Chapter 20
JAKE
“Maybe I should switch to decaf,” I muttered.
“Did you say something?” Dani asked.
“Talking to myself.”
I still slept like shit because I woke up hard as a rock throughout the night. Right now, I was filled with nervous energy. Today was the Desert Rose Arts Festival, and I didn’t know what to expect.
I worried things would be weird after I set up her space, but I should have known better. Dani was Dani. She’d been more affectionate, but I chalked that up to delirium since she and Vanessa volunteered on the Arts Fest committee and had been busy.
“Does your dad already have his spot staked out?” I asked.
Her delighted laugh wrapped around me. God, I’d never get tired of that sound.
“He and his cabal have probably been camped out since sunrise. He’ll be the terror of the festival.” Her eyes danced with amusement. “Let’s hope he doesn’t mow anybody down with his mobility scooter.”
I finished my coffee and rinsed the cup.
“I’m ready when you are.”
Dani leapt up from the couch.
“Today is going to be the best arts fest ever.”
My lips quirked in a smile. I didn’t care about the arts festival, but I liked seeing her sparkle with joy. Walking around crowds of families wasn’t too much trouble for that kind of payoff.
“Where to first?” I asked once we locked the front door.
Since we were only a mile from the square, we planned to walk. The early morning sunlight glinted off her gleaming black hair as we headed downtown, Dani chattering with excitement the whole way.
Most women’s giggles annoyed me, but hers was pure sunshine. Dusty would have a field day if he knew my thoughts. I smirked to myself.
“What put that smile on your face?”
Dani bumped me with her hip, and my body burst into flame.
“You did.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You’re being you. That always makes me smile.”
She side-hugged me as we walked, and damn if I didn’t want to stay like that forever. Out of habit, I adjusted my stride to accommodate her shorter legs.
Sounds of the growing crowd already reached my ears. Dani shepherded me past the downtown shops, which were transformed into an outdoor gallery, until we found the sign-up table. She turned in our tickets, and we signed up for our activities.
We spent hours immersed in the Desert Rose Arts Fest. It would have been fun with anyone, but Dani made it magical. She was as animated and excited as the kids when we stopped to watch the bubble magician. When we got Mexican hot chocolate and pan dulce from a food truck, she waxed loquacious.
We were too late for one of the demos she planned, but we stopped for tamales from a local taqueria, and that cheered her up. Any residual disappointment was wiped away when we watched kids make sidewalk art under the direction of a local artist.
There were tables set up throughout the town square for different art activities ranging from screen print to tie-dye and mosaics. She watched the kids with an expression I couldn’t decipher before the timers on our phone went off.
We attended our painting class demo, where we sat next to each other at a long table. Dani’s eyes shone with excitement as we waited for the class to begin.
“Shouldn’t you be teaching this class?” I asked.
Dani bumped my shoulder and blushed prettily.
“It’s been years since I’ve painted. I might as well be a beginner.”
I scoffed.
“I doubt it. You might be rusty, but you haven’t lost it. It’s all still there.”
She beamed at me, and class started. Dani was instantly immersed. I followed the instructions, but canvas and I don’t mesh. Give me an automotive paint gun and a compressor, and I’m an artist, but watercolors make no sense. My landscape was worse than the toddler finger-paintings outside.
“It’s astonishing how creative you are in some arenas but a disaster in others,” Dani laughed. “The paint on Old Blue is a work of art, but this… Um, were you going for a modern interpretation?”
“Hey, now,” I grumbled.
She backpedaled and tried to find things to praise. It was a lost cause, though. My amusement grew with each clumsy attempt to encourage my terrible abilities.
“Dani, I don’t care about watercolors. I want to have fun with you. I’m having fun. Are you?”
Her expression softened, and she blinked rapidly.
“Jake, I wasn’t going to do this now, but—”
“Attention, everyone,” a brisk voice called out. “If you’re interested in signing up for a group class or private lessons, we have discounts available for those who use the festival registration code.”
Dani’s face lost its intensity, and she grabbed both our paintings.
“We can toss mine,” I said.
“No, way. It’s going in the gallery at home,” she said with a wicked smile. “We can drop them off with my dad so we don’t have to carry them around, but they’re both going up on the wall.”
I laughed and followed her out, my heart lighter than it had been in years. I was invincible after hearing her refer to our place as home.
Her dad was holding court with a circle of other older men. I tipped my head to acknowledge those I recognized. Dani pressed a kiss to her dad’s cheek.
“Dad, would you be willing to put these in your basket?” she asked. “We took the landscape demo, and I don’t want them to get messed up before I can hang them up at home.”
“You painted?”
The excitement in his voice was palpable, and I had to look away.
“Yeah,” she said shyly. “It was fun.”
He glanced between us with shiny eyes before he cleared his throat.
“I knew this rear basket would come in handy,” he said briskly. “I added it yesterday. The front basket on this thing is just small enough to piss you off.”
We dutifully admired the wire basket he jerry-rigged to the back of his mobility scooter. Dani carefully arranged our watercolors around his insulated bag.
“Thanks, Dad,” Dani said with another hug.
“Happy to do it, baby girl. I hope you’re having a fun time.”
“So much fun. This is the best Arts Fest ever.”
I agreed. I had no comparison, but I couldn’t imagine a better time. I got to hang out with my best friend all day and see her blossom and find her love of art again. What’s better than that?
“We’re off to see Vanessa’s exhibit now and then Rosa.”
“Your mom wants you over for dinner Sunday night. Both of you,” he said.
Dani waved in agreement, and we headed for the photography exhibit.
We passed a silversmith and her helper hawking their wares.
Dani slowed to look, her eye drawn to a black rose ring.
When she asked to look at it more closely, the salesperson helped her.
The jeweler caught my attention as Dani admired it.
“Lovely choice. A beautiful ring for your beautiful lady. This ring is supposed to represent true love that stands the tests of time.”
Dani blushed and stammered. “We’re just friends.”
Oof.
The silver worker was abashed. “Oh, my mistake.” She cleared her throat. “It also represents survival.”
Dani’s discomfort led her to hand the ring back, and we walked on.
Finally, we reached the exhibit, and the ring was forgotten. Dani explained the setup.
Some photographs were enlarged and set in matching metal frames lining the outdoor path, while others were on display in the Rose Art Gallery. We wandered through the outdoor display first before joining the line for the showcase.
I assumed the outdoor show was the premier placement since more people would see that exhibit. The photos were huge with prominent information about their artists and their websites.
Then we walked through the door. I knew nothing more about photography than how to click the button on my phone, but these were special. Each artist had their own exhibit space and arranged their composition how they wanted.
“Wow.”
It was an inadequate reaction, but it was all I had.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Dani asked with her brilliant smile.
She tucked her arm in mine and led me through the gallery. Without reading the placards, she told me the stories and skill behind each exhibit. I swallowed a thick ball of emotion as she led me to another group of photographs.
As a native of Sierra Rose Ridge, I immediately recognized our famous legend though there were no people anywhere in the images.
“Holy shit. How did they do that?” I asked in wonder.
“What?” Dani asked.
“This is Sam and Rose’s story, isn’t it?”
Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and she nodded.
“I don’t understand,” I muttered. “It’s landscapes, but it’s bigger than that. The whole story is laid out in these photos. I don’t understand it, but I see it anyway.”
“That’s exactly what I was going for.”
I turned around. Vanessa smiled at us from a chair against the back wall.
“These are yours?” I was dumbfounded.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
“I’ve heard the story a million times, but now I really see it.”
Vanessa’s smile broadened until she turned to answer a question from someone else who was interested in her work.
“Thank you,” Dani said in a low voice. “She’s so talented but doesn’t have much confidence because she’s self-taught. When she got accepted, she didn’t think her stuff was that good. She said they probably accept all Sierra Rose Ridge residents.”
I snorted my thoughts, and Dani snickered.
“When she found out her photos were going to be showcased in the gallery, she thought it was a mistake. I was with her when she saw the display for the first time, and she cried. She agonized over the arrangement for her submission, and it was still a shock to see Rosa and Sam’s story come to life that way. ”
“I’ve never felt anything like that when looking at a photo before.”
Dani bumped me with her hip. She’d been doing that a lot lately.
“Do you like it?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m glad I came.”
That was the right answer. Dani’s eyes sparkled, and I would have followed her to the end of the world.
“Come on.” She grabbed me by the arm again. “Let’s tour the rest of the gallery, and then we’ll check out the Rosa Delgado Memorial Exhibit.”
There were other good photos in the gallery, but nothing compared to Vanessa’s display.
Dani floated along, reinvigorated by the energy of the arts-loving crowd and atmosphere. She was in her element.
I looked forward to closing myself in my room and falling into a book to restore my equilibrium. Dani was pretty much the only person who didn’t drain me. Left to my own devices, I’d have gone home already and missed Vanessa’s exhibit, which would have been a serious loss.
She hugged my arm, and warmth flooded my system. I’d do anything to keep that smile on her face.