It was a huge relief when he could finally drag his wife and daughter away from their conversations and bid their hosts goodnight. Jane, sober as a ju...dge, drove. He took the opportunity to ask Candace if she had had a good time. ‘Sure. It was a great party.’ ‘Did you meet anyone new?’ he asked. ‘Of course. I knew Derrick and Allison and a couple of others but most of the people were new.’ ‘What about that boy, Alan?’ ‘Who?’ He couldn’t see her face in the dark but he could hear the puzzlement. The sparing use of the engine kept the cylinder head temperature in the safe range, but all of this was about to change.Ahead was a long steep uphill grade. While Liv currently held a commanding lead over the Jeep, the powerful SUV was quickly closing the gap. On the uphill, she was certainly a goner.The souped up Jeep would have easily blown past the smaller, lighter Porsche on the uphill, even if the motor were working perfectly. Hell, she thought, that monster could probably pass me going. "They're having a show down in the Kumquat Room tonight at 6:00. Michelle and I are going to be in it. You WILL come see us, won't you?" I... uhm... we..." I'm going to be in it too, Jim," Annie told him. "And it's going to be HOT. Won't you come watch me... perform?" Y-yeah..." Jim sighed, trembly."Goodie... !" she breathed.There was another knock at the door. "Jim?" his wife's voice sounded.Jim's eyes widened, then focussed. "All three of you," he pointed to the three women, "Into the. "The next morning dawned bright and sunny, without a cloud in the sky, much to Jack's relief. Looking over, he noticed Denise sitting in front of the window, watching the sun come up over the ocean. The house had been built facing slightly to the east, thus allowing for one to watch the sun rise while keeping the house slightly cooler and out of the direct southern sun in the afternoon. Jack slipped out of bed and taking the comforter with him knelt down behind Denise. She finally noticed him.