Men, in particular, supposedly went through this middle-age form of adolescence, where they behaved badly. According to what she’d heard, sooner or later they came to their senses. Some were smart enough to do whatever it took to get their families back. The lucky ones did. They reconciled with their wives and kids and started fresh, with a new appreciation of what they’d lost.

Annie wanted her father to be one of the lucky ones. He had to be impressed by everything her mother had accomplished since the divorce. Annie would admit that even she was surprised by the success of the party business. She wasn’t the only one, either.

Annie suspected that the attention her mother received had become an issue between Tiffany and her father. Grant didn’t openly acknowledge that but Annie could read between the lines. The lovely Tiffany’s career wasn’t exactly going gangbusters these days, not that Annie was sorry to hear it. Frankly, she’d be just as glad never to hear the other woman’s name again. Fortunately, the lovely Tiffany was out of the picture.

She’d given her own motivations some serious thought when Andrew had challenged her. He’d accused her of wanting to revert to a perfect past that hadn’t been as perfect as she’d chosen to believe. Not true. This was more about instinct and love than any childhood fantasy.

Her parents needed each other, and Annie considered it her duty as their daughter to encourage their reconciliation. Now all she had to do was pave the way for her mother and father to meet in the middle and resolve this.

Come to think of it, she might offer her father a suggestion or two. Flowers for when they arrived in Vegas might help her mother forget their little argument that evening.

Hmm… She set her cell phone to wake her early so she could call her dad. Roses, she told herself sleepily. Red ones…

Bethanne’s next conscious thought was that Annie was awake and moving about the hotel room. Although she was obviously making an effort to be quiet, she didn’t succeed. She dropped her cosmetics case with a clatter.

“Annie,” Bethanne groaned. “What time is it?”

“Six. The way I figure it, we could get to Vegas this afternoon if we leave early.”

“Is your grandmother awake?” Bethanne asked, her eyes still closed.

“I am now,” Ruth muttered.

Bethanne opened her eyes and noticed Ruth sitting up in bed, stretching her arms as she arched her back. “Get me coffee and I’ll do my morning exercises, then we can hit the road.”

“Vegas, here we come!” Annie cried. She was already dressed, with her suitcase packed and waiting by the door.

“I’ll jump in the shower,” Bethanne said, and tossed aside the covers as she climbed out of bed. Retrieving her clothes, she stepped into the bathroom. By the time she finished, Annie had prepared coffee and Ruth had done her stretching exercises and was dressed.

“Ready, Mom?” Annie asked as Bethanne repacked her suitcase and slipped her book into her purse.

“I’m ready. But the question should be…is Vegas ready for us?”

Annie laughed. “I sure hope so.”

They were on the road by seven-fifteen, and rolled into Vegas seven and a half hours later. Annie had booked them into the Hard Rock Casino just off the Strip. It wouldn’t have been either Ruth’s or Bethanne’s first choice, but one casino was probably as good as another.

While Annie and Ruth checked in, Bethanne found the rental car location and swapped cars, more for peace of mind than anything else. Marvin back in Wells had done an excellent job, but they still had a long way to travel. Bethanne didn’t dare risk another breakdown.

When she returned to the casino, both Annie and Ruth were playing the slot machines. The sights and sounds of the casino were everywhere. Instead of being annoyed by the din, Bethanne discovered that it added to the excitement.

“Sit down and play with us,” Annie urged, intent on a game named after the television show Wheel of Fortune.

“Okay.” Bethanne wasn’t keen on giving her hard-earned forty dollars to a slot, but it did look like fun. The thought of turning that fun into winnings was too tempting to ignore.

She found a machine with a cartoon Texas oilman called Texas Tea, pulled out a stool and plopped herself down. Twenty dollars went quickly, although it was a nickel machine. At $2.25 with every push of the button, her twenty bucks vanished almost before she knew it. She wondered whether to feed it her last twenty, but hesitated, then decided she’d reached her limit for that day.

“Have you been up to the room yet?” Ruth asked when Bethanne sat next to her mother-in-law.

“Not yet.” Annie had taken up Bethanne’s suitcase and given her the room key earlier.

“You need to see the room,” Annie said, smiling broadly. “If you wait a minute, I’ll go up with you.”

“Is anyone hungry yet?” Ruth asked. She removed the receipt for her winnings and stuffed it inside her purse.

“I’m starving,” Annie said. “Lunch was hours ago. But let’s go to the room first.”

Bethanne couldn’t imagine why seeing their room was so important. Hotel rooms were pretty much alike. Beds, a television, sometimes a desk, and, of course, a small and generally cramped bathroom, and that was about it.

What awaited her was a large bouquet of red roses. Dozens of beautiful red buds in a crystal vase. “Roses?” Bethanne breathed as she stepped into the room.

Ruth and Annie looked positively delighted. “The card says they’re for you,” Annie crowed. Her eyes gleamed as if she was personally responsible.

“Me?”

“Well, all of us. Read the card and see.”

Bethanne unpinned the envelope from the pink ribbon and stared down at it for a moment while a strange thought went through her mind. Could they have come from Max? But that was impossible. He had no idea where she was. Or did he? Roses were extravagant. Special. She loved roses, always had. Max didn’t know that—but Grant did.

“Read the card, Mom,” Annie said a second time.

Bethanne ripped open the tiny envelope and removed the card. “For my three favorite women.” It was signed “Grant.”

“They’re from your father,” she said as a warm feeling settled over her. A feeling of being cherished.

“I told you Dad was trying,” Annie said. She seemed really pleased by the gesture.

“You father knows how much I love roses.” Bethanne glanced at the card again.

Ruth reached for the card and read it, too. “I’m sure Grant felt bad about your conversation last night and wants to clear the air.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Bethanne agreed.

“Still, roses are pretty special.” That comment came from Annie.

“I’ll call your father and thank him.” And she would…later. It was a lovely thing to do and Bethanne did appreciate his effort. Grant was trying to win her back. Now it was up to her to decide if that was what she wanted.

“Shall we think about dinner?” Ruth asked.

It was still a bit early, but Annie was right; they’d eaten hours ago. Because they were so eager to get to Vegas, they’d had a skimpy lunch. Breakfast had consisted of coffee and the bottled orange juice Bethanne picked up at a filling station on the way out of Wells. After some discussion they had dinner at the hotel’s buffet.

Bethanne ate until she was stuffed. At only seven-thirty, it seemed a shame to go back to their room so early. They were planning to spend the next day exploring the Strip. For tonight, that left the slots.

“I’ve got forty dollars burning a hole in my purse.” Ruth was grinning like a five-year-old at her own birthday party. “Let me at those Wheel of Fortune machines.”

“I guess I’ll give that Texas oilman another chance to show me what he’s got,” Bethanne said.

“I don’t know what I want to do just yet,” Annie told them.

They set a time to reconvene and then split up. Two hours later, Bethanne arrived at the designated area. Ruth was already there.

“I’ll never think of Vanna White the same way again,” her mother-in-law muttered. “She took all my money.”

Bethanne laughed. She, on the other hand, had struck oil and was up more than a hundred dollars.

“Tell Annie good-night for me, will you?” Ruth asked. “I’m going to the room. I’ll read for a while and turn in for the night.”

“Okay. Good night. I’ll probably be joining you myself in an hour or so.”

Annie showed up a couple of minutes later with a young man in tow. “Mom, meet Jason. Jason, my mom. We’re going to hang for a while,” Annie announced, then kissed Bethanne’s cheek and was off.

Bethanne had barely managed a word. “Well,” she said with a sigh, “I suppose I’ll sit down with that oilman again.” She found the area where she’d been earlier and slid onto the stool. After inserting a twenty-dollar bill, she pushed the button and waited.

“Any luck?” a familiar voice asked.

Bethanne swiveled the chair around as Max claimed the empty seat beside her.

Twelve

Bethanne was speechless. As casually as could be, Max fed a twenty-dollar bill into the machine next to hers, glanced over and smiled.

A smile. He’d actually smiled. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi.” Her tongue felt as if it had twisted itself into knots. “How did you know where to find me?”

He spoke as he played the slot machine. “Rooster heard Annie and Grandma talking about Vegas. I figured if I was Annie’s age I’d head for the Hard Rock Casino, so I took a chance you’d be here.”

Out of all the casinos in Vegas, he’d found the one she was in, although it was Friday night and the city was crammed with people and cars. The clang of the slots, music, laughter—the sounds of excitement were all around. Even if he’d guessed the right hotel, it was pure luck that he’d happened upon her.

“I’ve been winning,” she said, imitating his casual tone.

“How much?”

“Not enough to set the casino back any.”

The music pounded in the background and seemed ten times louder than before. Bethanne had lost track of popular tunes and musicians years ago; she couldn’t have identified the singers’ names or the song titles. In fact, she was aware of nothing except the man sitting next to her.

After several minutes Max sent her a pained look. “Do you like this music?”

“Not particularly.”

“Wanna take a ride on my bike?”

She nodded. She wanted to get away, too. With him. It was difficult to think, but she couldn’t blame that entirely on the music. “Have your ribs healed?” she asked.

“Not quite, but I’m willing to risk it again.”

“You’re a brave man.”

They stepped outside and the contrast to the ear-splitting music was almost shocking. She started to tell him how much she appreciated the fact that he’d found her, but he shook his head.

“What did you say?” he asked. “My ears are still ringing.”