Page 70 of High Note

“Peach! I brought company!” Skyla waved and started tugging her up the stairs.

She chuckled madly. “I see why you like her.”

“She has no shame. Like me.” Skyla reached the top and went to hug the lady, who wore a violently pink and purple leopard sweater, a pair of tight stretch jeans, and a pair of ostrich boots. “This is Kirsten. Kirsten, Peach.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”

“You’re adorable. I can see why she likes you.”

Kirsten’s cheeks went hot. “Thank you—oof.” Kirsten’s breath whooshed out of her as Peach hugged her, smelling like vanilla and powder.

“Come on, now, you two,” Peach said, towing her along. “I’m starving. The weather up here makes me want to eat and eat.”

“I remember that. The first few days at altitude are crazy with the hungry.”

“Yes. Thank God Skyla told me about water and Tylenol.” Peach waved at the maitre’d. “Here we are, honey. Lawrence for three.”

He grinned. “I remember, Mrs. Lawrence. Come on. Your table is ready.”

“I stopped in before happy hour to see if they would let me pick our table,” Peach said. “I wanted a view and a fireplace.” She smiled at Kirsten. “Have you been here before?”

“No, ma’am. I’m more of a beer and pizza girl.” Although Evie could barbecue with the best of them.

“Ah. Well, me too, but you know, you do that a lot, right? This is about one special night.” They were led to a table that was right by one side of the big double fireplace, and where they could look out the panoramic window. Wow. The lift was all lit up, the lights down in town sparkling.

“Oh, it’s beautiful. It’s absolutely stunning.” Skyla’s eyes were huge. “I cannot believe this is real.”

“I haven’t ever seen it from this angle either.” Kirsten felt pride well up in her chest. This was her town. This was home.

“Well, it’s stunning. I can see why you’re in love with this place, girls. It’s like a slice of heaven.” Peach was beaming at them both, and Kirsten felt herself relax.

“Hello, ladies. Oh, hey, Kirsten. How’s it going?” The server was a young man she knew worked part-time for M&M, too. He was at the jam sessions.

“Hey, Kane. How’s it going?”

“Good. Good. Miss Skyla, good to see you.”

“You too, sweetie. This is my manager, Peach.”

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Peach. Would you like to hear the specials?”

“Absolutely!”

“We have an elk steak with an herb butter, there’s a lobster mac and cheese, and there’s a gorgeous venison filet with mushroom gravy and hasselback potatoes.”

Jesus, this place wasfancy.

She opened the menu, looking for something like a petite sirloin or a steak salad.

“Oh, wow. Elk. I want that. And the lobster mac.” That was Peach, who beamed at them. “I’ll just take any leftovers to the house.”

“I want to try the venison,” Skyla said. “What about you, honey?”

There had to be something affordable here. Had to be.

“I’m going to have the caesar salad and a side of risotto, I think.” Even that was over twenty bucks…

“Oh, honey. If you want a steak or a special, get it. I’m going to expense this shit. You played on the demo of your song. That means you’re here for work.” Those prodigious eyelashes fell and rose on a wink.

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