will you remember our number?

will you remember our number?
 “Neither was Ashlee,” Karen noted. “She hasn’t said anything, but I heard she took on two other cases while she was here last week. I think that’s very telling, don’t you?”
“Whoa,” Ashlee said. “Let’s not leap to any conclusions here. Sue Ellen’s case is a one-time thing, a tragic situation for someone we know. When it’s over, that’s that. I’ll be back in Denver.”
“What about the other cases?” Lauren asked.
“They were quickies,” Ashlee insisted. “Nothing the least bit complicated. I wrote a will for someone and helped another person straighten out a billing error. They’re both already over and done with.”
“We’ll see,” Lauren said smugly. “I predict you’ll decide to stay before the end of the trial. It’s what Caitlyn wants. It’s what your family wants. It is most definitely what Ford Hamilton wants.”
Ashlee scowled. “Leave Ford out of this. He has nothing to do with any decision I make.”
“I don’t think he’ll agree to be left out,” Lauren teased. “Have you guys seen them together?”
“I’ve heard them,” Karen said, grinning. “They argue. Morning, noon, night, it doesn’t matter, they argue.” She gave an exaggerated shiver. “All that untapped passion just waiting to cut loose.”
“I refuse to listen to another word of this,” Ashlee said with a huff. “I’m going home, where I will get a good night’s sleep, untroubled by dreams of Ford Hamilton or any other man, for that matter.”
“Give me a lift?” Hanna asked. “I told Rafe I needed this time to think. I guess I’d better start doing it.”
Lauren glanced at Karen. “I guess it’s just you and me then. Can we stick

around and listen to the music?”
“Sure,” Karen agreed, though without much enthusiasm.
Hanna gave a fierce hug to each of her friends. “Thanks for sticking by me tonight. Watching Rafe leave was harder than I’d expected it to be.”
“All the more reason to get on the phone and tell him to come back, don’t you think?” Lauren asked.
“Leave her alone,” Ashlee advised. “She needs time to think.”
“No,” Lauren said adamantly. “What she needs is to listen to her heart for the first time in her life.”
“Hey, you guys can stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” Hanna said, waving a protesting hand in front of their faces. “I don’t know what I need or what I want or even what my heart is saying.” She smiled to take the sting out of her words. “I’ll keep you posted.”
She got her first clue when she walked into her room at the hotel and saw the message light blinking. Sure that Rafe must have called, her heart thumped unsteadily. Filled with an unfamiliar sense of anticipation, she grabbed the phone and asked for the message.
“Deidre called,” the desk clerk reported, dimming Hanna’s excitement. “She says it’s urgent. Call her at the restaurant or at home, no matter what time it is.”
“Thanks, Lucille,” Hanna told the woman. Now her heart was beating too hard for another reason entirely. She glanced at the clock, then dialed the restaurant’s number. Deidre picked up at once. “Hi, it’s Hanna. What’s going on?”
“Three of our biggest investors were in here earlier tonight demanding to see you or Bobby,” she said without preamble. “I didn’t know what to do, so I lied. I told them you were away on a family emergency and couldn’t be reached and that Bobby was due back soon. They seemed to accept that.”
Hanna was surprised they’d bought it. “Are you sure they didn’t know Bobby had taken off with the money?”
“Apparently not, or maybe they were on a fishing expedition. My hunch was that they’d heard rumors and came by to check them out, but they took my story at face value.”
“Did they leave right away or cause trouble?”
“Neither. I invited them to stay for dinner. I made sure they had the best meal of their lives, a bottle of our best wine and great service. It didn’t hurt that the place was packed. They left happy men. I still think you might want to call them, though, follow up on their visit, so to speak. I got their business cards.”
“Give me the names,” Hanna said, taking them down. “I’ll call first thing in the morning. Thanks again, Deidre. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Are you coming back soon?” Deidre asked wistfully. “I like running this place and I’m good at most of it, but dealing with this kind of thing gives me hives. I’m a wreck.”
“But you did exactly the right thing,” Hanna said. “That fib you told was pretty close to the truth, and it got the job done.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Are you coming back soon?” “Another couple of weeks,” Hanna said. “I promise.”
By then Tony and Francesca should be back. With any luck Hanna would have sorted through her own options and be ready to deal with the fallout, whichever way she went.
“Okay, I can hold the fort that long,” Deidre said, sounding more optimistic. “By the way, I’ve managed to bring nearly half the bills up to date. If business stays like this for the rest of the fall, they should all be caught up by the time you get here. That’ll just leave the payments to the investors for you to handle. And with the holidays coming and all the parties and catering, you should be in good shape.”
“Business is that good?” Hanna said, surprised and pleased. “We have catering jobs booked for the holidays?” There had been a trickle of requests for information before she’d left, but she’d expected word of their financial straits to make most people too skittish to book them for critical holiday entertaining.
“Business is great,” Deidre said. “We have a big catering job for almost every night between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. And Ronnie and I have been able to cut a few costs in the kitchen. Nothing to harm the quality of the food,” she said hurriedly. “We’re just cutting waste.”
“Thank you again,” Hanna said with heartfelt sincerity, as an idea began to take shape in her head.
Will