“What is it? Oh, the painting. That’s your house, isn’t it?”
“It’s the ranch house. There’s snow on the mountains, on the high peaks, but the fall flowers are in the pots and the beds. And the ginkgo trees have gone gold.”
The shopkeeper, sensing multiple sales, wandered over. “One of our local artists’ work. I love the vibrant color of the ginkgos, and the wonderfully sprawling lines of the ranch house, and how the sky’s showing red behind the mountains. It makes me want to sit on that old bench under the trees and watch the sun set.”
“What did the artist call it?”
“Serenity. I think it suits. That’s the Bodine Ranch. The family owns and runs the Bodine Resort, one of the finest places to vacation or just dine in the state. The family’s lived there, about an hour’s drive from Missoula, for generations.”
“You can just see the near paddock in the corner there, and there’s Chester sleeping on the front porch. Our dog,” Bodine said to the shopkeeper. “I live there. Bodine Longbow.” She offered her hand.
The shopkeeper flushed with embarrassed pleasure as she gripped Bodine’s hand. “Oh, well for goodness’ sake! Listen to me explaining it all to you. I’m so pleased to meet you, Miss Longbow. Stasha—the artist—she’s going to be over the moon you admired her painting.”
“I hope she’s just as pleased I’m buying her painting. For my mother for Christmas. You can tell her I admire her work very much, but it’s the ginkgos that sealed it.”
Bodine turned to Jessica. “On a crisp fall evening, on that bench under those trees, my father first kissed my mother.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” the shopkeeper said again, waving a hand in front of her face as her eyes filled. “That is so romantic. And this, this is like kismet, isn’t it? Oh, I have to call Stasha. Would you mind if I did?”
“Not a bit. You can tell her when my mother relates the story of that first kiss, she said it felt like her whole world had turned to gold, like the leaves overhead.”
Now the shopkeeper dug in her pocket for a tissue.
“How long would it take her to paint them in?” Jessica wondered. Then caught herself. “Sorry. I was thinking out loud.”
“Well, Jesus, Jessie, that’s the best damn idea ever! Could she do that?” Bodine demanded. “It’d be more of an impression of people, wouldn’t it, from the distance. I can get her photos of them from back then, but it wouldn’t be like she’d have to paint portraits.”
“I’m calling her right now. She lives right in town. I’m calling her. Oh my goodness.”
“Jessica.” Bodine draped her arm around Jessica’s shoulder. “I hit perfection on this, and you boosted me up a full rung over that. She’s going to be thrilled. Just thrilled. I’m buying the pizza.”
Over the years, Bodine had enjoyed shopping—occasionally—with her mother, with the grannies. Together or one at a time, even though it seemed her mother, on a hunt for a black purse, for instance, felt obligated to look at the universe of same before making a decision.
But she had to admit that an excursion with Jessica, and the exceptional success, topped all. She loaded up on gag gifts—she especially liked the boot socks with cowboys clad only in boots, hats, and tighty-whities.
Flushed with the fun of it, she was primed for Jessica’s expert wheedling, and ended up buying herself a red leather vest—a color she usually bypassed—a white shirt with fancy cuffs to go under it, and a new lipstick she’d forget to put on more than half the time.
Plus, anytime she could down a couple slices of Biga pizza equaled a very good day.
Bodine bit into hers, watching Jessica. “Well?”
“It’s good.” Jessica took a second bite, considered, savored. “It’s really good.”
“Rest my case. Though I don’t know why you’d want spinach all over your half.”
“Healthy and delicious. And your case doesn’t rest. It’s really excellent pizza, but—”
Chewing, Bodine wagged a finger in the air. “That’s just New York stubbornness.”
“One of these days, we’re going to do some shopping in New York, you and I.”
Biting into her slice, Bodine snickered. “Yeah, that’s going to happen.”
“I’ll find a way to see it does. And when it does, I’m taking you to Lombardi’s. Although…” Jessica ate a little more. “I will admit, knowing this place is here makes me miss New York a lot less.”
“You still do?”
“Off and on. I may never get used to the quiet. I still wake up in the middle of the night sometimes because it’s so quiet. Or I’ll glance out the window expecting to see buildings, traffic, and there’s space and fields and mountains.”
“Seems odd things to miss. Noise and traffic.”
“And yet.” On a laugh, Jessica sipped some wine. “Some days I miss the pace, the sheer force of energy—and the Thai place around the corner. But then I’m struck by those mountains, and the air, the work I really, really love, and the people I’ve gotten to know. And now I’m learning to ride a horse.”
“How’s that going? I wanted to come down, but I thought for now you might not want an audience.”
“You’ve got that right. Your grandmother’s amazing, and she’s a very patient teacher. I’ve stopped feeling like I’m taking my life in my hands every time I get up on Maybelle. That right there isn’t bad for three lessons.”
“We’ll have you out on a cattle drive in no time.”
“Let me take a page from your book.” Jessica toasted her. “Yeah, that’s going to happen.”
“You’re going to surprise yourself. I don’t want to get into business too much, but I want to say you’ve become, in a short time, a vital member of the resort family. I’ve come to depend on you, to know I can, and that makes me better at my job.”
“That means a lot. I love working for you, for the family. God, I really love coordinating with Rory. He’s so smart and creative, and he makes me laugh every single day.”
“He’s flirting with Chelsea, isn’t he?”
Jessica tried to poker up, but her lips curved as she lifted her pizza. “Maybe. It’s hard to blame him. She’s adorable, on top of being bright and energetic. She shines on big-picture concepts, and knows how to handle details when I toss them at her. She’s become another reason I love the work. I wasn’t sure I would.”
“It’s hard to believe you were unsure of anything, moving across the country the way you did.”
“I took this leap at a difficult time in my life, and told myself it was better to take the leap and make a mistake than to stand still and be unhappy. I’m glad I took the leap and learned it wasn’t a mistake but exactly the right thing.”
Studying Bodine, Jessica sipped more wine. “I think it’s safe now for me to ask why you hired me. The woman from New York who’d never been west of the Mississippi.”
“Well, your résumé made my eyes pop. Your résumé and your references made me do a butt jiggle in my chair. I didn’t know if you’d stick. You were sad.”