Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Preston
Igot to Peaks & Brews first.
My brother wasn’t behind the bar, the way he normally was, but his assistant manager, Jeff, gestured with his head toward the backroom, so I made my way through to where the scent of hops was thick and the large tanks of what was going to be delicious beer cooked.
“Hey, brother,” I called when I saw Ethan. He was looking at dials on one of the tanks. “I hope that’s a new summer brew.”
“You’re going to like this one.” He grinned. “That’s exactly what it is. A raspberry sour. Perfect for you mountain biker types.”
I laughed, but he wasn’t wrong. I knew at least a half dozen riders who would love a fresh new sour for the summer.
“What are you doing here?” Ethan scribbled something else in his notepad before tucking it in his backpack and bending down to say hello to Summit. “I thought you had a committee meeting today.”
“We did. A trail hike.”
“Oh?” Ethan looked up from where he had the puppy on his back and was rubbing his belly. “How’d that go?”
My thoughts flashed back to having Jess pressed up against me in the dirt when I saved her from the mud. “Better than expected.” There was no point mentioning that particular detail. “We’re actually moving the meeting here for a debrief. Tilley thought beers would be a good idea.”
“Beers are always a good idea.” He straightened up and dusted his hands. “Go find a table. I’ll bring you a few jugs on the house.”
“I’m not going to turn that down.” I grinned. “Come on, Summit.”
“It’s a good thing you’re my brother.” He shook his head. “Pretty sure I’m breaking a million health codes with that pup in here.”
“Nah.” I waved a hand. “You don’t serve food. We’ll just pretend he’s a throw rug.” I winked at him and left before he could say anything more.
I grabbed us a big booth at the back of the brewery, and Summit immediately curled up under the table at my feet, finally worn out from the hike. His head rested on my boot, and he quickly fell asleep.
Jess walked in just as Ethan set the jug and a stack of glasses on the table. I watched her scan the room, and the moment her eyes met mine, there was a ghost of a smile. But when she realized I was alone, it slipped away.
For a moment, I thought she might turn around and walk out, but to my surprise, she made her way across the room and slid into the booth opposite me.
I was already pouring when she sat down. “Hope whatever this is is okay.” I handed her a glass. “Ethan brought it over.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great.” She took the glass with a nod of thanks.
“You’re probably not much of a beer drinker.” I had Jess pegged as more of a martini girl. Or just a glass of chardonnay. But I had to admit, she looked good with a pint glass in her hand.
“What makes you say that?” She lifted her beer in a little toast before taking a big sip.
“I’ve tried most of Ethan’s brews.” She set her glass down.
“In fact, his lager and wheat beers are my favorite, but I don’t mind an IPA from time to time if it’s not too hoppy.
” She smirked at me. “Even if it is mostly hipsters and backcountry mountain bikers who fancy themselves the IPA connoisseurs.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed.
“Am I wrong?” she pushed.
“No.” I wiped my lips and shook my head. “And guilty as charged. I do enjoy an IPA after a day on the trails.”
Satisfied with her assessment, Jess nodded, the smile still on her face. “Speaking of trails. Looks like he finally crashed, huh?” She glanced down at the softly snoring puppy.
“He earned it,” I said. “Longest hike of his life.”
For a moment, it felt almost normal sitting there with Jess. Just two people enjoying a pleasant beer.
Then my phone buzzed. Across the table, Jess reached for her phone at the same time.
Committee Group Chat
Chase:
Sorry. Annie needs me. Next time.
I looked up and met Jess’s eyes as we read the group text at the same time. Before either of us could say anything, both phones buzzed again.
Becky:
Rain check for me tonight. I’m exhausted.
“Becky’s out, too,” Jess said unnecessarily.
We exchanged a glance, both of us no doubt concerned about Tilley getting us alone to suck us into countless festival committees. It was bad enough that she had my brother Grayson on the hook for almost every physical labor job she could think of.
“You think that—”
The phones buzzed a final time.
I read out Tilley’s text message to the group. “I’m out, too. I got a scoop on some hot gos.”
“Gos?” Jess raised a brow.
I tucked my phone away. “Guess it’s just the two of us.”
Ethan appeared then, looking between Jess and me. “I thought you said this was a committee meeting?”
I saw the flash in his eyes and moved quickly to shut it down. “It was supposed to be.”
I wouldn’t have been surprised if Jess bailed right then and there, but she lifted her glass and took another deep drink as she settled back into the booth, her eyes shut against the world for a moment.
It was the first time I’d seen her relax, and something told me she could use a moment to properly relax.
My brother’s mouth twitched like he was holding back a comment. Instead, he just gave me a look that said, be nice.
“Just holler if you need anything else.”
As he walked away, I shifted my boot a little so Summit wouldn’t get stepped on.
There was no reason for this to be awkward, I decided. No reason for Jess and me to keep acting like we were kids with something to prove. We were going to be stuck working together for weeks.
Maybe it was time to stop being enemies.
I exhaled slowly. “So, today went better than I thought it would.”
She sat up and looked at me. “Were you expecting the worst?” I shrugged, and she laughed. “Me too.”
I took another sip of my beer, letting the silence stretch just long enough to feel intentional instead of awkward.
“So, how long’s it been since you’ve been out on the trails?”
She didn’t have to think about it for long. “Honestly?” She shook her head. “It’s been a lot longer than I want to admit.”
“That bad, huh?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know you probably think I’m a city girl who needs to get her hands dirty, but I used to hike all the time. I just…well, somewhere along the line, things got busy.”
“Life.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Something like that.”
The smile dipped off her face for a moment, and at once, I wanted it back.
Summit shifted at my feet, letting out a sleepy hum.
Jess glanced down again, the smile returning to her face. “He did better than I did.”
“He has four legs.” I chuckled. “And no fear.”
She traced the rim of her glass with her finger. “I’m glad he ended up with you.”
The unexpected comment surprised me.
“Me too,” I said.
We lapsed into silence, but for the first time, it didn’t feel like something that needed filling.
Maybe Ethan was right. Even if he hadn’t come right out and said it.
Maybe we didn’t need to be adversaries anymore? Maybe we might even be able to bridge the gap between us?
And maybe, talking like this over a few beers was a pretty good place to start.
Jess
I pushed my glass away slightly, then looked up at Preston. “That residential access point that we were talking about earlier. Do you have a better idea on how to handle it?”
“Yeah.” He blinked, like he hadn’t expected the question. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
I appreciated that he wasn’t smug or an asshole about it.
He leaned forward a little and grabbed a napkin and a pen to start sketching out his plan.
In only a few minutes, he had a rough drawing showing me exactly where the foot traffic could be diverted, a reasonable spot for a parking lot, and spots where signage would actually help instead of being a distraction or making things worse.
It was remarkably simple, which was likely exactly why our overpaid designers and engineers hadn’t thought of it.
I found myself nodding along. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”
“You sound surprised.” His lip quirked up in a sly smile.
“I’m not,” I said honestly. “I should have known you’d have the perfect solution for this.”
“Paper plans and drawings don’t always translate into real life,” he said. “Especially out here.”
I couldn’t disagree with that. But instead of saying so, I reached for the jug and topped up our glasses. Despite every reason I had not to, I was enjoying my time with Preston.
It had been a long time since I’d gone out for beers and just…relaxed. And even longer since conversation had flowed so easily. The fact that it was with Preston of all people was a surprise. But I wasn’t going to question it.
The more we talked, the easier it got.
We were almost finished with our second glass when I leaned forward. “Thank you for today.”
He sat back in surprise. “The mud?”
“Yes. And no.” I nodded and shook my head at the same time. “For all of it.” I swallowed. “I know you hate—”
“I don’t hate you, Jess.”
“Oh.” I blinked hard. “I don’t think… Well, I wasn’t going to…I’m glad you don’t hate me,” I fumbled over my words. “But you do hate the development proposal.”
He nodded.
I stared at my glass for a second before the next thought slipped out. “It’s all Trevor’s idea. The development, I mean,” I added quickly. “It’s mostly his vision.”
Preston stilled. It was slight, but enough that I noticed.
“I mean,” I rushed on, “I’m involved, too, of course.”
“You invested in it, right?”
Of course he knew. It was a small town, where everyone knew everything. Besides, it’s not like it was a secret.
“I did,” I admitted. “I had some savings, and my parents helped me cover the difference. It felt like…” I let my thoughts drift off.
I didn’t owe him an explanation about why I’d chosen to invest everything I had into Timberstone.
And I definitely didn’t need to tell him my parents hadn’t just helped me cover the difference. It was more than that. A lot more.
I swallowed hard. Putting my savings on the line was one thing, but my parents’ entire retirement fund?
Well, that was another thing altogether.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous.
But Trevor had convinced me it was a solid risk and would easily double our investment.
That kind of money could give my hardworking parents the kind of retirement they deserved.
“You must be pretty confident in the project then.”
I nodded. “I am.” I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt, because the truth was I was starting to have questions.
Not that I was going to admit that to Preston.
“But I still think it’s important to have due process,” I added quickly.
“This committee is a good idea. The urgency to get everything pushed through…that’s all Trevor. It’s just the kind of guy he is.”
I waited a beat before I continued, almost as if once I’d started talking, I couldn’t seem to stop.
“He’s like a freight train that’s picking up steam.
” I glanced down at the ring on my left hand before I could stop myself.
“Once he gets an idea in his head… Well, I mean, he’s like that with everything.
” I blew out a breath and shook off the doubt that continued to creep over me every time I thought about the wedding.
I closed my hand and tucked it out of sight under the table.
I waited for Preston to jump in with some smart-ass comment. To say, I knew it.
He didn’t.
Instead, he said, “That sounds heavy.”
It was such an unexpected and simple response that it nearly undid me.
“I haven’t said any of that out loud before,” I admitted.
“But it is heavy. And it’s starting to feel like a weight that might crush me if I’m not careful.
” So much for not telling him anything. I couldn’t look at him as the words spilled out of me.
“It’s just that everything is tied together now.
The projects, the wedding…the whole business.
Sometimes it feels like if I pull the pin on one thing, all of it will fall apart, and it will be my fault. But I don’t know how I feel anymore.”
Preston studied me for a moment, then said carefully, “Can I say something? You don’t have to agree.”
I nodded.
“If you already feel this way…like you have doubts about…well, any of it…maybe it’s worth slowing down. On all of it.”
I let out a quiet breath and let his words wash over me. “I don’t know if I know how to do that.”
“I don’t either,” he said with an easy chuckle. “But one thing I’ve learned from my brothers is that pretending everything is fine doesn’t usually help.”
“You’re not wrong.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little, the tension easing from my shoulders.
I reached for my beer, as the realization came a little too late. I was talking to Preston Lyons, of all people, about my life. And the strangest part of that was that it wasn’t strange.
It felt good.
Really good.
“Thanks,” I said finally. “For listening. I don’t really know why I told you all of that.”
His eyes softened. “Maybe you just needed to get it out.”
I nodded. I definitely needed to get it out.
“Anytime you want to talk, Dots.” He winked.
It was an obnoxious nickname, but I was also starting to kind of like it. Another thing I wasn’t going to admit anytime soon.
When we stood to leave, Summit stretched and stood, bumping his head gently against my leg, following Preston like a shadow.
At the door, I hesitated, then stepped forward to give Preston a quick, spontaneous hug.
He froze for half a second before returning it, just as briefly.
I walked across the plaza, feeling lighter than I had all day.
I’d said far more than I’d meant to, and at the same time, exactly what I needed to.