Thirsting for the Lumbersnack (Lumbersnacks of Appleridge #6)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Kaia

“I think that’s the best batch yet!” I said to my older brother Kel after a sip of our latest brew of pumpkin ale. “Just the right amount of pumpkin flavor without going overboard.”

I agree. Your suggestion of less sugar did the trick.” Kel said as he glanced over the corrections I made on the recipe. “Looks like our fall lineup is ready to go.”

“Yep. So, we’ve got the pumpkin, spiced apple, caramel vanilla, and cinnamon roll. Do you think we should offer one more? Maybe a harvest blend or something?”

Kel raised an eyebrow, a telltale sign he was thinking hard. He scratched at his chin. “I was actually thinking of a mix I could do. I’ll experiment today. If I can’t make anything work, we’ll launch the menu this week with the four flavors we have.”

“Perfect, thanks Kel.”

“You got it. Hey one other thing.”

I looked at him as he stepped backwards towards the door leading out front. “I asked one of my friends to take you out on a date and he said he would. He’ll be by sometime today. Ok? Thanks sis love ya. Gotta take a call.”

Before I could open my mouth to respond, he ran to his office, closing the door behind him.

“Hey Kel!” I yelled, but it was no use. I already heard the dial tone. I groaned. Why did he insist on finding me a date? He knew I wasn’t interested.

We only opened our microbrewery, Apple Mountain Brewing, a couple of months ago and it took off faster than we expected.

Our place was cozy, with one room for service, complete with a large bar and four large high-top tables for guests to sit.

The bar was custom built with several beers on tap and barrels of our most popular ales we offered year-round.

Appleridge is our most well-known ale, one based on apple cider and brewed with the local apples, along with Orchard Breeze, a dark ale featuring hints of apple and lemon, and Berry Mountain Nights, which was a mixed berry flavored ale.

During the seasons, we brewed special batches of seasonal ales and often had surprise ones on top with our weekly menu changes.

It was a lot of work, but something Kel and I took great pride in. We wanted the local feel to be represented here, and I think we smashed it out of the park. The locals seemed to agree.

This week was a busier one since we planned on launching our fall menu and I needed to get the new menus printed on time. With a thousand things on my to do list, I easily lost track of time as I worked through them, forgetting all about what my brother said earlier.

As the day slipped by, the place became busier, customers in and out, tasting and enjoying our specialty brews.

I chatted with locals, told them about our beer, and even got a few to sign up for our mailing list after revealing we’d have fall and holiday menus soon.

Many of our customers liked to order what we called “flights” which are four to six small samples of the different beers.

That way, they got a taste for everything.

As closing time neared, the customers slowed and Kel came out front, holding a sample glass of his ale.

“Okay, it took a few tries but tell me what you think of this.” Kel held out the glass to me.

I brought it to my nose first, inhaling the scent. “Okay, I’m getting some apple, some cinnamon, some vanilla, and there’s something else…oh is it caramel?”

Kel grinned. “Yep. You’re good. Just missing one more major ingredient.”

I inhaled again and took a small sip, the flavors blending together in a perfect harmony inside my mouth. I swished it around, delighted with the blend of flavors, as I tried to figure out what it could be.

“Any idea?”

“Wait...” I sniffed and sipped once more. “I’ve got it! Cloves?”

“You’re good, sis. Gotta hand it to you.”

“I know.” I smirked. “It’s delicious. Good job, bro.”

“What’s delicious?” A deep voice said from behind me, a voice that definitely didn’t belong to my brother. My head turned quickly, my eyes landing on the hottest, sexiest guy I’d ever seen before.

He was older, tall, and handsome, very much a sexy treat of a man, and my mouth went dry as my body went into full on lock down mode. My heart raced, nearly imploding in my chest, and my breath caught in my throat in a tight squeeze.

“Rune! My man! Glad to see you came by,” Kel said, holding his hand out for a shake, which Rune returned.

“What up Kel? This place looks great.” His beaming smile weakened my knees, and I gripped the counter in need of something to hold on to.

This is the friend?

Holy hotness!

Somewhere from deep inside, I gathered the strength to push all of my feelings down and instead, forced the most platonic smile I could muster, hoping I came off indifferent, not desperate.

“And this must be your sister? Kaia, right?” Rune asked, as his eyes slid over to mine. Energy, unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, rushed through me. Yet I still held onto my fake demeanor. I wasn’t giving anything away, even if it killed me.

“Yep, the one and only. Rune, meet Kaia. Kaia, meet Rune.”

“Hi,” I said with a quick wave. “Nice meeting you. I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a bunch of things I need to do before we close. Come by and taste our fall menu soon, Rune!” I turned and strode towards the back, like a woman on a mission, leaving them both open mouth staring.

“Uh, nice meeting you too, I guess…” Rune said with a chuckle, but it didn’t stop me. I kept moving until I reached the back area. As soon as the door shut behind me, I leaned my back against it and grabbed at my chest. A lump lodged itself in my throat and constricted my airwaves.

Shit. This is not good. No this is terrible.

The guy wasn’t supposed to be so damn hot.

He should’ve come with a warning label or some shit. Warning- may cause ovaries to explode.

Hell, I was a virgin, and my uterus wanted his babies, stat.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I heard Kel’s voice closer towards the door, and I made a beeline for my office, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. I quickly sat behind my desk and pulled a few papers out. I fanned myself with one, hoping for some relief, but my cheeks burned more.

Keep cool, keep cool.

Knock, knock. “Kaia?”

“Yeah?”

Kel popped his head around the door and smiled. “You sure took off fast.”

I rolled my eyes. “I have a lot of work to do.”

“Mmhmm. So, does that mean you’re not coming back out front?”

“Not right now. Can you lock up for me and close the front end?”

Kel laughed. “Sure. Rune ordered a flight of our most popular ales. Want to join?”

“What part of I have a lot of work to do means I want to have a drink with you and your friend?”

Rune snickered. “Okay, you have a lot of work, sure thing. Seems to me you’re a little what do they say? Smitten, is it?”

“You sound like an idiot. Bye Kel.”

Kel closed my office door, and I heard him laugh as he walked away.

Damn him for being right. But I’d never let him know how smitten I was.

And later that night, while lying in bed, I took out my vibrator and renamed it to Rune.