Picture Perfect (River's End Ranch Book 45) Read online

  “Big. Well, I get my menus printed at the gallery now that they have that big printer. They could probably print them for you,” she said as she set the coffee pot back on the burner. “Opal works there. She could help you.”

  Bernard’s fork stopped midway between his plate and his mouth and his eyebrows rose as the older lady—Jaclyn—started coughing again.

  Kelsi rushed over with more water and the lady’s companion fanned her with a napkin. Bernard stood, wondering if there was some way he could help, when the coughing subsided and the lady rested her hand on her chest and turned her eyes right to him again.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me,” she said, as her eyes held his. “Yes, you should go to the gallery. Opal can help you.”

  Chapter 3

  Thanks for breakfast,” Opal’s dad Allen said as she pushed open the door to the gallery. He said it every morning, and she laughed.

  It felt good to be working with him again, and as she rounded the counter and gave him a hug, she counted her blessings that things had worked out this way.

  “You’re welcome. Sorry I’m late,” she said as she shrugged off her coat and hung it on the peg in the back work room.

  “No problem at all. Breakfast was great. I got here a little early and opened up. You go out looking for that...whatever, again?”

  She turned around in time to see him wipe the grin off his face. He’d been teasing her for days, ever since Kelsi had mentioned to him, too, that Bigfoot might be out there, and that Opal was going to find him.

  Her hands on her hips, she said, “Come on, Dad. It could be anything, but I know something’s there and I want to see what it is. I’m just curious, that’s all.”

  She turned at the sound of the big printer in the back room spitting out something. When Mira and Tony had asked her to manage the gallery while they were gone in the winters, they’d just gotten the big printer that took up a large corner in the back room. They’d mentioned they had plans for it, but they were so excited to be off to their new home that they really hadn’t explained their future plans for such a big printer. But those were future plans, nothing Opal and her father needed to worry about now, and they’d rarely used it since Mira and Tony had left for Scottsdale.

  “What are you printing?” she asked as her father went over to the printer and lifted out a photograph...black and white, on big, glossy paper.

  “I’ve been busy this morning. I sold one of your prints and we need to make some more.”

  He held up one of his favorite pictures that she’d taken at the ranch. She’d been in school learning about photography for a bit before they’d left Texas—just at the community college—and she loved it. When they’d arrived at the ranch, all she could do was stare at the mountains and imagine the images she could put down for posterity.

  In fact, that’s how she’d met Mira and Tony. Her father had asked around about printing some photographs, and somehow he’d ended up at the gallery. He’d had some matted and framed for her for a Christmas gift, and she was flabbergasted to see her work on the wall of the cabin they shared.

  Mira and Tony had offered her a part time job, and before she knew it, they’d offered one to her father also. Now that they were looking after it with Tony and Mira gone, it was just like old times, when she’d worked in her father’s hardware store after school and in the summers, and then part time when she was going to community college.

  When Mira and Tony asked to meet her, they’d asked if she’d let them print and frame some of her bigger photographs of the spectacular scenery, saying that guests would love the black and white memories of their time at River’s End Ranch.

  So now, a few short months later, she worked at a gallery with her father, and her photographs hung on the walls. She hadn’t thought she was very good, but Mira, Tony and her father had all ganged up on her and gotten her to agree.

  But it gave her hope, as that’s how she wanted to spend her time, and if she could earn a little money that way—even better.

  “Oh, my gosh, really?” Opal said as he held out the sales receipt to her, his smile ear to ear.

  “Really. You’re better than you think you are. The people even compared it to Ansel Adams.”

  She slowly took the sales receipt from his hand, tingles running down her spine. Ansel Adams! She’d studied his black and white photographs in school.

  “Wow, Dad, I can’t believe it,” she said, her knees wobbly as she set the receipt back in the cash register and hugged her father.

  The warm feeling of him holding her tight brought tears to her eyes. She looked at the ground when he squeezed her once more and held her at arm’s length.

  “Opal, I keep telling you, you’ve got a gift. Someday, you’ll believe me.” He kissed her on top of the head and turned back to the printer as she looked down at the receipt one more time.

  The bell on the door jingled, jarring her from her thoughts, and she looked up into a pair of the most interesting eyes she’d ever seen. Green, with flecks of brown and gold. Some of the most unusual colors thrown together, kind of like aspen and pine trees together...

  “Hello?” the person attached to the eyes said as the corners of those eyes crinkled with his smile.

  “Oh,” Opal said as she came back into the present. “I’m sorry. Can I help you?”

  “I hope so,” the man said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a memory stick. He held it out to her and dropped it in her outstretched palm.

  It was just like the one in her camera—she recognized it at once. “Pictures?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, actually. Several. Kelsi over at the cafe mentioned maybe you could print them for me.”

  She glanced at all her photographs her father had printed and smile. “We sure can, but depending on what size you want it might take a while.”

  “No problem. I need the biggest size you have, actually. I’m looking for something.”

  Opal reached for the customer order request form and a pen and scooted it across the counter to him.

  “Okay. Just sign here, and we’ll start right away.”

  She watched as he signed his name and his request—the form asked for the file names of the photos to print—and noticed that his hair was kind of golden, too, like one of the colors in his eyes. His jeans, boots and flannel jacket looked like just about everybody on the ranch but he seemed a little different. An accent, maybe?

  Opal had never been much of a people watcher if she actually had to talk to them—only her family. But she was always interested in color and composition, and that’s what she noticed about him. He was different.

  He stood up and smiled, handing her the clipboard with the form.

  She turned it around and looked at his name.

  “BER-nerd?” she asked as she scribbled a price next to the file names. “We’ll have them in probably a couple of hours.”

  The man cleared his throat and she looked up at him, meeting his eyes. She cocked her head as she noticed a little pink creep from his collar.

  “It’s Ber-NARD. Bernard Dubois. Pronounced as it is in France.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and it was her turn to blush.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s not a real common name around here. Most Bernards go by Bernie, probably, or Bern, or...”

  “Bernard’s a great name,” her father mercilessly cut in just as she realized she was rambling. “My name’s Allen and this is my daughter, Opal. Bernard reminds me of one of those old fashioned names. As a matter of fact, Opal was named after her great grandmother. Why, you two could be in one of those old-time photographs,” he said as Opal actually flinched. “Do I detect a bit of an accent, son?”

  Opal drew in a breath. She’d run her dad’s hardware store with him for years and years and he called everyone younger than he was “son”, no matter what. And by the time they’d bought the hammer and nails they’d come for, her dad knew their entire life story...and unfortunately, they knew hers, too.
She’d gotten used to it over the years, but somehow, today it sounded funny.

  Bernard smiled and shook her father’s extended hand. “Yes, sir, hopefully a very slight one. I came to the United States when I was very young. My mother is French, my father was American.”

  “Great to meet you. We’re from Texas,” her father said as he reached for the memory stick. “We’ll have this for you as soon as we can.”

  He turned the corner in to the back office and Opal turned to look at Bernard, who was smiling down at her. Why all of a sudden did she feel the same as when she went on her first date and her father had left them on the porch—with the light on and the curtains open? She didn’t even know this man.

  “And I’m her sister, Olivia,” her sister said from behind Bernard.

  Where had she come from? She hadn’t even heard her come in. This was just getting worse by the second, as she had absolutely no doubt that Olivia had noticed the color of her cheeks.

  “Very nice to meet you. My name is Bernard,” he said with a slight nod in Olivia’s direction. She shook his hand and cocked her head at him, her smile wide.

  “Nice to meet you as well,” she said as she looked from Bernard to Opal.

  “I’ll be back around noon for the pictures,” Bernard said, and as he turned, she noticed that he did have the same type of camera she had slung over his shoulder.

  It wasn’t until he’d shut the door behind him that Opal realized that her sister had been staring at her—and she knew where this was headed.

  Chapter 4

  Well, what about that one?” Olivia said after she’d watched him walk down the boardwalk and back toward the cabins.

  Opal had watched, too, but didn’t want Olivia to know and she turned back to the cash register just as Olivia spun to look her in the eye.

  Ever since Olivia and Fred Wharton had gotten married before Thanksgiving, she’d tried to get Opal to go on a date. She’d pointed out just about everyone, from Andrew, the engineer at the ranch, to Noah, the assistant with the rock climbing center. They were all nice guys, but she’d preferred to be alone.

  “That one?” Opal asked as she pretended to add things up on the cash register. “He’s a person, not just someone for you to shove at me. And I just met him. He could be married for all I know.”

  “Nope, no ring.”

  “Olivia!” Opal said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  Olivia’s green eyes softened, and she tugged on her emerald necklace. Her black hair was covered with a knit cap, but her ponytail shone as it hung down her back. Opal had always thought her older sister was beautiful, but since she’d married Fred, there was no denying it—she was even prettier than usual.

  “Now, Opal, you know I just want you to be happy like Fred and I are,” her sister said as their dad rounded the corner and grabbed his eldest daughter in a hug, and Olivia squeezed him right back. “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Hello, darlin’,” he said as he stepped back and looked at her. “Boy, howdy. You look prettier every time I see you.” He looked from Olivia to Opal and back again. “And you two look more like twins every day.”

  “Huh,” Opal said and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her bright pink sweater.

  “Almost.” Olivia pulled off her gloves and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a velvet box, holding it out to Opal. “Look what I found.”

  Opal knew immediately what it was. She hadn’t been able to find the emerald necklace and earrings her mother had given her since Olivia’s wedding. They had matching sets and they were very precious to both of them. She’d looked all over when she’d moved back to the ranch with her dad from Olivia and Fred’s house, but had never found them.

  She reached out for the box and held it to her chest, her eyes misty.

  “Thanks, Olivia. Where did you find them?”

  Olivia waved her hand in the air. “Oh, Fred and I were cleaning out the room you stayed in and found them under a chair.”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Opal said. “I’ve been so upset about it.”

  “I imagine,” Allen said as he patted Opal’s shoulder. “Your mother picked those out special for you girls. Said they’d make your eyes look especially green, and they do. Just like hers.”

  Opal sighed at the sadness in her father’s voice and looked at her sister as he turned back toward the printer.

  Olivia shrugged her shoulder and mouthed, “Sorry.”

  Opal smiled. Her dad was okay for the most part—she should know, as she’d lived with him ever since her mom died. He just had sad times, as would be expected, when sudden reminders came up. For the most part, his memories of their mother were lovely, and they talked about her from time to time. It was times like this, though, that she was glad she could be there for him.

  As their father disappeared around the corner, Olivia leaned her elbows on the counter and looked Opal right in the eye.

  “What’s wrong with that one? I’ve tried to get you to date someone for the four months you’ve been here. You need to...I don’t know, meet people.”

  Opal took a step back and swept her black hair behind her ear as she glanced at the back room.

  “You know as well as I do that I have other things to do,” she whispered.

  Olivia’s eyes widened and she stood up. She whispered back, “You don’t mean Dad, do you?”

  Opal studied her fingernails. They’d both lived through the trauma of their mother’s death—well, all three of them, really—but Olivia had left for college shortly afterward. It was Opal who’d stayed, lived at home, worked with her dad—and made him breakfast every morning.

  Sure, he was a grown man, but she knew she gave him comfort and she just wasn’t ready to change things. It had been a big enough change just to sell the business and move to River’s End Ranch. Now wasn’t the time to rock the boat.

  “How’s Fred?” their father asked as he rounded the corner in to the gallery and the printer whirred.

  Opal was grateful for the reprieve and looped her arm through her father’s as Olivia squinted in her direction. At least that conversation was over for now—if she was lucky.

  “Great. Fred’s great, and Gillian and Aaron are happy as clams,” she said with a smile.

  “Are they heading out to the ranch this weekend?” Allen asked as he reached for a form to mark the pictures he’d already printed. “The weather’s supposed to be great.”

  “I’m not sure,” Olivia said. “They’re getting ready for the cruise.”

  “Ah,” Allen said. “Sounds lovely. I’m a little envious.”

  “Dad, really? I thought you were happily single,” Olivia said as she pointedly glared at Opal.

  “Now, Olivia, don’t get any wild ideas. I am—well, not happily single, but I’ve grown accustomed to it. I have Opal, here, to take care of me. What more could I want? When I said envious, I meant for the sea and the sun. It’s cold here still,” he said as he returned to the back room.

  “See, I told you,” Opal whispered when he was out of earshot.

  “Well, that’s just silly. He doesn’t mean it like that and you know it.”

  Opal crossed her arms. “What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be at the bank?”

  She loved her sister, but she’d had enough of her meddling for the moment and wanted to get on with work. The sooner she was done, the sooner she could check out her own pictures on her huge monitor at home and see if she’d caught anything in the frames she’d taken earlier that morning.

  Olivia turned away, her black ponytail swinging as she did. “I had a doctor’s appointment. I’m heading there now, but thought I’d stop by and say hello to you two. Not that it was helpful.”

  Opal laughed. “It’s always great to see you. Are we on for trivia this week? Our team’s turning out to be pretty good with all of us. We might even win sometime.”

  Olivia leaned forward and peered out the window, down to the end of the boardwalk at the Old Town.
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  “Sure. We could use another person.” She jerked her thumb in that direction and Opal peered over the counter to see what she was pointing at.

  Bernard stood at the end of the boardwalk, his camera on a tripod. Now that she thought about it, she’d seen him a few times around the town, taking pictures, but she hadn’t thought much of it. Lots of guests took pictures to memorialize their vacations, but he’d been around longer than most. Maybe he wasn’t a guest, but she didn’t know for sure.

  “No, I’m not asking anybody anywhere. Topic closed,” Opal said as she straightened and went back to her pile of receipts.

  She looked over to see Olivia’s green eyes trained in her direction.

  “Okay. Far be it from me to meddle in anyone else’s business. Bye, Dad,” she said as she tugged on her gloves and headed out the door. “See you all next Thursday at trivia.”

  Opal breathed a deep sigh of relief as Olivia took herself and that topic outside. She was busy. She had pictures to take, a gallery to run, a dad to cook for...the last thing she needed was more complications.

  And she was fine with that thought, until she looked down the boardwalk to make sure Olivia had gone and saw her talking to Bernard. Far be it from her to meddle, huh?

  Chapter 5

  The last entry had been made on the sales spreadsheet Olivia had made for the gallery when Mira and Tony left. They were both amazing artists, but bookkeepers they were not. As an artist herself—well, sort of—it wasn’t Opal’s cup of tea, either, so her father’s experience as a store owner and Olivia’s as an accountant had come in handy.

  They had things in order now, but there was still data entry to be done, and Opal had been focused on it all morning.

  Her eyes closed, she stretched her arms to the ceiling and rotated her shoulders.

  “Hello,” a male voice said and her eyes popped open. Bernard stood in front of her—how had she missed the bell on the door?

  “Oh, hello,” she replied as she stood from the stool she’d been sitting on. “I think we’re all ready for you. I’ll go check.”