“Isn’t that the one you have a crush on.”
Lando froze in the middle of grabbing another warmer jacket. Spinning on her toes, she eyed her aunt carefully. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t you have a crush on her?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She’d thought she’d managed to keep that a secret from everyone, including herself. Having a crush on the teacher was a bad idea from the start, and Lando had worked her hardest to keep those feelings at bay and focus solely on her school work. She didn’t need any more distractions that quarter.
“Sure, you do. You talk about her all the time, get this flushed little look in your cheeks.”
Lando glared and rolled her eyes, focusing on the task at hand.
“That look!” Aunt T pointed at her. “That’s the one right there.”
“Oh hell,” Lando muttered. “Yes, Professor Myers will be going out chasing with us, but I do not have a crush on her.”
“I don’t believe you, but we’ll go with what you said for now. Are you sure this is wise? I mean, won’t you be spending a lot of one-on-one time with her?”
“The entire team will be together most of the time. It’ll be rare any of us will be without the other.”
Aunt T frowned. “How much are you getting paid?”
Lando shrugged. “The internship pays most of my salary. It’s only two grand a month, but it’s supposed to be supplemented.”
“That’s not a lot.”
“No, but housing and food should be taken care of while we’re out chasing.”
“Should be?” Aunt T raised her eyebrows at the card, flipping it over. “Didn’t you talk details before saying yes?”
“Sure.” Lando slipped that lie in again. She’d taken it because she needed it. Two grand was more than she was making then, so what did it matter if she had to leave the state for it? They could hash out details as soon as she had Diane in the car and they were driving. Surely there was a lot of time spent getting from one place to the next.
“I don’t know how I feel about this.”
“Well, I’m going,” Lando said firmly. “I need you to check in on the house when you can. I’ve shut everything off, but just to make sure it doesn’t fall over, you know?”
“Or burn to the ground?” Aunt T slid her gaze upward, those cool sea-glass eyes locking on Lando’s form.
“Yeah, or that.” Lando shoved in a pair of sweats for sleeping into her duffel. “Thanks, Aunt T.”
Aunt T hummed, though it didn’t sound like she was too pleased. “What would Nan say if she could see you now?”
“She’d tell me to go, what are you talking about?”
“She might, but I’m pretty sure she’d give you a good whipping if you made a mess of it.”
“Can’t hardly make a mess of a job when I’m living that job.”
“One can only hope,” Aunt T murmured. “You’ll call?”
“Yeah, and I’ll send damn post cards from every town we stop in. I promise. I know how much you like them.”
“I’ll add them to my collection.” Standing, Aunt T stretched her calves before stalking over to the duffel. She fiddled around with the edge of it. “Got everything you need?”
“Mostly.”
“I’m serious about calling. Don’t make me come out there to find you.”
“I promise.”