Page 12 of Small Town Firsts
“You don’t have to wait on us,” Beckett said.
“One last time won’t hurt anyone. Maybe I’ll steal a fry or five.” She gave us a winning smile then sashayed her way down the stairs.
Beckett slapped Justin on the back of the head. “Don’t even think about it. You’re not going to mess with my best friend.”
Justin ducked his head. “I wouldn’t. She’s like my sister. Sort of. At least she used to seem more like a sister. Christ, did you see that ass?”
Beckett’s eyebrows snapped down as he stared at Justin.
“Sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Did she lose weight or something? Put a spell on us?”
Hayes rolled his eyes. “No. You idiots just don’t pay attention.”
Justin spun his chair around and straddled it. “Oh, and you do?”
“Kira is a lovely woman.”
“Yeah, but you can’t stop staring at Willa.” Justin waggled his brows.
“We’re just friends.” Hayes dropped into his chair and set his beer bottle down.
“Not for lack of trying, bud.” Beckett nudged his brother.
“Yeah, well. It’s not going to happen. Can we change the subject?” Hayes nodded at me. “Sit down. We don’t normally gossip like a bunch of girls.”
I sat down. “Curse of the small town. Why I usually keep to the big cities.”
“Times will be a-changing.” Beck hooked his arm over the back of his chair. “You settling in okay?”
I nodded. “The work room is perfect. I just had to move some things around to how I like it set up.”
“Space is yours. I figured the back barn would give you a chance to get away from the noise of the remodel.”
That was good to know. I’d be sure to pack my headphones. “Yeah, I didn’t get over to the taproom to look around yet. I was distracted.”
Hayes took a sip from his beer and pointed at me with his bottle. “He barely noticed when I came to visit him today. Practically had hearts in his eyeballs.”
I laughed. “It’s perfect.”
“Even after the lab CBS set up for you?” Hayes seemed genuinely interested.
One of Chicago’s largest distributing centers had pulled me away from a small brewery the year before, but the sterile room wasn’t much for creativity. That and the very narrow parameters they’d given me for designing a beer.
“Worrying about massive output puts a damper on the creative juices. Especially when they give me three ingredients to work with.”
Hayes winced. “Man, that sucks. No wonder you were ready to pet our freezers.”
“I am more than excited to get moving on the summer blend for the opening. Even if you only gave me two months.”
Which was going to be pushing it since a good fermenting took six weeks. It was going to be an intense timetable.
I was also more excited than I had been in years.
Justin peeled at the label on his beer. “Look at him. It’s Christmas in July for our boy.”
“Better than Christmas,” I said as I kicked out my legs.
“That’s right. I foresee very good things.” Beckett finished his beer and was about to start talking again when Kira came up to the table with another woman, both burdened with large trays.
