"Well, that was fun," Rune says once we're all in the car. He's texting rapidly. I'm sure it's to Gunnar.

"Fun!" I huff, wiping the rain off my face my hood couldn't protect me from.

"Fun!" Lorelei exclaims in the middle of her joyous reunion with Butterscotch in the backseat.

We both start to laugh when we see the sarcastic expression on Rune's face. He joins in. We're wet and frazzled but safe for now. The photographers and their black SUVs have miraculously disappeared; Pamela probably told them to scram.

"Hungry Pup?" Rune asks, starting the car and turning up the heat.

"Starved," Lorelei says as I twist around and show her how to buckle Butterscotch into her seat belt, "can we have Thai food?"

"I thought you'd want pizza," Rune clarifies, once we're all settled, and he drives out of the parking lot. Thank God he's happy to be behind the wheel. Between what just happened and the weather, I far prefer to play navigator.

"Jenna was going on and on about all the things she was giving up by moving here yesterday after Dad took off on his bike ride, complaining there wouldn't be any place to have good Thai food."

"As you wish," Rune tells her and winks at me, "Shells, can you find the best Thai restaurant in Port Angeles for our rescued princess?"

"Absolutely," I say, happy to have this task to focus on. No one can ever top Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride, but Rune's not a bad second choice.

"I appreciate the rescue, but I'm not a princess," Lorelei informs him tartly, "I'm an equestrian."

"My bad," Rune tells her in the rearview.

"And a fierce one," I say, thinking of how she snapped back at Jenna. We all laugh again as I find options, and Rune gets us back on the highway.

By the time we've decided where to go, and we're well on our way back to Port Angeles my heart rate finally starts to slow down. But I'm still filled with adrenaline from this crazy day. Why the hell was Pamela there? And why wasn't Rune surprised? I have a million questions for him, but none are appropriate in front of Lorelei.

Thank goodness the restaurant is hard to miss in this weather. The former house is a vivid grass green, with a sign that glows brightly yellow in the storm-dark day. When Rune pulls up close to the front, it's raining so hard we can barely hear each other. I almost shout to tell Lorelei to give the dog a treat from her canvas tote, and then we all make a mad dash for the restaurant's protective awning.

A frisson of excitement and dread runs through me as I catch sight of an image hand-painted right next to the front door. It's an Indian elephant in bright jewel colors sitting on its hind legs, waving and winking. Lord Ganesha? In case I have any doubt, a light pink lotus blossom blooms in my mind's eye along with that reverberating gong. Here we go again.

"I hope you're here to help," Rune tells the painting as he opens the door for Lorelei and me.

"Why were you talking to a sign?" Lorelei asks him as we removed our wet jackets and hang them on a rack in the lobby.

"Serendipity, synchronicity, or both, I hope," he says as the hostess appears, "I'll tell you in a minute."

We're led to a plush booth in a corner of the almost deserted restaurant. Only two other groups of diners have braved the bad weather for an early dinner.

"Wow," Lorelei says after she's been seated between the two of us, "This is the sort of place I imagine you go on a date," she looks around and then at us on either side of her with raised eyebrows and a mischievous look.

She has a point; the inside décor is dominated by red and pink, including red and pink silk rose petals scattered across our tabletop underneath the glass top. The lighting is dim, cozy, and romantic. It's a bit much, considering. I wish I'd looked at images of the inside before picking, but it was the best rated.

"Maybe you should tell your dad to bring Jenna here," Rune recommends.

Lorelei scowls at him, "I don't want to think about Jenna; tell me about the connection between the painting of an elephant, serendipity, and synchronicity."

"What are you ordering?" Rune evades his eyes on the long, elaborate menu before him.

"Pad Thai with tofu," she tells him quickly.

"Seashell? All set?" Rune asks.

"Yes," I tell him, "I'm looking forward to a big bowl of the spicy lemongrass soup, Tom Yum Goong.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I'll have that too," Rune says, collecting our menus, which brings our server over to take our order.

"Now, do tell," I say to him, once our order has been completed, which makes Lorelei giggle.

"Just like Wizard Howl, yes, do tell Rune!" She echoes me, and we fist bump.

"Lord Ganesha," Rune says to Lorelei, holding up his left wrist with the mala beads and silver charm, "I've shared with you already is the Hindu god who removes obstacles. Serendipity and synchronicity are when it seems like the universe is sending you signals that things are lining up in your favor."

"The painting was of Lord Ganesha?" she clarifies, and Rune nods.

"I like that," Lorelei says, but then her face becomes serious, "You knew the lady with the harsh voice. Is she one of the people who spread awful rumors about you on the Internet?"

"You don't look them up, do you, Pup?" Rune's expression is worried. I feel a bit guilty. But I've only looked things up on Instagram lately.

"No, but a frenemy at school told me some things," Lorelei admits. Rune's lips flatten and move to the side unhappily at this.

"I'm sorry about that," he tells her, "Yes, Shelby and I both know Pamela Lyons. I'm pretty sure she's one of the nasty rumors people," his gaze catches mine for a moment. I bite my tongue to keep from asking for more details and focus on my soup.

"I'm glad you chased her away, Jenna's an idiot," Lorelei says hotly.

"Language, Pup," Rune says gently, "I know you're mad at Jenna right now, but we shouldn't call people idiots."

"But there's no way Daddy was going to agree to be on a reality show!" she retorts.

"No," Rune agrees, as his phone beeps, "I need to go take care of a couple of other things, ladies. Can you catch up for a bit without me?

**

While Lorelei and I warm our hands on our cups of tea, she fills me in on more of her adventures. She shares in vivid detail how much fun she and her dad had until Jenna and Kim arrived. Then she gives me a laundry list of complaints against Jenna, though she's careful not to call her an idiot again.

"Her assistant Kim isn't so bad," Lorelei says, a bit begrudgingly.

"Since when does Jenna have an assistant?" I ask; not sure how I'm surprised by anything right now, but I am.

"She's not really an assistant," Lorelei confides, wrinkling her nose, "She's a friend of Jenna's family who needed a job, and Jenna paid her to help drive Jenna's car up here."

"But why is she still here?" I ask, confused.

"Jenna wants her help on more house stuff, and I guess this reality show idea that Jenna wanted to surprise us all with."

"I've got good news and bad news," Rune tells us, sliding in next to Lorelei again right after our delicious-smelling dinner arrives at the table.

"Tell us the bad news first," Lorelei says, stirring her noodles and making the steam, "get it over with."

"The Hood Canal Bridge is closed. The winds are too high right now."

"For how long?" I ask as I dish Rune and I up bowls of soup from the heated metal container in the middle of the table. The soup looks amazing, full of mushrooms and cilantro and other good things.

"Hard to say," Rune says, holding up his phone, "to play it safe, I booked a place for us tonight."

I'm happy I'm such a prepared Girl Scout and brought supplies.

"Darn," Lorelei pouts, "I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and seeing my horses."

"It looks like a cool place, Pup," Rune tells her, "A friend of mine has stayed there and really liked it. It's on the smaller lake, Lake Sutherland."

I try not to frown as I stir my hot, fragrant soup. I wonder if Daphne is this particular friend. Or has Julia already made him forget about his new Seattle squeeze?

"Is it a cabin not right next to a parking lot?" Lorelei asks, cutting into my jealous thoughts.

"Are you sure you're not a princess?" Rune asks, tugging lightly on her braid. She frowns at him.

"I just know what I like," she says stubbornly, "we were supposed to stay in a cabin in the rainforest until Jenna changed everything."

"I'm sorry about that, Pup," Rune says, "I think this place might help make up for it."

"So is the fact that you knew this cabin was here and it's available is serendipity?" Lorelei asks, looking very self-satisfied.

"I hope so," Rune smiles at her.

"Can I see pics?" Lorelei asks, reaching for his phone.

"I like the idea of a surprise," he tells her, moving his phone out of reach.

"So why couldn't your cousin Stacy come for you?" I ask Lorelei, even though I too would love to see where we're going.

"Oh! It's so sad," Lorelei exclaims, "Her neighbor died! They realized something was wrong because the vet came for an appointment this morning, and no one answered his knock."

"Oh wow," Rune says, pausing mid-bite, "this isn't the elderly woman across the road who runs the horse rescue operation, is it?"

“Yes, Mrs. Williamsen. Her family already told Stacy they want to sell the land. Stacy and Michael will need to find new homes for all of the horses," Lorelei somehow manages to look sad and hopeful simultaneously, "Maybe we can take some!"

"There's a lot of work that needs to be done before our place would be safe for horses," Rune tells her, "The horses probably need new homes before we could make that happen."

"How many horses does she have?" I ask, feeling my heart clutch.

"Twenty! Stacey and Micheal don't have room for that many. Shelby, do you think you could draw a coloring page to tell the story of these horses? Could that help them?"

"It's worth a try. I'd be happy to," I tell her.

"I wasn't paranoid about the production company," Rune says as soon as Lorelei runs off to the bathroom and hands me his phone, "Raymond's assistant already found this out?"

Carolyn Watson: This production company is owned by Franklin Haus Enterprises.

"Crap!" I exclaim and then cover my mouth, "What does this mean?"

"Franklin found out about the podcast somehow," Rune says darkly, taking back his phone, "I'm sure this is just one of the extreme steps he'll take to try and discredit me and any of us participating."

"By having Pamela go after Jenna and intrigue her with a reality show idea?" I'm stunned. This is crazy and horrible.

"He's a seriously twisted individual," Rune says, as he tucks into the remains of Lorelei's Pad Thai, "He loves to hire photographers to snoop and feed images and outrageous stories to online outlets to get back at people on his hit list. Pamela is involved in all that somehow. I have a feeling the reality show scam was another level of that."

"So that text I sent you about the photographer out on the main road at home was one of Franklins?"

"Almost certainly," Rune nods.

"That's so creepy," I shudder. I can't believe my mother looks up to people who do this sort of thing. But of course, I'm sure they hide it from her.

"You have no idea. Someone would probably be following us now if we hadn't surprised Pamela face to face, and the weather's wasn't so bad."