Page 22 of Beyond the Hate

The bar and restaurant with the offices above are in a restored barn near the street. The brewery is across the parking lot in a separate building.

“You check out the restaurant. I need to check the brewery.”

Chloe ignores me and follows me with the rest of our friends past the restaurant. As soon as the brewery comes into view, I gasp.

“NO!” I scream and run toward the structure.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Chloe chants as she chases me.

Sophia shackles my wrist to stop me from entering the brewery. “No. Wait until Flynn is here. He can ensure the building is structurally sound before you go inside.”

“Structurally sound? The roof is missing!”

“All the more reason for you to stay here and wait,” she says.

“I’ll be careful,” I claim as I remove an electric screwdriver from my backpack.

No one else tries to stop me as I remove the screws from the plywood protecting the door. Once all of the screws are out, they help me carry the plywood away.

I reach for the door and Maya squeezes my hand. “Whatever happens, it’ll be okay.”

She waits for my nod before releasing me. I enter the brewery and my jaw falls open. It’s much worse than I expected. It’s obviously been raining inside for two days.

Sophia plants herself in front of me. “I’m sorry. But I can’t allow you to go any further. I don’t want you to be electrocuted.”

“The power’s been off for nearly two days.”

“I don’t care.”

I growl at her. “I care. This is my life. This is my passion. My dream. And it’s been destroyed.”

She places a hand on my shoulder. “It’s my dream, too, Paisley.”

“It’s all of our dreams,” Chloe adds.

“This is why we have insurance. We’ll rebuild,” Maya says.

“And how much time will elapse before the insurance money is deposited into our bank account? We may need years to rebuild. It’s fine for all of you. You have partners you can rely on. I don’t have anyone.”

“Bullshit,” Chloe mutters.

“What did you say?”

“I said bullshit. You’re not alone. You have us.”

I motion to the destroyed brewery. “I meant for income.”

I didn’t but income is as good an excuse as any.

Chloe’s eyes flash. She knows I’m lying but to my surprise, she doesn’t call me on it. “The bar and restaurant don’t appear damaged. Yes, the beer sales are our major source of income but the bar and restaurant income will help us to get by until we can rebuild the brewery.”

“But we don’t have anyFive Fathomsbeer to sell at the bar and restaurant.”

Maya clears her throat. “We just sent a big shipment to the resort. If Hudson agrees, we can recall the shipment.”

“Hudson will agree. He’ll do whatever I want.” Nova winks.

“And I’ll make sure Flynn puts us at the top of the list for construction work. All his projects are officially on hold until the brewery is rebuilt,” Sophia says.

---