Page 6 of Flippin' Cowboy
With the ugly barrel chairs gone from the apartment’s living/dining room, there was plenty of place to seat all the brunch guests, which included Winnie and her siblings, Mom and Dad; Grandma Abigail; Brock; Autumn’s seven-year-old son, Jayden; Spring’s two young daughters, April and Abby; Karla; andRestoring Seattle’s longtime director of photography, Jake Lee.
“Not helpful, either of you,” chided Mom, putting a protective arm around Winnie.
Brock turned from the stove, where he was scrambling eggs in a skillet. He growled, “Can I punch that asshole’s face in? Please?”
“Language,” Autumn warned, frowning at her son and pair of nieces.
“I’ll hold him while you pummel him,” Spring offered as he set up the coffeemaker for a second pot of caffeinated magic.
Winnie chuckled weakly, reached for her mug, and gulped down more strong, black coffee. She needed it. Her head was pounding with the aftermath of too much champagne last night and too little sleep.
Despite her fatigue, she spent hours tossing and turning. She couldn’t stop thinking about the spectacle she’d made of herself in front of all those strangers gathered for her wedding.
What would happen toRestoring Seattlewithout Geoff on board? Because if she was certain about one thing, it was that she never wanted to see his smug, lying face again. Or that two-faced little cheat Melanie either.
In some ways, Melanie’s betrayal hurt even worse than Geoff’s. Melanie had been Winnie’s friend beforeRestoring Seattleever went on the air. Geoff had hired her as the show’s assistant designer because of Winnie’s recommendation.
The rest of the family made approving noises. Jayden excitedly volunteered, “And I’ll punch him in the stomach!”
“And we’ll kick him in the legs,” chorused April and Abby with bloodthirsty enthusiasm.
Laughter bubbled up in Winnie’s throat as she imagined the scene.
“No one’s hitting anyone, not even Geoff,” she informed them once she’d stopped giggling. “But I appreciate the offer, really I do. And I’ll think about what I want to say.”
“Aw, Aunt Winnie! You’re no fun,” complained Jayden, and his two cousins nodded in energetic agreement.
Autumn smiled. “Do you want me to draft something? It’s easier to be gracious when you’re not the one hurting.”
“I’d appreciate that,” said Winnie, returning her sister’s smile with genuine gratitude. “I get where you and Karla are coming from, but I just can’t think of anything nice to say about Geoff and Melanie right now.”
Brock and Summer began carrying serving plates and bowls loaded with scratch-made waffles, smoked sausages, crisp fried bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs, and fruit salad over to the table. Autumn poured coffee and mimosas for the adults, with milkand juice for the kids. Then everyone seated themselves and began passing around the food.
“What about that house you and Geoff were restoring?” Grandma Abigail asked after Dad finished saying grace. Her cornflower blue eyes rested on Winnie with an expression of gentle concern. “You two really turned it into something special.”
“It wasn’t special tome,” Winnie replied, cutting into a crisp waffle smothered with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries. “You know I never liked that place. It was Geoff and Melanie’s choice for a dream home. Not mine.”
It cost her eight months of hard work and wrangling supply chain issues to get the place renovated in time for the big post-wedding reveal on the show. And it had all been for nothing.
And the worst part was, she should have seen it coming. The clues had all been there. Geoff’s withdrawal of affection. He and Melanie suddenly spending all that time together, working. His insistence on choosing the Tudor Revival house for the Dream House project because Melanie had insisted it would look better on camera than one of the Craftsman houses Winnie adored.
“I see,” Grandma Abigail said. “Well, that’s too bad. You do excellent work, even if you don’t always get credit for it on your show.”
“Thanks, Grandma,” Winnie said.
A short time later, Karla’s phone began playing hip-hop beats. She glanced down at it. “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”
She rose from the table and stepped out of the apartment to answer the call.
She looked shellshocked when she returned a few minutes later.
“Are you okay?” Winnie asked.
Karla sighed. “I’ve got some bad news. The network execs just canceledRestoring Seattle. They told me it was because of all the terrible publicity from the wedding.”
“I was afraid that would happen,” Winnie said. It was one of many scenarios that had tormented her throughout the long hours of the night. “Not that I wanted to work with Geoff anymore. I’m sorry about you guys, though.”
It was bad enough that Geoff had dumped her, and Melanie had shown her true colors. But thanks to his selfishness, Karla, Jake, and everyone else who worked onRestoring Seattlewere now unemployed.
