Page 61 of Christmas at the Ranch
“I was so excited; it was the first time I’d been invited. Did you know that all the money goes to charity? The year before they raised nineteen million dollars for the Met Museum’s Art Institute,” Beatrix continued. “But we didn’t go. We were in Vietnam and there was a delay in construction. Drew couldn’t leave and I wouldn’t go without him,” she sighed. “The night of the ball, I sat in a tent, putting chamomile lotion on Drew’s mosquito bites.
“My point is that the Met Gala is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If I was going to invest all that money and time in a dress, I wanted it to be stunning without jewelry,” Beatrix finished. “It’s the same with marriage. You have to marry the person who makes you happy just being together, even if you never have anything else. Drew and I get along but I want so much more. That’s not the way to start a marriage.”
Samantha had never compared marriage to a ball gown. But somehow, she understood.
“What did Arthur say?” Samantha asked.
“We haven’t told him, we’ll tell him later,” Beatrix admitted. “Drew couldn’t leave, of course. So, we decided I should go back to New York.” She smiled at Samantha. “I hope you and I remainfriends. Getting to know you has been one of the best parts about my engagement.”
Strangely, Samantha felt the same. Beatrix wasn’t anything like she expected when she first saw the cool, collected blonde across the living room. Beatrix had a way of looking at things that was unique, and yet came from the heart. And Beatrix genuinely cared about helping others.
“Of course we will,” Samantha agreed. “Though you may have to come out to Brooklyn. I don’t get into Manhattan often.”
“Actually, I might not stay in New York.” Beatrix’s voice was casual. “I’m thinking of going back to school.”
“You’re starting your new company!” Samantha protested.
“That’s really more Drew’s kind of thing.” Beatrix waved her hand. “I ran into my orthodontist’s son recently in New York. He took over his father’s practice. I may go to dental school and become a pediatric orthodontist,” she said with a grin. “I told you I had a crush on my orthodontist when I was sixteen, he changed my life.”
After they finished breakfast, Samantha drove Beatrix to Jackson Hole’s airport. Beatrix took her suitcase from the trunk and hugged Samantha.
“I meant what I said about getting together,” Beatrix said. “You have to tell me what happens in the next Sloane Parker book. In the one I’m reading now, Sloane saves Pedro from a Mexican drug cartel. Sloane pretends to be a local by drinking the worm in the bottom of the Mezcal bottle. Then she drives through the jungle to stop the drug lord from reaching the border.”
That was a difficult plot to write. Samantha decided to eat the worm in a bottle of tequila to make the writing authentic. But she couldn’t do it. Just seeing the worm floating in the bottle made her queasy.
“You’re reading a Sloane Parker book?” Samantha asked in surprise.
Beatrix swung her purse over her shoulder.
“I downloaded it for the plane,” she replied. “I started it this morning and couldn’t put it down.”
Samantha drove back into Teton Village. Her throat was sore and she couldn’t stop sniffling. She’d pick up some cough medicine and then see Marigold.
A familiar-looking man stood in line at the pharmacy. He turned around and Samantha realized it was Drew. Before he could see her, she ducked behind the aisle. Drew just broke up with one of the most beautiful women in Manhattan. Samantha couldn’t run into him with blotchy skin and a red nose.
Drew paid for his purchases and left. Samantha breathed a sigh of relief. She put the cough medicine in her basket. Suddenly the pharmacy door opened and Drew walked toward her.
“Samantha?” He approached her. “What are you doing here?”
Samantha grabbed an item off the shelf. She pretended to read the directions on the packaging.
“Drew! I thought you were at the barn,” she said, feigning surprise. “I came in to get a few things.”
Drew glanced at the package.
“You’re buying a chin strap?”
Samantha glanced down at the box. What was a chin strap, and what was it doing in the cough syrup aisle?
“I’m coming down with a cold,” she said quickly. “You wear the chin strap at night and it opens your nasal passages.”
Drew took a box from the shelf and added it to his own shopping basket.
“It sounds interesting. I’ll get one for myself,” he said. “I’m glad I ran into you; I need to talk to you.”
Samantha wanted to see Marigold. But she couldn’t keep putting Drew off.
“I’ll finish shopping and meet you at the ranch,” Samantha suggested.
