Chapter 19
NINETEEN
KIRA
TWO LARGE IDIOTS
I dumped my bag on the bar, leaving my sunglasses on. Sleep had been elusive, and by dawn I’d given up and dragged my ass into work. I had plenty to do before the chef interviews. And a meeting with Beckett had me on edge.
Things were moving at the taproom, but there was still a ton to do.
Bringing Lennon on was a big load off my shoulders.
By the time she left yesterday, we had a tentative schedule for training bartenders.
A few of the new hires would work both on the floor and behind the bar.
By the end of the day we’d hashed out a salary that only made me weep a little.
She said she needed to sleep on it, but I knew she was in.
Especially when she’d found out the seasonal aspect. It gave her a lot of freedom, and I was challenging her to be more than the social media flair artist. Her intelligence had been apparent when she walked in, but I could taste the restlessness in the air around her.
I understood it and recognized it.
And more importantly I knew we’d work well together.
I took my iced coffee with me to open the back doors and walk the property as golden fingers of sun slid over the orchard. In the distance I heard Beckett’s horse. It was too early for the machines to be out in the field, but my best friend liked to ride out alone in the early part of the morning.
Why I wasn’t surprised when Storm and Beckett ended up picking their way up the path to where I stood. I waved at him and sucked down a full inch of caramel laced cold brew. I had a feeling it was going to be a two cold brews before noon kind of day.
He tipped his hat back as he took in the porch. “This place looks amazing, Key.”
The landscaping crew had come by in the late afternoon with some of the items I’d requested.
Older barrels that were too damaged to use for distilling had been repurposed into cement filled bases for railings.
Each had been bisected horizontally then filled with herbs and ornamental plants to pretty them up.
The barrels were becoming a theme and I kind of loved it.
A dozen more dotted the stone path. The cement was still curing, but eventually the posts would allow us to have the whole outdoor seating area lit up for safety. I was just waiting on the Edison style bulbs to come in.
“Thanks. It’s getting there.”
He swung his leg off his massive gelding and stepped down to the dry ground at the edge of the path of stones. They were rough on Storm’s hooves, so he dropped the reins, signaling the horse could graze along the patchy grass by the path.
His boots were already dusty, telling me he’d been up even earlier than me. A few more lines were grooved into the creases at the corners of his eyes. Harvest hadn’t even begun and he was stressing about something.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar.” I folded my arms across my chest, resting my aluminum cup on my arm. “I know you too well.”
He sighed and pulled off his wide brimmed cowboy hat, swapping it for his ancient Yankee’s cap. He strapped it to his saddle before patting Storm’s neck. Urging him into the shade. “One of the freezers is acting up. I had to get a second generator rushed in from Jersey.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Wow. That far away?”
“With all this endless heat, we aren’t the only ones overloading the grids.”
I waved him inside and went to the cooler I kept stocked with water. July was always a bitch, but the last week had been brutal. I dug out a bottle and handed it to him. “Well, you don’t have to worry about us up here. Things are moving along if you want to skip the meeting.”
“Nah. Nothing I can do until it comes in. I almost drove out to get it before Justin talked me out of it.” He cracked the seal and guzzled down three quarters of the bottle.
I grinned. “Justin? Being the voice of reason? What’s this world coming to?”
Beck gave me a squinty eyed look.
“My little brother might be a pain in the ass, but he has his moments. And thank God he’s handy. He managed to get the freezer going, but even his MacGyver ways will only hold for a while.”
I opened my mouth and he tossed the empty bottle at me. I deflected it with my arm.
“Shush. I know you told me to replace the freezers.”
I pressed my lips together against the grin.
“I know, I know.” He bent to pick up the bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin I kept beside the cooler. He glanced into the taproom as he stood. “Man, you got the tables and chairs in?”
I turned to look around from his point of view, standing beside him.
We got in all the tall tables and chairs and a few of the oversized box planters to match.
They worked well with the barrels we already had.
Seeing them in the space reminded me time was ticking away so quickly.
“The first round was delivered late yesterday. I put a few of the new hires to work helping me unpack them.”
“Did you let the delivery dudes leave before you checked them all?”
I elbowed him. “Easier to check before they suddenly lose my contact info.”
He snorted. “And that’s why you are the manager here, babe.”
Being detail oriented and always looking for problems were two of my best features as far as I was concerned. Beck was too impatient for that kind of wrangling.
“We have a few circular booths coming in to mimic the seating outside for bigger groups of people. But I really think our initial customers will be first dates and post work drink types. The weekends will be the big turnouts with concerts. Why I hired Lennon.”
“You got her?” He gave a low whistle. “I didn’t think that would be so easy.”
“Oh, it wasn’t. She hasn’t signed yet, but I know she will.”
“You are a wonder, Key.”
I rattled the ice in my cup. “Why you put me in here.”
“Singing a different tune than a few weeks ago.”
“You always know I need the push.” I bumped his shoulder. “Want to see the rest?”
“Lead on.”
I gave him a brief tour of the dining room, showing him how the side doors opened to make the space seem even larger now that there was furniture to fill the space.
We moved onto the kitchen that had been finished since the last time he’d stopped in.
I was sure he’d looked around yesterday, but it helped ease my mind to do the mental checklist while he walked through with me.
He spotted a few things I hadn’t thought of in the storage room and I made a few notes to order some local wine as a backup for those who weren’t into cider.
I’d already looked into a few local spirits, but the wine would round out our offerings.
My budget would feel the pinch, but I had to believe it would bring a good return on investment.
While we were in there, I tried not to think about me and Ronan against the wall yesterday.
I was wearing another cotton dress in deference to the heat and doing interviews today.
The swish of the cotton around my knees reminded me of his hand gripping my thigh, diving right under my dress to get his hands on me.
He was so tactile. I wasn’t used to being touched all the damn time.
“Key?”
“Huh?” I turned to Beckett’s voice.
“I asked if you want me to talk to Hayes about the batch of cider he found in the cooler. Do you want it or should I send it on to Ruby over at Lucky’s?”
“Oh.” I tucked my hands in my pockets. “Maybe send to Lucky’s. We should probably promote the new with ciders Vi—Ronan designs.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Vi?”
I sighed. “Viking. I call him Viking because he’s a damn brute.”
Beckett’s eyebrow lifted sharply. “I see. Do I need to have a talk with him?”
“What? No. I can handle myself.”
He took his hat off and scooped his curls back before fitting it back on his head. “Hmm.”
“Shut up. Not like that.” At least I wasn’t complaining about that part. “He’s just a little intense. You know his personality, since you hired him out from under me. Remember?”
He rolled his eyes. “Let’s not go back to that. Do you think he’ll be ready for August? Or should we push the opening to September?”
I shook my head. “I’ll talk to Ronan today when we do the chef interviews, but I think we’re good there.
Ian will also be a big draw. We want to capitalize on it.
And he and his band know how to work a room.
I’ve already been thinking about utilizing both Lennon and Ian to make it an even bigger event. If he’s amenable anyway.”
“I’ll check with Aunt Laverne. She has a way with him.”
“Good idea.”
“Mind if I take a look at the barn? See what this Viking’s been up to?”
Regrets, I had many. And he’d never let me live this one down. “Sure. I have a key.”
“Of course you do.”
“Shut up.”
I set my empty coffee cup on the bar and we both grabbed another bottle of water on our way out to the workshop.
“Viking, huh? Does that mean we have to use big chalices for the opening day?”
“You’re a menace.”
“I wouldn’t mind a big horned one.” He mimed hanging onto his bottle and a phantom one in the same size with his other hand. “Tankard of ale?”
“Are you trying to live out a Game of Thrones thing?”
“No, I’m definitely going with the Viking thing.”
I rolled my eyes with a laugh as I lifted the key to the lock, but the door was already cracked open. “Shit,” I muttered and was about to step back when I heard the music.
I hadn’t seen Ronan’s truck when I pulled in, but maybe he snuck in while I was talking to Beck. I would have thought he’d come out to talk to our boss, for God’s sake.
Hauling the door open was a lesson in brute strength. Beckett wedged his hand into the crack above my head and added his muscle into it. The unholy screech of the roller on the rusty track elicited a moan from inside.
“Go the fuck away!” Came a bellow I didn’t recognize.