Page 4 of On The Rocks

Ronan grinned. “Sure do.” He reached below the bar again and came up with a sweating dark bottle. “Seems like you guys have the same tastebuds.”

“I like ‘em spicy,” Griffin said before draining the bottle and setting it next to me, flashing me a cocky grin.

Chapter 2

Griffin

You Know Who I Am

Iknew seeing Lennon after four months was going to be a shot in the ass, but I hadn’t realized just how much. And the shot was more in my chest, center mass.

Damn, she was just as prickly as I remembered, but I’d only been close enough to catch her scent once. That day, I’d hopped the bar to help her with a stubborn tap. When I’d first arrived to find my nomadic brother hiding in this orchard, I’d practically lived at the taproom, trying to get to know him.

Instead, I’d caught feelings for the spicy bartender who ignored me with great relish.

That one moment, and her alluring scent, shouldn’t be living in my head, but they damn well were. I resisted the urge to drag in the heady amber and spicy ginger tones.

Not to mention, the urge to sink my fingers into all that hair of hers.

Knowing myself, I moved away from her to the bar. It had been a damn lonely winter, and I couldn’t be trusted not to piss her off by flirting with her.

Lennon was friendly when it came to those in her small circle—which didn’t include me, no matter how I’d tried.

And I wasn’t exactly putting my best foot forward. I’d been over at the Lark cottage with Beckett, Justin, and Kain, hauling out dead trees and debris from the brutal winter. Luckily, we’d only lost one old tree—she’d been a spectacular white ash with a massive canopy of delicate green leaves just starting to bud. Unfortunately, when we’d put the lines in to restore power to the outer cabins and old buildings, the line had hit one of her roots.

My brother, Kain, had taken it hard.

Keeping the land whole and healthy was a bedrock to his design sense, but the old tree would be repurposed for the cabin. According to Kain, ash wasn’t good for outdoor use. Instead, he’d brought on a local carpenter to use it in the kitchen for new cabinets, as well as a sturdy four-poster bed for the primary bedroom.

My brother’s brain was a wonder.

I was just along for the ride—and because of my sturdy back.

Along with the old apple pressing room I’d convinced Laverne to let me remodel and live in while I was staying at the orchard.

The blank slate of a space had sparked my brother’s architect lust and we’d been working on it all winter.

While slowly getting to know each other.

Slowlybeing the operative word.

Ronan wandered down to my end of the bar and set down another bottle. This one, just the dark brown glass with a number 37 on it. I grinned at him. “What are we testing now?”

“Depends.” When I arched a brow, he shrugged. “How’s it going at the Lark?”

“Good. We finally dug out that big ash tree and Justin and Beck are finishing up the replanting with an elm from the Finch cottage we had to clear out. The ash tree had more issues than just the underground power lines, but there’s still more than enough for Murray to play with.”

“That carpenter is going to buy a house with what we’re paying him to remodel these places.” I laughed. “Good thing Kain is family.”

Ronan snorted. “Laverne has him wrapped.”

As she had me in the same way, I understood completely. And I knew Ronan and Kain were as close as brothers—where I still had a ways to go there. But the people at this orchard were tight in ways I hadn’t seen since my days with...

Nope. Not going there right now.

I rubbed the center of my chest over the ache that never seemed to fully leave me, no matter how much manual labor I did at Brothers Three.

“Does that mean they’re done with you for the day?” Ronan’s smile was devilish.

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