She heard Dane mumble something in the background, and then heard Miranda’s squeal erupt into a giggle.
Beth Ann resisted the urge to toss the phone on the floor in a mixture of jealousy and annoyance. “I need you to do me a favor, Mir. If you have a sec. I’m driving back from the big fund-raiser in Houston and need you to Google something for me.”
Fat raindrops began to splash on her windshield as Miranda typed into the computer on the other side of the phone. “Okay, what am I looking for?”
“QuestMasters. It’s some costume group. They’re having a big campout this weekend and Lucy ran off to go to it. My mother had a fit.”
“Aren’t you a little too old to be Lucy’s watchdog?” Miranda said with amusement.
“Apparently not,” Beth Ann replied dryly. “As long as I live at home, I live to serve.” After she’d left Allan, she hadn’t been able to afford a place of her own and a salon. She’d chosen, and on nights like tonight, well, Jeanette made her regret her choice.
“Think you’ll move out soon?”
“Lord, I hope so.” She didn’t think she’d be able to stand another few months living under her parents’ roof. “Any luck with the search?”
She heard Miranda clicking around on the other side of the computer, and then a stifled giggle. “Does it involve guys that dress up like hobbits?”
“That’s probably it,” Beth Ann said with a sigh. The rain didn’t appear to be letting up. Just her luck. “Does it say anything about camping?”
“Ooo, there’s a Tournament of Knights this weekend in Arcane Forest.”
“Arcane Forest?”
“Apparently it’s some privately owned property not far from the Daughtry Ranch.”
Masculine murmuring rumbled in the background. Miranda laughed again. “Dane says to tell you that he’s run into them before on the ranch property. They get pissy if you don’t address them properly when they are in costume.” She paused, then chuckled. “He just told me he was berated by a man in a fur loincloth while scouting a trail.”
“A fur loincloth?” Man, she hoped his name was not Colossus. She steered toward the next exit. “Never mind about the loincloth, honey. I don’t think I want to know. What exit do I need to take?”
Miranda walked her through the directions until Beth Ann had them memorized. “Thanks for your help, Mir.”
“Call me back if you meet a handsome, dashing wizard.”
“Very funny.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’ve got this covered.” Surely it wouldn’t be too hard to find Lucy. She’d just look for the most normal girl there.
“It’s no trouble. Dane says we can send maybe Colt or Grant your way—”
Beth Ann groaned. Miranda frequently mentioned Grant in Beth Ann’s presence, and she was starting to wonder if it was because Grant was wealthy, good-looking, and single. It smelled of a hookup. And Colt? Miranda knew better. Colt was a jerk. “Do not even think about sending anyone my way. You are not setting me up with one of Dane’s friends.”
“It’s not a hookup! I promise. But it sounds like you could use a hero—”
“I don’t, I promise. Now, I’ve got to go. Talk to you later.” She clicked off the phone just as the rain began to pour down in torrents. She made a left at a colorful wooden sign stuck in the side of the road—almost missed it, actually—and started to go down a dirt road that was quickly turning to mud. Yuck. Not that she had a choice.
The woods were dark and, around these parts, there were no lights to see by. It was made all the more dark and creepy by the fact that she was driving down some deserted road late at night, and she had no clue where she was going.
Definitely time to move back out again, she thought to herself. Ever since she’d been forced to move back in, she’d been pulled between her headstrong mother and equally headstrong younger sister. An apartment next month, she decided. Didn’t matter how small it was. As it was, when things at home got a little hairy, she retreated to her salon. She had an air mattress on the floor in the back room, next to where she kept the tanning bed. It served as a getaway well enough, though it was time for something more permanent.#p#分页标题#e#
A line of cars appeared in the distance, and her little Volkswagen skidded in the mud as she turned into an equally sludgy dirt parking lot. Stumps lined the edges of the parking lot, and a veritable fleet of vehicles of all makes and shapes were parked haphazardly. She noticed a row of Porta-Potties off to one side, and a small, lit cloth pavilion across from it. Well. This must be the place.