Rocky Mountain Mayhem (36 page)

“We brought down Craig together, so we should
share the money. How about we each take $7,500 and leave $20,000 to
travel with?”

“I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down,”
Lucy said.

“Let’s break out the map!” Wendy said.

Kate gave Vivian a shoulder squeeze. “Thank
you, I need these trips, too!”

They did another round of jumping, cheering
and screaming.

Lucy looked at her watch. “Y’all better get
to security. Sometimes the line sucks.”

Vivian and Kate gathered their things, gave
goodbye hugs to Lucy, Wendy and Wade and headed happily toward
security. Vivian turned to look behind one last time and saw Lucy
headed out of the concourse. She didn’t see Wendy or Wade anywhere.
Guess they found a spot to sit and
“
talk
.” She
grinned.

Vivian and Kate boarded the tram, and it
wasn’t long before they arrived at Kate’s terminal. Vivian gave her
another hug as she headed out. Once the tram started up again she
took off her cowboy hat and set it in her lap.
I’m so glad I
bought these
!

The final stop was her terminal so she
gathered up her carry-on and walked to the gate.

“How long ’til we board?” she asked the
airline employee.

“Not long, five minutes maybe.”

Vivian took a seat by the windows and pulled
out her book. When she did, the adorable porcupine she’d bought in
Aspen peeked out at her. She had brought all of the kids’ stuffed
animals with her as carry-on, just in case something happened to
her checked luggage. She patted it on the head and started
reading.

Before long, she’d boarded the plane, turned
her stream of air on full blast, closed her eyes and fallen asleep.
She awoke as the landing gear went down and they approached the
tarmac.
That was my kinda flight
. She hurriedly went to
baggage claim, got her suitcase and made her way to the car. She
drove as fast as traffic would allow and was excited to see her
cute little house on the cul-de-sac. She carefully pulled into the
side-entry driveway, making sure no little ones were playing in the
large space, a favorite, protected spot for tricycle riding and
wagon-pulling.

She turned off the car and pulled out the
four gifts.
I’ll get the rest later
. She opened the car door
and heard her favorite word echoing joyfully through the
garage.

“MOMMY!”

***

Guess it’s time to get to this
, Vivian
thought as she lugged her suitcase onto the bed.

It’d been a week since she’d been home from
her girls’ trip, and though she’d unpacked the essentials, most of
the items were still crammed inside. Her phone buzzed on her
nightstand. She picked it up and read the display.
What in the
world
?

It was a text message from Wendy, and she
couldn’t believe her eyes.

Next girlz trip is in The Big Easy!

My bachelorette party!

Love ya!

Just a few of the jokes we made at the fire
pit about the butt crack girl:

Blue moon, Moon Lighting, moonstruck,
moonwalk, fly me to the moon, howl at the moon, moon pie, moons
over my hammy, Moon River, Moon Dance. Wonder who the first man was
to walk on the moon? Full moon tonight? Why yes it is!

Flying Buttress. Butt…what are you talking
about? Sure is cold and breezy out here, I’d go inside, butt, I
like the fire.

Ass-tronomical, ass-cot, ass-inine, another
word for a donkey, ass-pen, kick your ass, your ass is grass,
creav-ass, ass-plosion, assholio. Assuming she can’t feel her back
side. I could use some assistance over here.

Crack whore, smokin’ crack, step on a
crack. You’re cracking me up. Does that window have a crack in it?
Say no to crack. Pass the graham crackers. I love peanut butter
crackers
.

And finally…

Anyone know a good plumber
?

This is the life!

Golden Head is just the right height.

The ugliest beaver snatch ever.

Five Girlz in a tub!

“
Oh god, she’s doin’ the wine
goggles!”

In Bachelor Gulch with our Girlz.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaww!

We’d like to thank:

Our favorite Girlz, Lea Bass Rogers (cover
design, story input), whose creative spirit and keen eye never
ceases to amaze us. And Angela Wenk (story input, all-around
antics), whose whirlwind of adventure provides us a ton of laughs.
Thank you both for the continued support!

Thank you to the rest of our Getaway Girlz!
Beth Zimmerman, our fan club Prez, Laura Trujillo, our unpaid
promoter, Stephanie Surendran, our unpaid accountant, Vikki
Shelton, our unpaid entertainment, Gretchen Hoover, our favorite
dentist who makes us smile ten times bigger, Ellen Young, our perky
cheerleader, Christine Moreno, our world traveler and Gerri Ybarra,
Debra Baity, Claire Skold and Rose Benavidez, our new recruits.

John Dycus, the best editor in the world, for
continuing to make us better writers and for the wittiness that
keeps us looking forward to your next email (JK Rolling down the
hill, F and replace…truly, where do you come up with this
stuff?).

Janet Neff continues to amaze us with her
uplifting personal, professional and never-ending support. Thank
you Janet, for your friendship!! And Mr. Bill, for the sustenance
and fine (naked) artwork. Keep that man cookin’!

Kimi Phillips, who, besides being a great
photographer also took care of Johnell after her cliff-diving
incident. Thanks also to the Hamilton ER folks. Y’all did a great
job, too!

Kyle Phillips for your help with the book
trailer. It turned out great!

Our beta readers – Jackie Meeks, and Janet
Neff (again)!

Chris Broome, self-appointed CRM with Barnes
and Nobles in Pasadena, TX. Your one question got us on the right
path. Thanks for that, and for keeping
Getaway Girlz
stocked
on your shelves!

Christina Judge, Alicia Jenkins and April
Ciccarello for being our Fort Worth launch party girlz!

Steph, Vik and La for being our Get Down
launch party girlz!

Brian Simons for your law enforcement
expertise and making our bad guy worse.

Robbyn’s brother, Steven, for the faulty
brakes insight.

Johnell’s brother, Reid, who is a great
seller of books and full of ideas (like the dude ranch)!

Luis Estrada for your book trailer
brain-picking.

Rose Epler for the fashion advice.

Riley, server at Brownstone, for his T-shirt
quote: “I’m not Santa, but you can sit on my lap anyway.”

Jono Ayala for designing the fabulous shadow
box for
Getaway Girlz
that graces the wall at Chuy’s.

Thanks to our favorite writing spots across
Fort Worth, not only the free electricity, but also the great happy
hours. Special thanks to Chuy’s on W. 7th for hanging us up (and
sometimes they come crashing down nearly taking out patrons, but we
won’t mention that!).

Johnell would like to thank:

Thank you to my kidlets, Danielle, Sadie,
Cayce and Cameron. Thanks for being so supportive of my whimsical
endeavor, for never complaining when I have to take you to a book
signing and for being all-around, darn great kids! Love you
guys!

Mom and Dad, thanks for always being there!
You’re willingness to keep a bag packed, car gassed up and ready to
roll means a lot to me!

I’d also like to thank Robbyn for making me
do this. I joke about you being a whip-cracker (which you are), but
first and foremost you’re a wonderful friend. Heart you!