Page 12 of Break My Heart
‘I did, and I think three weeks is about right, but I’m running out of time. The competition is in October.’
‘What are you using for apples?’
‘I went to an orchard about a half hour from here. They didn’t have much variety, just the ones you could get in a store.’
‘Why didn’t you go to the orchard in town? Isn’t that where the competition’s going to be?’
‘Yes, but I don’t want to go there. I don’t need to. I have plenty of apples.’
‘Ones that aren’t working. That orchard in town is huge. I’m sure they have more varieties than the one you’ve been going to.’
‘They do, but .?.?.’ I don’t want to tell him about Sawyer. I never have, and if I did, he’d say I’m being ridiculous, letting my personal feelings get in the way of business.
‘But what? Gina, you can’t make a good product without good ingredients. Cider is all about the apples. What you use could make a huge difference in the end product.’
I sigh. ‘You’re right. I’ll go there and see what they have.’
‘Why didn’t you just start there? Why’d you drive a half hour when you have an orchard right there in town?’
‘I don’t want to tell you. It’s embarrassing.’
‘Gina, it’s me. Just tell me.’
‘Okay, but I don’t want you making fun of me for this.’
‘Now I’m intrigued. What’s this about?’
‘There was this boy. A boy I met at that camp I went to when I was seven.’
‘Yeah? What about him?’
‘We didn’t get along. He’s really competitive, and as you know, I am too, so I wasn’t going to let him beat me. I ended up winning all the camp competitions and Sawyer got really mad. He hated me for it.’
Maybe hate is too strong a word, but he was definitely angry that I kept winning.
‘I’m still not getting the connection here.’
‘His family owns the orchard.’
‘And why is that a problem? You knew this guy when you were kids. I’m sure he’s over being angry at you.’
He might be, but now he has a new reason to be angry. My brewery competes with his, and it sounds like I’ve been getting a lot more customers. But it’s not like I purposely opened a brewery here to complete with him. When I decided to do it, I didn’t know about Sawyer’s brewery. It hadn’t even opened yet. And if it had, I still would’ve opened my brewery. The only thing I know how to do is brew beer and bartend, and I wouldn’t have been able to afford to have my own place somewhere else. Owning the building means I don’t have to pay rent, a huge savings that made it possible for me to do this.
‘It’s Kanfield Orchard,’ I say, then wait for Ryder to put it together.
‘As in the same Kanfield as Kanfield Brewery?’
‘Exactly. Sawyer Kanfield is the kid from camp. He owns the brewery and his parents own the orchard, or actually I think his brother runs it now, but his parents still live there.’
‘This is why I hate small towns. You get these big families that own everything in town and try to get rid of anyone new.’
‘They’re not trying to get rid of me.’
‘Not yet, but they will. You better watch your back. I told you it was a bad idea to open your place there.’
‘I like it here. I like the town and the area, and the building I inherited is here.’
‘You could’ve sold it and used the money to open a place somewhere else.’
