“Marlene is coming this way. Play along,” he said softly before his lips came down on hers. His touch was gentle at first and Jenna was still a bit in shock but then he deepened the kiss and just as she was starting to relax and enjoy it, he stopped. Jenna opened her eyes to see Marlene glancing their way with her mouth open in surprise. She slammed it shut, then spun around and walked back in the house.
“Mission accomplished,” Jenna said.
“Yeah, it would seem so. I’m sorry about that. It just was too good an opportunity to pass up when I saw her coming this way.”
“No need to apologize. I hope it helped.”
“Do you want to head inside? You look like you’re freezing.”
Jenna laughed and pulled her sweater tighter around her. “It is a little chillier out here now.”
She followed him inside. They stayed a little while later and then left when the majority of the crowd started to file out. First they went to find Aunt Daisy to say their goodbyes.
“You had fun?” Aunt Daisy asked and looked pleased when they both assured her that a good time had been had.
“I’m so glad. Jenna, I can’t wait to see your pictures.”
“I’ll go through them tomorrow and get them right over to you.”
“Perfect. Thank you.” She gave both of them goodbye hugs and then they headed home.
When Charlie pulled up in front of her condo, she felt a bit awkward, as if she and Charlie had been on a real date almost. She’d never felt like that before and knew it was because of the kiss. The kiss that had taken her by surprise, especially by the way she’d responded to his touch. She hadn’t expected that.
“Trivia on Thursday?” Charlie asked as she gathered her camera and purse and reached for the door.
“Sure. I think Shirley and Joe might want to go. She asked me to let her know the next time we went.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
Jenna walked toward her door, still thinking about the feel of Charlie’s lips on hers and what a pleasant surprise it had been.
Chapter 10
Marlene had been frosty toward Charlie all week, which suited him just fine. He was driving home after work on Thursday and looking forward to seeing Jenna for Trivia. He’d thought about her quite a bit this week. Kissing her had been even better than he’d imagined and she seemed to like it, too, although he had taken her by surprise and knew she was going to have think hard about being more than friends.
He hoped that she would at least be open to it. As he pulled into his parking spot, his cell phone rang and he was surprised to see that it was his Aunt Daisy. He’d just talked to her the day before and she’d said she was going to be out of town for a few days, visiting his Uncle Bob in Montana. He hoped that everything was all right.
“Hi, Aunt Daisy. Are you in Montana yet? Is everything okay?”
“Hi, honey. Yes and No. I’m in Big Sky. Just got here a few hours ago, but when I arrived at Bob’s assisted living, they told me he’d died peacefully in his sleep.” Her voice caught, and Charlie’s heart went out to her. “I’m just sorry that I didn’t get to see him first.”
“I’m really sorry, Aunt Daisy. I know how close you were to him.” Uncle Bob was her brother and every year for at least a week or two, depending on the time of year, he and Aunt Daisy had gone to visit Uncle Bob at his ranch in Big Sky. Charlie had always loved to go there. Uncle Bob was full of life and fun, like Aunt Daisy, and visiting him was always an adventure. He lived on a working ranch and loved it. Charlie had enjoyed the work, too.
It was physically hard but rewarding, and he slept better there than anywhere else. His aunt teased him that it was because he was exhausted from doing so much real work, but he always thought it was the clean air and sense of calm he felt there. He was glad that he and Aunt Daisy had gone to see him this past Christmas. It had been a spur of the moment thing and Uncle Bob had been excited and grateful that they made the trip. He’d lived a good long life. At ninety-two, he had been ten years older than Aunt Daisy.
“I’m going to make the arrangements for a simple funeral service on Saturday, and then fly back after that.”
“I’ll fly out after work tomorrow night and help you.”
“There won’t be much to do. It will probably be a small service. But, I’m glad you’re coming.” There was a moment of silence and then she spoke again. “You know, I am the executor for your Uncle’s will. I might as well tell you now that he left the the ranch in Big Sky and all its furnishings to you.”
“He did?” Charlie was stunned. It had never crossed his mind that his uncle would do that, but they had always been close and he never married or had children. Charlie would have expected that he would leave everything to his sister.
“He did. He knows I don’t need a thing, but he was always fond of you and knew how much you loved Big Sky. Don’t feel you have to keep it, though. It would probably make more sense for you to sell it and put the money toward a nice house instead of that condo.” His aunt had never been excited about his condo. She thought it was too small—though someone who lived in a ten thousand square foot mansion would probably think any condo was too small.
“That was very generous of him. I don’t know what I’ll do. It’s a lot to wrap my head around.”
“Well, you don’t have to decide anything right away. I’ll see you tomorrow night, honey.”
“Thanks, Aunt Daisy.”
* * *
“My Uncle Bob died. My aunt is with him right now. She just happened to be going there to visit anyway. But he died before she got there,” Charlie said as they were walking to his car to head to the pub for trivia. His voice was flat and sad and Jenna’s heart went out to him.
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” She automatically hugged him and held on for a moment before pulling back and meeting his eyes. “Are you all right? I know how much you both loved him.”
Charlie sighed. “Yeah, it’s okay. He hadn’t been doing great the past few years. He had a long life. It was just a surprise, you know?”
“I do.”
He smiled. “Let’s go win one for Uncle Bob.”
When they arrived at the pub, Jenna’s next-door neighbors, Shirley and Joe, had already grabbed the corner table and were waiting for them. Jenna knew how lucky she was when she moved into her condo and met her next-door neighbors. She couldn’t ask for better ones. Shirley and Joe were in their early sixties. Shirley was a retired teacher and Joe was a self-employed machinist who had no interest in retiring, though he said he might consider eventually going part-time.
He liked his work and enjoyed his routine of going into his shop every morning. It was located just a few miles down the road, so he often came home for lunch and closed his doors at five sharp so he could be home in time for dinner. They were a sweet couple and still madly in love. They often had Jenna over on Sunday nights for ice cream and a game of Scrabble. They also loved to play Trivia and when the four of them played, they tended to do well as each brought different strengths to the game.
They split a few pizzas as they played and were doing really well through the first half. There was always a short break between rounds and when the Trivia leader passed out the half-time questions for them to answer during the break, Shirley looked at Charlie quizzically.
“You’ve been quiet tonight? You feeling okay?”
Charlie smiled. “Fine. I just had some bad news on the way in. My Uncle Bob died earlier today.”
“Oh, how sad! I’m so sorry,” Shirley said and patted Charlie’s hand in sympathy.
“What was he like? Did you see him often?” Joe asked.
Charlie smiled. “He was a character, much like my Aunt Daisy. He was her brother. He lived in Big Sky, Montana, on a ranch. He took a trip out there years ago, went skiing with some friends I think, and fell in love with the area. He moved out the next year.”
“How interesting. Did he have a ranching background?” Shirley asked.
�
�Not one bit. I’m not sure if he’d ever even been on a horse,” Charlie said and chuckled.
“How did he manage that, then?” Joe said as he reached for his beer.
“He was well off financially. Always did well investing in the market and said he could do that from anywhere so it might as well be somewhere that he liked. He bought a working ranch and kept all the staff on. They taught him how to ride a horse and do everything that they did, but they did the bulk of the work. He mostly helped out here and there.”
“Will there be services for him there?” Jenna wondered.
“Yes. My aunt is handling everything now. I’m flying out tomorrow after work.”
“In a sad way, it worked out well that she happened to be there,” she said.
“I know,” he agreed. “Funny how things happen like that sometimes.”
* * *
They did well in the second half and ended up with the best overall score for the night, which earned them a gift card they could use the next time they visited. Jenna tucked it into her purse and told Joe and Shirley that she would hold on to it until the next time the four of them played again, which would probably be soon.
Joe and Shirley left and Jenna excused herself to use the restroom, and when she returned a few minutes later, Charlie was talking to the young blonde girl that he’d been dancing with at his cousin’s wedding. They looked excited about something but both stopped talking when Jenna reached the table. Charlie introduced them as soon as Jenna sat down.
“Jenna, this is Amber, Anne’s sister.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jenna said, wondering who Anne was. Her face must have registered her confusion as Charlie explained, “My cousin’s new wife, Anne.”
“Oh, of course! I’m sorry. Long day.” Now that he mentioned it, she could see the resemblance.
“Well, it was great running into you. We’ll talk soon. Nice to meet you, too, Jenna.” Amber was energetic and friendly, but Jenna couldn’t help wondering why Charlie would be talking to her soon.
“You ready to go?” Charlie asked as he finished his last sip of beer.
Jenna had nothing left in her wineglass. “I’m ready.”
Charlie was quiet during the short ride home and Jenna was about to open the car door when he pulled into her spot but he said, “Hold on a minute. I have a question for you.”
Jenna turned to look at him. “What?”
“Do you have any plans this weekend? Any weddings booked?”
“No. It’s a quiet weekend, actually.”
“And Sunday is your birthday right?”
“It is.” She was impressed that he remembered. He’d always been good about that, though.
“Have you ever been to Big Sky, Montana, before?”
“No, never.”
“Want to go? I’d love the company and I know Aunt Daisy would, too. She’s heading back home after the funeral, but we could stay Sunday night and come back on Monday. I’m going to take the day off. Can you free up your day?”
Jenna smiled. One of the advantages of being self-employed was flexibility with her schedule.
“I think I can.”
Chapter 11
They got into Bozeman the next night at a few minutes past nine. Charlie had a rental car waiting for them and by the time they got on the road and drove the forty-five miles to Big Sky, it was after ten. Jenna had never been to Montana before and her first impression as they drove along was how quiet it was and how spacious.
She had read up a bit online and had been fascinated to learn that Montana had an average of 6.8 people per square mile and New York by comparison had over 411. Even Uncle Bob’s driveway seemed to go on forever once Charlie turned onto it. Finally, a large, sprawling house came into view, with lights glowing in what looked like the kitchen.
Aunt Daisy must have heard the car come down the drive. She was standing in the doorway and pulled Charlie in for a hug when he reached her, and then had one for Jenna as well.
“Come in, come in. Are you hungry? You didn’t eat on the plane, did you?”
Charlie laughed. “Just a bag of chips. I am pretty hungry.”
“I thought you might be. Have a seat and relax. I picked up some sandwiches when I was in town this afternoon. Chicken salad and roast beef, and there’s a bowl of grapes, too. Here you go. I sliced them up so you can have some of both if you like.”
She set the platter on the kitchen table and told them to help themselves. Charlie didn’t hesitate and Jenna followed his lead, taking one of each. She hadn’t really been hungry on the plane as she’d snacked on a bag of popcorn, but now that it was in front of her, she was starving.
“There’s no vodka here, so I can’t mix a decent martini, but Bob has a nice wine collection and I think there’s a few beers, too.”
“I’d love a beer,” Charlie said.
“What do you think, Jenna? Want to share some wine with me?” Aunt Daisy had already found a bottle she liked and was hunting around through the kitchen drawers to find a wine opener.
“Sure, that would be great. Can I help?”
Aunt Daisy spun around with the wine opener in hand. “Yes. If you’re good at opening these things, I’d love your help.” She handed Jenna the bottle and opener and went in search of glasses. Once the wine was poured and they’d finished eating, Aunt Daisy suggested they move to the living room where it was more comfortable.
Jenna smiled when she walked into the living room. It fit her image of what a ranch house in Montana would look like. The floor was polished wide pine and there were large windows overlooking the yard. She was eager to see the view in the morning. It had been too dark as they drove to really see much of anything. There were oil paintings on the wall of mountains and horses, two oversized leather sofas that she discovered were surprisingly soft, and lots of books everywhere.
“Your uncle looks like he was a big reader?” she asked Charlie, but Aunt Daisy answered.
“Bob was a bookworm. Always had his nose in a book, for as long as I could remember. It served him well, too. He was a smart man. Very good with numbers and financial things. I was never very good at that myself.”
“I’m not, either,” Jenna admitted and Aunt Daisy laughed and lifted her glass.
“Cheers to having that in common, my dear!”
They spent the next two hours chatting and reminiscing about Uncle Bob. They both had so many wonderful and often funny memories of him. Jenna was sorry that she’d never met him.
Finally, Aunt Daisy yawned loudly and then excused herself. “How rude of me. What time is it, anyway? It must be getting late.”
Charlie checked his watch. “It’s a few minutes past twelve.”
“Oh, my heavens. We need to go to bed! Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
She showed them to their bedrooms, which were on the second floor, across the hall from each other. She was sleeping in the first floor guest bedroom.
“See you in the morning,” Charlie said as they brought their bags into their rooms for the night. “And thanks again for coming.”
Jenna smiled. “Sleep tight, Charlie.”
* * *
The morning was quiet and dark. The sky above was a deep gray, threatening a storm that never came, but suited their solemn mood. The service was held at the small church around the corner from Uncle Bob’s assisted living building. There were a handful of people there, who all introduced themselves as friends of his, people he’d known during his many years of living there. After the service, they had lunch with Aunt Daisy in town and then drove her into Bozeman to the airport.
Since they were already in Bozeman, they decided to sightsee a bit and explore the town before heading back to Big Sky. They made it back to town by late afternoon and spent the rest of the day driving around Big Sky, marveling at the gorgeous homes and beautiful scenery.
“Big Sky is an interesting town. The population is small, but it swells with tourists during ski season and attracts a big money crow
d, many of whom have bought second homes here.”
“And some decide to stay permanently, like Uncle Bob. And maybe you?” she teased. Charlie had shared on the plane ride that his uncle had left the ranch to him. He still seemed surprised by it.
“It’s tempting to keep it. It’s so beautiful here. But how often would I be able to come? I’m not sure it’s practical.”
“Well, you don’t have to decide right away, do you? I have my camera with me. I was planning to get some shots of the mountains, anyway. I could take some pictures of the ranch, too. If you do decide to sell you could use them.”
Charlie looked grateful. “I’d appreciate that, just in case. I’d love to see the pictures anyway. I’m sure they’ll be gorgeous.”
“I’ll do that tomorrow, then. We can explore the ranch and I can play with the natural light. It’s so beautiful here.” Jenna had been amazed when she’d woken in the morning and saw the view from the living room. With the sun coming up over the mountains, the view was just spectacular. And the air was so crisp and clean. It was a very calming place.
“Okay, we’ll go out and play,” Charlie teased her. “That sounds fun to me.”
“You know what I mean. And it will be fun.”
“I have no doubt. Now, what should we do for dinner?”
It was nearly seven. They’d been going non-stop all day, and driving all around. Jenna was tired and suddenly starving.
“I don’t care what we do, but I need to eat soon.” Her stomach grumbled loudly and they both laughed.
“Okay. According to the GPS, there’s an Italian restaurant, a steak house and Chinese food all within a block. What’s your preference?”
Jenna didn’t hesitate. “Chinese food. It will be ready the quickest.”
Charlie laughed at that. “Good thinking. Chinese it is. We can do one of the other places tomorrow night, for your birthday.”
They were seated right away when they walked into the Chinese restaurant and ordered a scorpion bowl for two to have while they waited for their food. They ordered a bunch of appetizers and some fried rice and they didn’t have to wait long at all. The drink was delicious and the food was good, too. They packed up the leftovers to have for lunch the next day and drove back to Uncle Bob’s house.
The Wedding Photo Page 5