Mr. Jacobs was going to be out of town on Friday and Monday, so Niki wasn’t expected to work. She and her father and Blair would fly to Cancun Thursday and leave Monday. It would be a long trip, but Niki was excited and looking forward to it. Cancun, from what she’d read, was a mix of old and new. She’d looked it up on the internet and she was growing more excited by the day. Her coworker, Dan Brady, mentioned an outing he was taking with a hiking club. “We’re going up to Jackson Hole and hiking some of the forest trails,” he said. “You should come with us,” he added. “Your father protects you too much, Nicolette. You’ll never toughen up if you don’t get out of that cocoon he’s weaving around you.” She tried not to be offended. He didn’t know anything about her family, really. “He’s the only family I have,” she said noncommittally. “Of course, and he loves you.
