Chapter 11
The Amelia
Saturday morning is too sunny, too beautiful outside to sit around working in the cabin. I’ve been waiting for a good time to take Codie up on her offer to visit the custom hat shop she works at in town, and there’s just no better day than this.
I’m in desperate need of a break.
My boots clunk on the boardwalk in downtown Jackson Hole as I get closer to Sage and Felt. The town is bustling now that summer is in full swing. As I push the wooden doors of the shop open, three other groups are picking out hats. Not too bad for a Saturday.
Soft country music plays over the speakers. Rows and rows of hats of every style, color and size line the four walls of the small shop, leather couches and cowhide rugs sprawled out in the middle. It’s a bit overwhelming.
“Hey, new girl!” Codie says from behind the small counter at the front of the store.
“Hi,” I smile, walking over to her. “It’s so beautiful in here.”
“Thanks! We try to keep it high end and all that.” She clicks her tongue, pointing a finger at me. “I have a book for you.”
Codie reaches into a cabinet on her side of the wooden pedestal, taking out the Willa Gray book she had when I first met her at the Alpine Rose. She hands it over to me, with a leather bookmark on top.
“Enjoy! I put my number on a little paper inside the cover, you have to text me when you finish it. I need someone to talk to about it with and all of my friends are slow readers. It’s killing me.
And, the bookmark is yours to keep. I make them in my spare time with the extra materials we have laying around here,” she says.
“Thanks so much!” I beam, running my hand along the cover of the book. “I’m so excited. I’ll definitely text you when I’m done.”
“Alright,” she claps. “Let’s get you a hat, shall we?”
Codie leads me around the store to a wall towards the back. Hats of all shapes and colors decorate the wood slats, bronze hooks about a foot apart holding them up.
“These are our best selling women’s hats, the Olivia and the Sadie. The Olivia has a teardrop crown, while the Sadie has a round crown.” She hands me the hat she called the Olivia. It’s the bent brim hat, with the teardrop shaped top. It’s gorgeous, but I’m not sure about the brim.
I place the hat on my head, looking into the mirror on the wall. Codie tells me a little bit more about the beaver fur the hats are made of, and the different weights for different purposes. A heavier hat for working outdoors, a lighter weight for dressier occasions and casual wear.
“I think I like the teardrop, but I like a flat brim better.” I hand the hats back to Codie. “Do you have any others like that?”
“Of course! I’ll go grab some real quick. Feel free to have a seat.”
She points to a bench behind me, made out of a wool blanket with a turquoise pattern. I’d love to use a lot of the furniture they have here for the rental cabin, but I have a feeling it’s probably quite a bit out of my price range.
Codie grabs a metal pole to get some hats down from the top rows closest to the ceiling, hooking each one under the brim. She pulls down three more hats, one a lavender color, one black, and one light tan. Her fringe jacket sways behind her as she walks over to where I’m still perched on the bench.
“So are you staying out on Lone Pine while you work?” Codie asks as I try on the hats, one by one.
“Yes, I’m staying in their guest cabin, actually. The cabin I’m renovating isn’t exactly live-in ready yet.”
“Is Miles still out there? I haven’t talked to him in so long. Probably since him and Alex came river rafting with us last. That had to be at least a few years ago.” Alex? Must have been a ranch hand at Lone Pine. I can hardly imagine New Miles river rafting. Must have been Old Miles.
“Yep, he’s there alright,” I laugh. Placing the tan hat on my head, I turn to look back in the mirror. That’s it, I’ve fallen in love with a hat. Didn’t think it was possible.
“Oh wow,” Codie says so softly it’s almost a whisper. “Tan is totally your color.”
My fingers run along the firm, flat brim of the hat. The top is shaped like a teardrop, pinched in at the front. It stands out against my coppery auburn hair, fitting on my head like a glove. The brim isn’t too short or too long. The top doesn’t stand up too far off of my head.
“I think this is the one,” I beam, doing a little twirl with one hand on my hat.
Codie leads me over to a table towards the back where dozens of hat bands and accessories are laid out. My eyes are immediately drawn to the examples of burned in designs and brands.
“I personally love the floral designs if you are wanting it branded. We have a few flowers we can do on the brim.” Codie points to a binder full of photos of burn designs.
I look through the book carefully until I find myself attached to one of the photos. It’s a large poppy design that takes up the front right side of the brim. Poppies have always been one of my favorite flowers.
I pick out a skinny red beaded band and twirl it around in my hands as Codie applies the brand to my new hat. The beaver pelt smokes a bit as the poppy design etches itself into the hat. It’s such a cool process to watch. I can see why Codie loves to work here.
Codie places the hat on my head once it’s all done, and my stomach flips a bit with excitement. It’s perfect.
“That hat is the Amelia, by the way,” Codie says as she checks me out at the front of the store.
That catches my attention, bringing me back down to earth. “Did you say Amelia?”
“Yep, the Amelia,” she repeats with a smile. “We have pretty limited quantities of that one, it’s lucky we had your size right off the bat.”
“Amelia is my Aunt’s name,” I explain. “She raised me. What a coincidence.”
“My mom always says nothing is a coincidence,” Codie shrugs. “It must have been meant to be.”
My heart warms as I reach up and touch the hat on my head. This whole place feels meant to be.
“So, listen,” Codie starts. “If you ever feel like going on a hike in the park with a couple of us local gals, we’d love to have you out sometime. We go once a week, usually around Jenny Lake. Kind of a girls day out.”
“I’d love to.” My heart speeds up. I haven’t been so excited to go on a hike in a while.
“We are heading up to Hidden Falls next week if you want to come. It’s a super easy hike, but really gorgeous. Big waterfall, great view of the valley. Just text me and I’ll tell you what time.” Codie says as we head towards the door.
“Sounds great! I’ll be there.”
“Alright,” Codie claps her hands together. “Are you ready to head out? I thought we’d do lunch at the barbeque place next door. Their pulled pork is the best in town.”
I grab my brand new hat box off of the counter with a smile. “Sounds perfect.”
Codie moans so loudly after her first bite of food, two other tables look our way. I don’t blame her. She was right, this place is amazing. Sunlight shines in through the windows, giving the wood floors a glowing red hue. We settled on a sandwich each and a basket of garlic parmesan fries to share.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to come back here just for these fries,” I say.
Codie nods, grabbing a fry and popping it into her mouth. “I eat here way too much on the days I work at Sage. It’s far too convenient. Plus, my parents hate barbeque, so I’m making up for never having it as a kid.”
I laugh, “That’s blasphemy!”
“They’re both immigrants,” Codie shrugs. “They just couldn’t get into it I guess. I can’t relate.”
“Where are they from?”
“My dad is originally from Finland, and my mom is originally from Vietnam. She’s lived in America since she was a kid, my dad came over a little later,” she explains.
“That’s cool! How did they meet?”
Codie smiles, as if she can see it playing out in her head.
“When my dad first came to Jackson Hole, he had only lived in America for a few years. My mom owns an apothecary shop called Elevated Earth downtown, things like crystals, essential oils, herbal treatments. One day, he broke his arm skiing. Instead of driving himself to the hospital, he went right to my mother’s shop thinking it was a doctor’s office.
” Codie laughs. “She freaked out. She explained to him all she had in her shop was holistic remedies for colds and such, and drove him straight to the ER. They were inseparable after that day.”
“That’s so sweet,” I say dreamily.
Codie nods. “That’s what I want one day. Instant attraction. They were married four months later and never looked back.”
I finish off my brisket sandwich. “Wow, that’s pretty quick.”
“When you know, you know.” Codie and I pay the tab, taking a last swig of our lemonades before leaving. “They’re the most compatible people I’ve ever seen. They were made for each other. When I was a teenager, they’d constantly be embarrassing me with PDA.”
“I literally cannot imagine that,” I say. “My parents barely interact.”
“That’s so sad.”
I shrug, “It’s all I’ve ever known with them.”
Codie gives me a sad smile. The kind I usually hate because they make me feel small. But for some reason, it feels different with her. Not so much pity, but empathy. “I’m so sorry.”
There’s a tug in my chest as we walk along the sidewalk. I had Hazel in Juniper Ridge. And Aunt Millie. And sometimes even Wade. But I’ve never had a group of friends. I’ve always been a best friend sort of girl. It was Hazel and I all of the time, or just me.
But, I’ve always secretly wanted a friend group. Maybe this could be my opportunity. Even if it’s just for the summer. If Codie’s friends are as cool as she is, I’m sure I’ll have a blast at the hike.
“How long do you have left on the cabin renovation?” She asks, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk in front of us.
“Probably over a month still. We’ve got most of the big things done, but it always takes a lot longer to put back together than it did to break it apart,” I laugh.
“And after? Will you go back to Juniper Ridge, or is there another cabin out there waiting for the magical Katie MacPherson touch?” Codie asks with a smile. I can’t help but giggle.
“Yep, back to Idaho it is.”
“Wow, don’t sound too excited.”
“It’s not that I’m not excited to go home, it’s just–” I sigh. Boring? Lonely? Back to real life, where I had nothing permanent going for me? “I’m just not sure it’s what I want anymore. But that’s really intimidating, you know?”
“Sure,” she nods.
“I don’t want to just hop around from project to project either. I’d love to settle down somewhere. Eventually build a place of my own. Make friends and all that shit. And I love Juniper Ridge, don’t get me wrong. I guess I’m just thinking more about those things lately.”
“That makes sense,” Codie says. “I love Jackson Hole, but I’m not opposed to leaving one day if the need strikes.”
“I’ve been gone for a while, so it’s probably just that.
” It’s like a dam has broken inside of me.
I’ve never thought about leaving seriously, much less talked to a near-stranger about it.
It’s not like I can talk to Hazel about moving away, she’d be heartbroken.
“Maybe I’ll follow my Aunt Millie to New Mexico. She seems to like it.”
Codie laughs, linking her arm through mine as we turn a corner in the square. “I feel like I would thrive there. Creepy alien abductions, desert for miles, turquoise jewelry.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Millie moved there for those exact reasons.”
I can’t help but smile as I pull into the guest cabin a bit later, my tires coming to a stop on the dirt road right in front of the porch I’ve decorated with a couple of flowers and a welcome mat I found at the local grocery store.
Even if it’s just for a little while, this place is starting to feel like mine.