Page 28 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

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“So how doyou and Grace know each other?” Easton asked as he rode beside Josh in the tow truck.

He’d told himself it was none of his business and he shouldn’t say anything, but he couldn’t help it. He’d seen the way her face had lit up when she’d seen the tattooed auto mechanic who reminded Easton of Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy.

“I’ve known her and her sisters for…it feels like my whole life. They used to spend summers in Hope Falls with their mom.”

Technically, Josh had answered Easton’s question, but he didn’t feel like he’d gotten the information he wanted.

“Are you guys close?” Easton knew he was fishing and he needed to stop, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself.

“Who?” Josh turned to look at him. “Me and Grace?”

Easton nodded.

“When we were younger, we hung out. Grace and I are the same age, so.”

Shit.That still didn’t tell him anything.

“But she was always with her sisters, so I sort of hung out with all of them. How do you know Grace?” Josh turned the tables on Easton.

But the way he asked the question struck Easton as much more of a familial, protective brother vibe than a jealous one. It seemed more like the way he would have asked someone about Deanna.

“I just met her last night. She had a flat and I pulled over to help her.”

“Do you know her sisters?” Josh asked.

This time, Easton definitely picked up on the question being more than just a brotherly inquiry. And since Josh obviously wasn’t interested in Grace, and Ava was engaged to Asher, by process of elimination that left Natalie Portman and Jessica Rabbit aka Audrey and Viv.

“I think I might have danced with one of them at my brother’s wedding.” Easton was intentionally vague.

“Really?” Josh glanced over at him. “Which one?”

“I think it was Viv. She had red hair.”

“Yep.” Easton watched as Josh’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s Viv.”

It looked like Josh had a thing for Audrey. He wondered if the feeling was mutual.

“So, Bishop, right?” Josh asked. Asher had mentioned his last name when he introduced the men. “That means Evan and Eli are your brothers?”

The rest of the ride the two men chatted about his brothers and cousin, and how basically the entire town knew everyone’s business. Josh had grown up in Hope Falls and even though he didn’t say it directly, Easton got the feeling his childhood wasn’t quite as idyllic as some of the other natives he’d talked to.

When they pulled up to the auto shop, Easton noticed a coffee shop with the sign Brewed Awakenings above the door. Before they fell asleep the night before, Grace had mentioned that she and her sisters owned a coffee shop, but she didn’t mention the name. She said that her two youngest sisters ran it day to day and she and Ava were silent partners.

“Is that Grace and her sisters’ shop?” Easton asked.

“Yep.” Josh nodded before getting out of the truck.

Easton thought about going over there and seeing if Grace was there, but he didn’t want to come off as creepy. Grace had made it pretty clear that she didn’t do relationships and he didn’t want her to think that he was taking last night as something more than it was. Even if that was the case.

He grabbed his duffle bag from the floor. Thankfully, he’d managed to get it out of the truck. The passenger side door still opened, and he’d been able to pry it out. The tree had crushed the entire cab and caused damage to the engine. His truck was totaled. Josh was going to send pictures to his insurance company and keep it on site, in case an adjuster needed to come see it, but then it was headed to the scrap yard.

Easton got out and saw that Josh was in the garage talking to an older woman. She looked like she had to be in her nineties. He called out, “Thanks again for the ride.”

“No worries.” Josh smiled.

As he walked down the driveway, he patted the bed of his truck and said a silent goodbye. He would have to figure out some sort of transportation, but he wasn’t in a rush. Everything in Hope Falls was within walking distance. The entire town only spanned ten miles or so. He was used to walking a lot more than that in some places he’d been just to get clean water.

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