Chapter 5
Enormous pine trees surrounded the El Rancho Restaurant. The building, made from wood logs, had an old appearance.
They sat in the car for a bit.
“I don’t know…ever since I was a kid. My parents brought us here about once a year. It was a huge treat. But they saved for it every year. Now that I can afford it, I bring them at least once a month. It’s their favorite restaurant. Dad proposed here.”
“That’s a lovely story. How long have your parents been married?”
“Forty years on June twenty-ninth.”
Chase came around to her side and opened the car door for her.
Due to the warm weather, she left her sweater in the car.
As they walked toward the building, and even though there were many cars in the parking lot, she couldn’t help but feel he’d brought her to some burger joint like she might see in Yellowstone. She’d never been to Yellowstone, but she’d seen pictures.
The air here was clear and clean. She smelled the pine scent from the trees around the building. And she recognized the slight odor of cooking meat. It smelled wonderful. Her stomach grumbled.
Chase looked down and chuckled. “We better get inside and take care of your stomach.” He held the door for her.
The tables and booths overflowed with customers, despite it being only mid-week.
The restaurant was obviously a popular destination.
Looking at the crowd, Meri would say that if you expected to get a table, reservations were required.
She tucked that tidbit away in her memory for later. She might bring her parents here.
The walls inside were the same wood logs as the outside. She was glad they had resisted putting up wallboard or sheetrock and painting it. The wood logs gave it an old-time charm.
An enormous stone fireplace dominated the dining room. The burning logs emitted an irresistible scent. She sniffed and filled her lungs. “I love the smell of a campfire, and this reminds me of that.”
“It does and I have to admit, burning logs are one of my favorite odors, too.”
To her surprise, the greeter, a black-haired young man in jeans and a t-shirt, showed them to a booth with a view and gave them menus. “Your server will be here shortly. Would you like water?”
“Yes, please, with lemon,” said Meri.
“I’m fine,” said Chase.
The young man returned with a glass of ice water with lemon and set it on the table in front of Meri before returning to seat more people.
The booths were on a platform about six inches above the floor, which made looking out the window easier. The absence of noise from the highway below suggested the pine trees functioned as a privacy fence as well as being pleasing to the eye.
“This is very nice. Thank you for bringing me. Now, tell me if the food is good.”
He smiled and leaned forward, whispering low over the table. “They have the best food. The trout is wonderful, and so fresh, you’d think it was just caught, which I can’t really dispute.”
A brunette, wearing large, red-framed round glasses, came to the table. “Can I get you all something to drink?” Her voice was smokey and sexy.
Chase sat straight and gazed over at Meri. “How about we get a bottle of wine? They have a nice selection. Would a Malbec work for you?”
“Yes, that would be perfect. It’s my favorite red wine.”
He shifted his gaze to the server. “We’ll take a bottle of your best Malbec.”
She smiled. “Very good, sir.” Then she turned and disappeared. She returned a short while later with the wine and two stemmed wine glasses. She opened the bottle, poured a little in Chase’s glass and watched while he swirled the wine, sniffed the bouquet and then took a sip.
“It’s good.”
“Thank you, sir.” She poured a measure into Meri’s glass and then into Chase’s.
Meri took a sip. The smooth and somewhat fruity combination of cherry, blackberry and cocoa. She smiled and set her glass on the table. “Just about perfect.”
He took another sip. “I agree. It’s definitely one of the best I’ve had.”
After perusing the menu for a few minutes, she decided what she wanted and set the menu down.
As though the server had been watching for the signal, she appeared table-side. “Have you made your decisions?”
“Yes,” said Meri.
“Yes,” said Chase at the same time.
They both chuckled.
The woman turned toward Meri. “Ladies first. What would you like, ma’am?”
“I’d like the trout, garlic mashed potatoes and house salad with the house vinaigrette.” Meri rattled off her order.
“And for you, sir?”
“I’ll take the prime rib, as rare as I can get it, baked potato with the works, and a house salad with blue cheese dressing.”
“Got it. I’ll be right back with your salads.” She turned and hurried away.
Meri settled back against the booth. “I like this place. It’s got an old west vibe about it.”
“It does, and wait until you taste the food. You’ll want to come back here often, believe me.”
“I can’t wait.”
The server returned with their salads. Meri ate little as she didn’t want to get full before the entrée arrived.
A short while after delivering their salads, the server returned with their dinners.
The meals looked wonderful. The prime rib Chase ordered was unmistakably rare.
The chef had split open her fish, laid it flat and removed all the bones, thank goodness.
She took a bite of the fish. “Oh, my heavens, this is wonderful. How’s your prime rib?
That’s definitely too rare for me. I like mine medium rare. ”
“The meat is fantastic. It’s flavorful and so tender it nearly melts in my mouth.”
She took another bite and closed her eyes with a moan. When she opened them, she spotted Chase watching her with a smile.
They continued with dinner, doing almost no talking because the food was so good. Meri wanted to get every bite while the meal was hot. But she asked some questions.
“So, what is your favorite movie?”
Chase thought a moment. “Quigley Down Under. I love westerns. What’s your favorite song?”
“That’s easy. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Lion, the Beast, the Beat. I love the drums. I like to paint while listening to it when I’m doing something really bold.”
“What will you listen to while painting the mural, or do you listen to anything?”
She looked up and pursed her lips. “I will make a list of some of my favorite movie music. Songs from Beauty and the Beast, Terminator, which is one of my favorite movies, Glory, plus works from Adele and John Legend.”
“You really have eclectic tastes.”
“Where music is concerned, yes, books too. I read everything from cozy mysteries and romance novels to science fiction and fantasy. Dune is my all-time favorite science fiction book. What about you? What do you like to read?”
“Mostly non-fiction, biographies and historical fiction like Take My Hand. Excellent book, by the way.”
His phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at the caller id. “I’m sorry, but I need to take this. I’ll be right back.” He started to slide out of the booth.
She shook her head and motioned down with her hand. “You don’t have to leave on my account. I need to visit the restroom, anyway. Stay seated.”
“Thank you.”
She stood and made her way to the bathroom. By the time she returned, Chase was off the phone and eating his dinner again. “How’d your phone call go?”
“Fine, just a deal with a Japanese company I’ve been trying to do business with. They finally agreed to my terms.”
She sat and picked up her fork. “That’s great. So we’re celebrating tonight.”
He grinned. “Yes, I don’t see why not.”
“I had an interview with the police this morning. How about you?”
He nodded. “I had an interview this morning, too. How did yours go?”
“They had me go over everything that happened.” She took a forkful of the mashed potatoes and moaned. “These are so good. Whoever first put garlic in mashed potatoes was a genius. Sorry, you were saying?”
He laughed and then sobered. “I told them the same thing. Exactly what we’d done. What we were doing in the parking lot. That kind of stuff.”
She nodded. “Me, too. Did they say anything about the victim? Did he make it?”
He shook his head. “Unfortunately, he died on the operating table.”
Meri let out a long breath. “That’s too bad. I wish we could have done something to help him.”
“I don’t think there was anything we could have done.”
“Probably not.”
Her appetite had left her, but they ordered coffee and lingered for a bit.
She tried to get the poor man from her mind and get it back on their date.
When they’d drunk the last drop of coffee, she thought she was back to concentrating on Chase and not on their previous date and the poor murdered man.
Chase paid the bill and then escorted her out to his car. He held the door while she buckled herself in. Then he closed the door and walked around to his side and got in.
The sun had set and even with all the lights here, she still saw more stars than she did in Denver.
He got back on I-70 and headed west toward Idaho Springs.
Then he exited the highway just prior to the town and steered right to the road for Virginia Gulch.
The road wound up the hillside in tight switchbacks.
When the car reached the top, he pulled off the road and stopped.
Then he lowered the top so they could see the stars.
Devoid of any lights, she gazed skyward to witness a dazzling explosion of countless stars. She saw the Milky Way, Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Orion’s Belt, the Seven Sisters, and so many other constellations she couldn’t identify them all.
“It’s so beautiful.” She turned toward Chase and found him watching her. Meri laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you. This is wonderful.”