Page 62 of Any Luck at All

She scrambled off River’s lap so fast she almost fell onto the ground. River grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet as he stood.

“You didn’t answer my question.” The anger in River’s voice caught Georgie by surprise. They’d encountered their fair share of messes over the past seventy-two hours, and he’d never once raised his voice to anyone. But River felt betrayed by Finn, so she couldn’t say she blamed him.

“Maybe I should go,” she murmured, wondering where she’d left her purse. Somewhere in the kitchen. Assuming it had survived the fire. Although why was she so concerned about her purse? All of her worldly belongings in Asheville were either in the house, the back of River’s car, or smashed on the street.

“No,” River said, putting out an arm to stop her. “Finn was just leaving.”

“Come on, man. After I heard about the fire, I raced over to check on things,” Finn said, running a hand over his short hair in frustration. His hair was somewhere between brown and blond and looked like it might be curly if he let it get long enough, and he had ocean-colored eyes—blue and green—fringed with lashes darker than his hair. The fact that she wasn’t attracted to him at all was only further proof of how hung up she was on River.

“How did you even find out?” River asked in a cold tone.

“The neighbors,” Finn said sheepishly. “I could see the smoke, plus Gertrude from down the block is going door to door warning everyone that the devil cat is loose after a fire, and, well…there are a lot of cats in this neighborhood, but only one Jezebel. I figured they had to be talking about Beau’s house.” He paused, looking at them with eyes that seemed to see everything. “I was about to ask if everyone is okay, but I’d say it looks like everyone’s doing better than fine.”

“We were until a few minutes ago,” River muttered.

Finn’s gaze shifted to Georgie, and she felt like she was being examined under a microscope. He took a step forward and extended his hand. “Finn Hamilton, River’s friend.” There was no missing the insinuation that she was the intruder, the odd woman out. He certainly didn’t lack for confidence—while he was right in a way, this was still her house. One-fourth hers, anyway. “You must be Georgie Buchanan, the new owner of Buchanan Brewery. I recognize you from your photos online.”

“You researched her?” River asked, incredulous.

Finn grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I had to see who hired you out from under me.”

“You mean from under Bev Corp,” Georgie said as she took his hand. “And yes, I’m one of the owners.”

“You and your two siblings,” he said, still holding on.

She cocked an eyebrow, ready to take on whatever challenge he threw her way. She hadn’t gotten where she was by backing down to blowhards. “Three, actually, but I’ll be the one running things.”

Which was true enough. Jack would come back at some point and help, or at least that was the idea, but she was in charge for now.

He gave her an appraising look, and she would have thought he flat out didn’t like her if she didn’t also see the worry in his eyes. Before the fallout of the Big Catch sale, Finn had been one of River’s closest friends, and it was obvious he still felt that way. Finding Georgie and River in a compromising situation like this was bound to make him worry that she was taking advantage of his friend, and damn if that didn’t burn, because in a way, she was.

Taking a step back, she said, “I’ll let you two chat while I go inside and grab my things. River, I’ll meet you out front.”

She was prepared for him to stop her, but instead, he glared at Finn.

Once she was in the already-open back door, she heard River light into his former partner. “What the hell, Finn? Why did you treat her like she was the enemy?”

“What the hell did I just walk into?” Finn countered. “Are you sleeping with her?”

“That is none of your business,” River countered.

“River, look. I’m worried. We both know Buchanan Brewery wasn’t very solvent before Beau’s death, and after the fiasco on Friday…yeah, I heard about it. Everyone heard about it. Lurch himself has told two dozen people. You’ll have to close down for at least a couple of months, I expect. Can you survive that? What if the Buchanans don’t make it? What will you do then?”

“This isn’t Big Catch, Finn. What happens to Buchanan Brewery is none of your concern. That’s for Georgie and her siblings to decide.”

“But where are they getting their advice, River?” Finn paused. “Do the Buchanan siblings know anything about running a brewery, let alone making beer?”

River shook his head, sounding exhausted. “Go home, Finn.”

“River, listen…”

Georgie heard the frustration in Finn’s voice. She wondered if she should stop eavesdropping, but the cold hard truth was that this concerned her too. So she stayed in the kitchen, watching them through the open window, hoping the darkness concealed her.

“No,youlisten,” River said. “You know how much this brewery means to me. How much it would kill me to see it sold off to the devil too.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment, and Georgie held her breath, sensing they were on the cusp of something. Then Finn said, “Are you sure you’re not holding on to it because Beau was like the father you always wished you had?”

“What is the matter with you?”

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