skin, a faint dusting of freckles across her nose.
He wondered who she was.
Then Celeste gave him the nod, and he turned his attention to the business at hand, giving the rope a hard yank. The canvas slipped, the sign was revealed, and Celeste waved in a flourish and declared, “Welcome to Angel’s Rest!”
Colt watched the crowd’s reaction with a measure of professional pride as they viewed the bas-relief figure of an angel in repose in front of a bubbling mountain brook, the words Angel’s Rest a cloud in the sky. He saw his dad beam and the redhead’s eyes round with reluctant appreciation. He read her lips as she said, “That is gorgeous work.”
At the podium, Celeste tapped on the microphone to recapture attention, then said, “I want you all to take a close look at the detail and artistry of Colt’s design. It’s a masterpiece, truly. Now, what you don’t know is that Colt donated his work to Angel’s Rest in support of our mission. Isn’t that lovely?”
As Celeste led the crowd in applauding him, Colt shifted his feet, gave a little embarrassed wave, and wished he’d thought to ask that she keep that quiet.
“Without further ado,” Celeste continued, “I invite you all to eat, drink, and be merry and enjoy our grand opening celebration. Lunch is ready to be served, and music and dancing will begin at two on the grassy area around the gazebo. And of course, the hot springs park designed and constructed by our own Gabe Callahan is open and ready for anyone who wants a nice therapeutic soak. Welcome, all of you, to Angel’s Rest. Thank you so much for coming.”
As the crowd near the sign began to disperse, Gabe Callahan called, “Hey, Rafferty. My wife is too busy with girl talk to break away for lunch, but I’m headed for the barbecue line. Do you and your dad want to join me?”
Colt glanced at Ben, who interrupted his conversation with the mayor to say, “You go on. I’m getting a fishing report.”
“I’m there,” Colt replied to Gabe. “It smells wonderful, and I heard a rumor that there’s ice cream from the Taste of Texas Creamery for dessert.”
“Yep. Rocky road.”
“My favorite.”
The two men made male small talk—they discussed the upcoming Denver Broncos game—as they made their way to the food line. Callahan had served as Celeste’s general contractor during the renovation and construction, so Colt had spoken with him on the phone a number of times about the design, delivery, and installation of the Angel’s Rest sign. They’d met in person for the first time today.
“So, when I saw you bright and early this morning you didn’t mention you were on your way to get married to Nic Sullivan. Congratulations. I’ve known Nic since we were kids. She’s a great woman.”
“Thanks,” Gabe replied. “We’re happy. I’m very lucky.”
He and Gabe both looked across the crowd to where Nic, Sarah, the classy blonde, and the stunning redhead stood laughing with Sarah’s daughter and a young man who Colt assumed was Lori’s boyfriend. Nic looked like a fertility goddess, he thought. “When is the baby due?”
“Anytime now,” Gabe said. “And it’s babies. Twins. We’re having twins.”
“That’s exciting.”
“I’m scared to death.”
“I can imagine. Do you know if they’re girls or boys or one of each?”
“No, Nic wanted to be surprised,” Gabe said. “Do you have children, Rafferty?”
Colt could have explained that he’d married right out of college but that his wife had wanted to wait to have kids, which turned out be a blessing because the marriage didn’t last. However, he was a guy, so all he said was, “Nope.”
Then, again because he was a guy, he asked, “Who’s the redhead?”
Gabe’s lips twisted in a slow grin. “Sage Anderson. She’s a good friend of Nic’s. She’s an artist and owns Eternity Springs’ art gallery, Vistas.”
“Oh yeah?” Colt said. Celeste had been pushing him to contact the owner of Vistas about exhibiting some of his carvings. Maybe he’d do that. “What medium?”
“She’s a painter. Her career has really taken off in the last year or so. She has a big show coming up in Texas later this year. She’s great. A really nice lady.”
Hmm. Really? She’d sure shot daggers at him—for no reason at all that he knew of. As he and Callahan reached the front of the barbecue line, Colt filled his plate, then glanced over his shoulder for one more look at the lady.
She stood conversing in a group of a half dozen or so women.