CHAPTER NINETY SIX – STRANGE HITCHHIKERS

Claire hummed an approving note of exaggerated sagacity, giving a few wooden knocks to her own honey-blonde crown. "Well it's about darn high time, then. You've kept the old grey mare between your ears fetlocked and hobbled for far too long, Jaz." Jasmine simply shook her head again, too buoyant in the moment's afterglow to bristle at her sister-in-law's somewhat rustic turn of phrase. After the emotionally and logistically draining ordeal of her divorce proceedings with Ethan, it felt so effortlessly revitalizing to simply dwell in a mindset free of complicating anxieties and undue stresses. As if on some unspoken, intuitive signal, they seemed to reach a mutual accord in that suspended lull between words. Jasmine twisted to retrieve her purse from the footwell, fishing out her slender phone as Claire mirrored her motions. "So where to next, fearless trail scout and adventurer?" Jasmine prompted lightly, unable to resist indulging in a touch of playful whimsy as she regarded her