Page 123 of Red Mountain Burning
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Down by the Yakima River,as the falling sun reflected off the water, Margot sat with Remi and Carly on the concrete pad outside of his Airstream. Veggie burgers sizzled on the charcoal grill nearby. Philippe and Henri were tugging on a stick that was twice their size.
“We have something we thought we’d run by you, Carly,” Remi said, drumming his fingers on the armrests.
“What’s that?” Carly had been talking about some new ideas for weed control in the garden, but Margot and Remi were bursting at the seams to share their idea.
“We want you to stay on the mountain,” Remi said.
Margot could barely wait to get a word in. “I’d like to offer you a full-time job at Épiphanie. If that interests you. With Adriana leaving, the timing could be perfect.”
“And I thought you might like to stay in the Airstream,” Remi said. “Not that we’re kicking you out. You’re welcome to stay with us too. But I know how nice it would be to have your own space.”
Carly’s eyes had gone wide as she took in all this information. She eventually looked at Margot, and a giant tear slid down her cheek.
“Oh, sweetie,” Margot said, reaching for her hand. “Don’t cry. You’re going to make me…”
Margot broke into a sob as well and looked over at Remi, who was worse than either of them. There weren’t enough tissues in Benton County to wipe their tears.
Margot stood and opened her arms to her big hunk of a man and said to her future stepdaughter, “Get in here, Carly.”
Carly pressed up from her chair and joined them in a big hug.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you two,” Remi said, “but I’m the happiest and luckiest man alive.” He wiped his tears and asked, “What do you say, Carly? Will you stay with us for a while? Or is this mountain too small and crazy for you?”
“This mountain is just small and crazy enough to make me feel like I fit in. And I’d love to work full-time for you, Margot. If you’re really serious?”
“Of course, I am.”
Margot looked at her fiancé and thought about their wedding next month, and it occurred to her that happy endings didn’t only happen onHallmark.If you worked at it, happily-ever-afters were possible in real life too.
