By Monday, he’d recovered sufficiently that he wasn’t walking around sleep deprived and sex addled—but just barely. He knew he needed to be on top of his game that morning because Hannah had texted him on Sunday afternoon to say there was going to be a quick meeting first thing Monday morning in the small conference room. She didn’t tell him the topic, but he already suspected what it was.
And he was right.
“Jana Pogue will be formally joining the staff on Thursday as the Old Garnet heritage director,” Bo announced. “We’re excited to have her join us so she can start managing and hopefully resolve the problems with the tour guides and gift shop. I do not know how my mother did all that,” he concluded, shaking his head.
“Where will her office be?” Walker asked.
“Don’t know yet, but for now she’ll have to work out of the gift shop,” said Hannah.
“We could clean up that storage room at the end of the hall,” Goose suggested. “That would give her an office in the visitors’ center but also quick access to the old rickhouse or the distillery.”
Hannah nodded. “That’s a great idea.”
“Okay,” Bo agreed and addressed Goose. “Get that place cleaned up. Let me know if you need any help.”
“I’ll start shopping for office furniture,” Hannah added.
They discussed a few more trivial things, and the meeting broke up. Walker left first, but Goose asked to stay so he could discuss the mole problem again.
“Make it snappy,” Hannah demanded and looked at her watch as she stood. “I need to get on the road to Lexington. Have a meeting this morning with the new advertising firm we’re hiring to promote the launch of Garnet Center Cut, and I don’t want to be late.”
Goose closed the door. “Did you see that?”
“See what?” Bo asked.
Goose looked at Hannah expectantly.
“He wasn’t upset about Jana, if that’s your point,” Hannah said.
Goose nodded. “He just didn’t give a damn. I wonder what happened.”
Hannah walked past the two men, a smile spreading across her face. “I don’t,” she said, leaving the men puzzled.
CiCi remembered sleeping a lot on Sunday and getting in a load of laundry. During her slumbers, which consisted of a series of naps, she had drifted off to memories of Walker making love to her which would invariably blend into fantasies of what would happen when they were alone together again. She hoped he was half as contented as she was after their first night together.
First night together. That implied there would be more.
Yeah, that was definitely going to happen, she’d thought as she had taken the sheets she’d stripped from the bed and thrown them into the washer. And then she’d almost forgotten to get the sheets out of the dryer because Walker had called, completely distracting her. The call was short, but after they’d ended it she’d floated off into more daydreams and only remembered the sheets after she’d eaten dinner and was considering an early bedtime to catch up on more sleep.
Monday morning was routine except that CiCi felt unusually awake and alive as she walked the short block to the courthouse. Not even the sight of the auditors parking at the front and spilling out of the state-issued vehicle like a bunch of bureaucratic circus clowns could dampen her spirits. She breezed through security, giving a confused Sheriff Kyle Sammons a particularly perky morning greeting, and went to her second-floor office, intent on getting through her e-mails early so she could go see the circuit judges.
CiCi hadn’t shared the details of the audit with Rachel and Brady and figured it was time to let them know what was happening. They were her professional colleagues as well as her friends, and she knew they would appreciate being kept abreast of developments in the Craig County Courthouse. She also needed to mention the audit to the other judge with chambers in the courthouse, District Judge Cara Forrest, but knew that on Mondays Judge Forrest sat in Van Winkle County, which was part of her jurisdiction. After making a mental note to drop in on Cara as soon as possible, CiCi called Sherry to confirm Rachel and Brady were in the office that day.
“But you’d better get up here soon,” Sherry advised. “Judge Richards has a bench trial at eight thirty.”
CiCi left the confines of her office and advised she was going up to see the circuit judges.
“Ask when they’ll know whether they’re having a boy or girl!” cried one of the deputy clerks at CiCi as she walked away. “Clerks and the sheriff’s deputies got a betting pool started on the gender and the date of delivery!”
CiCi turned in the door of the clerk’s office. “What makes you think they’ll tell me?”
“Everyone tells you everything!” the deputy said to the laughter of the other clerks.
CiCi sniffed as she walked up the stairs and down the hallway to the judges’ chambers. She definitely could still detect eau de deceased raccoon in the hallway and hoped that the nasty, lingering relic of last week’s odiferous adventures with critters in the attic wouldn’t bother the mother-to-be.
“Hello!” CiCi chirped upon entering the judges’ office.
Sherry greeted her and told CiCi they were back in Rachel’s office eating breakfast.
When CiCi entered, she saw Brady struggling to open a window and Rachel sitting in her desk chair looking a very unsavory shade of pale green.
“The smell?” CiCi asked, and Rachel nodded mutely.
“Just about any smell, really.” Brady looked at his wife with concern.
Rachel wrinkled her nose. “I thought I was out of the woods on this morning sickness crap.”
“I’ll ask the custodians if there’s anything else we can do about the odor,” CiCi promised.
Brady handed Rachel a bottle of water and rolled up his shirtsleeves. “What brings you up here today?”
“I wanted to talk about the audit of my office if you’ve both got the time,” CiCi said and looked at Rachel. “And the stomach for it.”
They exhorted her to sit.
“I wanted to inform you—as the circuit judges—that the audit is still going on, although I’m hopeful it will be over this week.” She described the process as it had been explained to her by Harriet and didn’t mince words when it came to the possible consequences of a bad report. Rachel was upset at the very idea that CiCi could be removed from office, but CiCi tried to reassure her—as well as herself—that such an outcome was unlikely.
“Let us know if we can help in any way,” Brady said. “It seems unfair that they can go back and look at your books before you even took office.”
“That was my thought too,” CiCi grumbled.
“Well, I haven’t heard a peep of a rumor about the audit,” Rachel said.
“Neither have I,” Brady added. “Although I suppose the person you really need to ask is Hannah. She’s still plugged into the legal and other grapevines even though she’s out at the distillery now.”
“Maybe I’ll to talk to her,” CiCi said but immediately wondered whether she could stay on the topic of gossip related to the audit and off her personal life.
CiCi started to head to the door, and Brady walked with her, leaving Rachel alone in her office to sip water and review the record for the bench trial she had in a few minutes.
“How’s she doing?” CiCi asked once they were out of earshot. She and Brady were in the entry area alone, and she suspected Sherry had stepped into the courtroom to prepare the bench for Rachel.
Brady looked over his shoulder in the direction of Rachel’s office. “She’s tired. I’ve been worried about her. But she’s getting better.”
It was wonderful to see Rachel and Brady together and so happy. They’d had a rough time in the beginning of their relationship, but after Brady had gotten elected and kept his judgeship, their story had blossomed into nothing short of the fairy tale that CiCi tended to doubt was in reach for herself. Or did she still harbor those doubts now that Walker Cain was in her life?
“My staff tells m
e that I’m supposed to ask you when you two are going to know the baby’s gender.”
Brady laughed. “When everyone else does. When he or she gets here.”
“Not going to find out early?”
“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “Are you okay with this audit?” Brady asked, changing the subject and the mood.
“Not really. But it’s not like I have a choice, so I have to deal with it.”
“You do have a choice, CiCi, and it’s how you deal with it. And it looks like you’re dealing with it just fine.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I don’t want it to be a distraction for everyone else around here. We’ve got work to do.”
“I wish the auditors could’ve heard you say that. Again, if we can do anything to help, you only have to say the word.”
“You probably can’t do anything since you’re sitting judges, but thanks.”
CiCi headed for the door but not before one more question from Brady.
“How’s Walker?”
“He’s great,” she said, smiling and getting warm at the thought of her beau. “It’s been a really nice surprise. I certainly wasn’t looking for it.”
“That’s exactly how it hits you.” Brady folded his arms over his chest and nodded. “A surprise.”
“How what hits you?”
“Love,” he said with a big goofy grin.
Chapter 17
Walker had decided he definitely was going to buy the house a few blocks away from CiCi’s place. Late on Monday, his real estate agent reported that the seller had accepted his offer and was willing to close as soon as within two weeks. He was thrilled, and told his agent to go ahead and set up a closing date. He had the cash saved to buy the property outright; he hadn’t owned a home since his divorce and had been sitting on a pile of money until the perfect place came along.
And it came with the perfect neighbor.
He called CiCi that night and told her the news that he’d be living within walking distance of her home.
“Now you won’t have to worry about where you park your car,” she teased.
“Neither will you,” he pointed out. “I plan to entertain you at my place quite often provided you will grace my home with your lovely presence. And speaking of my current place, would you like to come over tonight? You’re not going to have many more opportunities to visit my soon-to-be-former humble abode.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why?” Walker asked, a little hurt.
“Because I’m pretty sure apartments tend to have thin walls. My house is much more solidly built for—well, whatever we might want to do and the noise we might make while doing it,” CiCi finished and laughed.
Walker knew at that moment that he was a very, very lucky man.
Because he was the man who was in love with Catherine Charlotte Summers.
Was it too soon to feel that way, to recognize that longing and attachment? They weren’t exactly strangers—especially after their first night together—but they’d known each other now for nearly half a year. And if he had to admit it to himself, it might’ve been love at first sight. That day at the distillery when he’d seen CiCi with the school group had become a cherished memory. He’d never had such an immediate, visceral reaction upon first glimpse of a member of the opposite sex. CiCi had transfixed him the moment he’d heard her voice ringing out in the distillery as she’d admonished two amorous students who’d snuck into a secluded spot.
He wasn’t going to tell her how he felt just yet—he didn’t want to alarm her with his feelings so early in the relationship. But he also knew what he’d felt that December day had grown into something very special, and he was determined to see where it led. He was in it for keeps.
Circumstances conspired against them, and they went for a few days without seeing each other. In the meantime, on the Wednesday of that week, Jana Pogue became the newest employee at Old Garnet Distillery and its first-ever heritage director. Walker wasn’t really bothered by this development. He’d be in another part of the distillery for most of the working day. And the time he might have been preoccupied with thinking about his ex-wife was now going to be populated with thoughts of CiCi.
His girlfriend.
He’d been repeating it to himself, sometimes aloud when he was home alone, as if it were some kind of mantra that he had to keep pronouncing to convince himself of its truth. And he also just liked saying it. It was a nerdy little thrill for him.
It was that mantra he kept in mind as he arrived at the distillery café that morning for the meeting which preceded Jana’s first full day of work. Hannah and Bo had a small welcome breakfast for Jana in the café her first morning. In addition to Bo and Goose, several other distillery workers were invited to the casual affair, which provided a continental-style breakfast.
“Sorry I dressed up,” Jana said when she walked into the café in full business attire while Bo, Hannah, Walker, and Goose were all in business casual.
“I told you we don’t dress up unless we have to,” Hannah said. “But I do love that red suit. Perfect color.”
Jana looked down at her attire and grinned. “I know. Garnet, right?” she asked. “I must’ve been subconsciously thinking that when I put it on.”
With her bright red hair against the vibrantly red fabric, Jana looked like she was on fire. Yet while the suit was smart, it didn’t complement Jana’s coloring; way too much orange and red for his liking, although he could appreciate Jana’s sentiment at wanting to identify with the traditional color and symbol of her new employer.
Hannah tossed her paper coffee cup into a nearby trash can. “Go grab something to eat so we can get on with your tour.”
Jana declared she wasn’t hungry but requested a short break so she could go to the bathroom before the tour and left the café along with several distillery workers who were headed back to work. Bo then excused himself, saying he needed to call a contractor about the construction on the new rickhouse, leaving Hannah and Walker alone.
“How’s CiCi?” Hannah asked Walker as he took the last bite of a donut.
Walker swallowed, then grinned. “She’s wonderful,” he gushed, surprised at his own enthusiasm.
Hannah squeezed Walker’s arm. “Good. And you take care of her. Or you will answer to me,” she warned in a mother-hen voice.
“Yes, ma’am,” Walker agreed and gave his boss a hasty bow.
“Have you figured out that she’s not all sass and silliness?”
“I’d have to say that’s mostly what she is, but I do understand what you mean. She told me about her family.”
Hannah nodded sadly. “I remember her high school graduation. I’d already graduated but came back to see a friend graduate. CiCi’s jerk of a father had the nerve to show up. Not a pretty sight.”
“How bad was it?”
“Bad. I overheard the argument,” Hannah continued. “It was outside the gym after the ceremony. Everyone else was standing around, hugging, taking pictures. And there CiCi was with her mother in tears and her father looking all pissed off because CiCi was angry. Idiot couldn’t figure out why she was so mad at him, even though he shows up out of the blue. At least he didn’t come with the first wife and CiCi’s half sister.”
“I suppose that’s one point in the man’s favor,” Walker said wryly.
“Yeah, the only one,” Hannah spat out. “I remember the comments my parents made about Jonas Summers when I was growing up. He was their same age, and they all knew each other. I think he worked at Old Garnet for a while in the bottling house. Needless to say, the things I overheard were not exactly flattering. My parents told me I needed to be nice to CiCi because she’d had a hard time in life even though she was only a kid. They told me the same thing about Pepper Montrose.”
“I don’t think I know her,” Walker said.
“Another sad, simple story. Her dad was a local lawyer. Stole his clients’ money, got disbarred, abandoned Pepper and her mother, leaving th
em nearly destitute. Pepper’s now a schoolteacher and takes care of her sick mother. I don’t know her that well, but people around here still remember what her father did even though all that was around twenty years ago.” Hannah paused and sighed. “A different story than CiCi’s, but at its heart the same thing: betrayal.”
Walker silently mused over his own childhood and its relative perfection compared to others’ lives. And while he had his differences with his father, those problems didn’t arise until adulthood.
“CiCi told me that she never got to know her half sister,” Walker said.
“Yes, and it really upset her when she found out her half sister died. That was a rough time for her because it happened during the time her mother got sick and died.”
The conversation was cut short by Jana’s reappearance and her announcement that she was ready to go on the tour.
“Then we’re off,” Hannah said.
“And so am I,” Walker announced and headed to the distillery while Hannah and Jana went in the opposite direction and toward the gift shop and tasting room.
After only a few minutes with Jana, Hannah was pleased to discover that Old Garnet’s new heritage director was full of ideas for new products, tours, and events. Jana proposed that the distillery start a two-hour-long history tour in addition to the standard hour-long tour.
“It would boost our position to be designated as a National Historic Landmark, according to what Lila told me,” said Jana as they were roaming around in the stockroom behind the gift shop.
“If you’ve got Lila’s seal of approval on anything history related, that’s more than good enough for me,” Hannah said. “I’d love for Old Garnet to get the landmark status. Several other distilleries have the honor, and I want Old Garnet on that list with them.”
“I think it’s in the cards,” Jana said. “We’ll get there. Just need to figure out the steps.” Jana stopped to examine some boxes filled with candies. “We should be selling more bourbon balls here, it seems to me. We’d have to buy a refrigerated case, but I think it would be a good investment. I tasted Over a Barrel’s bourbon balls on Saturday after the BourbonDaze committee meeting. CiCi was right about them being excellent.”
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