Page 77 of Small Town Firsts
“Tonight?”
Kain giggled. “Yeah. Best time is when we shouldn’t be there.”
“We are in no condition to drive, my friend.”
He dug for his phone. “I’m very rich, brah. If you pay enough, even ride shares come out to nowhere.”
“We aren’tthatsmall town, jackass.”
Kain squinted at his phone. “We’ll see.” He handed me the bottle. “Hold my beer—err, whiskey.”
I rolled my eyes, but took it and shrugged. If my friend was laughing after telling me that shit news, who was I to be a drag? I took a slightly less healthy sip though.
My liver would absolutely be crying tomorrow.
NINETEEN
KIRA
TWO LARGE IDIOTS
I dumpedmy bag on the bar, leaving my sunglasses on. Sleep had been elusive, and by dawn I’d given up and dragged my ass into work. I had plenty to do before the chef interviews. And a meeting with Beckett had me on edge.
Things were moving at the taproom, but there was still a ton to do.
Bringing Lennon on was a big load off my shoulders. By the time she left yesterday, we had a tentative schedule for training bartenders. A few of the new hires would work both on the floor and behind the bar. By the end of the day we’d hashed out a salary that only made me weep a little. She said she needed to sleep on it, but I knew she was in.
Especially when she’d found out the seasonal aspect. It gave her a lot of freedom, and I was challenging her to be more than the social media flair artist. Her intelligence had been apparent when she walked in, but I could taste the restlessness in the air around her.
I understood it and recognized it.
And more importantly I knew we’d work well together.
I took my iced coffee with me to open the back doors and walk the property as golden fingers of sun slid over the orchard.In the distance I heard Beckett’s horse. It was too early for the machines to be out in the field, but my best friend liked to ride out alone in the early part of the morning.
Why I wasn’t surprised when Storm and Beckett ended up picking their way up the path to where I stood. I waved at him and sucked down a full inch of caramel laced cold brew. I had a feeling it was going to be a two cold brews before noon kind of day.
He tipped his hat back as he took in the porch. “This place looks amazing, Key.”
The landscaping crew had come by in the late afternoon with some of the items I’d requested. Older barrels that were too damaged to use for distilling had been repurposed into cement filled bases for railings. Each had been bisected horizontally then filled with herbs and ornamental plants to pretty them up. The barrels were becoming a theme and I kind of loved it.
A dozen more dotted the stone path. The cement was still curing, but eventually the posts would allow us to have the whole outdoor seating area lit up for safety. I was just waiting on the Edison style bulbs to come in.
“Thanks. It’s getting there.”
He swung his leg off his massive gelding and stepped down to the dry ground at the edge of the path of stones. They were rough on Storm’s hooves, so he dropped the reins, signaling the horse could graze along the patchy grass by the path.
His boots were already dusty, telling me he’d been up even earlier than me. A few more lines were grooved into the creases at the corners of his eyes. Harvest hadn’t even begun and he was stressing about something.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” I folded my arms across my chest, resting my aluminum cup on my arm. “I know you too well.”
He sighed and pulled off his wide brimmed cowboy hat, swapping it for his ancient Yankee’s cap. He strapped it to his saddle before patting Storm’s neck. Urging him into the shade. “One of the freezers is acting up. I had to get a second generator rushed in from Jersey.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Wow. That far away?”
