Page 31 of On The Rocks

“Did I hear you needed something?” The startlingly attractive new waitress sidled up to the table. Her heavily lashed eyes lowered to half mast as she locked onto me. Once upon a time, I probably would have engaged.

She had that open and flirtatious vibe that made for a hot weekend.

My life would be a million times easier if I welcomed her attention. She wouldn’t make me work for every word or moment.

And that was precisely why I wasn’t interested.

I laced my fingers together and smiled politely. “Hi, Ronnie. I’d love the special, and an extra lowball glass so I can try my friend’s science experiment.”

Hayes laughed. “Asshole.” Quickly, he glanced at Laverne. “Pardon, Aunt Laverne.”

She waved him off. “No worries, Hayes.” She smiled at Ronnie. “I haven’t met you yet.” She held out a hand. “I’m Laverne.”

“Oh.” Ronnie dropped the big flirt act. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ronson. I’m Ronnie Black.”

“Welcome to the taproom, and call me Laverne, please. We don’t stand on ceremony here. You can stop by the Lodge anytime for a piece of my apple pie.”

“Worth the trip. I’m going to marry her just for her pie.”

“Think Fred would have something to say about that.” Laverne laughed. “But I’ll happily adopt you.”

“Deal!”

We all laughed, including Ronnie.

“Oh, and Ronnie, I’ll take a lowball glass, as well. I’d like to see what my nephew is up to too.”

“Anyone else want food?”

“We’re good,” Hayes said, shyly. “We had the special as soon as we arrived.”

Ronnie’s smile wasn’t quite to the previous seduction level when she flashed it at Hayes. Instead, it was softer. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Laverne nudged Hayes. “She’s quite beautiful.”

He lowered his gaze to his notebook. “She sure is.” He cleared his throat. “The new moonshine is in line with the honey flavors Ronan is spotlighting this year.” He pushed the bottle over to me.

“This sounds like I’m going to be in trouble.” I uncapped it and the warm scent of honey came out with a pear chaser. “Pear too?”

Pleased, Hayes nodded. “Good nose.”

“That’s what Lenny tells me too.” I pushed it back to him. “Still smells like I’m going to be glad I walked over here tonight.”

Hayes gave me a little shrug. “Need to up your tolerance.”

Laverne snickered.

We chatted about the spring wedding that had taken place the week before. A bit about the twins—first babies at the orchard in a long time was a big deal.

I had a Honey Firefly cider with my meal before dipping into the moonshine.

The taproom was full to bursting with people. The food truck people brought family, including a few kids running around the dining room. It was a happy sound, thankfully. The taproom wasn’t exactly family-friendly fare, but this wasn’t a normal night.

During my second glass of moonshine—yes, it was as dangerous as I feared—I turned in my seat to watch Lennon.

There was a crowd around the bar as she activated full flair mode. Dean was trying to learn from her, and they’d devised a bit of choreography where they passed bottles back and forth.

She did a complicated twirl while two bottles flew above her head. She caught one of the metal shakers on the back of her forearm, bouncing it up where she snatched it out of the air just before one of the clear bottles came down to clunk inside.

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