Chapter 8
“Ew…gross. Mom!”
“What?” Lila asked, slowly turning from her open laptop, distracted. She was studying last week’s lesson and trying to catch up. Who knew you could administer physical therapy to giraffes to reduce knee socket pain? Of course, it wasn’t like she’d be treating any exotics in Wyoming.
“Mom!” Camille complained loudly. She held up a tray of lidded glass vials filled with yellow liquid. “Tell me this isn’t what I think.”
Lila closed her laptop. “Those are urine samples. Shut the fridge door. The specimens need to be kept at a low temperature for the testing to be accurate.”
Camille groaned. “Doesn’t Doc Tillman have a refrigerator down at Paws in the Pines? I mean, really. This is disgusting.”
Lila stood and lifted the tray from her daughter’s hand then secured it back in place before shutting the door. “I didn’t want to go back to the clinic this evening after the collection at the Bayer’s place. Their litter of puppies haven’t been eating and I wanted to rule out a few things before taking further measures.”
“The little malamutes?”
Lila nodded. “Yes, and they are so cute. You should see them. Hopefully, I don’t have to quarantine the tiny things. Their symptoms don’t line up exactly with leptospirosis, but I don’t want to take any chances. With all the wildlife around, a lot of water sources can be contaminated.”
Her daughter wrinkled her nose and turned to the sink where she squirted some soap and scrubbed her hands with extra vigor. “So, you think it’s a good idea to put that stuff next to the food we eat?” She shook her head. “Never mind—I’ll just head into the Rustic Pine for dinner. Do you have a twenty?”
Lila kissed the top of her daughter’s blonde head. “Every extra dollar I have this month is going to your prom dress. The fabric arrived, and Aunt Mo said she already started on your dress. She wants to do a sizing before she finishes up.”
Charlie Grace’s aunt was a multi-talented woman and was known for her seamstress ability. She’d made more prom and wedding dresses over the years than anyone could count.
Lila brightened. “The gown is ready to try on?” She clapped her wet hands together. “I can’t wait to see it.”
Her daughter had chosen a pattern fashioned after a designer garment she’d spotted online—a strappy floor-length dress in hot pink satin reminiscent of a gown you might see on a beauty pageant contestant…and far too sexy for a soon-to-be seventeen-year-old, in her mother’s opinion.
Lila had learned to pick her battles. This wasn’t one of them.
The argument regarding homemade versus store-bought had already exhausted her patience. Raising a teenage daughter alone wasn’t cheap, and no way was she shelling out the big bucks for some retailer version when Aunt Mo could easily duplicate the style for so much less.
Lila’s phone buzzed, signaling an incoming call. She held up a finger. “Sorry, honey. Let me get this.”
“Hey, Charlie Grace. What’s up? The calf still doing okay?”
“The calf is fine. But Reva’s not. Our little plan didn’t work out so well.”
“What do you mean?”
Charlie Grace sighed. “The guy was a dud. An entitled doofer who still lives with his mother.”
Lila frowned. “Oh, no.”
“Yeah, all our high hopes dashed. The best we can expect is that our scheme at least tamped the rumor mill. Reva neglected to get any photos to post on social media. Her saving grace is that Brewster Findley was taking his wife out for an anniversary dinner and spotted them in the parking lot as he was pulling in. Word has already spread.”
“Well, that’s what we hoped for.” Lila covered the phone speaker and whispered to her daughter, “Reva’s date was a bust.”
Camille rolled her eyes. “Serves you guys right for trying to hook her up in the first place. I told you the plan was lame.” She reached behind her head and tucked her long hair into a messy bun at the nape of her neck.
Ignoring the jab, Lila returned her attention to the phone conversation. “So, do we take it down?”
“What down?” Charlie Grace asked.
“The dating profile.”
There was a brief pause. “No, let’s leave it up.”
“She’ll have our hide if we do.”
Charlie Grace laughed. “Won’t be the first time.”
They were about to hang up when Lila said, “Wait…I forgot. You’re hosting girlfriend night tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah,” came Charlie Grace’s answer. “Why?”
“Well, do you think Mo could join us? I mean, just this once. I’m juggling a lot right now, timewise, and she has the prom dress ready for Camille to try on. I can kill two birds with one stone.”
“How ironic for a vet to be killing off birds! But sure, I’ll check with Aunt Mo and the others. It’s been a while since we all fawned over prom dresses.”
On Friday night, they all gathered at Charlie Grace’s place out at the Teton Trails Guest Ranch. This late in the spring, occupancy remained low until children were out of school and family vacation season started. This left the main lodge at their disposal.
Over at the family house, Charlie Grace’s father, Clancy, had sweetly taken on the role of entertaining his granddaughter. He planned a fun evening of games, ensuring Charlie Grace he’d have Jewel tucked in bed at the proper time while Aunt Mo slipped away to join the group for the eagerly anticipated dress fitting.
With Camille by her side, Lila checked her watch and headed across the grass lawn, past the guest cabins, and in the direction of the lodge built of raw logs with a sprawling wraparound porch sporting rocking chairs and tables.
They climbed the stairs, crossed the porch, and opened the door.
“Hey, there you are,” Charlie Grace called out, her voice tinged with excitement. She stood by the large stone fireplace, her figure slightly bent as she skillfully fed fresh logs to the crackling fire. Although summer was fast approaching, the mountain air still carried an occasional hint of winter chill.
“Champagne’s waiting,” Capri announced, pointing to the table lined with five pretty glass flutes and a tray of finger foods. A bottle was wedged in ice in a feeding bucket next to a couple of sodas.
Lila grinned and pointed. “Nice touch.”
Capri laughed. “Beggars can’t be choosers.” She lifted the bottle and wrapped the top in a tea towel as she prepared to uncork it.
“Where’s Mo?” Camille asked.
Charlie Grace dusted off her hands. “She’ll be here anytime.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and Mo appeared with a hot pink garment draped over her arm. Everyone greeted her as she laid the gown over the back of the leather sofa. “It’s coming together nicely,” she reported, then to Camille, “You ready to try it on?”
Camille enthusiastically nodded. “You bet.”
“Okay, then. Follow me.” Mo picked up the dress and headed up the stairs to where the vacant bedrooms were located.
Capri poured champagne and passed out the glasses. “Sure brings back memories, doesn’t it?”
Reva took a soda. “Yeah, how can one of us have a daughter old enough to attend prom?”
Lila shook her head. “Tell me about it. My breath sometimes catches when I see Camille coming down the hall. To me, she’s still that little toddler who used to say, ‘In a knot, here I come.’”
Laughter rang out.
“I remember,” Charlie Grace said. “That girl had the funniest sayings.”
Reva popped the top of her soda can and drained the contents into a glass filled with ice. “Remember when she started the Lord’s prayer with ‘Our Father, who aren’t in heaven?’”
The room resonated with more laughter as the girls settled comfortably onto the sofas. Capri drew her legs beneath her, a playful spark in her eyes. “Do you guys recall that year when I stubbornly chose a short prom dress just to stand out?”
Reva’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Oh, you mean that one with the rather…striking bow on the hip?”
“That was the year you went to the prom with the kid who was so short, his nose seemed to settle right between your breasts when you danced,” Charlie Grace reminded Lila.
Lila groaned. “Ugh, don’t remind me.” She took a sip of her champagne. “I wonder what ever happened to him. I don’t even remember his name.”
Charlie Grace lifted from her spot on the sofa and moved to the kitchen counter. She carried the tray of food to the coffee table and set it down, along with a stack of paper napkins. “Wasn’t it Milton something?”
“Milton Barrett!” Capri cried out. “He moved in the spring of the following year with his folks.”
“To Alaska,” Reva added.
Capri nodded. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said, pausing as a reflective expression crossed her face. “He was odd.”
Reva reached for a cheese-topped cracker. “Speaking of odd…”
Charlie Grace offered a sympathetic glance. “I heard your date didn’t go exactly as planned,” she said gently.
Reva sighed. A wry smile formed. “That’s putting it mildly. Listen to this—for our second date, he proposed we go treasure hunting with his metal detector.”
“He sounds like a keeper,” Capri teased with a playful roll of her eyes. She turned to Charlie Grace. “That was the same year you snuck out with Gibbs Nichols. We all had to lie for you when your dad showed up early at the gymnasium to drive the two of you home.”
Reva scowled. “Drive you home? Why didn’t Gibbs take you home?”
Charlie Grace chuckled. “He’d temporarily lost his driver’s license for drag racing out at the garbage dump, remember?” She refilled her champagne glass, nearly letting the bubbly spill over the top of her flute. “Too bad Gibbs wasn’t the one who moved to Alaska. Would have saved me a lot of headaches. The only good thing to come out of that marriage was my sweet Jewel. She made it all worth it.” She swiftly brought the glass to her lips, taking a quick sip to prevent the champagne from spilling over and causing a mess.
“By the way,” she added. “I’m giving a baby shower for Lizzy. I want you all to come.”
Reva’s eyebrows lifted. “You’re throwing a shower for your ex-husband’s wife? After you caught them in the hay…literally?”
Charlie Grace’s shrug was nonchalant. “Life moves on, and so have I,” she said with a lightness that belied the depth of her journey. “Besides, holding onto grudges is like carrying old, heavy luggage—it just slows you down. Lizzy and I have found a way to coexist, for Jewel’s sake. And well, every baby deserves a celebration, right?”
The others exchanged glances, a mix of surprise and admiration in their eyes.
Capri leaned forward, her tone laced with respect. “That’s incredibly big of you, Charlie Grace. I mean, with the history you have with Gibbs and all that drama, it’s amazing how you’re able to just let it go and extend such a gesture.” She looked at the others. “Girls think they can fix him….but it’d take an entire construction crew to overhaul that bag of nothing.”
Charlie Grace raised her glass slightly, the light from the fire catching the champagne’s effervescence. “True, but here’s to new beginnings and burying old hatchets. Life’s too short for anything less.”
The soft crackling of the fire filled the room as Charlie Grace’s words lingered, prompting a contemplative silence.
After a few seconds, Capri lifted her flute in the air. “Yes, here’s to old proms and bright futures.”
With a collective sigh, they clinked their glasses in a quiet salute to the heart’s resilience and the promise of bright days ahead.