Whiskey and Moonshine

by Elizabeth Noble

  Colt nodded. “A shorter walk to work isn’t a bad idea.” He shook Mal’s hand. “Deal.”

  “I’ll arrange for a decorator to come in. It’s time this suite got a fresh coat of paint and an upgrade. Make whatever changes you’d like. All my mother’s very personal possessions were removed, so keep what you want and replace what you don’t. Orson, my decorator, knows the budget. Unfortunately he’s tied up on another project right now and won’t be able to start for a few weeks, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with the flowers for a bit.” Mal walked across the front room and opened a door, explaining, “My mother used this room as an office. You’ll get a laptop and phone for your personal use as part of your compensation package. I think they’re downstairs with your clothes. Audrey will set up a company email for you. One of us can help you with other details if you need it. The computer in my office is for official distillery business.”

  Colt was close enough beside him that the heat he gave off washed over Mal.

  “Okay,” Colt said.

  Mal put one hand on Colt’s shoulder and turned him around. Not once had Colt shrugged off Mal’s touch or appeared insulted or uncomfortable. “This way to the bath.” Mal opened pocket doors at the end of the room that led to the bedroom. The bathroom was off the bedroom. “That sliding door opens out to an enclosed balcony.”

  “Wow,” Colt said in a low voice.

  “Man of few words,” Mal teased and laughed. “I bet we can cut into that cake now.”

  Colt nodded and walked ahead of Mal to the suite door. The way he looked back at the rooms made Mal smile softly. He was proud of his house, and it always made him happy when someone else liked it as well. They returned to the kitchen, where Mal cut the cake and placed generous slices on two plates.

  “Do you like coffee?” Mal asked.

  Colt shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Ah-ha, well, that makes me think you’ve never had good coffee, and this cake screams for good coffee.” Mal leaned down and cupped his ear. “Hear it?” Colt laughed, and Mal pointed at him. “There, I got to hear that laugh again.”

  Rolling his eyes, Colt blushed and spent a few seconds watching himself scuff his toe over the floor tiles.

  “This is my favorite. Italian roast,” Mal explained as he ground the beans.

  “That smells good.”

  Mal snorted. “It’ll smell even better after it’s brewed.”

  “How much are you going to make in that huge coffee maker?” Colt pointed to the behemoth machine he’d noticed earlier.

  “That thing is for those intimate gatherings of a hundred or so,” Mal explained. He pointed to a thick hourglass-shaped jar. “This is another kind of coffee maker.” He put water on to heat. “It’s called a Chemex and was developed in Germany in the nineteen forties. Filters go in the open top part, add coffee and hot water, and in a few minutes we’ll have the best cup of coffee you’ve ever tasted.”

  When the coffee was ready, Mal stood and watched while Colt took a sip. “Well?” Mal asked.

  “Oh… oh my God, that’s…. Oh my God. I never knew something like this existed,” Colt gushed.

  Mal handed Colt his mug of coffee and picked up both plates. “Shall we take this outside?”

  Colt nodded and took a few long strides across the kitchen to the breakfast nook. He used his elbow to push open the sliding glass door, then closed it again once Mal was on the deck.

  As before, they spent a few minutes in silence, enjoying their food. It was completely dark, other than the light given off from the cooling grill and the small solar light globes. A sliver of a moon had risen, and stars dotted the sky.

  “That was great. Thank you.” Colt put down his fork and leaned back in the chair. He put his fist over his mouth, looked away, and yawned. “Sorry.”

  Mal shook his head. “Don’t be. It’s been a long day.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Do you think you’ll be ready to go public by Friday?”

  Colt glanced at Mal’s hand before taking it and standing. He nodded and grinned. “I will. What’s my first official task?”

  “There is a party, mainly people in this business. Distributors, retail chain, and hospitality reps. It’s not uncommon for brewery and distillery staff to attend. We thought it be helpful for you to meet some industry people,” Mal said. He let go of Colt’s hand.

  “What am I supposed to do at this thing?”

  Mal shrugged. “Honestly, enjoy yourself. It’s more of networking event and a chance to catch up with others in the world of adult beverages. A lot of my business is done over the phone or via emails. This sort of party is held a few times a year in different locations all over the world. It’s a chance to see business connections face-to-face. My thought was that having you attend would simply be another way to get your face associated with my distillery. We’ve never done anything like this before, used one person consistently and gotten the general public to see him and think Kensington’s whiskey and moonshine. That will be you.”

  “Are people going to want to talk business with me?” Colt began stacking their dishes. “You cooked. I can clean up.”

  “We can load the dishwasher when we go inside. Which reminds me, the staff gets here at seven; I’ll make sure they know you’re in the second suite and I’ll have a copy of the schedule sent to you. We use an email system to assure there’re no disruptions of privacy.”

  Mal shut the grill down and picked up the glasses while Colt carried the plates. He walked to the door and opened it for Colt.

  “As for business questions, give anyone who asks Audrey’s card and tell them to contact her. That’s the way it’s been for years. She handles most inquiries. No one will think twice about it. There might be a few people who’ll think they can get insider info from you, but once they realize that’s not happening, they’ll probably ignore you.”

  Colt laughed. “That’ll be easy. I don’t know anything!”

  It didn’t take long to take care of the cookware and dishes, and with their task completed, they left the kitchen and walked to the staircase. Mal stuffed his hands into his pockets as they climbed the stairs. It was either that, or he was going to find excuses to put his arm around Colt’s waist, take his arm, or otherwise touch him. He certainly didn’t want to make Colt uneasy with unwanted advances. There was a line between friendly gestures and going too far, particularly since Colt was his employee. Mal had no intention of crossing it despite how charming and attractive he found Colt.

  When they reached the top of the stairs, Mal pulled keys from his pocket and held them out to Colt. “For your suite and the front door.”

  “You’re trusting me with the key to your house?” Colt seemed a little surprised.

  Mal nodded. “There is an alarm system. During the day I do have staff here, and the alarm is off. After ten, it’s armed. If you’re out late, call me so I can let you in.”

  Colt tossed the keys up and caught them again. “Curfew, great.”

  “Nah, just to let me know if you’ll be coming in after ten.” Mal looked at the floor and scuffed his toe along the polished wood. “To be honest, this is a big old house. Sometimes it makes weird noises, and I’d feel better having a little warning so I know an odd sound is only you.”

  “Yeah, I can understand that,” Colt said.

  Mal waited until Colt put the key into the lock and pushed the door open. “Sleep well.”

  “Thanks, you too,” Colt said and held out his hand. “I appreciate you giving me this job. I won’t let you down.”

  Mal shook Colt’s hand. This time Colt held on a second or two longer than necessary. “You’ll be fantastic.” He patted Colt’s shoulder with his other hand when they separated.

  As he headed down the hall, he heard the door to Colt’s suite close softly. Mal had lived alone for too long. It would be nice having someone else around.

  Chapter Five

  COLT wandered around the suite. There was quite a bit of Mrs. Kensington—Colt soon
discovered her first name was Gloria, based on the little stickers inside the books left there—that remained besides the floral wallpaper. She must’ve liked history and natural science since that’s what most of the books on the shelves that lined the front room were. Science fiction was another of her loves. Colt found a collection of DVDs and books from the show Firefly. As he flipped through one of the graphic novels he found, he remembered liking that show about a group of people from all walks of life becoming a family in a rattletrap spaceship.

  He was exhausted and decided an in-depth exploration of the suite could wait. For now he’d check out the bedroom. As Audrey had said earlier, even before Colt decided to stay here, Colt’s new wardrobe had been brought in and hung up in a ginormous walk-in closet or folded away in drawers.

  “I guess if I’m going to live here, I have to touch this stuff.” Colt took a breath and blew it out. “Don’t break anything, don’t break anything,” he chanted as he moved around the closet. It was huge, bright, and cheery, white with touches of a soft, very pale pink. The space was obviously designed for a woman, and Colt’s clothes and shoes looked out of place.

  “I’d have to work for five lifetimes to pay for anything I wreck. So don’t wreck anything, Colt.” He peeked into the bathroom. It was off the bedroom and half again as large. The best part was the television mounted on the wall opposite the enormous tub. Colt wondered if the stone mosaic floor was one Mal had created.

  “Christ, this room is big enough for a whole family of four to live in,” Colt muttered. “And the closet could be their summer home.” He pulled a few drawers open and peered inside. The bathroom was stocked with shaving supplies, and one drawer was actually a laundry hamper.

  After shedding his clothes, he placed them neatly in the hamper. Gwendolyn had provided pajamas, but Colt didn’t like wearing them if he didn’t have to. He padded through to the bedroom. The carpet was soft, thick, and plush. Colt glanced behind him and saw his footprints disappear when the carpet sprung back into place.

  He stopped and pointed to the floor. “That is so cool.”

  Colt turned to the bed. It was a behemoth of wood with an upholstered bench snugged up against the foot. The headboard and footboard curled over, reminding Colt of an old-fashioned sleigh. “All it needs is reindeer.”

  A quick search through the tables on either side of the bed produced a TV remote. Colt held the device and twisted on his heels to look at the wall opposite the bed. There was a large flat-screen television mounted there above low bookshelves. He found the panel of light switches and turned all of them off except the small lamps on the nightstands.

  Colt stepped up onto the bench, then fell backward over the footboard onto the bed and bounced a few times. Sitting up, he pushed against the mattress with his free hand and aimed the remote at the TV with the other. Colt shimmied back until his back pressed against the pillows. A bit of wiggling around and he pulled the covers back to get underneath.

  The whole day caught up with him very suddenly, and he’d barely begun to watch The Tonight Show before he woke to sun streaming through the windows. There must have been a timer on the television, because Colt didn’t remember turning it off. The remote was on the bed not far from his hand. The little lamps on either side of the bed were still on. When he reached up and turned one off, they both shut down.

  “Nice.” He stretched and yawned, then slipped out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

  While he shaved, he told his reflection, “I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well.” He pointed the razor at his reflection. “Do good at this. Don’t fuck it up. These people work, really work, for what they have. Show them you can too.”

  His ablutions finished, he wandered to the front room and looked around. “Now what?”

  As if someone heard his question, there was noise from what was once Gloria Kensington’s office. Colt had almost forgotten about the phone and computer that were also delivered. The phone was alight with a text from Audrey and another from Mal. His heart thudded exuberantly as he opened Mal’s message first.

  I’ve sent a longer email about household details. Enjoyed dinner last night. It was fun. Hope we do it often—Mal.

  It took Colt a few minutes of fumbling around before he was able to type out and send a reply. Colt decided on a simple You’re a great cook, it was fun, and I hope so too. Thank you. Colt.

  He opened the laptop, then spent a minute checking to see if it was plugged in. Everything had been set up and was ready for use once Colt turned it on.

  While it booted up, he sat in front of it and read Audrey’s text.

  I trust you slept well and got Mal to talk. LOL. We’re meeting this morning at nine on the deck. Bring this phone and the laptop, and Jeffery will help you with a few things. PS… you made an impression on the boss!

  There was a string of smiley faces at the end.

  A sticky note stuck to the computer keys bore a password and username for his email. Colt opened that next and found one email from Mal. He read it quickly, smiling as he scrolled down. As promised, he’d sent Colt details about the house schedule, as well as reiterating that the clothes and other things provided for Colt were his to keep, no matter how long he was the Kensington Distillery and Still House representative.

  He laughed outright when he read Mal’s final paragraph.

  No one cooks in my kitchen but me. There is an empty shelf in the refrigerator for you and feel free to make coffee or tea, but don’t you dare blow the place up. You’ll get a menu every day from Kensington’s Place. Fill it out and the food will be delivered the next day. The times are below. The cleaning staff also take care of grocery shopping. There is a driver. If you need her services let me know.

  A glance at the time and he realized he’d better hurry. Audrey had texted him a little after eight, so now he had roughly forty minutes to get dressed and get downstairs.

  As he stood and stared into the room where all his clothes were stored—he couldn’t bring himself to continue calling it a closet—he wished Gwendolyn were here now. Mal had referred to her as the mistress of the wardrobe, but Colt was quickly learning maybe the more correct term would be dictator of the wardrobe.

  “Maybe I have her number,” Colt announced to the wall of shelves and ran back to the office. He scooped up the phone and went back to his clothes. Colt had never owned a smartphone, but he knew the basic concept of how to use one. It took a minute, but he finally found the list of contacts and nearly collapsed when he saw Gwendolyn’s number, along with Audrey’s, Phillipe’s, and Mal’s, were preprogrammed into the device.

  He was trying to decide on the politer course of action at this hour of the morning, call or text, when the phone lit up and an incoming call was announced.

  “Gwendolyn, thank God,” Colt answered.

  Gwendolyn laughed. “Go into the closet.”

  “This isn’t a closet. It’s a condo for clothes,” Colt grumbled.

  “I know. My room at college wasn’t half that size, but for simplicity can we call it your closet?” Gwendolyn replied.

  “Yeah. I’m inside. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be wearing.”

  “Don’t panic,” Gwendolyn said. “You’ll be fine. Mr. Kensington has these meetings a few times a week, and they’re all casual. Other than Mr. Grice, everyone shows up in what they’d wear to work. Did you like the shoes you wore last night?”

  “They’re awesome.”

  “There are a couple of pairs of jeans on the shelves. One of those and one of the short-sleeved pullover shirts will be fine. It’s kind of warm out. Please, Colt, remember this is my job. You’re not only allowed to call or text and ask, it’s expected. My reputation depends on you and Mr. Kensington looking good and being properly dressed for any occasion.” Gwendolyn’s voice was sterner than usual, but it made Colt smile.

  “You really have my back, don’t you?” Colt asked. “Green or black?”

  “For the shirt? I fancy the green. It’ll ma
ke your eyes really stand out.” Gwendolyn sighed dramatically. “Yes, of course. I very much have your back. However, the sticky buns we get during these breakfasts are to die for, and it’s every man and woman for themselves. Put a move on.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Colt said and snickered. He ended the call and hurried to get dressed. As instructed, he clutched the laptop, stuck his phone in his pocket, grabbed his key, and headed out the door. Stopping in the hallway to get his bearings, Colt started when a door down the hall closed softly.

  “Good morning.” Mal jogged down the hall to meet Colt. He waved at the door to Colt’s suite. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Ye-yes, I did. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a bed that comfortable.”

  “You look nice. Gwen called you this morning?” Mal asked as they walked toward the wide curving staircase. Colt nodded and silently cursed himself when his cheeks warmed. As Mal continued, his voice rose an octave. “Let me guess. ‘Mr. Kensington, if you don’t dress properly and look good, my reputation as a wardrobe coordinator and fashion stylist suffers.’”

  Colt laughed. “That was pretty much what she said.” He reached out with his free hand and tapped one finger against Mal’s shoulder. The muscle under his shirt was firm, and the color of his outfit suited him perfectly. Colt especially liked the way Mal’s physique was accented by the cut of his clothes.

  Mal snorted. “Welcome to my world.”

  “You look pretty awesome yourself.” Colt was thrilled when Mal smiled broadly, his face lighting up. “I got your email… and text,” Colt blurted.

  “I figured as much since you sent me an answer.”

  Mal put one hand on Colt’s shoulder as they walked down the steps. Touching someone and being touched in such a gentle, easygoing manner wasn’t something Colt was accustomed to. He liked it. Colt was very careful not to jostle Mal’s hand away. Mal patted Colt’s shoulder a few times before he let go when they reached the kitchen doorway.