Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 65

Having Raquel and Zelina come to stay at Eagle's Nest was something Erin had been looking forward to for the past few days. She had made the offer on Monday, it had been accepted on Tuesday, and arrangements had quickly been made for the visit to take place on Friday, with the guests heading back home on Sunday. Erin had made sure to only be at the office for a couple of hours that morning. Leaving early on a Friday if needed was one perk of being the boss.

Erin had left the electronic gates at the bottom of the driveway open, so it didn't surprise her when Jay spoke to her from the kitchen, where he was looking out of the window while brewing coffee.

"They're here, honey. Unless someone else just showed up in an Uber."

Erin laughed as she got up from the couch. "I think we can rule that out. This is something I've been looking forward to. We don't spend enough time with these guys."

"We don't. Maybe we should buy a place in Florida?"

"Maybe we should. The problem is we'd hardly use it, since I need to be up here for the office."

"True. It would be a nice place to have a vacation spot though. Christ, listen to me. Never thought I'd hear myself talking about buying a second home for vacations."

"You've earned your money, Jay. There's no harm in spending it. Do you want to go help them with their cases?"

"Of course."

Erin waited inside the house, ready to greet the guests, while Jay went out to help them. Moments later, Zelina was the first to walk in. She was wrapped up warm in a thick but stylish black coat and matching scarf. The winter wear somehow still made her look glamorous. She was on of those people who seemed to look great in everything she wore. The first thing that Erin noticed though, was that Zelina was wearing bright red leather gloves. They made her feel excited immediately, and part of her wondered if Zelina had a glove fetish too. She seemed to wear them a lot. Erin told herself not to think about it. She had hurts Jay's feelings by going down that road once already.

"Hey, Erin. It's great to be back here again. I'll never get tired of that view. Unbelievable."

"Z. Great to have you here," Erin said warmly as they hugged. "It is breath-taking, huh? We're lucky to call this our home."

"Yeah, but it's so cold. No one should live this far north," Raquel joked as she came through the door. She was wearing jeans and an even thicker coat, looking more like a six foot eskimo than her glamorous partner. She had no gloves on though. "Hey, Erin."

"Hey, mami. We're not all from south Texas, where you feel comfortable if it's a million degrees," Erin joked back, before they hugged each other. "Right, guys, make yourselves at home. I hope you remember your bikinis?"

"We remembered them. But for what?" Zelina asked.

Erin grinned. "You'll find out."

-----

Erin hadn't wanted to stay in the house for the entire two days of Raquel and Zelina's visit. That had seemed like a terrible way to host. Jay had made a good suggestion for something to do after lunch on the first day. Zelina and Raquel enjoyed hiking in their spare time. The valley below Eagle's Nest was ideal for that, and there was a route that Jay knew, which took about two hours. They would be back at the house well before darkness fell. Jay had asked Raquel to make sure they brought hiking boots.

Something Erin had wanted to be sure to do was have a one on one chat with Zelina. It would be their first since the shooting down in Texas. Erin wanted to check that her friend and employee was really doing okay after the traumatic event.