Someone to Love

by Hampton, Lena

  She touched his bicep. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know the story was so personal. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

  “It’s not really personal. It’s not about me.” Her hand was still on his arm. The heat from her touched penetrated through his wool jacket.

  “But the vintner from California was your father.”

  “He was little more than a sperm donor. My memory of that man is vague at best. Jack’s dad was more of a father to me. ‘Put-It-On-My-Tab’ Sullivan was more of a father and the only advice he ever gave me was to never sit on a stool when you’re drinking because you might fall off. He told me that when I was picking him up from the floor.”

  She placed her other hand on his other arm, her face still held concern. “But he was your father. It had to have some effect on you. Did you ever hear from him after he left? Did he at least visit you?”

  “Can we talk about something else?” It was difficult to keep the pain out of his voice when he was looking into her sympathetic eyes. Something deep inside him wanted to tell her all of his story. She threaded her hands under his arms and looped her hands around his back. Her arms were just long enough to reach all the way around him, but when she pulled him into her he felt enveloped by her.

  “What are you doing?” Cooper asked.

  “I’m giving you a hug. You need one.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Well I do, so hug me back or you’re going to make me mad.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him. She rested her head on his chest.

  “Why do you need a hug?”

  “It sucks living without a dad.”

  He heard her voice trembled at the last word, that’s when he remembered her parents had died in a car accident not too long ago. She did need a hug. He felt her body shake with a silent sob. He kissed the top of her head, which made her cry more. He lifted her head to verify she was crying and wiped away one of the tears.

  “I’m sorry,” she said not looking him in the eye.

  “Don’t be.” He rested her head back on his chest. “I understand.”

  And he did. The reason for the loss may be different, but Cooper understood not having a parent. Not having either had to be worse. He wished he knew the words to heal her pain, but he didn’t. Normally he’d run as fast as he could from a woman in tears, but Noli made him want to hold her until her pain was gone. Her tear streaked face made him want to kiss her until all the bad thoughts were gone. Kiss her until she couldn’t think anymore. But he just held her in his arms. Holding her relieved some of his pain from his own deep scars.

  Chapter 3

  Noli couldn’t believe she’d just started crying about her parents in front of a total stranger. Well, calling him a total stranger was an exaggeration. She didn’t like him well enough to be crying on his shoulder, but she was and she was comforted. The man that had antagonized her from the first minute they met, was holding her and had just said he understood her unwarranted emotional outburst and she believed him. It had been months since she last cried. Something about the fact that a man who’d abandoned his child lived, when a loving and dedicated father like hers was dead, sent her over the edge.

  She thought she should feel embarrassed by her emotional display, but she wasn’t. It was something about the way he looked in her eyes when he wiped her tears away. She couldn’t quite explain it. She didn’t see judgment or pity, just warmth. His embrace comforted her where others had not. She felt safe and protected in his arms. Although, she did wonder if he could crush her on accident by flexing his muscles. He was in fact a giant.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Seeing how much I can make my fingers overlap around your freakishly large back.”

  He laughed his deep rumbling laugh. “I take it you’re better now?”

  “I am. Thank you.”

  “No problem. Anytime.”

  She unwrapped her arms from him and stepped back. She wiped the tears from her face and examined her hands for mascara. “So, tell me more about your brewing.” She needed to change the subject and the mood.

  “You don’t use your mouth to talk about brewing, you use it to taste what’s been brewed. Let’s go grab a beer, we could both use one.”

  “Sounds good, just give me a second to fix this,” she said pointing a finger around her face.

  “It looks good.”

  They didn’t say a word as they walked to the bar and watched the sun begin its descent in the distance. They were each lost in their thoughts. Noli’s bounced around from her parents, to his father, to wondering what all that muscle would look like with no shirt on. Then she mentally chastised herself because she shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. The thought of him shirtless still made her blood warm. She reminded herself that she was only here for the wedding then she’d likely be gone somewhere far away. It wouldn’t be prudent to give in to this attraction. She’d have to put him out of her mind, she was good at doing that.

  “Find a place for us to sit, I’ll get the drinks,” he said when they entered the bar.

  “Since we’re drinking I’ll try and find chairs, not stools.”

  “I hadn’t planned on us drinking that much.”

  “I had, but if you’re a lightweight, we don’t have to,” she teased.

  “That sounded like a challenge, but I doubt a little girl would challenge a grown man to a drinking contest.”

  She crooked her finger to get him to lean closer. “This little girl drank German men under the table during Oktoberfest, so when you find a grown man I’ll drink him under the table too.” She walked away before he could respond. She couldn’t stop herself from flirting with him. If she couldn’t control herself sober, perhaps she shouldn’t drink.

  Noli found a table and put the purse in the chair next to her, hanging her purse on the back. As she waited for him to bring the drinks, she studied the bar. The floors were cobble stone, and the whitewashed walls contrasted against the dark wood of the exposed wall and ceiling beams. High on the wall by the door hung rusted hammers, tongs, chisels and other forging tools. The bar appeared to be held up by an anvil sitting on a block on each end. The wall behind the bar was brick with a large arch that looked to have been an oven, but now had barrels stacked in it.

  Each barrel had words stenciled on them in white and a tap coming from between a horse shoe affixed to the barrel. On either side of the arch were wooden shelves which held up with horseshoe shaped brackets and various bottles of liquor. In fact horseshoes were everywhere, making this possibly the luckiest place on earth. That gave Noli another idea for the wedding.

  She sketched into her tablet two intertwined horseshoes with the words “lucky in love” underneath them. She noted these could be napkins or maybe the couple’s dessert plates. A waitress walked up wearing a white t-shirt with the blue logo of a blacksmith hammering a horseshoe on an anvil.

  “Hi, my name is Kayla. What can I get for you?” The waitress was a bit younger than Noli, with pale freckled skin, natural red hair and a welcoming friendly smile that seemed genuine.

  “Thank you, but I’m here with Cooper, he’s at the bar getting our drinks now.”

  Her smile seemed to drop a fraction knowing that Cooper was here with her. Kayla turned to the bar where Cooper and the bartender were in fact drafting beers. The waitress’ smile brightened again when she looked their way. “Well, just let me know if you need anything.”

  “Actually, if you can have Cooper bring me an ice water when he brings the drinks, I’d appreciate it.”

  “I sure will.” She walked over to the bar and said something to Cooper that made him and the other man laugh. Cooper said something back that made her throw her head back in laughter. Noli wished she was closer so she could hear the exchange. She wondered what the relationship was between Cooper and the much more well-endowed woman. Crap, she was jealous again. That was no good because she was here to plan someone else’s wedding, nothing more.<
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  Cooper came back with a tray of mugs with various liquids in shades from gold to deep brown. “I thought this would be a good start.” He sat next to her instead of across from her which she liked.

  Noli made a point of looking at her watch. “It’s getting kind of late. Maybe you should take me back to the Sloan’s house.”

  “Maybe you’re scared.”

  She froze, startled that maybe he’d picked up on her being attracted to him. The truth was she was afraid of how much she liked him in just the few hours she’d known him. “It’s just getting late. There’s nothing for me to be afraid of.”

  “I’ll take you back.” She stood and gathered her purse and coat. “But first you have to say ‘Cooper is a grown man and I am just a little girl that said I could handle him when I knew he was too much man for me.’”

  She sat her purse back down and threw her coat over it. “I will say no such thing.” She picked up one of the drinks and chugged it down. “I’m about to show you that this little girl isn’t made of sugar and spice. Let’s do this.” She slammed the mug on the table to emphasize her point and plopped back into her seat. She’d get satisfaction from proving he’d underestimated her.

  He leaned back and smiled at her before lifting his mug to his lips and taking a long slow sip. “We can do this, or anything else you want to do, but you should take your time drinking that. You shouldn’t chug.”

  “I’m fully capable of determining how I should drink.” Noli knew he was right, but there was something in her that found immense joy in arguing against everything he said.

  “I’m sure you are, but that’s a handcrafted beer. It’s meant to be drank slowly to appreciate the complexity of its flavor, not chugged like some cheap mass produced beer only college students drink.”

  “Then get me another to enjoy.”

  He didn’t follow her instructions. “Here, drink the rest of mine.” He sat his drink in front of her.

  “I don’t want that. I don’t know where your lips have been.”

  “I know where I’d like to put them.”

  She picked the drink up and took a sip. If her lips were occupied he wouldn’t be able to put his lips where he wanted them, on hers. “Umm, you’re right. This is meant to be enjoyed. Let’s make this interesting, how about a bet?”

  “I was told not to bet you.”

  “You’re not betting me, I’m betting you.”

  “What are the stakes?”

  “If I win, you will provide the open bar for Diane and Jack’s reception.”

  “And if I win?”

  “I’ll let you put your lips where you want to.” Did she just say that? She did, but she had little chance of losing, especially if she drank enough water and went to the restroom about every twenty minutes.

  “You’ve got a deal.” He lifted his glass and she did the same. Their glasses clinked, sealing their deal. She raised her glass to her lips and took another sip. “It tastes…” She took another sip. “It has a smoky taste to it.”

  “That’s because it’s our smoked beer. The smoky flavor comes from the malted barley that’s dried over an open fire.”

  “You did this?”

  “Yeah, it was brewed here. The only place you can get that beer is here.”

  “That’s a shame. This is some of the best beer I’ve ever had. You should sell this in stores.”

  “That’s the plan. I’m working on getting the capital so we can produce greater quantities and distribute them at least throughout the state at first and someday throughout the Midwest.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. I hope to have Coppersmith’s Hand Forged Brews throughout the state by the end of next year. And to expand this place so that their still brewed on site. I want this to be more of a destination when tourist come to the county in the fall to view the leaves.”

  His face looked like an excited child, except for the massive amount of hair that was all around it. “You’re passionate about this.”

  “Grandpa had the dream of a winery, but that just wasn’t my dream. I didn’t have the passion for it. All that grape growing and soil composition just wasn’t my thing.”

  Noli wondered how much of it not being his thing came from the fact that it was his father’s thing and his father had abandoned him. She wouldn’t go there. “I get it, wine’s not manly enough for you.”

  He smiled but didn’t comment on her jab.

  “When did you get started brewing?”

  “In college. One summer when I was home, Grandpa dragged me to a winemaking store, he still made home wine on a small scale. The shop he went to sold beer brewing systems too. And Coppersmith Hand Forged Brews was born.”

  “I like the name by the way. It’s a clever twist on your name.”

  “That almost sounded like a compliment. It’s not just a play on my name. Some of the brews start out in copper pots.”

  “Even more clever. Why do you call them brews and not beers?”

  “Because I brew more than beer.”

  “What else do you brew?”

  “Non-alcoholic beverages. Cream soda, root beer, ginger beer, and apple beer.”

  “Fassbrause!”

  “Gesundheit.”

  “I didn’t sneeze.”

  “I know. I just wanted to speak German too. We don’t call it Fassbrause here, we just call it apple beer. It’s less pretentious.”

  “Ow, I think that was another dig. I wasn’t trying to be pretentious. I was excited because I’d had fassbrause for the first time in Germany and loved it.”

  Kayla returned to the table with the water Noli had long since forgotten about. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot to have him bring you your water.” She noticed that Kayla’s smiling face was directed towards Cooper.

  “No problem. Thank you.” Noli wondered again what the earlier humorous exchanged had been about.

  The waitress remained at the table as though she were waiting on something. After a few seconds Cooper caught on to the non-verbal desires of the woman. “Magnolia, this is Kayla. Kayla, this is Jack’s future cousin-in-law. She’s here to help Diane plan the wedding.”

  “I just love weddings!” She took the seat next to Cooper and across from Noli. “Do you have a theme yet? What about a color scheme? Cooper said the reception might be at the old wine tasting building where we age our brews. That’s a great space. What’re your ideas for it?” The words came out like the rapid fire from an automatic weapon loaded with bullets made of sunshine and bubbles.

  She noticed Kayla said “we” and “our” when talking about the barrels of liquids aging in the other building. She wondered if the use of the plural pronouns covered everyone that worked at the Smithery or just Kayla and Cooper as in me and my boyfriend “we”. Noli’s jealousy was trying to keep her from liking this woman, but she couldn’t help but like her. She was friendly and her bubbly personality was kind of infectious.

  “To answer your first question, yes we have a theme. It’s a mix of my cousin’s upscale style and her fiancé’s country style.”

  “Oh, kind of Prada meets John Deere. I love it!”

  “Answer two, I’ve just gotten into town and haven’t discussed a color scheme or any other details with Diane. Answer to question three, seeing that space inspired me with lots of ideas.”

  “Well, like I said, I just love weddings. I’d be more than happy to help you get stuff together. I know how busy Diane is with studying for the bar and all.”

  “Kayla, would you help me get a couple of apple beers?” His tone seemed a bit annoyed.

  “Sure,” she said to Cooper narrowing her eyes for a moment before putting her bright smile back on her face and smiling at Noli. “It was real nice meeting you. Seriously, call me if you need any help. Cooper can give you my number.”

  Before she could continue to ramble, Cooper took her by the elbow and ushered her away. Within seconds Cooper’s seat was taken by a middle aged woman, maybe in her early fifties
. She had the same dark coloring as Cooper.

  “Hi, I’m Daphne Smith, Cooper’s mom.” Noli took her extended hand into hers and shook it. “You must be Diane’s cousin, Magnolia.”

  It was probably easy to figure that out since this was a small town and her arrival made the population of Blacks in residence double.

  As if reading her mind Daphne explained, “Rose told me you’d be coming over with Cooper to see the place for the reception.”

  “Yes, he just showed it to me.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “No ma’am, I just had dinner.” Which she must have known since she’d talked to Rose. Were they trying to fatten her up like in Hansel and Gretel?

  “Please, call me Daphne.”

  “I sure will. And please, call me Noli.”

  “Well, Noli, Jack is like my own flesh and blood, I want to help as much as I can with the wedding.”

  “Diane, Rose, and I are getting together tomorrow morning for breakfast to start planning if you want to join us.”

  “That sounds great. I’ve already told Cooper to help you with anything you need. If he gives you problems, just let me know,” Daphne said.

  “I think I can handle him, but I’ll keep that in mind.” Noli felt awkward because Daphne just sat there and smiled at her for a moment. She didn’t like the silence. “Your son makes a great beer.” The other woman just nodded and continued to smile. Noli felt the need to fill the silence. “Cooper just went to get us a couple of apple beers. I had some when I was in Germany and I’m interested to see how his compares.” She knew she was rambling on like Kayla but couldn’t stop. “I’m sure it’ll be great. He may not have inherited the vintner gene from his father or grandfather, but he’s quite the Brewmeister.”

  “He told you about his father?” Daphne said with a puzzled look on her face.

  “He did.”

  “Hmm, interesting.” There was an introspective expression on her face.

  “He also told me the fascinating history of this place and how it got its name.”