by Emily March
Gillian unfolded her long, shapely legs from the passenger seat, grabbed her purse, and then shut the door. She turned in a slow circle. “How cool is this? I’ve seen their advertising flyers, and they’re great, but now that I’m here, I see that the photos don’t do it justice. And I don’t know why.”
“I know. I’ve thought the same thing myself. Honestly, I think it’s the canyon. There is something about the canyon itself that simply doesn’t transfer into pictures.”
“Enchantment,” Gillian mused. “It’s Enchanted Canyon. Maybe there’s something to it.”
“Maybe so.”
“How is it I’ve lived in the Hill Country all my life and never known this place existed?”
“Well, it’s private property off the beaten track with no public road.”
“And, guarded over by Enchanted Rock.” Both women turned to look at the pink-granite dome rising above the canyon in the distance, and Gillian continued, “Why is it I imagine an eye staring down at me?”
“Now that you mention it,” Caroline said with a wry smile. “I’ve recently read quite a bit of local history. Supposedly archeologists have found evidence of human sacrifices at the base of Enchanted Rock dating back thousands of years.”
“Ick.”
“The Comanche and Tonkawa people both considered it a spiritual place, and it’s been revered and feared at different times throughout history.”
Gillian glanced from the Fallen Angel to Enchanted Rock and then back to the inn, saloon, and dance hall. “I imagine traveling the road to Ruin in the eighteen hundreds took some cajones.”
From behind them came a familiar voice. “Oh, honey-child. If you only knew.”
“The road to Redemption is not without its challenges, either,” declared a second familiar voice.
Caroline turned to see Angelica and Celeste Blessing standing side by side at the end of the front sidewalk, a study in contrast but for the smiles on their faces. Celeste’s crisp, white linen shirt was tucked neatly into her pleated khaki slacks. Her sparkle came from the twinkle in her eyes and the glitter of rhinestones on the buckles on her loafers.
Angelica presented an earthier picture by showcasing her hourglass figure in her gauzy, sunshine yellow peasant blouse tucked into a flowing azure skirt. The white feathers embroidered along the scoop of her neckline and hem were repeated in threads of yellow and blue across the wide white belt she wore cinched at her waist. Her red hair hung loose in a riot of curls hanging halfway down her back. It occurred to Caroline that were she dressed in a corset and fishnet stockings, Angelica would look right at home in the Fallen Angel in its prior life. Bet she’d have been really popular, too.
“Hello, Celeste. Hello, Angelica.”
“Good afternoon.” Angelica stepped ahead of her cousin, smiling warmly at both women as she nodded first at Caroline, and then offered her hand to Gillian. “You must be Gillian. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Angelica Blessing, the innkeeper here at the Fallen Angel. It’s lovely to finally meet you.”
On Angelica’s heels, Celeste greeted Caroline with a hug while Angelica continued to Gillian, “My cousin and I stopped by your store the last time I was in town and met your mother, but you were out with your beau.”
“Yes. Mom said that the two of you stopped by. I’m sorry I missed you.”
“I’m so glad you both could join us this weekend,” Celeste interjected. “I hope you had a pleasant drive out from town?”
“It was lovely,” Caroline said. “Traffic was light for a Friday afternoon.”
“Excellent.” Celeste waved to catch the attention of a pair of teenagers wearing jeans, pearl-snap shirts, and name tags who hovered nearby awaiting her signal. “Will our luggage wranglers need carts?”
“No. We both packed light.” Caroline popped the trunk, and after sorting out their luggage, Gillian followed Celeste toward the cottage that she and Maisy would share for the weekend, while Angelica escorted Caroline upstairs to her lovely second-floor suite. “Oh, wow,” Caroline said as she stepped into the room that was dominated by a king-sized four-poster bed. “That smells like fresh bread.”
“It is.” Beaming, Angelica showed her the bread machine concealed in the built-in cabinet along one wall that also contained a dorm-sized refrigerator stocked with bottles of water, soda, and juice. “We are going to make a loaf of fresh bread each day for our guests. It’s going to be our signature. Nothing smells more heavenly than fresh-baked yeast bread.”
“What a fabulous idea. Fresh-baked bread is one of the best aromas on Earth.”
“The Fallen Angel is all about delicious scents. Wait until you get a sniff of the soaps and lotions in the bathroom. We didn’t have those last time you were here, did we?”
“No.”
“They’re fabulous, a custom fragrance created for us by a soap maker in Eternity Springs. Savannah Turner. She makes Heavenscents Soaps. She’s very talented.”
“I know those soaps. Celeste had some with her the day we met.” Caroline had forgotten all about the bag of samples from the innkeepers show that Celeste had been taking to Easterwood that day. “Is Savannah Turner one of the visitors here this weekend?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Her husband is the Eternity Springs sheriff and can’t get away this time of year. Savannah and Zach are scheduled to visit later this summer once the tourist season is over in Eternity Springs.” Angelica pointed out a couple of more amenities of the room, and then said, “Now, I’ll let you settle in. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Angelica.”
Caroline spent the next few minutes unpacking. When she placed her makeup bag in the bathroom, she unscrewed the cap from the small bottle of body lotion, took a sniff, and smiled. Appealing and unique. Faintly citrusy. Maybe a little lavender? She liked it. She’d need to not forget this time. She wanted to carry a few fragrant items at The Next Chapter—candles and such—but she had yet to find a vendor she wanted to work with.
As she hung the dresses she’d brought to wear to dinner in the suite’s antique chifforobe, she wondered if the Fallen Angel planned to sell their fragrances in a gift shop. Maybe they’d be interested in selling them through the bookstore, too. A little cross-promotion wouldn’t hurt. They were already doing that on her behalf, what with all those books Angelica had bought. Caroline hadn’t missed the tent card advertising The Next Chapter that Angelica had placed prominently next to them. She’d have to remember to ask Celeste or Angelica about their plans for retail. Maybe tonight—
“No,” she said aloud as she closed the chifforobe door and stared at her reflection in its mirror. No business tonight. She was officially off the clock. The weekend had begun. It was not to be a working weekend. Period. She was going to hold herself to that vow.
It had been a crazy week at the shop, and she’d been working like a dog arriving early and staying late into the night. Everything was coming together, though, and she was on track for her own grand opening. This past week she’d completed hiring what she hoped would be a competent, dependable staff. She’d put the finishing touches on her decor, and next week they would begin stocking the shelves. That’s why she’d given herself permission to take the weekend off. She’d decided to take this opportunity to pause and rest and relax and store up energy for the busy weeks to come. This weekend would be the calm before the storm, and she intended to enjoy herself. Freely, wholly, in a way she hadn’t done so in a very long time.
This weekend, Caroline was going to be a girl. She was going to flirt with Jackson McBride.
Somewhere between shelving the Cookbooks and the Local History sections, Caroline had figured out that this was the logical next step. The necessary next step. Because in order to live the next chapter of her life, she needed to turn some pages. One of those pages was beginning to date again. But in order to begin dating, she needed to shake the feeling of still being married whenever she talked to a m
an. She’d need to start feeling single again.
How was it that she could feel so alone, but not feel single?
In the months since Robert’s death, only one man had broken through her married shell—Jackson McBride.
She’d been bummed that he hadn’t stopped by the bookstore since her visit to Enchanted Canyon. Not because she was ready to leap into anything hot and heavy and serious, but because she’d managed to read a few paragraphs down her page and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She wanted to turn it and flirt a little. Jackson made her want to flirt.
She’d put quite a bit of thought into understanding why he did it for her when others didn’t, and she’d finally figured it out. Jackson was a nice guy. He was kind and thoughtful, and he was definitely hot. And she could tell that he genuinely liked her.
Most importantly, he was safe.
Jackson toted around more baggage than she did on those broad, sexy shoulders of his, so he wasn’t in the market for anything more than she was ready to give. He’d been upfront about that. She could test her wings with him, grow her wings with him without leading him on. And vice versa. She was safe for him because she wasn’t looking for anything beyond help moving on. She and Jackson were both on the same page, both were at points in their lives when they were attempting to turn that page and begin their next chapters, which made them perfect for each other. For this weekend.
Which was why she saw a sparkle of excitement and anticipation in her eyes. She was ready to kick this thing off.
She touched up her lipstick, ran a brush through her hair, and glanced at her wristwatch. Perfect timing. Guests had been asked to gather downstairs in the parlor five minutes from now to discuss the schedule for the weekend’s activities.
She nodded at her reflection, then turned and left the room. Downstairs, she discovered a parlor filled with good friends who appeared ready to expand their circle. Jackson approached her as soon as she crossed the threshold. “Hey there. Glad to see you made it.”
“Hello, Jackson. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. I’ve been dreaming about soaking in your hot tub all week. I’ve lost count of how many cartons of books I’ve shelved.”
“We’ll have to make sure you fit that into your schedule this evening.” He lowered his voice and added, “Word of warning: Angelica is being a little obsessive about her sign-up sheet. One of our bartenders didn’t show up for tonight’s shift, and she’s in a bit of a scheduling tizzy now.”
“Poor Angelica. Surely she knows that staffing issues are part of the business.”
“She does. I think once she gets this first weekend behind her she’ll be fine. At least, I hope that will be the case.” He waved over a waiter who was carrying a tray of champagne. “Something to drink?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Taking two, he offered one to Caroline and then clinked their glasses. “Here’s to successful openings. To next chapters.”
“To next chapters,” she repeated.
He gestured to the crowd beginning to gather. “Have you had a chance to meet everyone?”
“No.”
The family resemblance between the Callahan men and the McBride men was obvious and made it relatively easy to tell the Eternity Springs crowd apart from the Brazos Bend gang. They were a friendly, welcoming group that teased and traded jibes and immediately made Caroline feel like a longtime friend. She enjoyed the cocktail hour immensely. It didn’t hurt that Jackson barely left her side.
Not that he was flirting with her, because he wasn’t. What he was doing was giving an amusing play-by-play commentary of his cousin Boone’s blatant flirtation with every female in the room, which somehow, despite being so broad, was obviously focused on Maisy. Maisy didn’t seem to mind Boone’s attention at all. For her part, Caroline felt like she was blooming under Jackson’s.
She wasn’t the only person to benefit from his consideration, Caroline noted when the Callahan wives and husbands began bickering amongst themselves about their Saturday afternoon activity. She watched as Jackson cut an anxious Angelica from the herd, easing her out of the parlor and into the entry hall where he attempted to soothe her as he would a skittish horse. Caroline moved closer, not hesitating to eavesdrop.
“… put a ride to the south rim on the schedule? That’s a steep, challenging trail.”
“Our guests are all accomplished riders.”
“But … but … but what about the bicycles? The ATVs. The croquet course.”
“I’m still not at all sure about the croquet—I told you that—but the bikes and ATVs will get plenty of use. Just not this weekend. They can do that at home.”
“Exactly. The Callahans can ride horses at home. They’re ranchers for heaven’s sake! Why do they want to ride horses here?”
“They want to see the canyon.”
“But we’re supposed to practice everything. How can we practice everything if—”
Jackson gave his innkeeper’s shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Deep breaths, Angelica. You have this. You’ve trained your people well. Everything will be okay.”
Caroline watched his gentle smile and listened to his encouraging words as he detailed the many preparations Angelica had overseen the past weeks and months. “Everything will be okay,” he repeated, and Caroline closed her eyes and let the echo of his whiskey-timbered voice skid along her nerves.
She told herself, “Yes, yes it will.”
In the parlor, the Callahans apparently came to an agreement, because Gabe threw out his hands and declared, “Finally! Okay. Does that work for everyone?”
“Yes!” came a chorus of female voices.
Gabe glanced around the parlor, spied Jackson and Angelica in the hallway, and walked toward them. “Angelica?”
She gave Jackson a wobbly smile and met Gabe just inside the parlor, clipboard in hand. “Yes?”
“Change in plans. The ladies are going to hang by the pool in the morning instead of joining us for the canyon ride. Boone says the trail is accessible by Jeep. He suggested that the women come up that way and bring a picnic lunch. Said you have a couple of drivers who know the way. Then tomorrow afternoon, we’ll all go together to tour your ghost town.”
Angelica turned an uncertain and faintly accusing look toward Boone, who was too busy chatting up Maisy to notice. “Boone suggested that?”
“Yeah. Weather is supposed to be great.”
Frowning, she nibbled at her lower lip and flipped the pages of on her clipboard. “It’s a problem. A picnic at the canyon rim is not on the schedule.”
From her seat in the corner, Celeste gave an exasperated sigh then spoke with a bit of bark in her tone. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. You cannot be a good innkeeper if you are not adaptive. The schedule is not written in stone, Angelica. Change it!”
Angelica’s insecurity evaporated at her cousin’s words. Temper flamed to life in her eyes. Her spine snapped straight. She smiled with more teeth than the great white in Jaws. “Cousin dear, would you please step with me into the other room?”
Uh-oh, Caroline thought as once again, Angelica exited the parlor. This time she sailed out like a three-masted warship under full sail. Celeste’s expression remained serene. However, Caroline didn’t miss the fact that she’d clasped her fingers tightly. Really tightly.
Having moved to stand in the threshold between the entry hall and parlor, Jackson scowled at Boone, whose arched brow wordlessly asked, What?
Then the Blessing cousins’ whispered conversation began to carry. Caroline clearly heard Angelica say, “If you will recall, Celeste, you were the one who suggested I draw up a schedule.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything, especially the guidance I’ve attempted to give you based on my long experience.”
“Guidance? Guidance?! Honey, you don’t guide. You dictate. You decree. You’ve been Miss Bossy Butt all our lives!”
At that, Caroline lost track of the conversation taking place in the entry hall because she was so captivate
d by the reactions of the Fallen Angel’s guests. To a person, their chins dropped. Nic Callahan covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Sarah Murphy silently repeated the words “Miss Bossy Butt”? Brick Callahan’s eyes bugged out, and Devin Murphy sank onto a chair as if his knees had given out.
Jackson closed his eyes and massaged his temples with his fingertips. Caroline barely stifled a laugh as Boone groaned aloud. He set down his drink and prepared to referee.
However, he’d taken only one step toward the door when suddenly, the Blessings returned to the parlor and stood side by side. Caroline didn’t know what had happened in the past thirty seconds or so, but the pair now presented an apparently calm and united front and spoke like a team.
Angelica said, “Gabe, we’re able to make this little adjustment with no problem at all.”
Celeste added, “Because we expected a full house, my dear cousin made sure to have a full complement of staff for the weekend. One word of caution, though: we will be sticklers to our schedule and make a concentrated effort to run on time. We’ll ask riders to meet at the stables no later than seven o’clock for a seven fifteen departure.”
Angelica nodded in agreement. “I understand you are all experienced riders, so that shouldn’t be a problem. If you have any special requests regarding mounts or tack, please stop by the stables tonight or call extension twelve and leave a message for Ben. He’ll take care of you. For the picnic, the Jeeps will be in front of the inn at eleven thirty.”
Celeste held up her hand with her index finger extended. “If you have any special menu requests, please call extension five before you retire this evening.”
Pencil in hand, Angelica glanced down at her clipboard. “We have the horseback ride to the rim, the Jeep tour and picnic, and let me double-check the list for the hike to the hidden waterfalls. I have Caroline, Maisy, Gillian, Liliana, Brick, Jackson, and Boone. Anyone else?”
Gillian raised her hand. “Actually, if you have a spot for one more in the Jeeps, I’d like I’d like to do the canyon tour. I wasn’t up to a morning on horseback, but I’d love to see Enchanted Rock from the viewpoint Boone described.”
