Chapter 22 #2
“You’re good for her. I’ve known Kira a long time. She might be pissed at you, but it’s only because this matters so much.” Her voice lowered. “And because you get under her skin. No one has in a long time.”
I wasn’t sure what to say there. Kira didn’t really want people to know there was an us. I could see where she was coming from, even if it grated on me. And seeing how close she was with Beckett, with the natural intimacy between them—all of it left me unsettled.
Mostly because I wanted that with her.
It pissed me off that I didn’t have it, because I damn well had to earn it.
And the only way I’d be able to do that was to keep showing up.
“Because you’re one of her friends, I’ll tell you—she gets under mine too. See ya tomorrow.”
Annette leaned on the pole used for drawing down the doors. “Never boring in here, that’s for sure. See you tomorrow.”
My feet felt like cement bricks as I trudged through to the front doors. I said a small prayer when I saw my truck parked in the lot. Kain must have dropped it off since my truck bed was empty except for a bunch of loose tie downs.
I climbed into the cab and found my keys under the mat. “Just like old times.” I turned the truck over and backed out of the parking lot. The orchard was quiet in the waning sun.
Staffing was light in the months just before harvest. Most of the activity included taking soil samples and testing the apples to make sure they were doing what they were supposed to do.
Right now the canopy of trees were bursting with apples in varying stages of green, yellow, and red.
My untrained eye knew jack shit about it, but I did know that the cold storage bins were my favorite place to visit.
The more I researched, the more I learned about the lifespan of the trees and the fruit after it was picked. It was so much different than brewing beer, and far more interesting in my opinion. I needed to remember that I was here for a job. One that I’d been dreaming about without even knowing it.
One that could become so much more if I’d just get my head on straight about this opening. And about Kira.
The fun part had to take a back seat right now, much as it killed me.
Everything required nurturing—from my cider right down to my future with Kira. And just like the apples growing over my head, I couldn’t make them move along faster.
I had to wait. And dammit, did I suck at waiting.
I stopped in at the café in the shopping section of the orchard.
The gift shop, café, and bakery were the main hub for foot traffic.
There was also a shop attached to the lodge that was designed for specialty foods ready for shipping or pick up.
Seasonal pies, jarred foods, and catering-sized orders made up the bulk of that business.
The Ronsons and the Mannings were no joke when it came to making the apples work for them on every level. I was going to stop for some food, but wedding season was in full swing in this part of the orchard.
A gaggle—I really didn’t know of a better word for it—of women clogged up the front of the bakery. It was a pastel explosion of female energy. Women in every size, shape, and color were in attendance. There was also a whole lot of alcohol being passed around.
I kept driving. I definitely didn’t have the mental fortitude for what looked like a bachelorette situation.
Instead, I stopped at a fast food drive thru in Turnbull before heading to my place.
Kain’s motorcycle was missing. I glanced at my dash clock.
I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that he was still out with our new social media maven.
Or he found someone else to entertain him.
I checked my phone, but no messages from anyone other than my mother.
I shot her a reply that I’d give her a call tomorrow. It had been awhile since I’d checked in and it was too soon for her to have gotten my gifts in the mail.
I parked and grabbed my sack of food, then dragged my way up the steps to my porch. I didn’t even have the energy to go inside, so I dropped into my chair and fueled up. I barely tasted the burger and fries, but it filled the hole.
As I finished my Coke, the rumble of a motorcycle dented the silence of the night.
I kicked off my boots and stretched my legs out to wait for my friend to pull in.
Sure, it could have been another bike. It was a fine summer night for a ride, but the distinctive purr of his vintage Harley was unmistakable.
He downshifted and slowed instead of kicking up dust like yesterday. He wore jeans, a Metallica T-shirt, and his huge boots. No one would be able to tell he was worth a few billion. Probably more than that since he’d inherited his father’s fortune as well.
I set my cup down beside my chair. “How’d it go with Jessica?”
“She’s pretty brilliant. Good choice. I’d snap her up for one of my restaurants in Monterey if I didn’t love you.”
I laced my fingers behind my head. “You own restaurants too?”
He shrugged then dropped into the chair beside me. “I do some angel investing sometimes. I like to be a pain in the ass when I’m in the mood to crunch numbers, but generally leave it to the owners. They usually just need some restructuring and cash flow before they’re back on their feet.”
“Does that mean you’ll do the same here? Just move on when you’re bored?”
Kain sighed. “Yeah, my impulse control got a little out of hand today.”
“Ya think?”
“I like the taproom. Has a good energy. New beginnings all around.”
“Don’t start with the energy thing again.” I let my hands drop to the arms of my chair. Kain had been known to abandon a project when the vibe was off on more than one occasion. When we were young, it didn’t make much of a difference to me. Now? It was my life.
“I’m serious. I was too drunk to really feel it last night.
I do like your workspace though. Analog was a good word, brah.
Exactly how it felt. But in the best way.
Like going back to basics.” He flipped the top of the cooler open and grunted when there was no magic cider to be found.
He stood up and went in through the sliding door.
“The taproom has a different feel though,” he called from the open door.
“Good or bad?”
“Very good. Why do you think I want to work there?” Kain came back in with two tall cans of beer that he must have picked up the first time he came back to my place.
My fridge definitely didn’t have cans that size in it.
He handed me one and sat back down. “I picked up some food with your truck earlier. You live like a bachelor.”
“I’ve been spending most of my time at the workshop and eating takeout.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll get real food from me. At least until you disappear back into Hina’s bed.” He waggled his brows. “If she lets you back in. She’s pissed at you.”
“Thanks to you, pal.” I frowned. “How do you know we’re sleeping together? And she got a nickname already?”
He cracked the can. “Evidently you and Shane pick women that are big personalities. Where ānela is tiny and ethereal like an angel, yours is a fucking goddess. The kind of woman you want to get a hold of and don’t let go.” He got a wistful look on his face. “I met a woman like that once.”
My eyebrows lowered as I stared at him.
Kain threw his head back with a laugh. “Don’t worry.”
“I don’t need to. She’s mine.”
“Then why do you get so growly about your boss? I like him by the way. He has a steady and true way about him. Like he’s part of the land.”
And that was a big compliment from Kain. He may have been quick to escape Hawaii when he was looking to make his own name, but he was serious about legacy and his attachment to the land and the ocean. One of the reasons we spent so much time in the Pacific when we were young and dumb.
He’d returned to Hawaii to connect with his family, even if he couldn’t see eye-to-eye with his father most of the time. Both of them were far too stubborn.
“Yeah, I like Beckett. I did follow him here practically sight unseen.”
“See. Look at you following your instincts. I’m so proud.” He took a long swallow.
“Ass.”
His chuckle eased some of my annoyance.
“If you like him, why do you act like you’re going to chew his arm off?”
I opened my own beer and took a drink before I answered, then held the can up to my forehead. “I don’t know, man. She fucks with my head.”
“You do know men and women can be friends, right?”
I grunted. Yeah, I knew it logically.
“My sister married her best friend.”
Kain rolled his eyes. “It happens, Boa. Maeve and Brian were dancing around each other since they were freaking teenagers.”
“Yeah, well, that’s how long Beckett and Kira have known one another.”
“All right, you got me there.” He gave me a big sigh. “You don’t think you can trust her?” He shook his head. “She’s not Darcy.”
I tried to roll off the tightness across my shoulders. My ex-girlfriend hadn’t been topmost of my mind, but now it made sense why I got itchy about Kira and Beckett. “No, she’s not.” I took a long swallow from the beer.
“You and Darcy were long over before she started with that bullshit and you know it. You were just being stubborn about pulling the plug on the relationship.”
I set the can on the arm of the chair and rotated it slowly. “At the time, I thought it was a gut shot.”
“And now?”
“Now, I know it wasn’t even close to how I feel about Sunshine.” I lifted it for another sip to wet my parched throat. “But Darcy was in denial about how she felt about Jim. A piece of me wonders if Kira is the same with Beckett.”
Beckett was damn protective of her.
“I didn’t know Darcy that well, but you never looked at her like you look at Kira. And vice versa. Hina wouldn’t have gotten so mad at you today if she didn’t have feelings messing her up.”
A few of the bands across my back eased. “Yeah. Hindsight and all that bullshit.”
Kain rested his beer on his belly. “So, are you saying it’s more than just banging?”
“Who says we’re sleeping together?”
Kain gave me a bland stare. “Then why the hell are you getting ahead of yourself? You might find out she snores and want to toss her out the window.”
“She doesn’t.”
His scarred eyebrow rose. “Yeah, I knew you were sleeping together.”
“Once.”
“And you’ve got the hearts and flowers action going on? Ah, hell. Maybe you are in trouble.”
“Worse. I see babies, man.” I saw my future and it should scare me way more than it did. It was just a certainty in my chest as much as in my head.
Both of his eyebrows shot up. “Really? How the hell do you know that so soon?”
“I just know it.” I set the can back on the arm of the chair. “Like catching a wave.”
He grinned. “I bet you ride that wave. She’s got curves for days, my friend.”
“Watch it. That’s my future wife you’re talking about.”
He took a long pull from his can. “Man, I’ll never fall that hard. If she figures that out, she’ll have you sprinting down the aisle.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure she’s the one who’ll have to catch up.”
“Be careful. Right now it’s your lust brain talking.”
“I know what I know.”
He shook his head and took a longer sip. “Gonna be an interesting summer.”
I had a feeling he was right.