Page 78 of Pitcher Perfect

I smiled. “Not even when we bottled our first beer just before we opened? Pretty sure I was happy then, and that was only last year.”

“Being happy about work is different. You’re happy as a person with Caleb around.”

He wasn’t wrong, but it scared me to admit it to someone else. Getting teased about walks of shame was one thing, but openly admitting feelings was entirely different. Assuming the conversation was over, I opened a trash bag and began scooping all the scraps littering the counter into it.

“I was happy like that once.”

I stopped and turned toward Dom. I knew something had happened to him from the scattered bits and pieces I’d picked up over the years, but Dom was a private guy. Ethan, Ty, and I instinctively knew not to push him on things. If he wanted us to know something, he would share.

“Enjoy it while it lasts because you never know if it’s your last shot at something good. If you let yourself be too scared to try again, you might harden beyond repair. I don’t want that for you.”

That was exactly what I was afraid of. I worried Iwouldget hurt so badly I would completely shut off that part of myself.If my dad, one of the people who was supposed to be there for me unconditionally, could leave me, why wouldn’t Caleb?He didn’t owe me anything, but if I let things get serious between us, he would have the power to break me.

“Just don’t shut him out. There’s more to life than making great beer.” He clapped me on the shoulder then carried a stack of food containers out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Do we really have the possibility of something real and lasting?I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with Caleb, whether it was sex or conversation. I thought about him all the time, probably to a level of distraction that was affecting my work. I wanted to do things with him, silly things like watch him select a good cut of beef at the grocery store or blush as people complimented his food. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d met someone who grabbed my attention as much as my work.Is this what it’s supposed to feel like when you care about someone?

Once we had the ingredients loaded up in Caleb’s food truck, I drove it over to the brewery with Dom following in his rig. Mabel corralled the four of us like a colonel about to give marching orders.

“Where’s Caleb?” She looked around the brewery like he would appear out of thin air.

“He had a personal emergency. Dom and I finished the food and will be serving. Ty and Ethan will handle beer.” I left no room for argument in my tone.

Mabel studied me for a moment then nodded once. She grabbed the clipboard tucked under her arm and began to tell us how we would be handling tickets. For as demanding as she was, I had to admire her organization. She had everything arranged in a way that made it easy to serve the chamber people free stuff while ensuring we could still spot paying customers.

After Mabel ran through everythingtwice, I returned to the truck to pull out the food and bring it into the brewery. It would’ve been easier to serve it out of the truck, but Caleb had wisely pointed out that people not involved with the event would try to buy stuff. Smart man. Once Dom and I unloaded an initial round of all the dishes, I returned to the truck to lock it up until we needed to replenish the platters behind a roped-off area of the taproom.

When I turned around, I took in the brewery and smiled. Tap That truly was an amazing feat. I rarely stopped to enjoy what we had accomplished because I was always so busy working. What had begun as idle discussion as we drank beer in our dorm turned into daydreaming over how cool it would be to make our own beer to drink any time we wanted, then became a joint venture that would hopefully last decades to come.

I looked at the empty lot connected to the north wall of our brewery, where we hoped to have outdoor seating and space for live events during the nice weather. Maybe even a heated tent for the rainy and cool months. That blank lot represented our future. I imagined sitting there with a beer after a long day, laughing with the guys, teasing Tyler about his latest conquest and Ethan about his latest love. I could picture it as clearly as a movie, but what caught my breath in my throat was Caleb sitting by my side, his hand on my leg, squeezing it as he laughed at something ridiculous Ty said. It was effortless to imagine Caleb with us, with me.

I was in a good mood by the time the first people came. I fell into a groove talking with other business owners who were eager to stuff their faces with free food. It was great to connect with people I rarely got to see since most of my time was spent in the back of the brewery. Unless someone came in while I happened to be in the taproom, I rarely interacted with anyone beyond the guys.

I soaked up every compliment about the brewery, the beer, and the food. The appetizers weren’t as pretty as Caleb’s during the test run when he finalized the menu, but Dom and I had done a pretty damn good job. I smiled thinking of how messy Caleb and I had gotten feeding each other that night. Several people even wished us luck in the Portland Pairing and said they planned to attend the event to vote for us in the public voting round. Their support left me stunned.

Bailey, a member of the family who ran the dahlia farm, came back for thirds. “This is good stuff. You said at ourmeetingthat the guy who runs the food cart did the food, right?” He stage-whispered the word meeting then looked around with comically wide eyes, surely to check that Mabel wasn’t within earshot.

I laughed. “Yeah, Caleb Larsen. Though if something’s off, blame me. He had a personal emergency, so Dom and I finished off the food today.”

Bailey grinned. “Never would’ve expected you to cook. Didn’t you nearly burn your aunt’s kitchen down in high school?”

“Yeah, he did.” Ty ruffled my hair.

Dick.The man had a sixth sense for when people gave me shit. He showed up, unexpected and unwanted, like a hemorrhoid. Bailey opened his mouth to say something, but I glared at him.

He must’ve thought better of whatever was about to come out of his mouth because, instead, he asked about catering. “I really want to start doing events at the farm to bring in extra revenue.” Bailey’s mouth tightened.

I didn’t know his family well, but from what I did know, I couldn’t imagine they were on board with the idea of hosting events. I’d heard some gossip in the taproom about a conflict in the family concerning what to do with the farm. The one good thing about not having parents who cared was no one meddled in my life.

“It would be great to work with a local caterer. Do you know if he plans to make a regular thing of this?”

I seized the opportunity. “Caleb would love to, but he needs a permanent kitchen. The food truck isn’t big enough for that.”

Bailey popped a meatball into his mouth and looked into the middle distance as his eyes lost focus. I smiled at the memory of Ty begging Caleb to add meatballs to the menu and Caleb doing so with a quality beef and sauce concoction that Dom approved.

A moment later, Bailey snapped back to alertness. “What about Frank’s place? Doesn’t it have a fully outfitted kitchen? I bet Caleb would make a killing running a restaurant in town. I hear amazing things about his breakfast sandwiches. I’ve wanted to try one but haven’t been able to make it out while he’s open.” Bailey’s mouth went tight again. Whatever was going on with him, I hoped it got better soon.

“You know, I bet Caleb wouldlovethat.” I wouldn’t be earning an Academy Award anytime soon, but it was good enough. “If there’s interest, I’m sure Caleb would consider it.”

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