Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
CALDER
Several minutes later, I pull into the parking lot at Jules Creek.
The anger from my short discussion with Finn Sterling is fading, but his comment about Meredith isn’t forgotten.
Do I barge in and ask her? Wait for her to tell me?
Or was Finn messing with me because I insulted him and his department? The last option makes the most sense.
The barn towers over me when I walk in. Bea’s car is parked next to Meredith’s. Inside, I drop the food and drinks on the bar counter. Meredith’s in front of the supply shelves, stacking rye malt bags from a cart. I slide my hands around her hips and drop a kiss into her hair.
She giggles. “You came just in time. I need to move two more bags.”
It takes me seconds to toss the fifty-pound bags onto the stack.
“Ugh, thank you. You make it look so easy.” She wheels the cart back to its place by the overhead door.
“Mind if I ask Bea to join us?” I bought extra food to stock the fridge, and my gut tells me this isn’t the time to interrogate Meredith about her plans when I want them to be with me.
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”
We walk down the hallway together. She veers off for the bathroom, and I pop into Bea’s office.
“Cold fried chicken and root beer?” I ask.
She slides her horn-rimmed glasses down her nose. “Now, that’s an offer I can’t refuse. I’m almost done with an order, then I’ll be out.”
“Whenever you’re ready. I’ll get it set up.”
I grab the stash of paper plates and napkins and set a short four-top table for us to eat at. I hear their voices and the whisper of Bea’s walker moments before they appear. Meredith is laughing, and Bea is beaming.
The sight warms my goddamn heart, and it’s something I haven’t felt in years—until I returned home. Then I got a hug from Carlos, caught up with Esme at the funeral, and felt true warmth at being around Bea. She and Meredith have obviously become close.
“Oh, say.” Bea shuffles to the table and sits, arranging her walker beside her. “I suppose I should tell all of you, but I’ll say it now since this is a work lunch. One of our biggest retailers just sent notice they’re not going to stock Jules Creek anymore.”
Meredith tenses but takes her seat, and I take the spot across from Bea.
“Why?” I don’t need her answer. Dad’s marketing plan was to be a local brewery. He made connections and networked, but now he’s gone, people aren’t beholden to maintain the relationship.
“Too many local breweries to stock, limited shelf space, yada, yada, yada. It’s been happening more, honestly.
” She fiddles with the glasses hanging around her neck.
“And another vendor just emailed about the increased pricing for next quarter for the cans we use.” She gives me and Meredith a sad smile.
“But why do I feel like that’s going to be a moot point? ”
Meredith doesn’t need to take this one. “A decision hasn’t been officially made yet.”
Bea glances between the two of us, her lips in a line, like she knows Meredith and I are at odds over this.
“I see. Well, regardless, I guess I was thinking it’s time to officially retire.
” She drops the glasses to hang from their chain.
“It’s a shame, though. I’ve been waiting for the dream team to run this place.
” She glances around, fondness etching into her features.
“I saw it so clearly. You taking the helm here, Landry in the saddle at Crossroads, and Bowen carving a place for it all to last far into the future.” She pats Meredith’s hands.
“Of course, I assumed you’d be taken care of. ”
Meredith’s eyes are as big as saucers. Hell, is she going to cry? I grasp for a redirection.
“I don’t think Bowen would like to hear his role in your fantasy was to be second-in-command at both places.”
Her smile is quick. “You all are really leaving?”
“Yeah,” I say gruffly. There’s no getting out of this discussion.
Bea’s gaze bounces between us once again, and tension rides through me. I’m ready for her to ask something personal about us. If I’m leaving, what about me and Meredith? Isn’t that something I want the answer to as well?
“What about the street fair?” she asks instead.
I hand Meredith the container of chicken. That’s a damn good question. “Regardless, I’m sure we’ll all agree that’s gotta happen.”
Relief crosses Meredith’s face. “Yes, it really should. We have too much product, and it’s such a lucrative weekend.”
Should I read more into the way Meredith reacted?
She’s the best choice to run the street fair.
If she stays for that… will she ever leave?
No matter what, I’ll miss it. I’ll also miss her amazing tits in that ugly blue polo, smiling and handing out samples, her enthusiasm for craft brew oozing out of her.
Bea picks a drumstick out of the chicken container. “I hope another twenty years doesn’t go by before I see those handsome Cross faces.”
My appetite leaves entirely, but I eat to keep pretending everything’s fine. To keep from reading more into Meredith’s reaction, but the interpretation I keep coming up with isn’t in my favor.
My earlier run-in with Finn flashes back to me, as if that’s better to think about than our conversation. But it brings a question to mind.
“Bea, do you know anything about Holly and her camera? We can’t find it, but she must’ve had it with her that day.”
“She’d been taking pictures lately.” Bea smacks her lips as she chews. “Said she was trying to improve her technique.”
“Holly adored Julia’s photos,” Meredith adds quietly.
“It was ten years before she removed them from the house. Holly never took a lot of pictures. I mean, she did with her phone. The normal stuff, not for art like your mom. Then, suddenly, she shows up with her camera. The last few months, she had it on her all the time. Sawyer used to tease her that the camera was a new necklace.”
Bea smiles and squeezes Meredith’s arm. “What did she like to take pictures of?”
Meredith shrugs. “We never saw the images. Maybe she was working on another scrapbook, maybe of Crossroads for me and Sawyer.”
“Maybe it’s one of those thumb drives Ram seemed to favor.” Bea chuckles. “So many of them. You get into them all, Calder?”
“All the ones I could find.” Two more had fallen out of desk drawers. Bowen and I combed through the ones that still worked. “No pictures.”
“Did your sister have a cloud account, dear?” Bea brandishes her half-nibbled drumstick like a pointer. “She was more up to date than Ram.”
“I don’t know if she uploaded or printed anything.
She bought the camera used and said she couldn’t use Wi-Fi with it, only SD cards.
” Meredith’s laugh is weak. “I heard them arguing once. They were in the office, and Ram’s old computer couldn’t handle her card, and when I asked…
” Her expression flickers like it’s not a good memory.
“Well, it wasn’t any of my business, so they didn’t want my help. ”
“Oh. That’s unfortunate,” Bea says. “He wasn’t himself the last few weeks. The weight of the world was on that man’s shoulders.”
“Holly was tense too.” Sadness fills Meredith’s eyes, and if Bea weren’t here, I’d pull her onto my lap. But then it’s gone, and she gives us a tight smile. “I guess I just thought it was the finances. She wanted to help, but… couldn’t.”
“Ram wanted to save the world and spare everyone else.” Bea aims an understanding smile in my direction. “You can be like him in a lot of ways, so make sure you don’t do that. Ask for help, Calder. Let people know what’s going on. Let them in.”
I want to ask how I’m like my dad, but I don’t want the answer. I’m headstrong. I want to take the responsibility for everyone. I keep doing the same damn thing when signs are telling me to change.
She drops the clean bone onto her plate and pushes her chair back. “Welp, thanks for the meal. I’ve gotta meet my granddaughter. She wants me with her when she gets her first tattoo.”
“Are you getting one too?” I’m only partly teasing. Bea’s full of surprises.
Her smile is sly. “I’ve already got my fair share.”
There’s one of the surprises. “Seriously? Bea, how have I not seen them?”
“Oh, I keep them hidden.” Her face crinkles with her grin. “Ned never liked them, so when he passed, I might’ve gotten to know Jayden at Stained Skin Designs over the years. I get a ten percent discount now.”
She goes to grab her plate.
“I’ll clean up,” I say. “Don’t worry about that.”
“Always looking after people.” She grips her walker. When she passes me, she gives my back a few solid thumps. “You’re always taking care of others, my boy. Let them reciprocate.”
I get up to hold the door open for her. When I sit again, I meet Meredith’s steady gaze.
“She’s right,” Meredith says.
This time, I give in and pivot my chair to face her.
Then I drag her onto my lap. She comes easily, straddling my legs and draping her arms around my neck.
I could sit like this all day, with her round ass on my thighs and my arms around her.
My dick has taken notice, but I can manage my erection before we’re open to the public.
“There’s only one thing I want for me.” I wouldn’t have felt her stiffen if she weren’t on my lap. “I’m not pressuring you.”
“I know.” She places a kiss on my lips. “Mmm. You taste like root beer.”
“It’s what I’ve seen you drink the most other than Honey Creek.”
“You’ve been watching me?”
“Since I first arrived.” I hug her a little harder, steeling myself for the next thing I’m going to say. “I ran into Finn at the grocery store.”
Surprise lights her eyes. “Did it go okay?”
Hell no. “He made a cryptic comment about you getting poached by another brewery.”
Guilt darkens the brown of her hazel irises. My stomach fills with sawdust. She didn’t tell me. She licks her lips, and it’s barely a distraction. That’s how much I don’t want to hear what she has to say.