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“She had Elk Rock Ranch. I couldn’t leave here.”
I’d thought at one point, that there’d been no love among the three solitary people living here year-round. But there had been.
Great loves.
Keefe’s and Brenda’s for the land, for the ranch. Wendy’s, too. Though hers had twisted her.
“Have you to thank for one thing,” Brenda said to me.
I expected it to be bringing the murderer of her friend to account.
“You talking about Scott Hoole made me give him a call. He’s going to move from Cooke City to here on the ranch and get us special chefs to come. Maybe some classes with these real good cooks. That kind of thing. Plus, he’s got experience hiring people, so he and James are going to find somebody to run the business side — do all that work, so I can do the fun stuff with keeping up with the animals and such.”
Yeah, no work involved with that at all.
****
The wedding prep is almost completed cued up after Connie told Diana I didn’t have a wedding dress yet.
Diana recruited Tom’s sister, Jean-Marie, and Tamantha. If you think I had a choice about the shopping trip the next week, you’ve never met any of these females. We picked up Jean-Marie in Red Lodge, then drove on to Billings.
Jean-Marie strategized our trip, and she and Diana approached each store by dividing to conquer.
The dress was in the fourth store.
Until that point, I’d felt nearly extraneous. A mannequin to try on dress after dress.
I put that one on and we were done.
It’s long-sleeved Mikado silk — the wedding’s in June, but this is Wyoming — with a U back. One of those dresses people call deceptively simple.
I do love it.
I also loved that seeing me in it made Diana tear up, Jean-Marie grin and clasp a palm to her chest, and Tamantha’s eyes widen and her mouth pop open as she said, “Wow.”
I hoped the reaction would run in the family.
We’ll find out in late June.
****
There’s a memorial service for Keefe planned for early June, after Elk Rock Ranch opens its season, with dedication of a bench and plaque to him on the property. It’s going to be out on one of the more distant trails, where someone could sit alone and quiet, stare up to the sky and learn a few things.
****
The wedding’s almost here for Elizabeth and Tom.
Will murder be an uninvited guest?
