"I didn't, no." He realized he was smiling. "Good for her."
Elena's brows went up, obviously in confusion.
"She used to screw around with this crappy point and shoot thing, but she took some great pictures with it. I'm no expert, but I thought they were amazing. So I bought her a present before I shipped out. A Nikon. I don't remember the model. And I told her to document the days for me."
"You gave that to her? She still uses it."
He blinked. "Seriously?"
Elena nodded. "Well, she has new lenses, of course. But she told me it had sentimental value." She grinned. "She never told me it was from you, though. Probably afraid I'd beg to have my daddy's camera. And as for the days, I guess she listened to you, because she takes a picture every day no matter what."
"Does she?" His heart squeezed so tight he had to reach for the bar to steady himself. "And she really kept it. The camera?"
Elena lifted a shoulder. "Why not? She loved you."
He turned away, faking a cough so that neither she nor the rest would see the tears that had welled in his eyes.
When he turned back, Jenna was studying Elena. "Do you do portrait work? How about shots of food?" She explained about the contest, the calendar, and the cookbook.
Elena shrugged. "Honestly, I'm passable, but I'm much better with landscapes. And I suck at Photoshop. My mom rocks it, though."
Jenna's attention shifted to Tyree. "She's here, right? Why don't you ask her?"
"You should," Elena said. "Ask her tomorrow."
"I thought you and I were going to Fredericksburg tomorrow." She'd told him that she wanted to see the Hill Country, and since Eli was at Jeremy's for the next few days, and since Tyree needed to talk to some local vintners about carrying their labels at The Fix, he'd agreed, looking forward to the chance to get to know his daughter better.
"Right," she said, toying with the stem of her glass. "I meant in the evening." She put the glass down, then rubbed her brow. "After we get back."
He frowned, but assumed her odd behavior was because she knew as well as he did that Eva would turn him down flat. "I'll ask," he said, then turned to Jenna. "But don't hold your breath."
Chapter Ten
Eva saw the long, black limousine the moment she stepped through the ornate doors of the Driskill's main entrance. Of course she didn't think a thing of it; after all, Austin boasted both a moneyed population and a steady stream of celebrities. It was only when the driver got out and opened the back door for Elena that Eva did a double take.
Her daughter was decked out in a pale blue wrap-around skirt, a form-fitting tank top, and over-sized sunglasses. She looked like she belonged in a limo, and when she waved at Eva, her grin lit up the morning.
"Awesome, isn't it? Aunt Marianne booked it for the entire day. And there's wine back here. Liquor, too."
"I guess we don't need to go to Fredericksburg. We can just drive around town and drink the limo's stash."
"Don't go into stand-up comedy, Mom."
Eva smirked, then nodded at the driver as she followed Elena into the limousine. It was fully loaded, with a television, DVD player, privacy screen, sunroof, and a control panel suggesting even more features Eva couldn't imagine. Possibly a hot tub. Or a rocket launcher.
"This is incredible," she said, as the driver pulled away from the hotel. "Marianne really set this up?"
"Yeah, cool, isn't it?"
"I think I'm paying her entirely too much."
"Ha ha. Don't you even think about the cost. This is a day to enjoy."
Eva nodded and pulled out her phone. "I'm not arguing. I did a little research last night. If we take RM 1431, that takes us through someplace called Lago Vista and then onto Marble Falls, and both are supposed to be pretty. Then we go up to Johnson City and over to Fredericksburg. And there are wineries along the way that we can stop in at. See?" She held up her phone and pointed to the map.
"And then when we're in Fredericksburg, there are some darling places to shop and ton of wineries around the town. And as for food, we can do traditional German or find something else. Apparently, they have everything. Even the Nimitz Museum, which is the National Museum of the Pacific War. I'm not sure why it's landlocked in Texas, but we can check it out, and if it's cool, you should mention it to your father. There's probably a lot of Naval stuff he'd be interested in."
"Mmm. Yeah. I'll do that."