Page 92 of Unstoppable Love

Cameron

What are you wearing?

My cheeks flamed as Bryce started chuckling from the other side of the bar.

“Do I even want to know what that text says that’s turning you into a tomato?”

“No, your brother’s being a jerk.”

“Sounds like him.” He plunked down a rack of clean glasses and went to ensure they were completely dry. “Things with you are still good, then?”

Things with Cameron and I were going so well, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop, even though I was trying really hard to trust not only his words from our first weekend together but also my mom’s. It was after Labor Day weekend, and he was back in Denver, prepping for the first game of the season. I was going out Sunday morning with Isaiah to watch the game with him, and then Cameron and I were headed back to New Haven for the day after we both finished work the following Monday. He’d stay until Tuesday night.

It was the first time I’d not only see him play a professional game in person, but the first time I went back to his house after the summer debacle.

I spun around and took a picture of me in a short-sleeve, crop top gray shirt I had on and a hint of my cutoff jean shorts. Bryce was in the background, holding up his towel and making a stupid face. After texting the pic off to Cameron so he’d stop the ridiculous and salacious texts, I set my phone on the counter.

“So. What is it you’re looking for?”

My full-time work had picked up, and I’d been so busy creating content for Jumpin’ Beans it’d taken me an additional week to get out to Bryce’s brewery. He was closed now, currently only open at four Monday through Wednesday and then longer on the weekends, starting at ten, so we had the place to ourselves.

“Everything.” He sighed and dropped the towel, pressing his hands to the bar. He wore the look of a guy much younger than me, but exhaustion showed in his eyes and his messy hair. Bryce Kelley was three years younger than me, he only recently turned twenty-one, but he was such a spitting image of Cameron and Caleb, it was uncanny. “Honestly, I’m not even sure. But I need to do something to increase business heading into winter, and if I don’t start pulling a larger profit, Dalton’s going to start walking around with his “I told you you’d fail” face on.”

I grabbed my iPad and pulled up the Notes app and grabbed my stylus. Opening a new document for notes, I asked, “What have you done so far?”

“Advertising in the Plum County paper.”

“Okay. What else?”

I glanced up, anticipating there’d be more. The man was only twenty-one, but he grew up in the age of technology. “Word of mouth?”

“Bryce—” I sounded like my mother, chock-full of disappointment.

“I know! I know! I need to do more, which is why I need your help. But everyone knows us, and people are always so curious about us and the ranch, I figured that alone would bring people out there, and it has. I’m turning a profit—a small one, but it’s there. And this summer was good, but no one’s going to want to spend the afternoon with their kids here in the winter.”

“What do you plan to do with the animals once the weather hits?”

Had to hand it to Bryce, he was creative, and he’d thought of a half-dozen great ideas for the brewery. Since I’d avoided it since its opening, I was impressed when I walked through it. The outdoor patio, cornhole games, and petting zoo were by far the biggest attractors, and he was right. He even had a self-feeding station where they could get a bag of feed for one dollar. It was a great place for a family with small children to spend an afternoon with friends, but in the middle of a snowy winter, parents wouldn’t bundle their kids up to go pet goats for hours.

“The animals will stay out here, and I’ll be here anyway, along with the employees. I plan on spending most of the winter creating more craft brews here, so I can eventually make everything here.”

His brew room was small, but still impressive. Through the glass windows behind where he stood at the bar, five large brew tanks were made of sparkling stainless steel.

“How much beer are you currently making on site?”

“We only released two individual brews this year. They did well, but they could be bigger. I’ve been working with some brewer friends I’ve met in Denver that have helped me out with that end. But right now, almost all our beer on tap is from Denver sellers and makers.”

“Okay.” I tapped my stylus against my screen. “So, can you make a holiday brew? You could host a holiday open house. We could also get the word out you’re open for private parties if that’s something you could handle.”

Bryce pushed his lips to the side. “I hadn’t thought of private parties. What would be the cost on my end for that?”

“I’ll look into it. Reach out to breweries who might have something in place.” I scribbled down the note. “First, though, we’ll work on your social media presence. I’ll come out this week and take pictures if customers are okay with that, but I can also take pics of your back room and the animals and things. Get started with building your online presence better. What do you think about TikTok?”

He scowled at me, the move so like Cameron it was unnerving. “I’m not doing none of those dancing videos.”

I could imagine it completely. All the Kelley boys out here, dancing through the tables. Maybe on them… “It’d get the ladies out here,” I teased.

Bryce rolled his eyes, but before he could come back with a smart-ass response, I continued.

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