by K. B. Jacobs
Most rock climbers failed when they decided there weren’t any more grips above them. They quit without reaching the top. If climbing taught me anything, it was if I didn’t see a spot in front of me, go back and try another way up. If I kept looking, I would find a hold, even if it was barely big enough for a finger. I had a finger hold with the whole brewery dangling in the balance. There was no way in hell I was letting go.
Chapter Sixteen
Walsh
I stepped into the lobby of the Astonian. While there were tons of cabin rentals throughout Aspenridge, the Astonian was the only choice for hotels. It sat high on the edge of the valley, looking over both the town and the ski slopes.
From the outside, the huge timber-frame hotel had a presence that was hard to ignore. Inside, they’d taken that upscale appearance but had infused it with large-scale cabin cozy. Who even thought that was possible?
Entering the lobby, guests were immediately faced with steps going down, which I’d never seen before, but it worked. Those steps led to a huge gathering area filled with several roaring stone fireplaces, cozy couches, and chairs gathered around in intimate groups, flanking the reception desks.
A gorgeous blonde smiled at me as I crossed to the counter. Before I’d met Lake, I would have been returning that smile with intent. This woman had always been the type I went for.
Her long, silky hair was tied in a high ponytail that enhanced the long column of her neck. But that neck didn’t feature a hint of tattoos coming out of her hairline. Her eyes were nice and friendly but not flashing fire at me. Her mouth curved in a welcoming smile but wasn’t hissing expletives.
No, this girl didn’t do it for me at all. Not anymore. Not since I’d met Lake.
Damn, I was completely and totally fucked. I had to do something to get Lake out of my system. Would fucking Lake help? As my cock pulsed at the idea, it occurred to me that it sure as hell couldn’t hurt.
“Welcome to the Astonian. I’m Britney, and I’ll be taking care of you today. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, Walsh Thorne with Ghost Squad Charities.”
We’d worked this out at the very beginning of this whole subterfuge. Damian always made the reservations and paid before I arrived, and then I had a corporate ID and credit cards that I used for verification. In these smaller towns, I couldn’t use one name to make reservations and then another when doing business for the charity, so for all intents and purposes, I was Walsh Thorne. It wasn’t completely above board, but it was the only way to make this all work.
“Yes, I see you in the system here. Do you want to use the credit card on record?”
“Yes, that would be fine.” I swallowed back the distaste of the subtle lies I told everywhere I went.
I really needed a drink. It had already been a day, and I could use some real food in my system rather than just the convenience store granola bar I’d picked up earlier.
While she typed, I asked, “Is there a restaurant or bar open for lunch somewhere inside the hotel?”
“Yes.” She reached under her counter and pulled out a brochure. “There are several dining choices located for your convenience in the Astonian. Are you looking for casual or more formal?”
“Definitely casual. In fact, a bar that serves food would be great.”
She nodded. “There’s a sports bar located on the second floor of your wing. ITB has a great menu. I highly recommend the burgers, and our local brewery, Naked Brews, is featured on tap and in bottles.”
I raised my brows in surprise. It was good that the brewery had local support. “Sounds perfect. Thanks, Britney.”
“Here’s your room key. You’re in the Double Black Diamond suite, located on the sixth floor of Wing B.” She handed me the pocket envelope and flipped it over to the hotel map. “You can access the elevators that go directly to your floor here. Do you have any luggage for us to take up?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But I’m expecting it to arrive later today. This was an unplanned stay so my luggage is being shipped. I would appreciate if you or someone else on duty could keep an eye out for it.” Damian had promised to send me a duffle filled with clothes and toiletries.
“Of course.” She nodded. “I’ll make note of it on today’s schedule, so it doesn’t fall through if I get called away from the desk.”
“Thank you, Britney.”
“Enjoy your stay, Mr. Thorne.”
“Call me Walsh,” I corrected.
Fifteen minutes later, after I’d checked out my suite that was much nicer than I’d ever book for myself, I entered ITB. The bar was bigger than it looked at first glance because it was divided up into smaller rooms, each featuring a separate bar and different sports on the big screen TVs.
I chose the room with hockey playing and settled at the end of the bar out of the way. I wasn’t interested in socializing with the group of snow bunnies who’d tossed me interested glances as soon as I’d crossed the threshold. Those girls were on the prowl for a vacation hookup, and I wasn’t interested in the least. That had never been the case for me, not even when my libido had been dead for the last three years.
Seriously, my new obsession with Lake had broken me.
Maybe she should be the one to fix me.
The bartender came over and placed a cardboard coaster in front of me. He winked at the girls but spoke to me. “You sure you want to pass up on that? I’ve heard they’re a pretty fun group.” Humor laced his words.
This guy probably had some great stories of epic hookups at a place like this. But I snorted out a laugh and shook my head. “No, I’m good. In fact, I have my hands full with another hot blonde, and she’s way more than I can handle right now.”
“Fair enough. So, what can I do for you today? Do you need a menu or just a drink?”
“I’m here to eat, but Britney at reception said I’d be safe with a burger, so I’ll take whichever one is your best seller, and then I want to hear about the Naked Brews on tap.”
His grin widened. “That I can do.” He punched a few buttons on the computer before he looked up with a question in his gaze. “You okay with spicy?”
“Hell, yeah.”
“Okay, then a double green chili with shoestring fries coming right up.” He reached into a cooler below and pulled out a pint glass with a fat tire bulge around the top. “I’m going to pour a bit of this brew for you to try. I think you’ll like it, and it will go with the spice and dark meat of your burger. Say the word if you don’t like it, though, and I can get you something else.”
He set the glass filled with liquid the color of dark mud in front of me. “Seriously? Is it supposed to be that dark?”
He nodded at it. “Yep. I take it you’re not much of a beer drinker?”
I shook my head.
He tilted his head as if he could see my darkest secrets.
Hell, I hoped he couldn’t.
“Okay, so you’re not into beer. I’m guessing you’re a Cabernet Sauvignon or Scotch connoisseur, which means you’re going to like this.” He nodded his head at the glass. “Give it a try, and then I’ll tell you what it is.”
I took a sip of the cool liquid that had just a hint of foam at the top. Flavors burst on my tongue—coffee mixed with hints of wood and spices. It was thick and smooth without even a hint of the normal bitter taste I usually associated with beer. It was...good.
I looked up at the bartender in surprise.
He gave me a smug smile. “You like it, right?”
“I do. Why? What is it?”
“It’s their newest offering. The brewery owner’s daughter developed and added it to the line last year. That right there is a porter called Smooth Moves.”
I barked out a laugh. “Of course she did. Damn, if only drinking this could help me in that regard with the woman in question.”
I had been talking more to myself than the bartender, but he stilled with an interested gleam to his eye. “The blonde you’re having issues with is Lake O’B
rien?”
I nodded. “You know her?”
“Yeah, I went to school with her.” This time he studied me with more than a passing curiosity. “My name’s Sawyer.” He reached across to shake my hand.
“Walsh.”
“I don’t know you, so you must be in town for...vacation or business?”
“Business. I’m working a deal with Naked Brews. So, what can you tell me about the company?”
He shook his head at me. “Nope, I don’t know you, so I won’t be dishing dirt on one of our locals. Any questions you have about Naked Brews, Lake is your girl.”
If only that were true. I took another sip of the beer. It really was good, and it was her recipe. For some reason, that made it even better.
“That girl grew up inside her dad’s brewery,” Sawyer continued with an intensity behind his words. “And honestly, if you’re chasing after her for something other than beer, then I’d advise you to look elsewhere. Lake’s heart will belong to the brewery, first and always. Unless you’re willing to play second fiddle, then that way just lies heartbreak.”
If that was true, then Lake might be open to exploring this chemistry between us on a purely sexual level. Hell, the two of us could hardly be in the same room without fighting, but it might be seriously hot for both of us if we channeled all that energy toward something much more fun and satisfactory. But I probably shouldn’t mention that to one of her childhood friends.
I’d rather have Sawyer as an ally than an enemy, so I changed the subject. “So, I feel like I should know...what does ITB stand for?”
He wiped the bar and laughed. “There’s a reason we use the initials. We don’t want to offend anyone, but the owner of the hotel is Freddy Aston, and he has a great twisted sense of humor. This is a sports bar, right?”
I nodded.
“ITB stands for It Takes Balls.”
Smooth Moves porter did not go out as smoothly, coming up my nose. When I stopped coughing and laughing, I wiped at my face. “That’s classic. I like it.”
“And now you understand why we love Naked Brews around here, too. They fit right in with this crew.”
I just needed to find a way to fit in with Lake.
Chapter Seventeen
Lake
Two days later
I slumped into my office chair and let my head fall back against the rough fabric so I could stare at the ceiling. Maybe the water stains and tiny cracks would have more answers for me.
“Well that was kind of a dramatic entrance.” Melissa slid her chair over next to mine and leaned her head back to match my position. “Anything you want to talk about?”
“I forgot to call Jerry about a faulty temperature gauge a few days ago, and we lost an entire tank of porter.”
“That stinks.”
I sat up so I could stare at Melissa. “Stinks. No, Melissa. It would stink if Eric dropped a glass. It would stink if a deep fryer went out. Losing an entire tank of beer that’s going to cost us thousands in replacement ingredients and lost sales revenue sucks big, hairy, donkey balls.”
Melissa sat up, too, and pulled her knees to her chest. “Mistakes happen. To everyone.”
“Yeah, except they keep happening to me, costing us way too much money when I’m trying to save every nickel I can so I don’t lose the brewery.” I slumped back in my chair. “Maybe I should just let Walsh have it.”
“Lake!” Melissa reached over and flicked my ear hard enough to leave a mark.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“Seriously?” She reached over again, but I darted out of her reach. “Just let Walsh have the brewery? What’s wrong with you?”
“I thought I could do this. I really did. But everything I touch just falls apart. I’m a failure at running Naked Brews.”
“You’re not a failure.”
I gave Melissa a light pat on the knee. “You graduated high school two years early and got straight A’s in college. You have no idea what failure is.”
“There’s more than one way to fail.” Melissa got up from her chair and perched on the desk so we could look at each other. “I was failing spectacularly before I came here to work at Naked Brews.”
“What are you talking about? You were working for a top-notch accounting firm and pulling in way more money than I can afford to pay you.”
“And hating every minute of it.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Did I ever tell you I never really wanted to be an accountant? But I was good with numbers and didn’t have anything else in mind, so my dad suggested accounting, and I did it. If you hadn’t asked me to work here, I would have quit eventually.”
I sat up, another stone of guilt and failure settling in my gut. “Melissa, if you don’t like accounting, you don’t have to work here just for me.”
“Are you kidding? I love working here.” Melissa grabbed a rubber band from the desk and twisted her blonde hair into a messy ponytail. “You showed me what it’s like to be passionate about life. You love this brewery so much, and it shows in everything you do here. Watching you every day is contagious. I’ve remembered that I’m good with numbers because I love them.”
The best thing about taking over the brewery had been getting my two best friends to move here to help. While I liked that it had helped Melissa out of a miserable job, that didn’t offset the fact that I was doing a horrible job here. I was blowing this for all of us. “That’s great. Really, I’m happy that you’re happy, but that doesn’t erase everything I’ve been messing up.”
“Don’t you get it? Even when you mess up, you show passion. Every little pain point at Naked Brews is lived and felt via Lake O’Brien. This place needs that passion to keep running. Do you really think some stodgy corporation run by Walsh Thorne is going to have your passion?”
Walsh’s name sent a ripple of pleasure across my skin, and at the same time, it dropped a lead weight of dread into my belly. That man was trouble every day and twice on Sunday.
I glanced around the office, just noticing for the first time that we were down a girl. “Where’s Alex?”
“On a date,” Melissa chirped in a sing-song voice. “You should try it some time.”
“Look who’s talking. I can’t remember the last time I saw you go out.”
“True.” Melissa spun her chair around like a kid. “But I’m not the one with a super hot guy making googly eyes at her.”
“No one is making googly eyes at anyone, and even if there were eyes being made, it wouldn’t matter.” I picked up a random stack of papers from the desk and straightened them on the chipped wood surface. “I kicked Walsh out, and we haven’t seen him for two days. He’s probably living the high life in Denver with a girl on each arm.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“Why?” I mentally kicked myself for hoping against hope that Melissa was right.
“You guys are classic star-crossed lovers. I can practically read the book jacket now.” Melissa threw her hands up in front of her like she was reading a book. “She wants to preserve her father’s dream. He wants to honor a fallen brother. They both want the same brewery, but they may end up with more than they ever imagined.”
I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. “There are no words for how stupid that sounds.”
“Fight it all you want, but you guys have a destiny.” Melissa grinned at me with her big doe eyes flashing.
“What I have is a brewery to run.” I forced myself up to go check on the current brews. “Besides, I’m not some heroine in one your books.” I pushed open the office door and waved at her over my shoulder.
“That’s what every heroine in every romance novel always says.” Melissa’s words followed me down the hall.
The characters in the books stacked under her bed had plenty of steamy sex, and if the truth were told, I could get into that chapter. If Walsh ever found his way back to Naked Brews, maybe a good fuck would be just what the doctor ordered. It was clear there was plenty of chemi
stry between us.
But after the crazy, amazing sex, Melissa’s romance characters always found a Happily Ever After with two characters so in love, staring into each other’s eyes as they shared a future. Crazy amazing sex was one thing; love was quite another. With Naked Brews on the line, there was no chance for a happy future together. And that was just fine by me.
Chapter Eighteen
Walsh
After a couple of days poking around and delving into the past of Naked Brews and the town, I felt ready to face Lake again.
The snow hadn’t stopped in the last two days, and I’d quickly ditched my business suits for more practical hiking boots and jeans. I stomped the snow off those boots as I came in the door of the brewery but gained a good inch on the top of my head from a drift off the roof.
It was still early enough in the day that the lunch crowd hadn’t hit the pub yet, although the bartender was there, stocking. He gave me a head nod in greeting. “Heads up for falling snow.”
Still not even close to funny. I pointed toward the office area. “I’m headed in there.”
The door to Lake’s office stood wide open, but I still knocked on the doorframe as I entered out of pure courtesy.
The blonde from before sat at the desk, and her face lit up with a huge welcoming smile when she spotted me. At least someone was happy to see me. “Well, look who’s back. Hello, Mr. Thorne. We’ve been wondering when you were going to slink back in.”
Not a surprise that someone had told them I was still around in this small town. It sure hadn’t been a secret. I’d just needed time to plan my next move with Lake. I needed to control our interactions better to make this work. “Call me Walsh, but Lake ever properly introduced us, so I don’t know your name.”
She laughed and tittered a bit. God, she looked young. How did this brewery employ so many youngsters?
“I’m Melissa. I assume you’re looking for Lake.” At my nod, she continued. “She’s in the brewing room. Go on back. She’s been anxious to see you again.”