“Any man waiting for you back home in California?” she asked pointedly. “Or women, for that matter?”
“No men for me at the moment. But I’m not interested in romance anytime soon. I plan to stay out of trouble.” I’d had more than enough man-related trouble already.
She hummed. “Doesn’t sound like fun to me, honey, but you do you. Shall we walk over to the building? Show you the space you’re renting for your music classes?”
“That would be great.” I grabbed the rest of my latte, waving goodbye to Piper.
On the way out, I stopped to untie Stella’s leash. Dixie rubbed Stella’s flanks and accepted a flurry of face-kisses. “What a sweetheart. Maisie is going to love this one.”
“Maisie?” I asked.
“You’ll see.” Was I wrong, or had Dixie’s tone taken a turn toward mischievous? “I have two Lhasa Apsos, but they live in Florida now with my boyfriend Pedro. He’s Cuban. Such a gentleman. Barely speaks any English, and I only know three words in Spanish. It’s heaven. Would you like to know what the three words are?”
“I will pass.” I struggled to breathe as I suppressed another laugh. “Do you think you’ll move there permanently?”
“Oh, no. I’m a snow bird. I love the mountains in the summer. Plus my son and his hubby live in Golden. Have to get those grandkid visits in.”
As we walked down Main Street, Dixie pointed out the sights to me. The clock tower, the florist, the best boutiques. “Stay away from the Seafood Hut. They ship their trout in frozen. And there’s the vet. You’ll want their number. I’ll text it to you.”
“Okay,” I said, just trying to keep up. Those gold sneakers moved fast. Stella trotted along, taking it all in and stopping occasionally to give a light pole a sniff.
We turned onto a side street, this one dotted with colorful gingerbread houses converted into businesses.
“Before we get there, I’m afraid there’s a problem we need to discuss,” Dixie said.
“Oh? What’s that?”
“His name’s Ashford.”
Ugh. My mood soured. “Actually, I’m well aware of that problem. I met him last night. He’s not happy about sharing the building with me.”
Dixie side-eyed me. “It’s not personal. Ashford can be a bit…territorial. He’s a single father. Been through more downs than ups. He’d do anything for that little girl. She lost her momma a few years ago.”
Once again, sympathy rose in my chest. How could I stay annoyed at him when he’d been through something like that?
“I stumbled onto an article about his wife’s death.” Maybe not stumbled. More like I’d been online-stalking the man. “Terrible thing to happen.”
“It was. Lori was a wonderful mother. But truth is, the loss hit Ashford the hardest.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
As we walked, I had the strangest feeling. The hairs rose on my neck, and unpleasant tingles broke out across my back. I looked behind us, wondering if somebody else was there, but the street was quiet.
It was probably just the subject matter we’d been discussing. Lori’s death.
“Something the matter?” Dixie asked.
“No, sorry. Just looking around.”
A block later, we came up to a huge two-story brick building. It was painted blue, with white trim and a sign readingO’Neal Martial Arts. “We’ll order a sign for your music school and put it in the front window there,” Dixie said, pointing.
“I don’t know if I’d call it a school. And it’s just for the summer.”
“Shouldn’t sell yourself short, hon. I say, wherever you are, make sure people know it.” She unlocked the door and ushered me inside. “I’ll give you the two-cent tour.”
“Can I bring Stella in with us? She’s very well-behaved.”
“Fine by me. Wouldn’t want her to get lonely.”
