“Not yet. But it still feels right.”
“Maybe he’s gone well and truly to ground. Taking a frigging sabbatical. Or we’re not altogether wrong, but he headed east. Montana, Colorado. Arizona.”
“Let’s do this. We give this another day, get a couple of rooms, work the problem again, get some sleep. Start fresh tomorrow and go into the national forest, brief the park rangers. We get nothing, we take a break. I want to sleep in my own bed with my husband.”
“Another day,” he agreed. “We could use a break, clear the mind, maybe find a new angle. It’s starting to feel like chasing our tails, Tee. I think we were right about him baiting us up north, I think we had that right. I just don’t know if we’ve got this right. Not a damn sign of him.”
“One more day, a break, then back at it. Since we’re staying, let’s have a beer.”
“I can get behind that.”
* * *
At the resort, well before her shift, Morgan knocked on Lydia’s door. She knew the matriarch was in, just as she knew word had already spread. She’d wanted to wait until she had the ring on her finger again, but since word spread, she opted for now.
“Come!”
She opened the door. “Could I speak with you a minute? I have a meeting with Nell coming up, but I wanted to speak to you first if you have time.”
“All right, come in, sit. It gives me a chance to tell you Mick and I are very pleased.”
“Thank you, thank you for that. But more, I want to thank you … I had a very coherent and heartfelt speech. I practiced. But it’s just gone. I can’t tell you what it means to me that you’d trust me with the ring Mick gave you. The one you’ve worn all this time. I promise you I’ll cherish it, and I’ll do everything I can to be a good partner to Miles.”
“He wouldn’t have asked me for the ring if I couldn’t trust you. I wouldn’t have given it so willingly if I didn’t know you’d cherish him.”
“I will. I do. The ring’s magic. That sounds silly, but—”
“It doesn’t.” Lydia’s signature red lips curved in a warm, warm smile. “Not to me. And it makes me very happy knowing you’ll wear it, since you feel that, too. The Nashes and the Jamesons. I find I’m not surprised. Your grandmother and I are going to have a great deal of fun harassing you and Miles over your wedding plans. I asked, and he told me you plan to stay, managing Après.”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll be expected at the September family meeting, with a report. Nell can help you with the basic procedure.”
“I’ll be there.” She rose. “Thank you, for everything.”
“Come see me once the ring’s sized. I’d like to see it on you.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and Morgan, I liked that you brought out the Fiestaware, and the clever folds of the napkins. Little details make a home. You’ve already started.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
When Morgan walked into Après, Nick greeted her with a bone-crushing hug.
“Congratulations, best wishes, whatever the hell it’s supposed to be. I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks. I’m so happy for me.”
“Let’s see it. Let’s— Hey, where’s the ring?” Those deep brown eyes reflected bafflement and insult. “WTAF! He didn’t give you a ring?”
“It’s being sized.”
“Oh.” His face ran the gamut from relief to approval to disappointment. “I guess I have to wait till it is to catch the sparkle.”
“I have a picture on my phone.”
“Show! Wait.” He shot a mile-wide grin to a stool sitter who’d cleared his throat. “Sorry. What can I get you?”
“We’ll try two of the special cocktails.”
“Coming right up! My friend—she’s my boss, too—just got engaged. We’re pretty excited.”
“So did we!” The woman on the next stool shot out her left hand and the ring on it. “He surprised me with this at dinner last night.”
“Congratulations. It’s gorgeous. Drinks on me, Nick,” Morgan told him as he made them.
“That’s really nice of you.”
“Solidarity.”
“Her ring’s getting sized,” Nick tossed out. “But she has a picture.”
“Oh, we’d love to see. Wouldn’t we, Trent?”
“Sure.” He looked a lot more interested in the drink, but did his duty and looked at Morgan’s phone. But his fiancée gasped.