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“We need lasses of chane

I had no shame as I double-fisted the drinks

Heidi laughed and nodded toward the tables “Let’s find where we’re sitting”

We wandered over to the table with the list of names elaborately tacked up on a rustic

Heidi plucked her name off the distressed clothespin “We’re table twelve My lucky number”

“That’s because Brandon McCain wore that nuh school”

“Okay, fine,” Heidi said with a shrug “It’s et-lucky number”

I snorted “That’s rich”

“Here we are” She dropped her purse down right in front of her nauest That’s you”

“Who else are ith?” I asked

Heidi and I scanned the names

I shrugged “I don’t know any of these people”

“Work people,” she said “But at least we have Julia Julia Banner She’s cool You’ll like her”

“I’ve never heard you mention her before”

“She’s new You kno it goes with the newbies,” she said with a wry expression before downing half of her glass of cha to stick around Lubbock for more than a year So many burned friendships with people who move here and then relocate immediately We’ll see if she survives, and then I’ll decide if we bring her in”

“You act like we’re in a gang,” I told her with a shake of my head

Heidi leaned over and conspiratorially whispered, “We are”