“Yeah. I know.” She catches both of us looking at her and waves meekly. The catalyst, and she’ll never know.
“Henry,” David greets me. “You’re looking good, son. How're things with your piece of the business?”
I shake his hand and Callen’s as well. “Business is good. Peak season right now, so there’s always a massive lack of sleep. We miss this one over here.” I nod to my sister. “But Jack came swooping in with some great leads after he joined our board, and I’m genuinely excited to see things really start to take off.” It’s not the total truth, but business is booming, even if I’m ferociously treading water.
“How long are you in town?” I ask David. While he was a Strutt’s Peak resident for the majority of his life, after selling his ranch to Jack, he decided to head to Canada for a while and try his hand at opening a restaurant in Calgary near Banff, right on Lake Louise.
Before I can hear his answer, my attention is pulled away. That feeling when someone is looking at you creeps up my back. I turn my head slightly to the right and my pulse rate jumps. I look around the tent, adorned with people dressed formally, laughing and talking. There’s rich dark fabrics draped all around. The hundreds of chandeliers that hang above vary in size, but give off just enough light that the room glows with a dim warmth, almost as if the air is laced with flecks of gold.
I smile back at David. I have no idea what he said or what the conversation has shifted to, but I’m clearly distracted.
“She’s somewhere around here.” Everly leans toward me, speaking low enough for only me to hear. I look at her with a tight-lipped smile. My sister has paid closer attention than she should have over the years.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I place my hand on David’s shoulder and smile. “Callen, let’s hit the fat bike trail next week?”
He nods. “Absolutely.”
I lean over and give my sister a kiss on the cheek. “You look incredible. Have fun. Save a dance for me.”
“Behave,” is the only thing she says as I walk away.
28
Giselle
A rookie mistake.Why did I bother wearing underwear tonight? They’re fucking ruined and I’ve only been here for twenty minutes. The moment I walked into the tent, I tried not to look for Henry Riggs. But I did. I’m trying to fool everyone else, but I think I have to stop lying to myself. I know why I look. I can’t help it. Somehow, the man has burrowed deep into my veins. Every other pulse is a reason to stay away, but I can’t ignore those pumps of blood in between the logical reasons, that instead, scream violently to see him and come close enough to touch him. I sound insane, but I’m aware of that too. The man, or perhaps lack thereof, has officially made me crazy.
But instead of him, I find Bea assaulting a massive display of meats and cheeses. After a quick check-in, I leave her to her own devices. She’ll only stay long enough to be seen, to hold up her cover as my aunt, and then leave town again.
“You look like a fucking goddess, Giselle,” Lenny McKenna says loud enough to turn a few heads in my direction.
“Thanks, Len. You clean up nice, too.” I give her a kiss on each cheek. She always tends to lean more masculine in her clothing, and is wearing a full tuxedo with a white jacket.
“Gracie, just, wow. That dress, girl. That. Is. A. Dress!” I hold her arm out and make her spin for me. She fully embraced the New Year’s Gatsby vibe and is wearing a flapper-style drop-waist dress with a low V-cut in the front that shows off insane cleavage. Gracie McKenna is definitely a grown woman. There are no traces of that awkward teenager any longer.
I talk with them for a few minutes. Gracie will help me with some things at the shop until she heads back to school at the end of January. Lenny tries to tell me all the gossip about who the mayor brought as his date tonight.
“I swear to all that is decent in this world that there is no waythatman has the equipment to satisfy a woman of that caliber.” She brings our attention to the Julia Roberts look-a-like draped on the mayor’s arm. “I mean, look at that. That woman is a fucking ten. And Cliff is a hard four. There is not a dick big enough or personality golden enough forthatman to scorethatwoman.”
“Mom, can you tone it down tonight?” Gracie interjects as she gives me an apologetic look. The kicker is that Lenny is probably one of the most solid humans I’ve ever met. Not to mention, she’s spot on with the assessment.
“Len, you know it’s not always what’s on the outside. Who knows, maybe that ten is actually a two because she punts puppies for fun or has a taxidermy collection of insects,” I offer.
Lenny deadpans and gives me an honest to goodness death glare. “G, shut the hell up. Cliff is in his late fifties and my guess is that redhead is easily just hitting her thirties. She could taxidermypeopleand I’d probably still be drooling over her.”
Always a guaranteed over-sharer and nosy bitch.
I wave to a few friends as they make their way through the growing crowd. Mac, then Marie from the town clerk’s office. I see Jin, Everly’s business partner, and Kathryn, Jack’s sister, but I keep away from that dumpster fire. Those two manage to drum up drama wherever they go.
I’d love to be drama-free tonight. And as I think about it, I still sweep my attention around the room.Where did he go?
Heading over to the massive bar, I order my favorite. Vodka rocks with a sugared lemon. Side of club soda. I suck down a water first. It’s New Year's Eve, and this party is going to last well into the early hours of tomorrow morning. I plan to make this night a great one. The energy of the room carries this upbeat warmth. There’s a smile tagged onto every conversation and each clink of a glass is laced with the unspoken promise for an exceptional evening.
I take a deep breath. There are a lot of people here, but I am not going to focus on that. Instead, I look around at the elegance of the food being passed, the velvet texture that’s cascading from ceiling to floor, and the flicker of candles across every opening.
The band that’s been playing has woven in some of Everly’s favorite songs. Some play as intended, but then I recognize a few that are chart-toppers turned classical. Vitamin quartet-style.
The frenetic drumbeat on a high hat combined with the piano pulls my attention to the musicians.I know this song.As soon as the singer with her deep alto voice starts, I recognize it as Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman.” One of my favorites. It’s about a sinning man who tries to hide from justice on his Judgment Day. While I don’t think she was the original singer, Nina Simone’s version is stunning. This singer sounds just like her. And before the song hits its chorus, which sounds like a poetic story where the Sinnerman has a choice: to face his judgement or he can run to the devil, that’s when I find him again.