Page 4 of Montana Born

Chapter Two

“I really need to get one of those Spanx girdles,” Elle’s Aunt Janet exclaimed inspecting herself in a full-length mirror at Elle's house. “What are you thinking having a mirror in the entryway where people can scare themselves to death?” She frowned at Elle and waddled to the kitchen. “Have any of those cookies Margie made left?”

“No Aunt Janet, I don’t. Scott came over yesterday and ate them all,” she said, referring to her brother.

Wednesdays were Tyler women, girl's night out. Along with her Aunt Janet, who lived next door, her mother, Margie, and Aunt Janet's daughters, Deana and Jennifer, they went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for food and margaritas.

More times than not, her other cousins, twins Lori and Sandy, would join them. Her uncle Todd’s daughters were an odd set of twins. They were always together but argued constantly.

Lori was more restrained, while Sandy cussed like a sailor and changed the color of her hair depending on her moods. And it seemed Sandy's moods seemed to change rather frequently.

Today, all seven were meeting at a Mexican restaurant. It was truly cruel that she’d asked Sully to meet her there. It was obvious he would not change his mind about the land and if Elle were to be honest, she didn’t blame him one bit.

Although she’d hate typing the email to the conglomerate planning to purchase the land, it was not the end of the road on the project.

Always ready for a Plan B, she’d already scoped out another property, which, although not as nice as the Cole lands, would suit the purpose for the venture.

The commission from the sale of the Cole property, even after splitting it with Gary, would have been nice. She’d already earned very well on the architectural plans for the combination dude ranch, condo and adult resort. If she and Gary bartered a land deal for it to come to fruition, Elle could relax and only take jobs she was passionate about for a couple of years.

“Aunt Janet, I asked a client to stop by La Veranda tonight. I don’t suspect he’ll be there long.”

Her aunt stopped with a chocolate truffle halfway to her mouth. “Is he single and good looking?”

Elle eyed the chocolate. “How did you find my stash?”

Her aunt shrugged and popped the expensive treat into her mouth. “It was right there in the open for anyone to take.”

“In the third drawer down, under kitchen towels you mean?

Aunt Janet waved her remarks away. “Back to the subject at hand. Who is this client of yours?”

Her lips quivered in anticipation of her aunt’s reaction. “Sullivan Cole.”

“Oklahoma!” her aunt exclaimed. “Dallas and Toledo,” her voice lowered to a reverent level. “Isn’t he the most eligible bachelor in the entire state of Montana?”

“He’s also a male chauvinist pig, who thinks I do ‘dinner’ with clients,” Elle replied making air quotes. “So anyway, you don’t have to be nice to him.”

“Honey I’m not just going to be nice to him, I’m going to buy him dinner. “ She picked up the nearest cell phone, which happened to be Elle’s and stared at it for a moment then poked at it. “Listen up, buttercup, tell your sister to fix up nice for dinner. Tell her to put on some makeup and wear that green dress she wore to Jenny’s wedding. Tell Jennifer tonight is not the night to be wearing those tacky romance reader t-shirts. And tell her for God’s sake slap some lotion on those feet!”

Her aunt listened for a few seconds. “Sullivan Cole is joining us for dinner. That’s what’s going on.”

Elle’s mouth fell open. “No he’s not. I was going to sit him at a table next to ours for the few minutes he’ll stay.”

“Hello is this Lori? Coming to dinner tonight? You may want to leave Sandy behind...” Her aunt was the fastest dialer when on a mission.

Elle shook her head and dug in the drawer for a chocolate. Maybe she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. Before she could bring it to her mouth, Aunt Janet snagged it. "All this excitement is making me hungry."

She walked off with Elle's phone. "Hey Margie, you're not gonna believe this..."

The ambience at La Veranda could only be described as tacky with a twist of Mexican flair. Armando, their usual server, rushed to Elle and Aunt Janet and ushered them to a table on the far side of the restaurant.

Elle couldn’t figure out if it was to give them privacy, or because he feared they’d run off other patrons. She ducked a beer bottle piñata and hurried to hug her mother who’d arrived along with Deana and Jennifer.

Her eyes rounded at her cousins’ appearance. Both looked like a trailer park version of the Kardashians. “Hey, Cuz,” Deana said looking past her toward the entrance. “How are ya?”

Jennifer didn’t bother to greet her. Instead, she clapped her hands up over her right shoulder like a Flamenco dancer. “Armando, I need a strong margarita. Throw a shot of vodka in it.”

The server’s eyes rounded. “You want a margarita with vodka? That’s just wrong.”