Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
WEST
I pushed open the door of Sawyers Bend Brewing and let the warm air and golden light surround me.
Conversation was lively but not boisterous.
Small groups clustered around high-top tables; a few people sitting at the bar.
Avery stood behind the long expanse of wood, pulling a beer from the tap and smiling at a customer as she listened to whatever he was saying.
I was hit by an odd wave of pleasure at seeing the smile on her face, at seeing her at all.
Before I could wonder where that had come from or why, it occurred to me that Avery was rarely here in the evenings.
Usually, if she was behind the bar at all, she handled days.
Cammie or Dave usually handled evenings.
I shouldn’t have expected to see Avery here, and I wasn’t sure why I was so glad that she was.
She slid the beer to her customer, and her eyes lifted, meeting mine.
Her smile spread wider, her gaze pulling me to the bar like a tractor beam, and I decided I didn’t really care why I was so glad to see her. I was just glad I was here.
“What can I get you?” she asked.
“White Water IPA.”
“Good choice,” she said, grabbing a pint glass. “Late night at work?” she asked.
“Dinner with my parents,” I answered.
Avery slid me my beer and let out a short sigh, her eyes leaving mine only to scan the bar and make sure no one needed anything. “That sounds like fun.” Her dry tone told me she knew dinner had been anything but fun. “How’s your mom?” she asked with genuine warmth in her voice.
“Mom’s good. I see she talked you into some papier-maché skeletons in the window.”
Avery tossed her dark ponytail over her shoulder and laughed.
“Those elementary school kids are pretty industrious. At least I got one of the skeletons that looks like a skeleton instead of a worm with weird legs. It’s pretty cool.
I like how they decorate the whole town.
Everybody gets in on it. It’s cute for the tourists, but it’s also.
..” She shrugged, a little smile curving the side of her mouth.
“It makes the town even more homey, you know what I mean? Like we’re all here together, celebrating the season.
I can’t wait to see what they do for Christmas. ”
“I know what you mean,” I said. My father’s proprietary attitude about the town got under my skin, but I did love the way my mother and whoever else she could rope into community service helped to keep us a community, not just a tourist destination. “I heard Finn’s been around,” I said.
Avery glanced to the side, to a closed door that led, I thought, to a small kitchen. “Yeah, we’re working on some ideas.”
“Good ideas?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and taking a sip of my beer, letting the bitter, bright hops wash over my tongue.
Avery knew her stuff when it came to beer.
My eyes skimmed the taproom—not crowded, but doing steady business.
She knew what she was doing there as well, despite the rumors her former brewmaster was spreading.
It didn’t look to me like she was in over her head.
“You two going to team up?” I asked, my mouth watering at the idea of Finn’s cooking being as accessible as Avery’s taproom.
I could always bum a meal at Heartstone Manor.
Griffen would never turn me away, but then I’d have to deal with the entire Sawyer clan, which, while they were like family, could also be a lot.
“We’re working up to it,” she said slowly.
Her eyes caught on something across the room, and she said, “One sec,” headed down to the other end of the bar, took an order, filled it, and came back I was pleased to note that while she smiled at her customer, it didn’t have the same warmth as the smile she’d given me.
Why did I care? I hadn’t quite figured that out. She was Griffen’s little sister. She’d been in the background of my life for as long as I could remember. Until the morning after the break-in, I hadn’t thought of Avery as more than that. Now I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
I wasn’t exactly sure what I planned to do about that.
Ignore it until it went away?
That was the simplest answer. Watching the curve of her lip as she smiled, walking my way, I wasn’t sure it was the most satisfying answer, or the answer I wanted.
“The town could use another restaurant,” I said when she was close enough.
“That’s what we were thinking. Nothing fancy.
Small menu. Not every day, to start. I don’t know.
We’re tossing stuff around, but I like it,” she nodded.
“I’d mentioned it before, but Matthew—” Avery cut off abruptly and shook her head at herself, clearly not wanting to talk about him further.
It gave me the opening I wasn’t sure I wanted but knew I had to take.
“You know he got a new job? At Bear Run Brewing?”
Avery shrugged one shoulder. “I guess that’s not a surprise. I was done working with him, but he’s a good brewmaster. He just—” her eyes scanned the bar again, came back to mine. “He wanted to take over, you know.”
”He’s been running his mouth,” I said, slowly.
Avery’s jaw set, and she drew in a breath slowly before letting it out, fighting, I thought, to control her temper. “What’s he saying?” she asked slowly, grudgingly, as if she didn’t want to know.
I lifted one shoulder, wishing I had news that wasn’t going to piss her off. “I only know what my mom heard. Mostly that he was the brains behind the business, and you’re in over your head.”
Avery nodded and didn’t look as upset as I’d expected.
“That’s the story he gave me when I fired him.
He’s not wrong,” she said. “And he’s also completely wrong.
I hired him as brewmaster because I needed to learn from him, and I paid attention over these last two years. If I can’t do it on my own by now?— ”
She cut off as a group of five came through the door and headed to a high-top table. One of them broke away and came to the bar. Avery moved to take her order.
I watched her talk and smile, charming and friendly, as welcoming as her taproom.
She’d created the kind of place you wanted to hang out for a while.
In one corner, she had a bookshelf with games and decks of cards.
One group had grabbed a board game and a big round table.
It looked like they’d been working their way through pints of beer as they played, laughing the whole time.
Avery carried a tray of beers to the new group and made her way back, picking up the conversation where we’d left off. “So that was it? Non-specific bragging about how great he is and how I’m incompetent without his guidance?”
“Pretty much,” I said. “At least, as far as I’ve heard.”
She let out a huff of breath and shook her head. “For now, I’m going to ignore it, no matter how much I want to shut him up. Protesting isn’t going to make me look more competent, you know? And complaining about gossip just makes me sound like a whiner.”
I didn’t like the passivity of it. I wanted her to fight back, but I knew how this would go.
I might be a man, but I wasn’t blind. Matthew was getting a pass on his gossip.
If Avery spoke up, she risked being labeled emotional or catty.
It wasn’t fair, but she was right. For now, she was better off ignoring him.
“Did you make any progress on the missing recipe?” I asked.
She shrugged a shoulder as she dried and polished pint glasses she removed from an under-counter dishwasher.
“Maybe. It’s too soon to say. We have the Halloween party at the Orchard next week.
The first and maybe last time we serve the original version of the fall brew.
I don’t know if I’m hoping it’s amazing or hoping it sucks so I don’t feel bad about losing the recipe.
” She sighed and glanced at me. “I don’t suppose there’s been any clues about who broke in? ”
I hated having to shake my head. “Not yet. I’m not giving up.”
Avery reached out and laid her palm over my hand, her fingers curling around mine to squeeze once before she slid her hand away.
“I know you won’t give up.”
“You have any luck tracking down that jewelry designer?” I asked quietly, though there was no one close enough to overhear. I wasn’t taking any chances.
She shook her head. “Not yet. Sterling’s trying to get the address.” She raised an eyebrow, and the corner of her mouth curled up. “I’m not going to say anything else about that.”
“Probably better that you don’t,” I said, my tone dry. “When it comes to Sterling and her new connections, I figure the fewer questions I ask, the better.”
Avery grinned. “I think you’re right. Who knew she had all those numbers and formulas running through her head?”
“I’m not surprised,” I said. “I always had a feeling there was something more...” I searched for a better word. “She was always so angry—angry at your father, angry, I think, at the rest of you for going on with your lives and leaving her. ”
Avery winced, and I shook my head, “Not saying you should have done anything different. You had a life to live, too. And it wasn’t easy for any of you in that house.”
“Still, we should have done better by Sterling. Maybe by Brax too,” she said, her eyes shading dark as she thought of her younger brother, dead these last few months.
The Sawyers’ grief had been a painful tangle.
Their brother was dead, shot before he could carry through with his plan to murder Sterling and Forrest. No one had wanted Brax dead, but in the moment, there hadn’t been a choice.
I didn’t have anything comforting to offer on the subject of Brax.
He’d lost any compassion I had when he tried to kill his sister.
They’d all grown up with the same nightmare of a father.
Only Brax had chosen murder. Instead, I said, “We all have our own road to go down. This was Sterling’s.
She had a messy start, but it feels like she’s hit her stride. ”
“Yeah, she has,” Avery said with a genuine smile. “I’m so proud of her. And a little afraid of what she’ll do with all of this—you know, working with Sinclair Security. What if she moves to Atlanta?”
“Atlanta isn’t that far. She’ll figure it out,” I said, taking another sip of beer.
A customer at the end of the bar caught Avery’s eye. “One sec,” she said before moving to take his order. Once that was taken care of, she grabbed an empty tray and circled the room, clearing empties and taking new orders, ringing them up on various tabs, running cards, and making change .
I could tell she loved seeing people enjoy her taproom.
I was surprised when my phone beeped with an alert, and I realized it was after 10 p.m. With an early morning in my future, I didn’t need another beer.
I should pay my tab and walk home. As I pushed my stool back, I realized I didn’t want to.
I felt good sitting in Avery’s taproom, talking about nothing and everything in the short chunks of time she had free.
She was closing soon. I could stay and walk her to her car.
“You ready to cash out?” she asked. “I’d say it’s on the house, but…” I shook my head, and Avery grinned back. “Yeah, I know, Chief West Garfield does everything by the books.”
“What time do you close?”
Her eyes flicked to her wrist. “In about half an hour, though I might stay later if these guys haven’t finished their game,” she said, lifting her chin at the group with the board game.
“They driving?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. They’re staying at the Inn. It’s only a few blocks away. I figure they’ll walk home and sleep it off. They’re my favorite kind of drinkers. Happy, never get wasted enough to be a problem, but keep buying beer.”
“The board games are a good idea,” I said, tapping my phone on the small card processor she slid my way. “You don’t usually work this late. Somebody call out?”
“Cammie,” she said. “I think the break-in spooked her. Or maybe she’s just got stuff going on, because she’s called out more than usual in the past few weeks.
Tonight being one of them. If it keeps up, I may have to figure something else out.
I’d hate to do it. She’s been with me practically since the beginning, but…
” She rolled her shoulders back and tilted her head to the side, stretching her neck.
“It’s a long day, on top of running the brewery. ”
“What time did you get here this morning?” I asked, shoving my phone back in my pocket.
“Early,” she said. “Too early. I’m sleeping in tomorrow just to make up for it.”
“Are the cameras working on the front of the building? Is somebody at Heartstone keeping an eye on you when you go out to your car?”
Avery’s mouth curled up, her eyes warm on mine. “Yes, Chief, I promise. Hawk makes me text before I leave so whoever’s on cameras can make sure they’re watching to be sure I get to my car safely.”
Good. That was good. I didn’t have to make an excuse to linger and walk her to her car. I could go home, get a good night’s sleep, to start my own early day tomorrow.
So why did I feel a pang of disappointment where there should have been relief?
“See you around,” I said. “Keep an eye out when you leave.”
“Will do. Bye, West.”
The door shut behind me, cutting off the golden light, the warmth, and the cheerful voices, leaving me alone in the cold fall air. I shoved my hands in my pockets, turning back toward town and the short walk home. My evening had ended a hell of a lot better than it started. I hadn’t expected that .
As I walked, I found myself making a plan to keep an eye out for Avery’s car at the brewery in the evenings. It wouldn’t hurt to stop in when she was working late. It would send a message to whoever had broken in that the police had their eye on the place. Just part of the job, right?
Sure.
I didn’t bother bullshitting myself any further. It wasn’t about sending a message. It was about seeing Avery. I couldn’t forget the warm clasp of her fingers around mine when she told me she knew I wouldn’t give up.
In so many ways, Avery and I were strangers.
And in the ways that mattered, Avery knew me to the bone.
I doubted she knew what kind of pizza I liked, but she knew what my job meant to me.
How much I loved this town, and the tangle of irritation and love that was my relationship with my parents.
And on top of all of that, I thought I could still feel the heat of her fingers on my skin.
She had strong, capable hands. I couldn’t stop wondering how it would feel to have them all over me.
I’d have to figure out what I was going to do about that.