Before I could say anything, the hostess called out tous. “How many?”
Jesse turned back to her. “Two.”
She looked down at her seating chart as if she hadn’tbeen studying it awkwardly for the last five minutes. “It will be about twentyminutes before a table opens up. You’re welcome to the bar in the meantime. Weencourage you to grab a drink and enjoy the art on display.”
“Is that okay?” Jesse asked sounding a little unsure.I could tell this wasn’t his element. I didn’t know if it was the gallery partor the swanky bar aspect. Frisco was a pretty chill town and the restaurantsand bars reflected that atmosphere. Jesse’s nightlife leaned more to Foote’s orthe nearest German beer joint rather than expensive cocktails and fussy food.
“It’s what I’ve been dying to do since we walked inthe door,” I told him honestly.
His expression relaxed. “All right then. Let’s get adrink and browse.”
The hostess waved us toward the bar with a sneer Icouldn’t decipher. Her behavior was strange enough to make me wonder if I knewher from somewhere. Had I somehow offended her without realizing it? “Do youknow her?” I asked Jesse. Maybe he had dated her before. Maybe she was pissedthat he was here with me.
“Never seen her before,” he replied.
“Hey, Caroline,” Cass greeted me as we slid up to thebar. I knew her from Juliet’s preschool class. Her son Max was the same age asJuliet.
I shook off the weird vibes from the snobby hostessand focused on the pretty bartender. “Hey, Cass. I didn’t know you worked here.”
She passed a couple drinks off to a waiter and turnedher full attention to us. “Yeah, I applied as soon as I heard they were hiring.I was over at Mick’s before. But this is better. Closer to home and they’rereally great about working with my schedule so far.”
“That’s awesome. It’s so hard to find that.”
She nodded. “Yeah, the owners are pretty much the best.And isn’t this place amazing? This is seriously the coolest bar I’ve ever beenin. They wanted to bring the East Coast to Colorado. I think they pulled it off.”
“They did,” I agreed although I felt a little weirdabout how much Cass was gushing about her bosses. She was a single mom like meand we’d bonded over raising kids alone. She was a tough cookie. Her ex hadbeen a real piece of work from what I’d gathered, although she rarely talkedabout him. The point was, I had never heard her compliment anyone before,except for maybe her son Max.
“Anyway, you’re obviously here to drink. Let me helpyou with that.”
“To see the art,” I clarified. “The booze is a bonus.Oh, and this is Jesse. Jesse this is Cass. Our kids are in school together.”
“The horse guy,” she nodded familiarly. “I know you.”
The tips of Jesse’s ears turned red and I had thepleasure of watching him squirm. “Uh, yeah, horses. The Hasting Ranch outsideof town.”
Cass’s eyes widened. “Ah.” Shooting me a sly grin, shenudged a drink menu in front of us. “Well, nice to meet you, Jesse. Take yourtime deciding on what you want. But to be honest, I make a fucking awesome mojito.”
Her reaction embarrassed me for some reason. TheHasting Ranch was well known in Summit County and clearly well off. But Jessedidn’t exactly own it. And even if he did, his money was not what finally gotme to say yes.
I knew what it looked like though. Cass was a singlemom and I knew she was struggling. She worked late shifts when her mom couldwatch Max. And she struggled to pay the preschool fee every month. She saw meand assumed the same thing.
But I didn’t need Jesse’s money.
I had my own.
Maybe it wasn’t the fortune it had once been, but itwas enough for Jules and me.
Although I did take her up on her raspberry mojito andshe was not lying. It was amazing. Jesse grabbed a pint of beer from a localbrewery and we left the bar to browse the exhibits.
Now that we had settled into the venue, conversationwith Jesse grew a little strained. At first we just awkwardly stood in front ofa painting, taking in the details silently.
Which was fine with me, but I could feel Jesse gettingmore and more awkward. I ignored him at first. The painting was breathtaking. Awoman’s silhouette stood in the center, her body raised up on her tiptoes, herface covered by a long hood. Her toes just barely touched the surface of the water,making it ripple in every direction. Her head tilted to the side and her armswere stretched out. It was mesmerizing. Was she in pain? Or somethingotherworldly altogether? The background was an interesting mixture of dark skyand exaggerated stars. And in the corner of the piece, the initials swirledtogether in a way that I couldn’t read.
I squinted at them anyway. I felt at home with thispainting for some reason, at peace. She wasn’t in pain, I decided. She wasoffering something. A gift.
“It’s really beautiful,” Jesse murmured when Icontinued to stare at it.
“Do you see the artist’s name anywhere?” I asked him.“I can’t find it.”
