Page 6 of Small Town Firsts
“I have no doubt. Beckett will be by later. Kira will probably stay out of your hair while she’s getting the taproom ready to go live with the updates we’ve done, but she’s your first line of defense for most anything you need. She’s been with us since I was a teen.”
“Cool. I’ll be sure to tag her if I need something.” I nodded to his T-shirt. “Is that another orchard?”
He glanced down at his chest. “Actually, that’s one of the reasons we wanted you on board. We’re rebranding the orchard a bit. My folks are mostly retired now and we’re hoping to diversify the orchard. We have the concert series which has done well for us and it was enough of a cash infusion that we could try the same with the taproom.”
“Why I’m here.”
He nodded. “Exactly. If all goes well, we’ll move onto moonshine distribution in a few years. Right now we do small batches for tastings. We’re hoping that with some freedom, you’ll bring a little of that magic we’ve read about here to Brothers Three. I’m particularly fond of your Sunset Sail blend from last year.”
“Not even the one that I placed with.” Surprised he liked that more light, summery style, I smiled. “Figured you would be more for the spice like Killer Crush.”
“The horror blend was pretty awesome. You’re really good with the flavors.”
“Marketing department makes me sound way cooler, believe me.”
“Somehow I doubt that. You’ve already become a name in the up and coming cider masters. We’re hoping for a mutually beneficial relationship.”
“I don’t need to be stroked. I already took the job.”
Hayes tipped his head back and laughed. “Good. We’re more apt to trounce you in pool and darts at Lucky’s than stroke your ego.”
“Sounds like my kind of deal. Is that the neon shamrock monstrosity in town?”
“The one and only. Why don’t we meet there for dinner around seven? Serves decent pub grub and good beer. Nothing fancy.”
I dug out my phone and saw that it would give me about six hours to get the room just how I wanted it. “Sounds good.”
“Perfect. Welcome aboard.” He held out his hand.
I shook it. “Brothers Three has a nice ring to it. Will look good on a label.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
When Hayes left, I shrugged out of my vest I’d worn just in case my first day was a little more formal. A vest over a T-shirt was about as dressed up as I got, especially on a warm July day. I scraped my long hair up into a quick braided tail at the top of my head and snapped the elastic around the end.
I had a lot of work to do.
THREE
KIRA
HIDDEN ASSETS
Lucky’s wasbumping as usual. The bar was one big room with lazily spinning fans overhead to combat the humidity that was already creeping in. The next day was supposed to be a scorcher, and it looked like it was going to start with a steamy night.
A perfect sendoff for my last night at work. Now that I was taking over the taproom, it left me little time for a second job. I hadn’t really needed to work at Lucky’s for over a year. Tips didn’t need to be allocated to bills and savings, but I liked padding my drawers with extra play money.
Literally.
I had a secret compartment in my silverware drawer that I’d built to hold a stack of cash. It was annoying enough to get to that I had to really want the treat.
In my case a treat was often shoes and clothes—my secret weakness. And okay, sometimes a pint of ice cream or a fancy bar of chocolate.
Between the bar and the orchard, I didn’t really have any reason to dress up. Now that I was the face of Brothers Three Taproom, I could let that side of me out to play.
Starting tonight.
I fussed with the belt of my one-piece romper. The shorts were far more daring in length than I usually allowed myself. My body definitely leaned heavily into the sturdy column. Strong thighs and curves that headed a tick past lush, to be honest.
