Page 85 of Against All Odds

“Found out when people started ordering it like crazy. I thought they were here for the music.”

“So, this is happening because ofoneinfluencer and a best-of list?” I was baffled as I scanned my phone and checked our Instagram.

“Yup,” Mackenna said, popping the P as she took a couple of the plates waiting for her.

I clapped my hands. “Well, let’s rock this.”

“Yup,” Elijah repeated what Mackenna had said with a pop on the P.

It was thebestnight we’d ever had. Hell, according to Ben, this was thebestnight the Wildflower hadeverhad.

The streak continued over the following week, and this time, it wasn’t just the tourists. We had the locals coming back.

Tuesday Night Trivia, I thought, would die a slow death after the locals stopped coming because it wasn’t a tourist thing. But whatever magic Heath had workedmeant the tables were packed again. Locals filled the seats, laughing and debating over trivia answers.

Oh, I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was Heath. Influencers coming to the Wildflower, the locals coming back—this wasn’t happening organically, just like the locals abandoning us had been artificially created by Alexa and her father.

“Tom said that Heath Falkner laid into him, Joe, and Daniel at the Royal Golf Course,” I heard Phillip Waits, who was a physical trainer at the gym at the Royal Ski Resort, say.

“I heard,” his friend, who I didn’t know, exclaimed. “Heath kicked their asses at golf and threatened them with Maverick Royal pulling out of their projects.”

There was other chatter.

“Juno and Alexa had a huge fight about her badmouthing Sable.”

Damn!

“Juno told Heath she doesn’t want to stay with her mother.”

Oh shit!

“Heath gave it to Alexa, I hear, told her that there was no way they’d ever get back together.”

Oh my!

“Juno likes Sable better and wants her and Heath back together.”

Say what?

The young woman in question came with her friends into the Wildflower right after I heard that piece of gossip. Juno waved when she saw me, making her wayover to the bar where I was handing out trivia scorecards, while her friends snagged a booth near the stage.

“Hey, Sable.” She leaned against the counter.

“Juno. It’s good to see you, darlin’.”

“I’m so excited. Daddy and Mama said we could come here for Trivia Night. And we’re gonna win.” She then dropped her voice. “What are we winning?”

“Four tickets to the Snowmass Rodeo.”

“Awesome.”

“Really?” I cocked an eyebrow. I doubted Juno was into the rodeo.

“My friend Lola, she’s horse crazy. She’s going to go apeshit.”

“Cool.” I chuckled. “I’ll ask Mackenna to take care of y’all. On the house.”

“Really?” Juno’s eyes lit up. “Thanks, Sable.”

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