Chapter 6
Phoenix
Sleep eluded me last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her.
Elyna. Not the girl I remembered from high school, the sharp-tongued and reckless girl, but the woman she had become.
Someone who was clearly struggling but responsible.
A woman who would do anything for her son.
She showed up to the brewery tired but determined.
I woke up hard and aching in the morning, my sheets twisted around me like I’d been wrestling with myself all night.
By the time I stumbled into the shower, I was hard as a rock.
The water beat down hot as steam curled thick around me.
I braced one hand against the tile, shut my eyes, and gave in.
Gave in to the images I swore I wouldn’t let myself conjure.
Elyna with her hair down, wet and clinging to her shoulders.
Elyna tilting her head back with a soft gasp when I touched her.
Elyna pressed against the wall, breathless, her gray eyes locked on mine while I drove into her.
My fist worked over my cock, fast and furious, because I hated how much I needed it.
Hated I was back to being that teenage boy, jerking off to thoughts of the girl who used to torment me.
Only now it wasn’t some foolish crush, it was worse.
She was a changed woman. I noticed how she grew into this fierce, resilient woman who dragged herself out of bed early, every damn morning, just to earn enough to keep her baby fed.
I came with her name choking in my throat and my body shaking.
I wanted to punch the wall after. Disgust burned through me as much as relief.
I wasn’t supposed to want her like this. Not now. Not when she deserved respect.
I pressed my forehead to the tile, panting and cursing under my breath.
I promised myself years ago I would never degrade back to the pathetic teenage boy who couldn’t stop thinking about Elyna Chabot.
But here I was a twenty-eight-year-old man unraveling every time she walked into a room.
And the worst part? She didn’t even see me.
I scrubbed soap over my skin, trying to wash away more than just sweat. By the time I pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a black Henley, I still felt restless and wound too tight. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.
The walk to the brewery was short. I ran into my brother Eric, like I did most mornings. He ran the orchard and bakery, and that meant he was awake before sunrise every damn day.
“Mornin’, bro,” he said, nodding as he passed me.
“Mornin’.”
He laughed at that, which was weird because I hadn’t said anything remotely funny.
“Why do you seem extra grumpy today?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I muttered.
He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, fine. You going to stop in at Dad’s later for dinner? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
Eric lived with Dad, Becket, and Asher at the main house, and every once in a while he cooked dinner for all of us since he liked to herd us together.
“Maybe,” I said.
“Good. I heard Elyna’s working for you now. Thought I’d invite her too.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut. Last thing I needed, after the night I’d had, was to sit across the table from Elyna and her baby in some cozy family dinner.
“I forgot I’ve got some orders to put through tonight,” I said quickly.
Eric’s mouth tugged at one corner, like he knew exactly what I was doing. “Ah. Playing that angle.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Come on, Phoenix, you’ve had some love-hate relationship with her ever since you two hit middle school.” He sighed.
“There was no love involved,” I assured my brother.
Eric watched me like I frustrated him. “Well, it’s nice you’ve given her a job.”
I nodded. It was the least I could do. What I really worried about was the fact she was living with her piece of shit father.
“I better get to work. I’m running a little late,” I said to my brother.
“Have a good day,” Eric said. He was a happy-go-lucky guy. Always had been.
“You too,” I said, and I made my way into the parking lot of the brewery past the patio and through the front door. Dominic was already here setting things up. Cooper came through the kitchen door carrying a cardboard box filled with condiments for the tables.
I bid them both good morning and slipped through the back kitchen door into the warehouse where I made beer, my beer house, I called it.
The air back here was thick with yeast and steam, the heartbeat of the whole operation.
I had a crew of solid men working the tanks, but I liked to keep my hands in every stage.
I found Tim, my foreman, and we made the usual rounds.
I checked the brew kettles and whirlpool tanks, made sure the malt-to-wort conversion was running smooth, then moved on to the fermentation and bright tanks.
Everything hummed like it should. Tim and I went over the specs on a new malt I’d been considering, then I left him to it and headed back toward the restaurant to make sure the staff was filtering in on time.
That’s when the front door swung open and Elyna walked in, her baby balanced on her hip.
I stopped dead.
“Good morning,” I said, my voice rougher than I intended.
My eyes flicked to Braden, his small hand tangled in his mom’s hair.
I wasn’t used to babies. The only ones I ever saw were on weekends when families poured onto the Maple Valley property to pick apples, walk the trails, stuffing their faces with pie before piling into my restaurant for burgers and beer.
“Don’t worry, I plan on working,” Elyna assured. “Angela wanted to meet me here. She’s taking Braden through the corn maze this morning.”
Guilt burned low in my chest. I’d told her flat-out not to screw this job up, like she was still that reckless teenager I remembered. I hadn’t stopped to consider that she’d grown, she wasn’t the same girl anymore.
“I’m not worried, Elyna.” And I wasn’t. Not when I looked at her like this.
Her blond hair spilled in soft waves over her shoulders, and Braden’s tiny fingers played with it absently, tugging, twirling. I found myself wondering what it felt like, how it would slide through my fingers.
She wasn’t in uniform yet. Just a white tank top and a pair of worn jeans that hugged her every curve.
My gaze lingered too long, my body reacting before my brain could slam on the brakes.
I forced myself to look away, to focus, to act like her boss instead of some starved man who couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
“Phoenix!” Angela’s voice carried across the dining room, bright and easy like it always was. She breezed in with her purse slung over her shoulder, smiling as soon as she spotted Elyna and the baby.
“There’s my little man,” she cooed, reaching out for Braden.
Angela smiled at Dominic and he returned that smile with a loving grin.
They shared three grown children and seemed to still be in love.
It was something I didn’t understand. Growing up, I thought my parents had been in love.
They didn’t fight. Dad was a cop. Mom took care of us kids.
Everything felt so normal, until we got the devastating news that Maggie Chabot had been killed in a car accident.
After that, life as we knew it changed. Mom was devastated but we all thought she would pull through.
She and Maggie had been more like sisters than best friends.
But within days Mom withdrew into herself, and after the funeral she took off and never looked back.
As a teenager, I had felt abandoned by the one person who I never believed would abandon me.
That feeling laid the groundwork for my twenties.
I was up for a good tumble in the sheets, but I didn’t believe in love.
I didn’t trust someone would stick around long enough.
I had my father, my three brothers, and my sister to depend on.
I didn’t need more than that. Besides, my business was very lucrative and kept me busy all the time.
Elyna shifted Braden and passed him into Angela’s arms, her hands lingering as if to make sure he was secure before letting go. I caught that hesitation, the quiet protective instinct that said more than words ever could.
“Say hi to Auntie Angela,” Elyna murmured, brushing her son’s cheek with her thumb. I should’ve walked away. This interaction was none of my business, but I couldn’t manage to pull myself away. Watching Elyna as a mother was just too intriguing.
The baby giggled. Angela laughed as she bounced Braden against her hip.
“You two are going to have the best morning,” Elyna said to her son. I sensed how hard it was for her to part from him and felt a soft squeeze inside my chest.
“Don’t worry, mama bear. We’ll stick to the maze and then I can take him home for a morning nap.”
Elyna smiled and I saw the tension slide off her shoulders.
I continued to stand here like an idiot, watching her. Watching the way her eyes stayed on Braden until Angela carried him out the door, the way her fingers twitched against her thigh like she already missed the weight of him in her arms.
She wasn’t the girl I remembered. And something about that hit me harder than the tank room heat ever could.
I dragged a hand down my face, irritated with myself.
This wasn’t who I was anymore. I wasn’t the kind of guy who pined for a girl.
Yet, I found myself completely enamored with Elyna, and it wasn’t just her mothering skills.
It was her beauty, her sexy body, the emotion that rolled off her in spades.
I was screwed. That’s one thing I knew for sure, because something was shifting inside me.