The Secret of Isobel Key (excerpt)

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

An hour later, Tammy breezed through the door, dropping her coat and purse in a snowy mess.  “Hello!  Want to know when we leave?”

Lou came down the stairs from her loft.  She had changed into pajamas, and her eyes were puffy from crying, but Tammy didn’t notice.  She headed into the kitchen and began digging around in the fridge.

“Aren’t you curious?” She emerged with a carton of old Chinese food.

Lou nodded.  “What happened?”

Tammy grinned.  “What happened is we’re going to Scotland!”

“We?” Lou raised her eyebrow.

“Merry Christmas!” Tammy said gleefully.

“What are you talking about?”

Her best friend sighed impatiently.  “I didn’t want to go alone, and I know you’ve always wanted to go there.”

Lou faltered,  “But how will I afford it?”

“Aren’t you listening?  It’s your Christmas gift!  I already called your mom and asked if she wanted to go in on it.  Once I told her that my folks were sending me, she agreed pretty fast.”

“Oh.” Lou was stunned.  Her parents were sending her to Scotland?  “I didn’t know.”

Tammy looked up, suddenly concerned.

“Oh, crap, it’s the holiday season!  I didn’t even think about the bookstore.  Will you be able to get the time off work on this short notice?”

Lou smiled thinly.  “I don’t think I’ll have a problem.”

~

The days went by in a flurry of activity as the girls prepared for their trip.  On the Friday before their flight, Lou voiced a guilty thought.

“I haven’t been home in awhile, and it’s really nice of our parents to do this.”

Tammy glanced up from her packing checklist, a frown on her face.  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  We didn’t make it home for Thanksgiving, did we?”

Lou shook her head.  “I had to work Black Friday, and you had that big party planned.”

Her best friend laughed.  “It was pretty epic.  Sorry you had to work.”

Lou shrugged.  “It’s fine,” she lied.  “I don’t mind.  But seriously, shouldn’t we go home for the weekend and thank them?”

Frowning, Tammy consulted her packing checklist.  “I guess.  Just let me finish packing first.  You’re such a good person, Lou. I wouldn’t have even thought of visiting this weekend.”

Lou smiled faintly.  It wasn’t so much that she wanted to go home: it was more that she didn’t want to deal with her mother’s guilt trip if she didn’t.  She wasn’t even sure that a visit home would prevent it, but she was willing to try.  Besides, she was grateful to her parents for the vacation.  The least she could do was spend a weekend with them before she and Tammy left.  Going home was always a bit awkward since she’d started college, but maybe this time would be better.

In a few hours, the girls were loaded into Tammy’s SUV and careening toward Connecticut.  Consulting her GPS, Tammy commented, “We should be there in time for dinner.  Did you call your folks yet?”

Lou shook her head.  “I figured it would be more festive if we surprise them.”

Tammy laughed.   “Some surprise it will be; I told my mother.  And you know those two can’t keep secrets from each other!”