Chapter 4 #3
Gretchen flinched, covering her face and whimpering in fear, the need to protect herself so instinctual that she didn’t even consider her actions.
Theo stopped short, quickly pulling his hand back. “I’m so sorry!” he apologized. “I was swatting away a bee. I was afraid it might sting you.”
She struggled to understand what he was saying because her heart was pounding so hard, and blood rushed through her ears, deafening her. It took her too long to recover, to figure out how to cover for her response.
“I’m afraid of bees.” It was a lame attempt at playing off what had happened.
Theo frowned, and she got the sense he didn’t believe her. Why would he? She’d massively overreacted.
“I really am sorry,” he murmured. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Gretchen wondered how long it would take her to find another job, and if she should start looking now, because she was fucking this up royally, acting like a timid mouse afraid of her own shadow. “I’m fine.”
Mercifully, Theo moved on, putting them back on track.
“Obviously, this is the brewery. It’s quiet now, since it’s still the middle of the workday, but come quitting time, we’ll probably have close to thirty people sitting around, enjoying happy hour.
The weekends are our prime time, same for the winery.
We schedule local musicians to entertain on those days.
That’ll be part of your job. I’ll give you a list of performers and their contact information next week. ”
“Okay.”
Theo gestured to the parking lot. “It’s not uncommon for our lots to be completely filled on Saturdays and Sundays in the fall and the spring, when the weather is milder.”
Theo led her inside, then to a table on the wide deck that ran the length of the brewery and provided that same incredible view of the valley. Mercifully, he chose a table in the shade, so it was somewhat cooler even though they were still outside.
“This is beautiful. I can see why it’s such a popular place,” she mused, looking around.
There were quite a few tables around them as well as inside.
Below the deck, on the hillside, were several different sitting areas outfitted with Adirondacks, facing the valley.
There was a large firepit off to one side, surrounded by hewn logs that served as bench seats.
There was a long bar inside and one outside, both with small lines of people waiting to be served.
Even for an off hour, the brewery was doing decent business.
Theo handed her a pad consisting of half-sheets of paper. “This is our current beer list. If you want to try a flight, you tick the boxes of the ones you want. If you want a pint, you check here,” he said, pointing to the sheet.
“I think I’d like to try a flight,” she said. “So that I’m familiar with your offerings.”
“I’ll do one too.” Theo talked to her about each of the beers on the list, giving her an idea of whether they were dark or light, bitter or sour. He spoke about the alcohol content, warning her against the higher percentages, since she admitted she didn’t drink much.
Once they made their selections, Theo handed their slips of paper to the waitress, who stood by their table for a few minutes to talk to them.
Well, to talk to Theo.
The woman was flirting, but Theo either didn’t notice or was ignoring it. When she left to fill their orders, he leaned back in his chair comfortably. “I’m afraid I’ve been monopolizing the conversation.”
“Oh, I like learning about the farm and businesses,” she interjected hastily, aware she needed to cut him off at the pass. “So Nora has the same job as you, except she runs the winery?”
Theo nodded, even though they’d explained that in detail during her interview. How she would work closely with both of them to plan events, sometimes for the winery, sometimes for the brewery, and sometimes for both.
“She does. Is it too hot out here?” Theo asked, when she tried and failed to surreptitiously wipe away a bead of sweat that rolled down the side of her face.
“No. No. It’s much better in the shade. The beer will cool me off.” Nothing short of stripping down to her undies and jumping into a frigid lake would cool her down at this point, but it wasn’t as if that was an option.
The server returned with their flights, so she had a moment to pretend to listen to her explain which beer was which, while figuring what tidbit about her past to share, in case Theo persisted.
Her anxiety was wasted, because Theo went a different route—a worse one—when he asked their waitress to grab a medium T-shirt from the gift shop for Gretchen. “You look like you’re about to spontaneously combust,” he said, when they were alone again. “The T-shirt will be much cooler.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to take something that’s for sale.”
Theo waved away her concern. “We have a huge stock of shirts. We won’t miss one, and I’m worried about you overheating.”
“Really, I—” Before she could come up with any plausible excuse for rejecting his kind offer, considering she was sweating her ass off, the waitress returned with a navy-blue Rain or Shine T-shirt. “Thank you,” Gretchen said, because she had no choice but to take it.
“Restrooms are right by the front door.” Theo pointed in the direction they’d entered.
Gretchen grabbed her purse and the shirt. She was never without concealer, so she would simply have to cover her bruises and hope it would be good enough.
In the restroom, she ran the cold water, wetting a paper towel that she used to scrub over her face and along the back of her neck.
Stepping into one of the stalls, she switched from her sweater to the T-shirt, instantly feeling twenty degrees cooler.
Returning to the sink, she studied her neck in the mirror, then grabbed her concealer.
Years of covering the evidence had made her an expert when it came to makeup.
Once she felt the bruises were hidden well enough, she pulled her hair out of the ponytail and ran her fingers through it, drawing most of it over her shoulders as a second layer of concealment.
Praying she’d done enough, she stepped out of the restroom.
She felt Theo’s gaze on her as she crossed the large open space. One look at his face and she realized this attraction she felt wasn’t one-sided, something that thrilled and terrified her in equal parts.
Gretchen had fallen out of love with Briggs by degrees over the years, though it was safe to say that during the past couple, her feelings for him had turned to nothing more than hatred and fear.
Every drop of affection she’d felt for the man who’d been her first love had been expelled in the tears of pain she’d cried due to his abuse.
Loneliness had been her constant companion for too long, so it was no wonder Theo, with his easy smiles and laughter, had captured her attention.
Gretchen had come to Gracemont for a fresh start.
In her mind, that meant a job, a safe place to live, and independence.
Sure, at some point, she wanted to date again, but sweet Jesus…
even if she was ready, which she wasn’t, Theo was the wrong man, full stop.
He was her boss, for God’s sake, and she needed this job.
Once she returned to the table, Theo gave her a friendly smile. “Feel better?”
She nodded. “Much cooler. Thanks so much.”
Resuming her seat, she picked up the first beer. Theo followed suit, tapping his small glass against hers.
“To the beginning of a new adventure,” he said as a toast.
“Oh,” she said, after taking a sip, “that’s good.” Gretchen hadn’t lied about not being much of a drinker. Briggs never let her indulge, probably because he suspected it would dull the pain, and he certainly couldn’t let that happen.
“Glad you like it.”
“I can’t even imagine what it must take to make your own beer from scratch.”
Gretchen had landed on the perfect opening, because Theo was clearly a fan of not only his job and his brewery but his brothers’ “mad skills,” as he called them, when it came to brewing beer.
He walked her through the process, and because she was genuinely interested—as well as determined to steer them away from personal topics—he patiently answered all her questions.
Before she knew it, two hours had passed in quiet comfort. She had the tiniest of buzzes from the beer, which felt nice. Her shoulders weren’t tight and the pressure on her chest that never seemed to lift completely was actually gone, something she hadn’t thought possible before Theo and Edith.
“Well,” she said at last. “I should head back to Edith’s.
” If she didn’t start the two-hour return trip now, she would miss dinner.
She’d been smart, however, drinking water between each glass of beer.
She also ordered a bottle of water after they finished their tasting, claiming she was thirsty.
She hadn’t opened it, intent on hydrating on the way down the mountain.
Theo rose and started to follow her to the exit. Her mind whirled over how to ditch him inside the brewery, because if he walked her to the parking lot, it was going to become obvious she didn’t have a car.
“Oh,” she said, as they passed the restrooms. “I think I’ll say goodbye here.” She tilted her head toward the women’s room. “Thanks so much for such a nice afternoon. I’ll see you Monday.”
Theo smiled and said goodbye, and she walked into the restroom, stalling until she felt confident that he was probably long gone.
Gretchen grimaced when she stepped out—because Theo was right where she’d left him, next to the exit, chatting with a server who appeared to be asking for time off.
She hoped the conversation would continue as she feigned an easy, breezy wave and stepped outside.
She was almost to the edge of the parking lot, well beyond all the cars, when she heard Theo calling her name.
“Hey, Gretchen.”