As a little girl, I’d spent countless hours with her here, sitting on the floor at her feet behind this same mahogany counter while she’d chatted with guests. I’d reenacted her conversations with my dolls. I’d pretended they were my hotel guests, visiting Quincy from faraway places.
When I’d gotten to kindergarten, my teacher had been amazed at how well I knew geography for a five-year-old. It was because Mom would show me on a map where every guest was from.
Maybe other girls would have wanted to travel the world, to see those different places. But I was content to stay here.
My dreams weren’t beyond the walls of this hotel.
They were the walls.
Mom and Dad had made some renovations and updates, though I had some ideas of my own to play up the boutique feel for The Eloise. Except those ideas would need to wait until it was officially mine.
If it was ever going to be officially mine.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” Mom said.
I tensed, not sure I had the energy for another discussion about Jasper. “Of course. What’s up?”
“Do you remember Lydia Mitchum?”
“Um, do I?” But maybe this wasn’t about Jasper. Thank God.
“She was my college roommate. You met but it’s been ages. You were probably only eight or nine.”
“Sorry, I don’t remember. Why?”
“Well, she moved to Quincy. I haven’t talked to her in probably ten years, but out of the blue, she called and told me she’d just bought a house on Evergreen Drive.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“We just met for coffee and to catch up. That’s why I’m in town.”
“Mateo was headed that way.”
Mom nodded. “I passed him on my way here. Anyway, Lydia has a son. Blaze.”
“Blaze. Interesting name.”
“He’s seventeen. She didn’t get into the whole story, but I got the impression Lydia’s had a rough decade. I met the man she married once and didn’t like him much. She divorced him this year. Good for her. But Blaze is struggling. They were living in Missoula, but I guess he had some major problems in his high school there. She thought maybe a move would be a good reset.”
“Ah. Well . . . this is a good place to reset.”
“She’s still not sure if she’s going to send him to high school or just home school him for his senior year. But if she does keep him home, she’s worried he won’t get enough social interaction. Apparently he’s very introverted and would be happy playing video games twelve hours a day.”
“Okay,” I drawled, feeling the real question coming.
“Lydia wants him to get a job.”
I swallowed a groan. “I’d be happy to interview him.”
“Or you could just hire him for that open part-time position.”
The position I still hadn’t been able to fill. Three people had applied. Two had come in to interview—the other had ghosted me—but the fit had been off. So I’d passed them up, not wanting to get into a situation where I had to fire someone.
“Mom, you know I’m trying to be regimented in hiring decisions.” It was an employee who’d gotten me into trouble in the first place. Mom, of all people, should want to make sure we avoided that situation again.
“I know you are,” she said, holding up her hands. “I respect that. But just . . . do me a favor? Give him a part-time job. If it doesn’t work out, let him go.”
She made it sound so easy. But I hated firing people. It was the worst of the worst part of my job. Hell, I’d happily scrub toilets and scour bathrooms for the rest of my life if it meant I didn’t have to fire anyone.
Hence the reason we’d gotten involved in that lawsuit. Hence why I’d been more careful about hiring.
“Mom, I don’t know.”
“Please?”
The lobby door opened, covering the sound of my groan.
Jasper strode inside, wearing a simple black T-shirt and his favorite pair of faded jeans. They had buttons on the fly instead of a zipper, which made them my favorite jeans too because they came off so easily.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey.” He stopped beside Mom, giving her a nod. “Hi, Anne.”
“Hello, Jasper.” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, there was a wariness in her gaze. She watched his every breath like she was waiting for him to turn around and walk away.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “I can go.”
“No, you’re fine,” Mom said. “I actually need to get going. Think about Blaze?”
I nodded. “I will.”
She turned, casting Jasper one last suspicious glance before heading to the doors.
Was this really where we were? My own mother was avoiding the man in my life? It was wrong. Every cell in my being screamed fix it.
“Mom,” I called before she could leave.
“Yeah?” She stopped beside the door, looking back.
“I’ll hire him. Have Lydia send him in tomorrow.” It was a mistake to shortcut my process and skip the interview. But apparently mistakes were becoming my specialty.
“Thanks,” Mom said on a sigh, the relief on her face only making the knot in my stomach tighter. Had she already promised Blaze a job? She lifted a hand to wave, then pushed outside.
It would probably be fine. If it wasn’t, then I’d deal. If Blaze did a bad job or had a problem cleaning rooms, well . . . at least Mom could tell Lydia that we’d given him a chance.
“You okay?” Jasper asked.
“Long day.” I forced a smile. “What are you doing?”
“I need to go on a trip.”
I blinked. “A trip? When?”
“Tonight.”
“Tonight?” What about fish tacos? Or a little advance notice? Had something bad happened with his family? Did he need me to go with him? “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’ve got an interview in Vegas with an up-and-coming fighter. It’s last minute.”
“Oh.” Someone might as well have kicked the chair out from underneath my ass. “That’s . . . great.”
That was great, right? This could be a new challenge for Jasper. He’d need that now that Foster was retired.
“What time is your flight?” It was supposed to come across as supportive but it sounded like a whine.
“I’m driving. I don’t need to be there until Friday, but I don’t want to bother with the airport in Missoula.”
Driving? To Las Vegas? “I could take you to the airport tomorrow.” It was only two hours away. Not that I had two hours to spare, but I’d find the time.
“Nah. I’ll hit the road. Find a hotel along the way. Get there tomorrow before my interview Friday.”
“Oh. Um, all right. When are you coming back?”
If Jasper heard the desperation and disappointment in my voice, he didn’t let it show. “Next week sometime. I’m not sure. I might stick around Vegas for a while. Check in on my house. Hit the old gym.”
In my imagination, I heard a piece of paper tear in two. Rrrrrip. There went our marriage certificate.
This was Jasper stepping back, wasn’t it? Planning his life. Leaving Montana.
I was supposed to have a couple more weeks.
Guess not.
“Drive safe.” My voice wobbled.