Page 65 of Forever By Morning

“Laverne has it well in hand.”

She sniffled. “I know. I just wanted to show her I was ready to step up to be the assistant manager of the front desk and now… Oh, Helena, I just really ruined everything.”

“Nope. We learn from our mistakes. Believe me.” And it often took me a few more times than I’d like to own up to, that was for sure. “Now tell me you can drive this truck because I’ve only driven a car in the last ten years. And it’s been at least seven months since I have, at that.”

She dabbed at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand. “I’ve been driving a truck since I was fourteen.”

“Well, that’s impressive. And not altogether legal.”

She waved it off and opened the door, shoving her stuff on the seat. “My uncle worked for a local ranch—now he’s the head of the horse stables here—and he made sure I could drive anything with wheels.”

I went over to the passenger side and climbed in. As soon as I got inside, my system went haywire. Beckett’s leather and citrus scent hit me like a fist. My heart slammed in my chest and I had to remind myself to breathe.

“You okay?”

“Fine.” I quickly snapped in and gave her a bright smile. “Ready.”

“Okay. Off we go.” She stomped on the clutch and we lurched forward like a rocket.

I grabbed the dash. “Pretty sure the taproom will still be there if we go at a normal pace.”

Cara’s gleeful laugh filled the cab of the truck. “You’d think things were at a slower pace on a farm and yet—nope!”

The tires spit as she hung a hard right and the truck hit a steep incline. She hit something on the console, and the truck tires grabbed at the gravel like a beast.

At my startled look, she gave me a daredevil grin. “Shortcut.”

What the heck had I gotten myself into?

Chapter15

Beckett

Surprise Distractions

I dragged my exhausted ass out of my truck. I should have gone out to the back field to check on the progress of the seedlings. Or to check the status of the cabinets I’d ordered for one of the cabins me and Justin had been renovating for rentals this fall. Or… I had a list of things on my clipboard that I should be doing.

But after hauling Jolene out of the spring, all I wanted was a sandwich and a brew.

And to forget a certain woman’s soft skin and killer whiskey and sunshine eyes. Since forgetting Helena was going to take some time, I settled on heading over to the Brothers Three Taproom for some grub. They weren’t officially opening for another week or so, but Kain was already in residence.

And that meant food was usually quick to follow.

I waved at the cleaning crew wiping down the front windows from the storm. The parking lot was a maze of mud and debris from it too. The taproom was situated above the orchard in the more densely forested part of our land. We’d carved out a space to build onto the old barn that had been abandoned during the rougher period of Happy Acres.

My dad and uncle Fred had fought to keep the orchard running for a string of years. We’d even had to rely on my cousin Lila’s rich prick of a now ex-husband for help with a loan. That had been the first day I’d started planning ways to diversify the orchard.

It might’ve taken me the better part of a decade to get us in the black, but now we had enough capital to continue to grow. Since me and my brothers had taken over the brunt of the orchard operation and modernized into the Brothers Three Orchard, I just had to make sure it stayed profitable.

The concert stage and Brothers Three Taproom had been a huge step in the right direction.

I bypassed the front door and took the path along the side of the taproom to the back entrance.

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to come out and see me.” Kira Webb leaned against the doorway to the brewing workshop, her arms folded as she gave me a wide grin. Her dark hair was wild around her shoulders, and she had on a pair of dusty shorts and a canary yellow shirt streaked with God knew what. “It’s a new record. Only took you three hours to check your texts.”

With a wince, I dug out my phone. Sure enough, there were a few texts waiting for me. Hers was straight to the point with no bullshit. I looked up from the screen. “So what’s the news?”

She rolled her eyes. “Come sit down before you fall down,” she called as she disappeared into the work room.

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