Page 44 of Pitcher Perfect

Her lips twitched and eyes turned eager. “I’m listening.”

“I’m sure you’re aware we’re trying to lease the lot next door to expand with an outdoor seating area.”

She tucked one arm under the other. “So I’ve heard.”

I felt Ethan’s attention on me, but I didn’t dare look and crack my bravery. “You can probably imagine how adding seating would help our business.” When she nodded, I continued. “But it would also be a selling point to the downtown core. There’s no outdoor seating option beyond carting takeout over to the park, but if we could add it on, that’s one more thing you could promote about Dahlia Springs. It would be a benefit for all of us.”

“What are you asking me for?”

“I’m suggesting a trade.Teamwork.We’ll donate and serve beer for your event, and you put in a good word for us with the right people to help make the outdoor seating happen.”

She looked over at the wall that would open to the expansion. “Itwouldbe nice to sit outside and enjoy one of the marionberry ales during the summer.”

“And we’ll have firepits and heat lamps for the cooler weather.”

Mabel sucked in a breath and held out her hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

Ethan and I both shook her hand then smiled at each other.

She turned to study the empty taproom. “We’ll have it here. You have such a lovely space.”

Before I could point out that our tasting room wasn’t that big and that we couldn’t afford to close to paying customers, which would make it difficult to donate beer to some people and charge others, she pressed on.

“I’ve got several ticket rolls back at the office. We can do drink tickets for everyone who registers so we can track your donations for tax purposes. Plus, that would make it easy for you to still charge other customers. This time of year is so lovely anyway that I’m sure I can get permission to spill into your soon-to-be outdoor space.”

With the twinkle in her eye, I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew we would come to her for help and she supported the idea but was waiting for a chance to use her support to get something. I had to admire her strategy.

“We’ll talk to Tyler and Dom to work out the details.”

She clapped her hands. “Thank you, boys! Now I need to find a food vendor. A caterer in McMinnville does amazing mini quiche.”

An idea struck. It might be too much, but it might be exactly right. “Mabel, I think it would go a long way in getting younger business owners interested in the chamber if you kept your business local and used one of them for the food.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’m not aware of any caterers in town. I keep trying to get Juan to cater—his tacos are divine—but he’s holding out on me.”

“Have you tried Be Eggcellent to Each Other? Caleb, the owner I introduced you to when I saw you here last, used to do catering in Portland. He would need access to a larger kitchen, I imagine, but he could park the truck outside if you could get a permit to close off part of the street out front. We could set up chairs and tables in the empty lot. I might even be able to talk him into offering you the food at cost.” I knew Caleb wanted to make connections in town, but I wouldn’t ask him to donate food and lose money on my ideas.

Mabel grinned wickedly at me. “We could really use someone like you at the chamber. You’re very persuasive.”

I ignored her comment. “I’ll ask Caleb about it and give you a call.”

We talked for a few more minutes about the date she had in mind and some other details about her food budget. After she left, a couple of customers came in. Once Ethan served them and they wandered off to a far table, he turned to me.

“That was quite a show you put on,” he said, a sense of awe in his voice.

“To be honest, I don’t know where it came from, but I’m glad I went with it. Hopefully, that takes some of the stress off Dom’s shoulders.”

“And getting Caleb to cater? Inspired.”

Selfish. It gave me another excuse to be around him. “Hopefully, he won’t mind me throwing him to the wolves.” And it would help him score some points with Frank Ambrose.

“You should probably warn him before she swings by and accosts him. I’m all set here. Thanks again for your help.” He smiled at me before turning to greet a new customer wanting to fill a growler.

I left the brewery and walked down Main Street toward the other end, where Caleb parked. I smiled and exchanged pleasantries with a few people as I passed them. That was something I’d missed in Portland over the years I spent there in college and beyond—it felt like everyone in Dahlia Springs knew each other, for better or worse. It wasn’t so small a town to make that technically true, but growing up there meant I could rarely visit the market or walk around downtown without running into at least one person I knew.

I smiled at a poster in the window of the bookstore to promote the Pride events next month. To give Mabel her due, she took the founders’ intention of creating an inclusive and welcoming town very seriously. Each Pride Month, the town went all out.

I was so distracted by thinking about the poster and what we could do at the brewery that I hadn’t noticed I was approaching the Live, Laugh, Luxury store.

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