Page 108 of Brewbies
Maui or bust.
TWENTY-TWO
Runoff
THE LIQUID YOU SEPARATE FROM THE SPENT GRAIN HUSKS DURING LAUTERING
Oh shit.
She wasn’t going to stop.
Ethan had been sure that this would work, and when the ancient muffler told him she’d decelerated at the sight of him, he filled with an elated hope.
Should have known it wouldn’t be so easy.
Recovering immediately, Darby had reapplied the gas pedal, and Ethan knew if he didn’t do something quickly, she’d get away.
Welp. Here went nothing.
Stepping onto the sun-dappled asphalt, he stood in the middle of the lane and held the sign up to his chest like a man in a mug shot. Death by Airstream wasn’t exactly how he thought he’d shuffle off his mortal coil, but if Darby drove the vehicle that turned him into roadkill, then call the road crew and pour him a drink in Valhalla, because he was all the way dead.
Without her, what was the fucking point?
She left more rubber on the road than her tires as she screamed to a stop so close, Ethan could have kissed the grille.
Speaking of holy shit, he almost had to buy himself a new pair of board shorts.
Allowing a moment for his balls to crawl out of his body cavity, he locked eyes with the woman who was going to kill him one way or the other.
Judging from the look on Darby’s face, this was going to be a harder sell than he’d initially expected.
Nostrils flaring, lips compressed into a hyphen, hair up in a bandana like Rosie the Riveter, she was a pin-up nomad goddess with one hell of a temper.
At least life wouldn’t be boring.
“Out of the way, Ethan. I’m going to miss my ferry,” she called, gesturing angrily.
“Let me come with, and I’ll show you a secret shortcut,” he replied. “You can yell at me all you want on the way.”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his goddamn marbles. “You can’t just pick up and leave, Ethan.”
He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Turns out I can.”
“You’re just going to abandon the county without a sheriff? Real nice.” Her expression darkened from unimpressed to pissed off.
“I resigned,” he explained, pressing his palms to the warming hood of her Airstream. “Kiki will be running things until the fall election, where she’ll likely run unopposed. At least, unopposed by me.”
Darby poked her head out the window and tossed a dismissive gesture at him. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! Did it even occur to you that I’d say no before you made these plans for you? For us?”
If byoccurred, she meant kept him up for two nights in a row…then yes. “Well, I’d take it as a kindness if you didn’t, what with the grand gesture and all. But if you did, I’d just have to spend the rest of my life trying to change your mind.”
“You had two weeks to change my mind!” she yelled. “I’ve heard nothing from you.Nothing.”
Now was not the time to mention that he’d tried her at her camper and never found her home. Nor had she been alone when he’d found her in town. She’d ignored his texts. Phone calls. Voicemails. And two apology bouquets.
He looked forward to squabbling about that later. But for now, he only had one thing to say.
“I love you.”
