And for however long, I had Teller.
“I love the posts you’ve been doing,” Ruby said. “The character of the bar has really come out, and then combined with yours, I think it’s a good fit.”
“I learned from the best,” I said and I meant it. I’d paid for a consult, but she’d given me much more time and expertise than I was owed.
“If you got some shots of this guy”—Ruby tipped her head toward Teller—“you’d definitely attract a bigger female crowd. That is, if he wants to.”
“I’d hate to show Tenor that I can draw more likes than him,” Teller joked.
I followed Copper Summit’s social media pages, and the posts with the guys were quite popular. That wasn’t why I studied their posts. I was evaluating Ruby’s tactics. But he was why I caught myself mindlessly stalled on an image with a stalwart Teller pouring corn into a mash tank.
Tenor shook his head. “I’d hate for you to realize that the girls are liking the posts for the bourbon and not you.”
Teller laughed and I joined in. Light. Easy. The way it should be with family and friends. The way it had been with my aunt Tilly when she’d taken me shopping for new shoes or when she’d let me pick three different treats at a bakery in Billings. I had lost that when she passed.
“What are you doing after this?” Ruby asked. “I saw you were almost done with the bathrooms.”
“Not me,” I answered. “Teller gets the credit for it.”
I almost put my hand on Teller’s leg, but I squeezed my fingers into a fist. This was casual. Not official. We weren’t a couple.
Then what were we? I still didn’t have an answer.
Our food arrived, and I got lost in the good conversation and excellent food. Once our plates were cleared, Teller got the tab.
“We’d better get going,” he said. “She has to meet with her real estate agent.”
“I hope it’s to fire him.” Teller shot him a glare, but Tenor just shrugged. “Sal would run over his mom to make an extra buck.”
I smothered a laugh. He was right. I should’ve questioned Sal weeks ago.
Teller thought for a moment. “He sort of did, remember? His dad made him life insurance beneficiary so he could take care of his mom, only Sal got a new boat, a truck to haul it with, and a cabin outside of Jackson Hole.”
“I must’ve been gone for that,” I muttered. Would it have mattered? I’d have probably hired him anyway, telling myself he was my only option without trying. “Anyone have a recommendation?” I asked, not really kidding. Who else would sell the house for me that didn’t hold a grudge against my parents?
Tenor’s brow creased and he exchanged a look with Teller. “There’s Jeff Armstrong.”
Not for me. “He said the Townsends could eat shit. He’d bulldoze our property before he passed along ‘bad juju.’” I threw up air quotes for the last part.
“He’d sell it and buy another boat,” Teller said. “What about Kathy Wilson?”
“She called Mom a whore.” I wasn’t going to say the next part, but their doubtful expressions drove me to it. “She called me Baby Ho when I was a kid.”
“Jesus.” Teller leaned back, storm clouds raging in his expression.
“People have bought and sold property around my parents all my life,” I explained. “It’s enough time to insult and piss off every agent in the county, or sleep with them, in the case of my dad and Kathy.”
“Ah, hell,” Teller said. “That does complicate it.”
“I might have an option,” Ruby said hesitantly. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s not my favorite person. But she has a healthy ego, so she’ll fight for her clients and insult anyone she doesn’t like subtly, but so thoroughly they won’t know what hit them.”
Tenor’s eyes widened. “Cara?”
Ruby nodded but didn’t take her attention off me. “She moved back to Bozeman with her husband, but I’ve seen her signs posted in the area.”
“Was she mean to you growing up?” I asked. I wouldn’t trade one ass for another, and Ruby was the sweetest girl. Who the hell would insult her?
Ruby leaned forward, her expression earnest. “Yes, but she seemed to be trying to change. There was just too much history there, you know? I’m not Tenor. I can’t go play tennis with her like he does with my dad.”
