"She's swell. Better than swell. She's got offers pouring in from all over. Vinny's agreed to represent her."

"Oh. Wow. Good for her."

"You know what this means, though," Keelie said, with a crinkle in her brow.

"What?"

"I'll be looking for a new reality BFF."

"Hmm. How about Lindsay?" I asked.

"Old news," she said, "and I do mean old."

I laughed.

"I'm thinking you've already got a new BFF lined up, and he goes by the name, Jax," I said.

She smiled. A real smile. Not a fakey phony one.

"You're right. I've got Jax. And, as you can see, my mom and I have agreed to work on our relationship. So, it's all good."

"I'm happy for you," I said, and meant it.

"We're almost to the finish line," Keelie said.

I nodded.

"Who would have thought we'd make it all the way?" I said.

"You made it all the way," Keelie said. "You were right. I fudged it. I'm a fakey mcfake fake. That song Jax wrote? I'm the one who was in and out, and here and there, and who wouldn't commit. I'm the fake. I'm the fraud. Me. Not Jax. And you were right about the ride. I haven't ridden. I'd hop on the bike five miles outside town and ride in. That's me. Counterfeit Keelie."

I shrugged. It didn't seem like a big deal anymore.

"That was you," I said. "Past tense. And this is an annual ride, so you know, there's always next year," I said.

She grinned.

"Not on your friggin' life! Once is enough!" she said. "I hear they're still betting on who is going to win," she added.

I shrugged again.

"Let them. Not everything is a compet.i.tion or about winning," I said. "I'm perfectly fine with you and your mother getting to the finish line before us."

"Oh, well. That's good. 'Cuz we're so gonna kick your a.r.s.es." She put her hand to her forehead and made a lame 'L.' "Losers! Come on, mom! Work for it!"

As they rode by us, Candice's middle finger went up.

"Mother-daughter bonding. Gotta love it," I remarked to my mother. "What do you think? Should we let them win?"

"They already have, Tressa," my mother replied. "They already have."

"Oh." I thought for a second. "I get it. The mother-daughter thing. But I meant the race. Should we let them finish first?"

"Are you out of your friggin' mind? Let that b.i.a.t.c.h win? Please. Let's give her all she's got, Captain!" she said with a Scottish lilt.

"Switching to warp drive!" I said, and bore down.

Getting to the end of a ride you never thought you could finish? Good.

Getting permission to beat the pants off a pair of Tinseltown celebs on the ride? Better.

Sharing that victory with your mum?

Priceless.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE.

"We did it, Mom! We did it!"

I got off the bike and helped my mom do the same.

"I'll be sore for a month," she said, wincing and she stretched. "But it feels great!"

"I wonder where Taylor is," I said, grabbing my f.a.n.n.y pack to pull out my phone.

"Hey. Mom! Tressa! Over here!"

I heard a gasp.

"What in the world is he doing here?" my mother said.

I looked up, spotting Taylor. And beside her stood-"

"Dad?"

"Yes. Your father. What on earth is he doing here?"

"Clapping," I said. And he was. He stood there, Cubs cap on his head, clapping for all he was worth.

"What does he think he's doing?" my mother asked. "He must've flipped out while I was gone."

"He's applauding," I told her. "He's applauding us! He's applauding you!"

"Oh...my!"

I watched the emotions play on my mom's face. I saw the surprise, the sudden warm glow of happiness. The love.

"Well, go to him, you dope!" I said, giving her a push. "And that's an order, stroker!"

My mother hugged me and took off at a high lope, landing in my pop's open arms.

"Now that's what I call a perfect landing," I heard, and whirled to find Ranger Rick behind me, his arms up, his hands forming a square frame. "Picture perfect."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I brought your dad."

"You brought him? What? He couldn't drive himself?"

"He didn't want to have an extra vehicle."

"I'm not following," I said.

"Your dad took the next two weeks off. He's. .h.i.tting the road with your mother in the RV. Judging from the look on Jean's face, I'd say he was telling her about now."

I turned.

My mother had her arms around my dad's neck and her legs were doing this really weird Snoopy happy dance.

"What on earth persuaded my dad to surprise her like this?" I said. "It's so spontaneous. So unexpected. So romantic. So...not him!"

Rick shrugged. "I guess he decided to mix things up a bit."

I turned. "This was your idea, wasn't it?" I said. "You convinced my dad to take this leap."

Rick grinned. "I might've had a talk with him."

"Oh? And what might you have said?"

"I might have pointed out that, no matter how long you've been together, sometimes a woman just needs to be courted."

"You said that?"

"Well, since it was your dad I was talking to, I think I put it more like relationships are built on a foundation that, from time to time needs refurbishing."

"Refurbishing?"

He nodded. "That, over time, a foundation can get a little cracked around the edges, and you have to repair it, build it back up."

"Oh? And just how did you suggest he do that?" I asked, finding myself lost in the dark depths of whiskey color eyes.

"By making more memories. Happy ones," he said, and my heart melted to a gooey, runny mess.

I looked over at my folks again. Before, if someone had suggested what Townsend suggested, my pop would have hightailed it the other way.

"You look troubled, Tressa."

"It's like that episode of Star Trek with the parallel realities," I said. "I'm just trying to find out which one is real."

He suddenly grabbed me, lifting me clean off the ground, and kissed me.

"What was that?" I asked when he put me down.

"A dose of reality," he said.

I leaned into him.

"I've been hobn.o.bbing with Tinseltown inhabitants. I may need a few more doses," I said.

A now familiar luxury motor coach pulled up.

"Ah, the chariot awaits, I see," I told Townsend, pointing to Keelie's bus. "I don't think Keelie's here yet. Unless-"

I sighed. She'd taken a short cut after all.

I watched Manny get off the bus and walk over to my folks.

"I wonder what's going on," I said.

Townsend's arm at my waist tightened. "When it comes to Manny DeMarco, G.o.d only knows," he said.

Which reminded me. There was still the matter of those five little questions and five truthful answers...If I was gonna crack the mystery that was Manny with only five questions, I would have to be at the top of my game. I had my work cut out for me when I got back home.

Taylor made her way to us, a great, big smile on her face.

"What's all that about?" I asked. "You know. With Dad and Mom and...Manny?"

"Can you believe it? Keelie Keller has offered Mom and Dad the use of her luxury bus for the next two weeks free of charge! She's even throwing in a chauffeur!"

"Manny's chauffeuring our folks in Keelie's bus?"

"No! Manny's not driving. Keelie hired a driver. Seems Mom and Keelie had this all worked out last night."

"Last night?"

"Mom was going to drive home and surprise Dad."

The surface of the planet shifted under my feet again. Townsend steadied me.

"Are you sure those are our parents?" I asked Taylor.