Page 11 of Talk About… History

His eyes shadowed for a second but he just gestured around at the crowd. I glanced out at the crush of bodies, noticing a few familiar faces but a lot weren’t recognizable.

“The university in Moreno gives us plenty of people and the locals keep us busy,” he said, almost defensively.

“Let me help? I’ll come back tomorrow during the day and see what I think we could improve. I also ran a pretty big social media page at my last job before I left, let me make and run a PackVlog for us,” I said, the ideas already spinning in my head. Maybe if I built some hype for this town, it could bring in a few more tourists… something that had been lacking since the festival took a nosedive into nonexistence.

It was too painful for anyone to run the years after my father’s died. The accident at the brewery was a freak occurrence. When the valves malfunctioned and the gas leak went undetected until it was too late, it devastated everyone who knew my dads and the two workers who died.

The fire was awful, but having to bury all four of your dads is far worse. My mama barely functioned, my brothers acted out, and the only ones who held us together were Cameron’s mate and Sidney.

Before Cam broke up with her and shut down completely, at least. Then it was just us and Sidney left to keep us together.

None of us were the same, but eventually we learned to adapt and carry on. The brewery was shut down and the bar was the only thing staying open, selling local beers instead of Whitaker home brews.

We made enough to live but the town took a huge hit. We were national news, then without the Rockwood Valley Artisan Fair, more and more locals had to leave to make a living.

I was one of the ones who left. Found a university in Virginia and never looked back.

Now, I wasn’t sure if I could forgive myself for putting all of this on my brothers’ shoulders.

“If you want to pitch it to the board, we’ll have lunch delivered tomorrow and figure out how to include you going forward. Tonight, though, you’re off the clock. Adjust to small town life again, Avery.”

“Fine, give me a shot of whiskey and a soda to chase away the nerves.”

Nash eyeballed me as if he wanted to argue but finally did as I asked. When he slid over the amber liquid, he poured himself one, too, clinking it to mine before we both slammed them back. I winced as it burned its way down my throat then chased it down with my drink.

“Avery!” Sidney’s voice was loud enough that I heard her the moment she walked inside. My name yelled out got a few stares and some waves that I returned, before she was shoving her way to me. “Girl, having you back is the best. I’ve been severely lacking girl time.”

I barely stopped myself from apologizing when she gave me the stink eye. My friend knew me well.

“That was not a dig. You are allowed to live your life how you want,” she said.

“The usual, Sid?” Nash asked. Sidney locked her green eyes on him before nodding. Apparently, she’d frequented the bar while I was gone. I was just glad my brothers were here to protect her.

Nash walked away to make her drink and I wondered if they blocked guys from hitting on her like they’d do for me.

“Do they stop you from having fun?” I asked, glancing behind her where the guys were all watching over us and the crowd.

“All the time,” she laughed, not seeming upset by it. “It’s kind of nice to know someone is looking out for me.”

“You say that now,” I joked. “Watch out when we find a pack. They’ll be insufferable.”

“Is that why you moved away?” she asked. There wasn’t judgment in my best friend’s tone, just curiosity. For Sidney, she always wanted to be here, but I needed to get out a bit.

“Not completely. Sometimes it was suffocating, but I think I needed to know that I could take care of myself… too bad I couldn’t in the end.”

“You did, though,” she argued. “You ended that bullshit the moment you saw it and called for us to come help. Having someone help you doesn’t make you less independent, it makes you smart.”

“Cheers to that,” I said, not wanting to bring down the evening. We grabbed the shots Nash sat on the bar. Sidney took hers without a chaser then slid her card over, but he ignored it, so she shoved a five in the tip jar instead.

I threw my own shot back and took a sip of the soda Nash slid me. It was strange to feel like I just got back, but never left, at the same time. This town, these people, they knew me well and I was slowly starting to accept that I loved that.

“He never lets me pay unless some poor bastard is buying me a drink,” Sid grumbled, clutching at the conversation that was safer than the last.

“Of course, he doesn’t. You’re family,” I said as I tugged her toward the dance floor. “Let’s get some energy out.”

The song changed to a pop remix that had a good enough beat to dance to. There were a few people on the dance floor, this wasn’t exactly a club, but Sid and I had never cared.

We threw our hands up and sang along while we danced our hearts out. I let the lingering tension fade from me as I settled into my new life. One where I danced without worry, where I found my place and no one shot me down or kept me at home.

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