While Gunnar chats with his lawyer in the office and Kim types up the document we'll need she and Jenna to sign from the dining room table, Syd decides to go lie down. I don't blame her.

No one else had eaten lunch yet, and the milkshake I split with Syd feels like it was a decade ago. Our plan is to make pizza tonight. I decide to serve the roasted vegetables I already made over orzo, so I start filling a pot with water to boil.

"I hope we can climb back into bed in the none-too-distant future," Rune says, his voice honey-smooth as he comes into the kitchen, so only I'll hear, "How can I help?"

"Me too," I sigh and smile at him with longing, "Will you cut up some of this good bread?" I ask, taking out a fisherman's loaf we bought yesterday, mostly to just have him nearby.

"Sure," he gets a bread knife and a cutting board. I'm tempted to stand here, and watch how he uses his beautiful hands, and daydream about what might happen after dark. Instead, I shake myself out of it and focus.

While the pasta cooks, I get out the roasted carrots, asparagus, zucchini, and start cutting up the small orange tomatoes while I have Rune grate up some mozzarella next. Then it occurs to me that Jenna might not eat cheese or pasta, so I send Rune out to check.

"Kim, what made Jenna go off like this today?" I ask, after Kim confirms she sent the non-disclosure agreement off for Gunnar's lawyer to approve, "It seems so unlike her."

Kim gets up from the dining room table and comes over to the bar with my laptop. She glances around us in the kitchen to the door that goes into the laundry room, making sure Jenna isn't coming back inside.

"Finding out the production company was only interested if we had Rune involved was a big blow to her. She still thought there was a chance to create a real show. And then reading that Gunnar had another child, who is so obviously his child, that was bad," Kim shakes her head over the memory.

"Wait, she contacted the production company again after I told you what they were after?" Rune asks, incredulous, as he comes back in and tells me it was a good call. Jenna wants a salad, preferably with some lean protein. I'm tempted to get everything out and let Jenna make her own salad, but that would mean she'd be here in the kitchen with us, so I go ahead and make one with strips of turkey lunch meat for her.

"I thought she believed you, I certainly did," Kim admits, looking sheepish, "But when we got to Bellevue to stay with her parents' friends, she insisted I keep calling Pamela's team. Finally, someone answered me and me and Jenna got to hear first-hand that it was really you they wanted."

"Why didn't you just refuse to contact them?" I ask as Rune and I start assembling sandwiches.

"I'm completely broke. Jenna owes me my salary for coming on this trip and a plane ticket home," Kim tells us, "I only took this job driving up North with her and helping with her fledgling production company so I could stop couch surfing at my brother's house."

"That sucks," I commiserate as I stir the orzo, and ask Rune to take Jenna the salad with a jar of olive oil and lemon dressing I made, telling him it's the only kind we have so I hope it works for her. He laughs and says he's happy to tell her.

"Yeah," Kim says, refilling her iced tea from the pitcher, "I'm steeling myself for doing drive home. We've got a motel for tonight, but then she wants to drive straight through to Los Angeles."

"She doesn't look like she's up for that," I say, as I drain the pasta, "You're her friend; can't you reason with her?"

"I'll do all the night driving," Kim tells me as Rune comes back in, "So we should be fine. Anyway, we're not really friends. We went to high school together, but I'm a few years behind her; she's actually friend of my brothers. Can I help you with all this?" She asks, leaning forward to watch as I put a good portion of orzo in the bowls I've had Rune line up, and then we start putting the vegetables on top.

"We've got it," I assure her, as I have Rune sprinkle a handful of cheese on top and I follow with a drizzle of my best garlic and red pepper infused olive oil before stirring the contents of each bowl together, so the hot orzo melts the cheese, "tell Gunnar we're ready to eat."

When I stick my head into Syd's room, I see that she's sound asleep, so I leave her be.

"This looks amazing," Gunnar says as he and Kim sit down, "Why did I start dating Jenna when you were already here?" he winks at me as he takes a bite, "We could have been so good together Shells, think of how green we could have made this compound."

"Because you knew her heart belonged to me," Rune says in mock sternness, "and you'll do all of those sustainability projects anyway. Where are the kids?"

"Coming," Gunnar tells him, "I texted them."

I realize guiltily that we've left Jenna to eat on the back porch all by herself, which might be what she prefers. I'm about to get up and invite her inside when the kids and the dog burst through the front door.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Yay! You got it all squared away with Jenna!" Lorelei says happily. But she stops so suddenly when she sees Kim that Nils almost slams into her from behind.

"Be nice," Gunnar warns as the kids approach the table.

"Why didn't Jenna take you with her?" Nils asks Kim, both kids look confused as they take their places at the table.

"Jenna hasn't left yet," Gunnar tells them, "She's out back."

"No, she's not," Lorelei tells him as she takes a large bite of pasta, "She just drove past us as we were walking over. She didn't even wave goodbye."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Gunnar snarls, dropping his fork, jumping up from the table and darting out the front door with Butterscotch on his heels.

"Oh no," Kim exclaims and jumps up to run after them.

Sure enough, when Rune, the kids and I join everyone out in front Jenna's car is gone. Two dusty duffle bags sit on the gravel drive in its place.

"I forgot she had a spare key hidden on the car," Gunnar shakes his head as he picks up the two duffel bags.

"My brother's going to kill me," Kim says, but instead of following Gunnar back into the house, she sits on the bottom step and promptly bursts into tears.

"Kids, go eat on the back deck," Gunnar backtracks and takes in the crying young woman, "Take the dog with you," he's using a tone that isn't to be messed with as he shepherds the kids inside. I follow him and dart into the downstairs bathroom for a box of tissues.

"I'm sorry," Kim mumbles as I hand her the box, "I know you've all got a terrible dark cloud of gossip hanging over your head. I don't mean to add to it."

"What's going on?" I see Syd ask Gunnar drowsily, coming into the living room. Rune shuts the front door and joins me to sit on the porch steps up a couple from the still crying Kim.

"Kim, we'll get you a flight home, don't worry," I tell her, "Surely your brother can't be mad at you because Jenna is acting so crazy."

"You don't know my brother," Kim says, sniffing and wiping her tears, "He idolizes Jenna. It'll be just one more thing in my life I've fucked up. The only thing he'll be happy about in this is that she and Gunnar are broken up."

**

"There's nothing close to a direct flight except on standby until Wednesday," Gunnar comes out to find Rune, Syd, and I on the back deck. We've resumed brainstorming on how to launch Horse Girls Heroes.

"I know none of you have any reason to trust me," Kim says from behind him, looking thoroughly miserable, "but if someone has miles, you can book a standby ticket with for me, and then someone can Venmo me a few hundred dollars and take me to Viking Station I'll be out of your hair soon."

"Don't be ridiculous," Gunnar says shortly, sitting with a huff into one of the Adirondack chairs and taking out his phone.

"I've signed a copy of the non-disclosure, and I'll come up with a way to pay you back," Kim says quickly, wrapping her arms around herself in a way that seems like she wants to make herself as small as possible.

"Kim, you have my email address; send me an invoice for how much you agreed Jenna would pay you for this trip, and I'll send you the money," Gunner tells her, his voice more friendly.

"Thank you, that's very kind," Kim says. Looking relieved but still uncomfortable, she sits down in the empty chair next to Gunnar and takes out her own phone.

"Let's be smart about this everyone," Syd says, "Kim, do you have any social media or crowdfunding campaign skills?" Syd asks from where we were working at the table.

"I mostly did photography and videography when I worked at the lifestyle magazine, but before that I worked for an amazing handmade doll designer who hosted some successful campaigns," Kim admits, "Why?"

I tell her about the crowdfunding campaign for Horse Girls and that we're also going to make it a fundraiser for the rescue horses

"That's a cool idea," she says, "Can I see what you've put together so far?"

While we catch Kim up on the campaign, Gunnar and Rune take off to make sure their other spare room is set up for Kim to sleep in, and to check in with the kids.

"Have you got all of your gift perks figured out?" Kim asks as she flips through a copy of the day calendar.

"No," I admit, "we've been focused on the pre-funding letter. Rune wants to send it out to our friends and family sometime next week."

"That's good; I bet you'll raise quite a bit that way, but yes, you need excellent perks. It's a way to make people feel more involved," Kim tells us, "Show me the social media images you're starting to put together for the launch."

I show her the new illustration I've done of two young horses, and then Syd shows the video Rune helped me make on Rune's laptop since hers now needs to go to the shop.

"We need to reshoot Shelby's intro," Syd tells Kim, "Since it also needs to talk about the rescue horses. We'll take video of them and better images of them early next week. Could you help us out with that before you take off on Wednesday?"

"Of course," Kim says, starting to sound excited, "The fact that both Shelby and Rune can edit video, and at this caliber is gold."

"I've noticed that the most successful campaigns have good videos," I tell her, glad she's enthused.

"Maybe Jenna wasn't crazy with her reality lifestyle show idea," Kim says, after studying Rune's Instagram and mine for a while.

"You can't be serious!" Syd exclaims, looking like she wants to flee the table, "I could lose my job if my company thought I was behaving unprofessionally."

"Hear me out," Kim says quickly, holding up her hands, "I don't mean a real reality show. I mean, why not turn the tables on these crazy people and their smear campaign against your family."

"We're admitting that Rune and I are in a relationship," I tell her, "But we want to be careful with everyone else's privacy, especially the kids."

"I hear you about the kids," Kim says, "But what if you showed a more united front? Especially considering what Jenna might decide to get up to once she gets home?"

"You think she'll try and talk to the media?" I ask, as the tsunami wave of dread crests in my mind's eye. Crap.

"She really likes to be the center of attention," Kim says, "She never told me anything about how talented you are Shelby, "just that you inherited this big house and spend all of your time drawing and weeding. And you're dating one of the millennials' favorite TV boyfriends," You've hardly begun to tap into the power of that popularity if you want to drown out what this guy Franklin is up to."

"She has a point," Syd nods, looking thoughtful.

"Rune and Gunnar aren't my thing," Kim says, standing, starting to walk back and forth on the deck, "I mean, honestly, the fact that I'm gay is probably a big reason why Jenna hired me. But I'm a good videographer. You should be using all of your combined photogenic-ness, and the beauty of this place more."

"Oh," I say in surprise, and Syd snorts a laugh at my continued obtuseness.

"You should be telling the story of all four of you and your histories together and how it relates to this place and the horses," Kim continues, "let people fall in love with that story."