Page 16 of Flippin' Cowboy
Given that both Karla and Grandma Abigail had told her that Evans actually tried to have her fired after she left, Winnie thought it a safe bet she wouldn’t have to follow through on that promise.
No way in hell would Nick Evans change his mind about partnering with her. The arrogance of this guy astounded her.
Maybe he’s great at restoration work, Winnie thought.But good gravy! His ego is clearly too big to fit in the room.Anyroom.
“And… cut!” Karla barked.
As the camera crew relaxed and took a step back, she beamed down at Winnie and Grandma Abigail. “Great job, guys! Mrs. Snowberry, you lookfabulouson camera. If Nick decides not to join our production, maybeyoucan be our co-host for the rest of the season!”
“TheWinnie and Grandma Snowberry Show?” asked Grandma Abigail, her cornflower blue eyes crinkling with amusement. “That might be fun.” She chuckled. “You know, I never imagined that I would appear on television, especially at my age!”
“Well, if you’re game, I’d love to feature you as a regular on the show,” Karla said enthusiastically. “I think our audience wouldreally dig the whole hometown and family vibe.” She looked around the diner’s interior. “And this is a super-cute place. I’m glad you recommended it for filming, Mrs. Snowberry.” She turned to Winnie. “And your sister’s the chef here?”
Winnie nodded. “She and her fiancé, Brock Michaels, have done amazing things with the food here.”
Not only the food, but the dining room, too. Winnie hadn’t visited The Yummy Cowboy since its recent renovation. Melanie and Geoff had helped redesign this space, back before it all went so disastrously wrong. It was a bitter reminder of all that Winnie had lost… not just her happily-ever-after in Seattle with her business partner, but her friendship with the pair of them, too.
Melanie had been her college roommate. And Winnie had met Geoff during her first year in the renovation business. He’d quickly become her business partner, and then their friendship had blossomed into something more. At the time, it had seemed like a match made in heaven.
How could I have been so wrong?Winnie asked herself for the thousandth time. Her first week back home in Snowberry Springs, she’d shuffled through the days like a zombie, her mind numb and her emotions raw.
But it was amazing how healing two weeks with her family proved to be, with the bonus of bright, sunny winter days under a cloudless, deep blue sky to lift her spirits.
Now, the pain had faded enough that she could assess her former partners’ work with only a twinge of hurt pride and an internal clench of remembered humiliation.
Winnie was forced to admit that Geoff and Melanie’s design looked outstanding here. It was rustic yet modern, and it paid homage to the diner’s long history in Snowberry Springs.
The Yummy Cowboy Diner of her childhood and high school years had been a dingy, worn place with beat-up burgundy vinyl booths, wood-paneled walls cluttered with old license plates, metal road signs, vintage photos, tacky cowboy memorabilia, and a moth-eaten bison head mounted above the door leading to the bathrooms and kitchen.
The newly renovated dining room featured barn wood wainscoting, with the upper part of the walls painted a soft sage color. And Brock and Summer had replaced the bison head with a stencil of Autumn’s custom logo. It was the stylized silhouette of a cowboy kneeling next to a campfire, tin mug in hand, with an old-fashioned coffeepot hanging from a tripod over the flames.
Behind the quartz-topped breakfast bar, an antique pharmacy counter with dozens of drawers stood against the back wall, with a shiny chrome espresso maker and a vintage seafoam-green milkshake machine placed side by side. Open shelving stacked with cups, glasses, and plates lined the backbar wall, along with several framed photographs of the diner’s former and current owners, including Brock and Summer’s recent engagement photo.
Custom wallpaper featuring a collage of old Snowberry Springs newspaper clippings and advertisements beneath a sheet of clear Plexiglas concealed the chipped and peeling vintage Formica tabletops Winnie remembered.
“Summer and Brock have done a lovely job with this place, haven’t they?” Grandma Abigail asked, following Winnie’s gaze to the vintage barn lights hanging from the ceiling.
“It looks great,” Winnie said. “I reviewed the, uh, concept drawings before Geoff and Melanie sent them over to Summer. It’s always interesting to see how their ideas translate to reality.”
There. She’d spoken the Dastardly Duo’s names without more than a twinge of pain.
A bustle of activity rose around them as some of the camera crew left to store their equipment in the large vans parked outside, while production assistants began pulling together tables and rearranging chairs.
Now that the day’s filming was a wrap, it was time for theReviving Snowberry Springsteams to enjoy a team dinner.
Grandma Abigail ignored the scrape of moving furniture and the swirl of people. Her blue eyes filled with compassion, she leaned forward and covered Winnie’s hand with her soft, warm one.
“I know how much it hurts when the people you love don’t measure up,” she said in a low voice. “I’m truly and deeply sorry for your pain, Winnie.”
Winnie swallowed hard.I’m not going to cry, she told herself fiercely as her eyes stung.I’ve done too much of that since the wedding.“Thanks, Grandma. I appreciate it.”
Grandma Abigail’s expression hardened. “I’m only glad that we all found out what kind of person Geoffreallyis before you married him,” she continued, her tone thick with loathing. “He wasn’t worthy of you, Winnie. And you deserve someone worthy, my dear. You have such a big talent and an even bigger heart. All I want is for you to be happy.”
Winnie looked away as she battled to control her emotions.
“…and for you to restore the inn before summer,” her grandmother added, in a wry tone.
Winnie laughed at this, and the moment passed.
