First Kiss, On the House

by Judi Lynn

He pulled behind Daphne’s shop and opened the pickup’s door for Adele. On the way upstairs to their apartment, he grinned. Once he had his first batch of beer done, he could invite Miriam to the brewery for a free trial. School would be out by then. Maybe he could spend more time with her.

  Chapter 12

  Miriam watched the clock tick to the final minutes of school on Friday. Thank God. While her students worked on their term papers, she’d graded as many papers as she could, but she kept getting interrupted.

  “Miss Reinhardt, am I doing footnotes right?” Corey asked.

  “Not yet.” Corey needed everything explained to him at least a half dozen times, but once he got it, he kept it forever, so she showed him—again—the correct way to do them.

  Marissa was next at her desk. “Miss Reinhardt, are you grading mostly on content? How much of a percentage does grammar count on our grade?”

  Miriam had taught diagramming sentences so many times her students should know where to put every comma, but Marissa tended to be a bit on the lazy, impatient side. If she didn’t have to worry about it, she wouldn’t. “Twenty-five percent.” Miriam raised the schoolteacher eyebrow. “You’d better proofread and catch everything you can.”

  The girl looked disappointed but returned to her seat.

  Kids came with question after question until the final period ended and school was out.

  Then Miriam sat and stared at the back chalkboard for a few minutes to collect her thoughts. She needed a break. Maybe she’d stop at Chase’s tonight for supper at the bar. Maybe she’d rent a movie and goof off and not worry about grading papers until tomorrow. Her cell phone jarred her out of her reverie. She glanced at the caller I.D.—Joel.

  “Hello?” She hadn’t expected to hear from him for a while.

  He sounded cheerful. “I know you’re busy and I wasn’t going to bother you, but it’s Friday, and I started my first batch of beer in the brewery. I want to celebrate.”

  “What have you got in mind?”

  “Steaks and baked potatoes, grilled on the patio here. A salad from a bag. I bought them on my lunch break. I’d like to show you the place.”

  She’d been in the dairy, couldn’t imagine it as an eatery. How much had he changed it? “I’m in. I’ll buy a six-pack of beer.”

  “I have wine.”

  “What time do you want me?”

  “Five thirty? I have to pick up Adele and bring her here.”

  “I’m starving. I’ll grab her and meet you at five. Does that work?”

  “Even better. See you soon.”

  A perfect distraction. Her mood lifted. The brewery must be coming along. She couldn’t wait to see it. She drove home and changed out of her school clothes into jeans and a long, loose T-shirt. She thought loose clothes disguised how thin she was. Then she drove to Daphne’s stained-glass shop.

  Daphne still had customers browsing in her aisles. Miriam stepped in to say hi to her.

  Daphne looked her up and down. “Hmm, these days you usually leave school on Fridays, grab a sandwich, then change into your pajamas to chill at home.”

  Miriam grinned. “I came to pick up Adele. Joel asked me to the brewery for supper tonight. He’s making steaks on his grill.”

  “Nice.” At one time Daphne had hung out with her on Fridays, but since she’d married her chef, who worked every Friday, she went to her parents’ house for supper instead. There was a time Daphne had sworn she’d never spend time with them again; they were too controlling, too narrow-minded. But Miriam knew what a blessing family could be, so she’d encouraged her to give them another chance. And her parents changed. They realized how happy Daphne was and supported her. Now, Miriam and Daphne met at Chase’s bar on Thursdays.

  Daphne raised an eyebrow at her. “I think Joel has a thing for you.”

  “Right. I’m the catch of the day.”

  A customer came to the counter, and Daphne laughed. She gave one last parting shot before Miriam headed upstairs to get Adele: “You’d better be careful. You might be in over your head.”

  “Wouldn’t that be fun?” But she wasn’t buying it. Who else was Joel going to ask over for supper on a Friday night? She was single and available. She trudged up the stairs and knocked on Joel’s apartment door and waited for Adele to let her in. Nothing. She knocked again. Nada. The third time she pounded on the door and yelled, “Hey! Get off your ass and let me in!”

  Footsteps hurried toward her. Adele cracked the door open and glanced guiltily at the TV.

  Miriam shook her head. “There’s a Pause button on the remote, you know.”

  Adele blushed. “I didn’t hear you.”

  She let it pass. She’d watched the girl zone out more than she stayed in the real world. “Hey, your dad called me and invited the two of us to supper at the brewery. I came to pick you up.”

  Adele grinned, excited. “He told me, but I forgot.”

  “No, you didn’t. You remember all kinds of stuff. You just lost track of time.”

  Adele didn’t argue. She couldn’t. She remembered birthdays and the listings for every one of her favorite TV shows and Miriam knew it. Instead, she asked, “How’s he going to cook? The kitchen isn’t ready.”

  “He’s grilling. We hit the jackpot. He’s making steaks.”

  “I love steaks!” She bit her bottom lip, worried. “I have trouble cutting them, though. Dad usually helps me.”

  “If he won’t, I will. Come on.”

  Adele glanced at the TV, torn. Joel had said she was hooked, but the girl had it bad.

  “Tape the end of your show. You can watch it later.”

  “How do I do that?”

  Miriam grabbed the remote and hit the record button. “There. You can have it all. Great food. Great company. And you can finish your show when you get home.”

  Adele looked like she’d won the lottery. On the way down the steps, Miriam could hardly keep from grabbing her elbow to help her with her balance. “You have trouble with steps, don’t you?”

  “Dad usually helps me.” Adele’s one leg was strong, the other one weak. She looked like she could tip over any time.

  “I didn’t want to embarrass you. Can I help you?” Miriam asked.

  “I wish you would. Dad’s looking for a house for us. A ranch with no steps. He says it’s safer.”

  Joel was right. Thankfully, her cottage’s back patio opened right into the kitchen. Miriam would have gray hair if she had to watch Adele navigate stairs very often. When they reached Miriam’s old Mercedes, she said, “You get to ride shotgun.”

  Adele laughed. “Dad always says that.”

  “Does he? Great minds and . . . well, you know. He’s a great dad, isn’t he?”

  “He loves me.”

  Miriam looked at her. Adele had no qualms about her dad always being there for her. That was pretty damned awesome. “Well, I’m hungry. I hope he’s as good a cook as he is a father.”

  Adele looked less sure of that. “I like his steaks, but restaurants make them better.”

  Miriam threw back her head and laughed. “Uh-oh, he’d better step up his game. Mill Pond is a foodie destination.”

  Adele frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “It means everyone takes food seriously and they only cook topnotch stuff.”

  Adele sighed. “Dad’s in trouble.”

  Miriam pulled onto Main Street and headed to the brewery. “Nah. Tyne will give him some tips. He’ll up his game in no time.”

  Adele took on a dreamy look. “Tyne’s cute.”

  “He’s a hottie, for sure. But he’s one happily married man. Daphne’s perfect for him.”

  “I like Daphne.”

  It was easy to sidetrack Adele. Miriam started pointing out the local businesses and farms they passed. By the time they pulled to the side door of the brewery, Adele was in a good mood. She perked up more when she saw her dad tending the charcoal grill on the patio.

  They parked and went to join him. Joel had th
ree foil packets cooking over the coals. “The potatoes are about done,” he told them. He reached into a cooler and brought out a bottle of sangria and a can of root beer. “You can do the honors.”

  Miriam passed out drinks while Joel put three thick rib-eye steaks on the grill. He seasoned them with salt, pepper, and some other kind of seasoning, then motioned to the cooler again. “The salads are in there.”

  “Salads?” Miriam lifted the lid and saw a bag of Caesar salad—all ingredients included—and a container of coleslaw. She saw a plastic bowl on the picnic table and emptied the Caesar salad into it. Three plastic plates, along with silverware, sat on washable placemats. Joel had thought of everything.

  “Want barbecue sauce?” he asked as he flipped the steaks.

  “I do!” Adele cried.

  “Me too.” Miriam watched him reach into the cooler for his favorite bottle of sauce. The same brand she used.

  Soon, they sat at the picnic table to eat. The steaks might not rival Tyne’s, but they were damned good. So were the chopped potatoes with butter and salt when she opened the foil packet. She licked her lips. “You can cook this for me anytime.”

  They talked about their day as they watched the sun lower in the sky.

  “How much property do you own here?” Miriam asked.

  Joel pointed. “All the way to the far side of the woods. I want to put a trailer near the tree line in case Miles would like to move here.”

  The infamous brother. Miriam remembered Joel talking about him. “And where would you like to live with Adele?”

  Joel sighed. “Iris showed me some houses in town, but they all need work. I thought about buying a place on the lake, but they’re hard to come by. We might have to stay in the apartment longer than I thought.” He glanced at Adele, but she was fine with that.

  When they finished eating, Joel motioned to a garbage can and said, “Easy cleanup. I brought these from home, but I want something better. I’m just pitching these. Adele and I need to go shopping for dishes.”

  Adele shrugged. Dishes obviously didn’t excite her either.

  Joel shook his head. “Hey, kiddo, I have something you’ll be happy to see. Come on in and I’ll show you what we’ve done.”

  She gave him a dubious look. He brought her here every morning and she wasn’t impressed.

  Miriam jumped to her feet. “How far along are you? Getting close to finished?”

  “Come see.” He opened the door and led them inside.

  All the drywall was up and finished. The back was painted, but not the front. Miriam shook her head. “I’m not good at picturing spaces. I’d never have guessed you could have a big family room and a bigger bar area.” She walked over to look at the brewery, completely in working order. “Nice.”

  Joel motioned across the hall to the kitchen. “It’s ready for the equipment—all painted and plumbed, with the electrical outlets done.” They glanced inside, then moved to a room behind the brewery. “This is my office.”

  Adele gave a small gasp when she glanced inside. The room was completely furnished with bookshelves on the back wall and a desk and computer nearby. It was the only room that had a ceiling.

  “To block out noise,” Joel said.

  The front corner of the room held a cozy chair drawn up in front of a wall-mounted, flat-screen TV. A side table with a lamp sat near the chair with shelves under it that held row after row of DVDs.

  Joel grinned at her. “You have your own space, hon.”

  She immediately dropped onto the chair and flipped on the TV.

  “I take it you’re going to stay here while I show Miriam the rest of the brewery?”

  She didn’t answer.

  Joel looked at Miriam and shrugged. “Want to see the rest?”

  “Sure do.” In the family room she looked up at the steel beams overhead, then frowned at the cement floor. “Are you going to finish the eating areas like you did the kitchen?”

  He nodded. “We’re going to seal and polish it. I like its look. I’m still trying to decide how to decorate the place. Any ideas?”

  She blinked, surprised. “No one ever asks me about decorating.”

  “Well, I am. I like your cottage. I don’t want an English cozy look here, though.”

  She laughed. “Everything in Mill Pond is old-fashioned or cozy. It would be nice to have something modern, something bright.”

  He pulled out his smartphone and scrolled to some pictures he’d saved. “Like these?” One restaurant he’d saved had white walls covered with bright, bold paintings. Bright-colored chairs circled black tables with metal legs. Another restaurant’s walls were each painted a different, strong color. The tables were gleaming white.

  “I like both of them.”

  Joel smiled. “So do I. And for being a consultant, I’m going to name my first beer after you: Big M.”

  She didn’t know what to say. It was too much, too big of a compliment. Joel had a way of making her feel special.

  When she didn’t respond, he asked, “Is that okay?”

  “Are you kidding? It’s awesome! It’s . . . wow.”

  He led her back to the patio and reached into the cooler. With a grin, he brought out a beer for each of them. “To celebrate.”

  They clicked their cans together and sat at the picnic table, enjoying the evening. A blue jay called from the woods before it darted from one tree to another. Joel motioned toward it. “I should buy some peanuts and hang up a feeder. I like birds.”

  “So do I. I fill the feeders I hang in my sycamore tree with a variety of bird seeds—oilers, safflower seeds, and suet.”

  “Don’t you worry about your cats? That they’ll catch one of the birds you bring to your yard?”

  She rolled her eyes. “They’re not hunters. I got them when they were too little. Their mother hadn’t taught them how to hunt. That, and they’re too well-fed.”

  “What about instinct?”

  “Their instinct is to find a spot close to the fireplace.”

  He chuckled and leaned forward to put his elbows on the picnic table, relaxing. “Three squares a day and a roof over my head make me pretty happy.”

  She snorted. “A man with simple needs.”

  “Hey, I’ve learned what’s important and what’s not over the years. Feeling good in your own skin and having someone to love make a big difference.” He narrowed his gaze on her, and suddenly, she felt warm.

  She drained her beer. She hardly ever thought about it, but right now, she wished she was curvy and petite, that she was as attractive as Daphne. “You’re a pretty decent guy.”

  “You’re a pretty decent gal. I like you.”

  Her mouth went dry. “I like you, too.” God, they sounded like they were in high school, but she had no flirting skills. She said whatever popped into her head.

  “Do you have lots of guy friends?” He’d seen her with Tyne and Chase, knew they were comfortable with each other.

  “A few.”

  “Need another one?”

  She stared. “Are you volunteering?”

  “Yeah. it would be nice to have someone to do stuff with.”

  She felt herself relax. He’d made her nervous, but she could be a friend. She’d like someone to do stuff with, too. “Friends, I can do. I’m good at that.”

  “Cool.” He grinned, and she realized how nice he looked when he was happy. He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. “To friendship.”

  At his touch, energy shot through her, catching her by surprise. She glanced at the skyline and said, “It’s going to be dark soon.”

  He stood and gathered their beer cans to throw in the recycle bin. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I really enjoyed having you here tonight. Thanks for coming for supper.”

  “My pleasure.” She meant it. She’d had a nice night, too. “I’d better head home. I have tons to get done tomorrow.”

  He watched her walk to her car before going inside to get Adele. She waved good-
bye as she pulled away. Why had she made such a fuss about the sun setting? What was wrong with her? Why hadn’t she asked for another beer and enjoyed his company a little longer?

  Miriam squirmed as she turned on the road that would take her home. She’d wanted to stay and spend time with him too much, that’s why. That made her nervous. Better to play it safe than end up sorry. Take it slow, she told herself.

  But as she pulled into her driveway and saw the cats jump in the front window to watch her walk to the door, she was already hoping Joel would call to invite her to his brewery again soon. How pitiful was that?

  Chapter 13

  Joel didn’t work at the brewery on weekends. Nick and the crew spent time with their families or girlfriends, and he had no desire to work alone. His parents had called and they were going to make the three-hour drive to see his new brewery and Mill Pond. They wanted the full tour—the lake, the national forest, and town. Adele was excited. His parents doted on her.

  Every Saturday Joel trekked to a doughnut shop and brought home breakfast for himself and Adele. Their special treat. This morning he watched her settle in front of the TV to eat her cream-filled sub and shook his head when he brought her coffee with milk. “Don’t get too comfortable. Mom and Dad will be here for lunch.”

  She gave a happy nod. “I’ll be ready.” She loved spending time with her grandparents.

  Joel swept and mopped, straightening up the apartment for them to see. There’d been a time when he’d tried to teach Adele to do different chores, but the results were never good. He’d have to redo everything she did, disheartening for her and frustrating for him. Since then, he’d kept things simple. She had to unload the dishwasher and dust, and she took great pride in both of those things. Good enough.

  By noon the apartment was spotless when his dad knocked on his door.

  Adele threw it wide. “Grandpa! Grandma!”

  They took turns hugging her.

  His mom pressed both hands to Adele’s cheeks, cradling her head. “It’s so good to see your pretty face again.”

  He gave them the grand tour of the apartment—Adele’s bedroom, his cramped bedroom, which was meant to be an office, the living room and kitchen. “We haven’t done anything with it,” he said. “We’re hoping to find a house soon.”