    “That sounds fun,” Paige said. “My mom had a boyfriend who liked to camp when I was a kid. We went a few times and I loved it, but then they broke up and we never went again. I should talk Mitch into camping.”
    Liz could see Paige playing right into whatever hand Rose was about to play, and she was tempted to kick her under the table.
    “I’m glad you said that,” Rose said, “because Mary and I want to make it a family reunion.”
    “I’ll never get Mitch away from work for two weeks. And I know Ryan’s busy.”
    “Everybody’s busy,” Liz echoed, trying to keep her expression regretful.
    “With not a lot of notice and