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“Say what?” Josie said, leaning forward. “I thought you guys just purchased a condo in Seattle and were settling into the whole grunge scene and getting used to carrying umbrellas everywhere and replacing the colors in your wardrobe with gray and black.”
Rowen arched an eyebrow at her. “Our condo is a fancy word for a coat closet, and my closet was already spilling over with black and gray, thank you very much.”
Josie and I looked between the two of them, waiting for the punchline. I knew Jesse wasn’t a big fan of city life, but he’d have moved smack into the middle of New York City if it meant being with Rowen, and Rowen’s career as an artist was taking off on the West Coast. Why they’d suddenly decide to go between living in Montana and Seattle wasn’t adding up.
“What’s up?” Josie asked in place of how I’d phrased earlier, What the hell is going on?
Jesse shifted in his seat as he took a drink of his Coke. “It’s getting harder and harder for Dad to manage the ranch, so we’re planning on spending three or four months during the summer helping out.”
“Plus the thought of spending the rest of my life trapped between sky-scrapers, people, and overcast weather is enough to make me mental,” Rowen added, finishing her soda. When she caught Josie and me looking at her, she added, “More mental than I already am, at least.”
“But you love the city,” Josie said.
Rowen lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay.”
Josie’s forehead creased. “And with both of your jobs, it’ll be okay to simply pick up and leave for a few months every year?”
“Most of the big art shows take place during the fall and spring, and I can paint, sculpt, and draw in Montana as easily as I can in Seattle.” Rowen replaced her head on Jesse’s shoulder and reached for his hand. “Jesse’s been a trouper the whole time, and not once has he complained, but he won’t miss working construction. He was born on a ranch. He was raised on a ranch. That’s where he belongs.”
“That’s where he belongs . . .” Josie hinted.
Jesse’s chin curled around Rowen’s head, his expression almost troubled.
“And I belong with him,” Rowen replied firmly. “It’s not fair to expect him to move away from the people and places he knows when we can make this work. Besides, I miss Montana.”
Josie smiled. “It’s the cow crap ground into the floors, isn’t it? Appealing on so many levels.”
“Nah,” she replied, winking at us. “It’s more the people in this cow-crap-crusted state than the actual places I miss.”
“Holy cow crap. Good for you guys.” I leaned back in my wheelchair and grinned at my friends, who I’d be getting to see more often than the occasional weekend. “Is this move happening, like, this summer or next?”
“Happening as soon as possible,” Rowen answered, followed by Jesse shaking his head.
“We haven’t decided anything for sure yet,” he said. “We have to find a house close by the ranch first, or build one, and there’s a bunch of other things to get worked out too.”
“What else is there to get worked out, Jess? Besides which side of the bed you’ll sleep on . . .” I asked as the waiter arrived with a large tray about to spill over with steak and sides.
Jesse lifted his eyes to mine. There was something in them I couldn’t translate. “Lots of things.”
The waiter was just about to set Josie’s plate in front of her when Rowen shoved back in her chair, covered her mouth, and sprinted across the restaurant before Josie had realized she was gone.
“Crap, Garth,” Jesse groaned, tossing his napkin onto the table as he stood. “I thought I told you not to order the creamed spinach.”
My brows pinched together. “When the hell did you tell me that?” I waved my fork at the tray. A steaming plate of creamed spinach had my name all over it. “And why the hell would you tell me that in the first place?”
All Jesse did was shake his head at me before following his wife, who I guessed had disappeared into the ladies’ restroom. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he got there, but he obviously wasn’t happy with me.
“What’s got his chaps in a twist?” I muttered to Josie as the waiter finished placing the plates in front of the chairs, throwing a concerned looked in the direction of the restrooms. “And what’s the deal with the creamed spinach? I always order creamed spinach. It’s never sent him over the ledge before. Something’s up with those two.”
Josie stared at Rowen and Jesse’s empty seats, her forehead creasing. “What do you think is up?”
I glanced at the restrooms. “I don’t know, but nothing good. Jesse’s been on edge all night, and Rowen’s been especially snappy. I always worried that, with those two being so different, their honeymoon period would be over quickly, and when it was, those differences would drive them apart.”
Josie cut into her steak. “I don’t think they fell in love because of their differences.”
I was still worked up over what had happened and what was currently happe
ning. I’d rarely seen Rowen and Jesse so out-of-sorts as a couple, and it was hitting me hard. If they couldn’t make it, what hope did the rest of us have? “Then why?”
