Page 82 of Brewing Up a Bad Boy

“Oh that’d be great, thanks. I will.”

“No problem. Neighbors help each other,” she said. After she hung up, she texted him the number for Hadley’s.

About ten minutes later, Merle showed up. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and a gaming T-shirt with a cat on it.

The bed of Lars’s truck was already full of supplies, and Merle rode with Ali to Poppy’s to help unload. It made the most sense given he worked at Poppy’s shop and knew the layout. It was only later that Alistair recognized that he wasn’t jealous or angry about Merle’s presence. He just did what needed to be done.

They rented a space at Hadley’s and got them to send their driver with a moving van to collect the rest of the stuff from the basement. They were almost done when it started raining, but most of the fragile stuff, such as bar mats, napkins and paper straws, had already been moved to Poppy’s.

It was another two hours before they were all back at the tavern. The plumber had been called, and Lars was tending bar—bottles only, since the taps were serviced from the basement.

“What a fucking wild day,” Owen said. “Thanks for helping out.”

“No problem,” Ali said. “That’s what neighbors do.”

“Are you a neighbor now?” Owen asked.

“I’m thinking about being one. If the offer is still open for the Oktoberfest,” Ali said. His honesty and slip of the tongue with Poppy had made everything in his life so much clearer than it had been before. He wanted to be here.

He wanted to live in this small town, brewing his craft beer and working in the tavern up the street from Poppy’s WiCKed Sisters. It wasn’t the tabloid-worthy, society-soaked life he’d always had, but this felt right.

“It’s open. Lars and I have been talking about taking on a third partner...if you’re interested. Didn’t mean to spring that on you,” Owen said.

“I’m open to it. I think it might take some time to get a visa to live and work here, but I like the idea of working with the two of you.”

“We like it too,” Lars said. “The hope from my perspective is that Owen will take some real time off and maybe start having a life.”

Owen shot his brother the finger. “I have a life I like.”

Not that long ago, he wouldn’t have understood how Owen could be content, but now Ali sort of got it. There was a lot to be said for owning his own tavern, brewing his own beer and being his own boss.

It was so different from being a Miller at Lancaster-Spencer, where the board made all the decisions and tradition and legacy were the only masters they served. There was no place for growth or innovation. Two things he hadn’t realized were important until this summer.

These long summer days since the beginning of June, when he’d come here to find Poppy, had woven some magic around him. Truth was, Poppy was probably way more responsible for where he was in his life now.

Everything had changed when he signed those divorce papers.

The rain had slowed traffic in the store, and Sera and Liberty were sitting at one of the tables toward the front of the tea shop on either side of her. Poppy had used the last of her summer leaves and essences, adding vanilla, to make the blend that they were now sipping. “This reminds me of when Amber Rapp came in.”

“Me too,” Liberty admitted. “I was just thinking about that. How we were just being chill, living our lives. We were getting ready for Thanksgiving at Mom’s...”

“Little did we know our worlds were about to change,” Sera said.

“And kept changing,” Poppy said. Nothing had been the same since that day. Not that things would have stayed the same if Amber hadn’t come into the shop and found what she’d been searching for. Like Sera said, the magic had been in Amber before she entered. Just like the solid bond of friendship between the three of them would still be there without the success.

The door to the shop opened, and a couple walked in. Poppy blinked a few of times before realizing it was George—Alistair’s brother—and his wife.

“Hello, Poppy,” Bronte said, coming over to them. “I finally talked George into coming here.”

“I wasn’t reluctant to visit. Just had business to take care of,” George reminded her.

Poppy stood up and introduced everyone.

Bronte immediately asked Liberty to read her cards, which Liberty agreed to. They left, and Sera had a customer come in to collect some books they’d ordered. Leaving Poppy and George.

“Tea?” she asked.

“Thanks. I’ll have the Amber Rapp blend,” he said, following her to the counter.

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