Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Rachel walked into Broken Hearts Brewing and marveled at the space. A furniture truck had pulled away as she parked her van. The wood floors gleamed. Two groupings of chairs and sofas created cozy spaces for people to relax. The shelves were all cleaned off and ready for merchandise.
Tables with chairs were set in the space, and the bar against the front window had tall chairs just waiting for people to enjoy the area. She could see all the interesting items she’d thought of for the shop on the shelves, just ready for people to enjoy.
“Hey, what do you think of the furniture? The women picked it out, but we can move it if you think stuff would look better somewhere else,” Gunner said, coming out of the kitchen.
“I love it. I think it looks great where it is. I know we talked about an evening soft opening of family and friends. I think that will let us know if anything needs to be moved,” Rachel said, grinning.
She probably looked like a fool, but she could barely contain the excitement of not only getting to showcase her crafts but also having a say in activities at the shop.
“I’ve been dying to find out what creations you’ve made. Did you bring them in that basket?” Gunner asked.
Rachel nodded, sitting down at the table. Gunner joined her, cocking his eyebrow.
“So, I had this idea about what we offered. I have these cats that I make that are super soft and cuddly. So let me introduce you to them and see what you think. This is Cina. Since the vibe of Broken Hearts Brewing is about recovering after a breakup or losing someone, I thought naming the cats would be cool. People could pick their cat for their recovery box. Cina’s named for oxytocin, which is the chemical that, besides forming bonds between a mother and child, forms bonds between romantic partners,” Rachel said quickly, handing the pink cat to Gunner.
He rubbed his fingers along the cat and then rubbed it against his neck.
“I’m just going to say your idea has blown me away. This is brilliant. They can come in for a drink and go home with something to cuddle with. Now, I know if you’ve thought about it this much, then you’ve got other ideas too. What are they?” Gunner asked, grinning at her.
Rachel breathed deep and let out all the worry she’d felt. Gunner loved her ideas. It was such a relief. Although she hadn’t been able to crochet last night, she’d spent a couple hours this morning after she’d eaten to crochet the cats and write out her ideas.
“This one, I wanted your opinion on the name,” she said, handing the black one to him.
“I was vacillating between Sera for serotonin, one of the feel-good chemicals, or Mina for dopamine. Dopamine influences your mood, among other things. Serotonin helps with multiple things but also helps with wound healing,” Rachel said.
“I like both of them. Hmm, I really want to pick the right one. Maybe we could leave that one for now. If you don’t have strong feelings, maybe we could ask Clara or Regina for help,” Gunner suggested.
Rachel liked that idea because picking names was a big deal to her. She nodded and pulled out her next one.
“This yellow one is another one I was trying to decide,” she said.
Gunner took the cat, petting it like it was a real cat. She giggled at his expression.
“It’s very soothing. Did you have ideas?” he asked.
“Buttercup for Buckle Up, Buttercup is kind of sarcastic, like, hey, buckle up because it will be hard, but you’ll get through it.
On the other hand, I was considering Sunshine as a reminder that you’ll get through this.
It would be something people could send to those they thought might need to be cheered up,” Rachel said.
Gunner chuckled. “Man, you’re not making this easy. How are you thinking they’d know the names and what they’re for?”
Rachel reached in her pack and pulled out little cards. “These are handmade, but I thought we could order some that talk about their names and offer encouragement,” she said, handing them to Gunner.
He spent time reading them. Rachel was surprised that the silence didn’t bother her.
It was a comfortable silence that Rachel basked in.
She loved her children, but sometimes, she needed the soothing quiet to have time to think.
Maybe now that they were in a house and weren’t on top of each other, she’d have more time where someone wasn’t talking.
“I’m like you, I’m torn. I like both of them. Table that for a minute. Any more?” he asked.
She pulled out her deep purple one. “Purple is a symbol of royalty and being loyal. I was trying to think of a royal name. I thought of Queen or Queenie. I considered great queens like Wilhelmina or the classics like Catherine, Cleopatra, etc.”
“Oh wow, the softness of this yarn is very soothing,” Gunner said.
Rachel had been doing so well keeping business first in her mind, but Gunner’s fingers sliding over the cat’s fur had her mind going to his fingers sliding over her skin. Were his fingers a little rough from working in the kitchen, and how would that feel against her skin?
Whew! Was it getting hot in here?
She didn’t understand what was happening.
She didn’t know Gunner. Sure, he’d helped last night, but anyone could show a nice side for a while—or sometimes years.
Was it because it had been so long since she’d felt desire?
Was she just latching onto the first male who treated her with respect and listened to her?
Did she crave safety so much that she was desiring him because he would protect her and the kids?
She needed to not be so close to him, or she might forget her vow to make sure it was safe here before letting people in.
If she let them in, then she’d have to face what had happened before they left.
New friends wouldn’t be fine with her keeping secrets.
And she wasn’t in a place to start a relationship.
She stood up and walked over to the bookcases.
“I was thinking here besides books, we could have mini bookshelves that they could buy. Next to the mini books of their favorite authors, we could have cute little things to go on the shelves too. What do you think about that?” Rachel asked.
Did he realize she’d stood up to get away from him because being close enough to smell his aftershave was giving her way too many ideas?
Gunner stood up and walked over by her.
Friggin’ fudgesicles. She’d heard one of the kids say it yesterday. It definitely fit her mood right now. She swallowed because her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding. She felt out of control. If she let herself feel, would she break into a million little pieces?
This was a new start for both her and the kids. Her hormones needed to calm down. She needed to know she could trust Gunner or any of the other men before she dropped her panties. Was she really free to drop her panties for anyone? Her stomach soured at the thought of her situation.
How was she going to survive working with him every day?
Gunner stood beside Rachel, staring at the bookcase because if he didn’t, he’d be grabbing her by those cute-as-fuck jean overalls and kissing her, tasting her smiling lips that were so distracting.
He hoped he’d made the correct replies to her little crocheted cats.
He thought they were cute, and he was positive they’d be popular.
But staring at her sweet, smiling face while she described her thought processes had him wondering if she’d smile when he had her under him or over him.
At this point, he didn’t care; he just wanted her.
His instant attraction was deepening as he got to know more about the woman who had knocked him on his ass.
It was making it hell on his self-control to go slow and give her time. Right now, if he could kick his own ass, he would because he wanted to say to hell with giving her time and taste her lips.
Banging on the front door saved him from having to decide if he was going to kiss her.
“Just a second,” he said, walking to the front door and unlocking it. Phoebe, Blake, Deborah, and Benji stood outside.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I’m babysitting today. Blake and Phoebe saw you were in the shop and said they needed to talk with you about something,” Deborah said.
“Well, come in. I think you all met Rachel yesterday. Let’s sit down, and we can talk about whatever you wanted to talk with us about,” Gunner said.
He pulled a couple extra chairs over so they could all sit together, waiting until the women sat before he did.
“We have a proposition for you,” Blake said softly.
Gunner only hoped it was a legal one, because with these kids, he’d learned anything was possible. Their subscription service for swear words was genius.
“I think Rachel and I would like to hear it,” Gunner said.
Blake nudged Phoebe.
“We want to be entrepreneurs cuz the only job girls usually get when they’re young is babysitting. And we don’t want to deal with babies. No offense, Deborah,” Phoebe said.
Gunner bit his lip, glancing over at Rachel to see how she was handling the kids. Rachel seemed to be having the same issue he was, trying not to laugh. Gunner glanced back at the kids because it was so hard not to chuckle.
“None taken, Phoebe. I like kids and don’t mind babysitting. If you don’t, it’s good you’re thinking of other things,” Deborah said.
“So what is your idea? An entrepreneur needs a concept or idea to get started,” Rachel said.
“Blake and I like to take pictures. We thought we could make them into cards people could buy,” Phoebe said, motioning to Blake.
Blake placed her backpack on the table and took out two cards.
Gunner examined the cards. The front was a picture of a monarch butterfly on a bush. The inside was blank. The back had Designs by Phoebe and Blake. He had to admit he was impressed.
“Did you get these printed?” Gunner asked.
“Yep. Mom helped me order a sample set. She said if you sold them that we could do a consignment model or wholesale model. But then Joey started crying and she had to take care of him. She didn’t explain,” Phoebe said, rolling her eyes.
Gunner bit his lip. These kids always made him smile and sometimes laugh, but he didn’t want to hurt their feelings by laughing. He was impressed with their idea.
“Consignment model would be that we would put your cards for sale in the shop. When they sell, you would get a set portion of the sale. Let’s say sixty percent for you and forty percent for the shop.
Money would be paid out at the end of the month.
A wholesale model means that you would sell it at a cheaper price to us, but we would pay you upfront when the cards come into the store.
Let’s say with that, we’d pay you forty percent of the total amount we’d sell them for.
Usually with consignment, if they don’t sell, they would be returned to you.
With wholesale, if they don’t sell, we, the business, absorb the loss,” Rachel explained.
“Me and Blake might need to discuss this,” Phoebe said.
“Well, how about you and Blake discuss it for a minute while I chat with Rachel regarding it?” Gunner said.
At Phoebe’s nod, he and Rachel walked over to the counter.
Rachel was almost bouncing; she was so excited. “Oh my gosh. What a fantastic idea. Do you love it as much as I do? And we could let some of the other kids come up with ideas too? There are a couple of easy crochet patterns the kids could learn if they want.”
Gunner grinned because they were on the same wavelength. “I agree. It would be good for the kids and their families. Besides helping the kids, it would guarantee us that customers would come to see the kids’ stuff. It would definitely be a win-win.”
“I love the idea of helping kids realize that their ideas and dreams are achievable,” Rachel said.
Gunner had taken the idea of the shop and run with it because he loved the idea of being his own boss. The extra bonus of feeding people and making them happy had been such a win. But sharing the joy of this with the younger generation of Bluff Creek had him knowing he was doing the right thing.
Sitting back down, he nodded at Rachel to take the lead.
“We would love to stock your cards. They are beautiful, and we both love that you took the initiative to do this. We’re five weeks before opening, and Gunner and I haven’t made up any contracts yet.
I’ve only been in town a little bit. Would it be okay if we set up a meeting for next week, and we could have contracts available then? ” Rachel asked.
Phoebe and Blake both nodded, their eyes almost as wide as the grins on their faces.
“We’re really excited you brought this idea to us, and we can’t wait to work with you both,” Gunner said.
“Hey, I don’t want to babysit people either, but I can’t take pictures. If I figure out something to sell, can I come to the meeting too?” Benji asked.
“Of course,” Gunner said. He stared at Benji.
“You’ve brought up a good point. Let Rachel and me talk about it. We might need to set up a certain time that we can have proposals brought up next week.”
“Thank you!” Phoebe, Blake, and Benji yelled. The kids got up and started discussing what they could do as they walked out the door.
“Thank you,” Deborah said, following the kids out.
Rachel hopped up and stared at the bookshelves, spinning around to look at the room.
“Maybe we could add a table here with items made by kids to highlight them. Oh, I have so many ideas,” Rachel said.
“I think it sounds great, but how about I show you the rest of the shop and then we can make a list?” Gunner said.
Listening to Rachel agree and then immediately start talking about something else had Gunner knowing, yep, she was going to be his, but he needed a better plan than he had. He wondered if Clara might have any suggestions.