Page 37 of Any Luck at All

“What if he finds out?”

“All the more reason to tell him!” she whisper-shouted.

This had been the root of their argument on their walk to the brewery. Georgie wanted to tell River so there wouldn’t be any secrets. She figured it would be better to put it all out in the open. But Jack was vehemently opposed to it.

Normally, Georgie might have agreed with her half-brother. His arguments were sensible, but she had a good sense of people, and she couldn’t believe River would act so duplicitously. “There’s not a vindictive bone in his body. I think he’d be touched to know that Beau had considered him.”

“Or pissed that Beau had planned to give it to him until you showed up a month ago.” Jack took a breath and glanced out the window to the empty courtyard, and when he turned back to her, his face had softened. “Georgie, I actually think you’re right about some of it and wrong about the rest. I think River is a good guy—agreatguy. But if we go through with hiring him, which I’m still not convinced we should, we absolutely can’t tell him. Even a saint would have second thoughts about saving this place ifnotsaving it means he gets to keep it.”

Georgie started to protest, then stopped to reconsider. Her gut told her that River could be trusted, but it was a tough call. She couldn’t let her personal feelings get in the way. “If we don’t keep him, then what do you propose we do? River said that Beau came up with all the best recipes for Buchanan, not Lurch. Lurch quit anyway, and even if he hadn’t, this whole mess would have twisted our arms. We’ll have to hire someone, and I have no idea who we’d go to next.”

Jack leaned closer. “River can’t be the only brewmaster around.”

“I’m sure he’s not,” Georgie admitted, “but he’s available. And he’s won awards.” Hadn’t she spent half an hour before bed researching him on her phone? She’d been tipsy enough that her predictive text function had been wildly off-kilter. River had somehow been corrected to “ride her,” which had made her blush, even alone in her room. Shaking the memory off, she placed her hand on the table. “Jack, let’s not forget that we’ll lose the brewery if we don’t come in fifth or higher at Brewfest. We can’t just hire any brewmaster, we have to hire agreatone.”

Sitting up, Jack tilted his head slightly. “Don’t you find it odd that River lost his job the very day of Beau’s funeral?” His gaze leveled with Georgie’s. “The day River found out he didn’t get it.”

“There wasn’t a single ounce of bitterness in him last night,” Georgie said. “He didn’t know about the provision. I’m sure of it.”

Jack pursed his lips. “We need to call his former employer.”

“What?”

“If we’re hiring him, then we should talk to his former employer and get a reference.” When she didn’t respond, he cajoled, “Come on, Georgie. You’re the experienced businesswoman. Why aren’t you thinking about this stuff?”

He was right. And normally she would have, but she was letting her feelings for River cloud her judgment. Again.

“We’ll call him together,” she said, getting to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go outside and I’ll put him on speaker.”

She headed for the door and didn’t stop until she was partially down the street, Jack trailing her like a puppy. She’d already pulled out her phone, looked up River’s former employer, and placed the call.

“Big Catch Brewing,” a woman said in a friendly voice.

Georgie stood next to the side of the brick building and put the phone on speaker, holding it up between her and Jack so he could hear. “I’d like to speak to Finn, please.”

If River had told her Finn’s last name, she’d forgotten it. In hindsight, she should have looked it up. She should have done more homeworkperiod, but it was too late now.

There was a moment’s pause. “May I ask who’s calling?”

She could lie, but the direct approach had always worked best for her, one more reason she wanted to be upfront with River. “Georgie Buchanan. It’s in regard to River Reeves.”

The woman gasped, then said in a shaky voice, “One moment, Ms. Buchanan.”

An elevator music rendition of “Another One Bites the Dust” filled the air.

“She knows who you are,” Jack murmured. “I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

“It means the brewing community in Asheville is small…or Big Catch has already caught wind that River’s going to be working for us.”

The music ended mid-chorus, interrupted by a friendly male voice. “Ms. Buchanan, this is Finn Hamilton. I have to say I’m surprised to hear from you so soon.”

She was surprised he’d expected to hear from her at all. “Pleasantly surprised, I hope,” she said with a little laugh. “And please, call me Georgie.”

Jack’s expression was grim.

“It’s just that most employers get references for employeesbeforethey make an offer, Georgie.” He sounded perfectly reasonable, but she caught the slight bite in his words.

“This is just a formality,” she said, still keeping her upbeat tone. “Dotting all the I’s for HR.”

---