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“Then I’m good,” Imogen replied, her smile widening.
Mace wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Then let’s get back to Sacramento.”
As they snuggled and canoodled, Barracuda and Rocco approached us.
“We need to stop for gas before we leave town,” Barracuda informed Mace.
Mace nodded in acknowledgment before pulling Imogen over to his motorcycle. I followed behind them, already missing her. It was all my idea for her to leave, and now I was wondering why I had even opened my mouth.
Imogen turned to me, wrapping me in a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you,” she whispered.
I chuckled, returning her hug. “You’re acting like you’ve never left me before. Remember when you were dealing with all that Darrin Bing crap? I’ll be fine. Hopefully, no one dies, and I’ll pretty much be on vacation, too.” I would be stuck in the funeral home, but at least I wouldn’t be working that hard.
“Then you’ll die of boredom,” Imogen teased, her eyes sparkling mischievously. “Though maybe you can have Rocco keep you company.” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully.
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “Stop it. Nothing is going to happen between me and Rocco.”
Imogen stepped back, patting me on the shoulder. “Sure, sure.” She rejoined Mace by their motorcycle.
As they prepared to leave, Rayna leaned into Barracuda, whispering something to him. I couldn’t quite catch their words, but Barracuda simply shrugged in response.
They mounted their bikes, and with a roar, they sped off into the distance, leaving Rocco and me standing by the front door.
“And then there were two,” Rocco muttered, his tone laced with amusement.
I glanced at him, a playful smirk playing on my lips. “You promise to do all of the embalming, right?”
Rocco’s expression faltered slightly, his brows furrowing in thought. “Uh, well...”
I narrowed my eyes, stepping closer to him. “What do you mean, ‘uh, well’?” I demanded, my tone more insistent now.
Rocco hesitated, his gaze flickering away for a moment before meeting mine again. “Well, I know how to embalm, but I haven’t really done it in a few...”
“A few what?” I pressed, my heart starting to race. “Days? Months?”
Rocco glanced up at the sky before meeting my gaze once more. “Years? More like ten or so?”
My eyes widened in shock, disbelief washing over me. “Ten years?” I repeated. “And you’re just telling me this now?”
Rocco winced; his expression sheepish. “I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I mean, how hard could it be, right? It’s gotta be like riding a bike.”
I shook my head in disbelief, feeling a surge of panic rising within me. “Oh, god. What have I done?”
Rocco
So, I might not have told the whole truth when I said I would help with the embalming. Sure, I had run a funeral home back in Chicago, but I had very much been in a management position with people underneath me doing things. Embalming was one of them.
“We’ll be fine.”
Dorothy glared at me. “Yeah, you’ll be fine because you’re not going to be the one in the basement doing the embalming.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “I think you might be overreacting, Dorothy. Brooks does seven funerals a month, and that is a busy month. I’ve looked over the books. It’s not like you’ve got bodies stacking up downstairs. It’s going to be quiet the next two weeks.”
Dorothy
I reached up and pressed my hand to Rocco’s mouth. “You did not just say the Q word.” Oh my god, Rocco had just jinxed us.
Rocco glared at me and pried my hand off his mouth. “Please don’t tell me you are superstitious, Dorothy. Saying things are quiet, or we want them to be quiet, doesn’t mean we are going to have bodies flying at us left and right.”
