“You know if she damages that window, the lock, or the alarm system that it’s going to be expensive, right?”
Keeva waved away her worries. “It’ll be fine. I’m just proud the two of ye found me.”
“I’m sure someone else would’ve helped you if we hadn’t.” This area was relatively safe as long as normal precautions were taken, and most of the time, folks were friendly. “Have you been here long?” Lyla meant waiting for help because asking the Scottish woman why she was in Kentucky had gone unanswered.
“Not long.” Keeva’s smile suddenly seemed strained. “Passing through, really. On my way to Cincinnati.”
“Well, you almost made it.”
The car clicked and honked once, startling both of them. Jana pulled her tools free, opened the door with dramatic flair, then crowed, “I told you I could do it!”
Squealing like an overjoyed teenage girl, Keeva tackled her with a hug that almost took Jana to the ground. “Thank ye so much! How can I ever repay ye?”
Jana bowed. “Pay it forward. That’s my motto.”
“Pay it forward?” Keeva frowned. “How’s that?”
“Next time you see someone in a jam, help them out,” Lyla explained, although she already had the feeling that Keeva would do so anyway. She didn’t seem the sort to walk away fromanyone in need. In fact, Lyla hated parting ways with her now. Keeva had taken the strain off the outing with Jana.
“I’ll buy the two of ye dinner,” Keeva said. “How’s about that?” She laughed and tossed her hands high. “I feel like I was just getting to know ye. I hate for it to end.” She propped her arms on top of the car’s open door. “Shall we cross the river into Cincinnati or do ye prefer a place on this side?”
“You don’t have to buy us dinner,” Lyla said, but she liked the idea of extending their visit a bit longer.
Jana nodded at Lyla. “We were about to grab a bite to eat in Cincy and then visit a psychic or get Lye-Lye a tarot card reading. Her career is at somewhat of an impasse, you might say.”
Lyla clenched her teeth. Not only did she hate being calledLye-Lye, a fact that Jana was well aware of, but she preferred to keep her problems to herself. “Jana?—”
“Tarot and psychics.” Keeva grinned while rubbing her hands together. “Love it!” She dropped into the driver’s seat and started the car. “I’ll follow ye. Lead the way!” Then she lowered her window. “On second thought, though. Mind if one of ye rides with me to give me directions? If we get separated in traffic, I might never find ye.”
“Good idea.” Jana closed her tool case and tucked it under her arm. “Lye-Lye says I have a lead foot and run too many lights. She can ride with you.”
“Gladly,” Lyla said through clenched teeth. If she got in the car with Jana right now, she might strangle her. Why was she purposely trying to provoke her by calling herLye-Lye? Jana knew she wasn’t in the mood for teasing. Strangely enough, though, that’s when Jana always did it. Yet another reason why time spent in each other’s company was better in small doses. She rounded the car and slid into the passenger seat. “Porters, Jana. Tell Lewis you need two parking spots.”
“Got it,” Jana sang out. She skipped over to her car, tossed the toolkit in the trunk, then slid into the driver’s seat and roared out of the lot after paying for the time they’d been there.
“Whew!” Keeva eased her vehicle out onto the road at a much more judicious speed. “I’m glad ye’re with me. I’d never keep up with that one.”
“Jana lives in her own little world. It’s better that we all stay out of it.” Lyla punched the pub’s address into the car’s GPS so Keeva could easily follow the directions on the screen. “Hopefully, she’ll remember what I said about getting us a parking space, but don’t bet on it. When she gets that close to alcohol, that’s the only thing she thinks about.”
“Slave to the drink, eh?”
“She enjoys it.” Lyla wouldn’t expound on her opinion that Jana was a high-functioning alcoholic. She’d said enough.
“Do ye not drink, then?” Keeva smoothly shifted gears and handled the traffic with amazing ease for a foreigner who usually drove on the left side of the road.
“I drink. It’s just not something I think about that much. If I have it, fine. If I don’t, that’s fine too.” Lyla wondered what Keeva had meant about the car grinding and grumbling. It purred like a well-fed kitten. Maybe grinding and grumbling meant something else in Scotland.
“I take it ye dinna like to be calledLye-Lye?”
Lyla couldn’t help but laugh. “You are correct. I forget that my face always shows my thoughts. Yet another of my fatal flaws.”
“Aye, well. We all have flaws.” Keeva shifted again as an increase in traffic slowed them. “She said yer career is at an impasse?”
“I’d rather not talk about that. Tell me about yourself.”
Keeva nodded, seeming to understand that she’d gotten a little too personal. “I help manage a holistic healing village. The Seven Cairns I told ye about.”
In other words, Keeva from Scotland was a snake-oil salesman. Lyla smiled and kept that assessment to herself. A lot of people believed in holistic healing, but she wasn’t one of them. Not after she had tried everything under the sun to restore her voice. “That must be a very interesting line of work.”