Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set

by Grover Swank, Denise

  Then again, Georgie supposed it did feel like that to her brother, whose favorite breakfast had always been eggs over easy and multiple pieces of bacon.

  “I’m sorry, Lee,” Georgie said after the waitress walked off with their order. “We really can go someplace else if you like.” She needed him in a good mood for the conversation they were about to have.

  “No, it’s okay.” He sucked in a breath, then let it out. “Sorry I’m being such an asshole. It’s just that when Victoria and I fight…” He shook his head, offering her a puppy dog smile. “Congratulations on the sale of your business, by the way. After the mess at the attorney’s office, I realized I’d never touched base with you after you emailed and told us all about the deal…” He grimaced. “I’m sorry, Georgie. I really was—and still am—proud of you. I just got busy.”

  “Yeah, Georgie,” Adalia said less enthusiastically. “Congrats.”

  “Thanks,” she said, feeling a little hurt over Adalia’s response, and more thrilled than she should be by Lee’s acknowledgment. “I keep wondering what Mom would have thought.”

  “She would have been so proud,” Lee said, his smile wavering, but Georgie knew it wasn’t because of her. Their mother had been gone for more than fifteen years, but the pain of losing her sometimes felt like a fresh wound.

  Adalia nodded, swiping a tear from her cheek. “So proud.”

  “I miss us,” Georgie said before she realized what she was saying, but now that she’d opened the door, she decided to walk right through it. “We used to be close. What happened?”

  “We were kids,” Lee said. “We grew up.” She could always count on Lee to be the voice of reason, but the look in his eyes told her he didn’t totally buy his own words.

  “But we’re still siblings,” Georgie said, and when defensiveness tightened his jaw, she held up a hand. “I’m not laying fault on anyone. I’m just as capable of picking up a phone or hopping on a train. It’s just…I can’t help but think how disappointed Mom would be.” She took a breath and pushed it out past the lump in her throat. “Remember what she always told us?”

  “Friends come and go, but family is forever,” Adalia whispered, looking close to tears.

  “We let that go,” Georgie said. “We’re practically strangers.”

  “We have lives of our own,” Lee said, defensively. “We live in different cities. Running a business”—he gestured to Adalia—“or working on art takes time and dedication. That time has to come from someplace. We know we’re always there for each other when it counts.” He gave Adalia a warm smile. “Right, Addy?”

  Adalia smiled back. “Yeah.”

  Georgie swallowed the prick of jealousy she felt for her sister. Although Adalia had picked on Lee in front of their father, they’d clearly become closer, and they’d left her out. But Lee was right, they’d all been focused on their projects, be it business or art, leaving little time for each other. They needed something to work on together.

  Maybe Grandpa Beau had known what he was doing after all.

  “Is everything okay, Adalia?” Georgie asked.

  “Yeah. Things are good.” But her hand encircled her cup and she stared into the light brown coffee.

  “So, about the brewery,” Lee said, taking a sip of his almond-milk-doctored coffee, then grimacing. He traded his cup for Georgie’s currently untouched mug of black coffee, and she shrugged her acceptance. “Mr. Manning says it’s just a matter of signing the document. In fact, he already has a buyer lined up. Someone called Bev Corp. We’ll need to talk Jack around, but I’m sure he’ll see sense.”

  Horror raced through Georgie. River had called them the devil. He’d be so upset if Buchanan Brewery sold out to them too. It would be like a double betrayal. Steeling her back, she said, “I know you and Adalia want to sell, but I spent some time at Grandpa Beau’s house last night, talking to River, and I’ve decided I definitely want to keep it.”

  Lee stared at her in disbelief. “You can’t be serious, Georgie.”

  Georgie tilted her head and held her brother’s gaze, almost as though in a dare. “Why is that so inconceivable, Lee?”

  “You know nothing about running a brewery, Georgie. You don’t even like beer.”

  “I do so,” she said, feeling like a teenager as soon as the words left her mouth. She cleared her throat, then said, “I didn’t know the first thing about new-age feminine hygiene products when I started Moon Goddess, but I’ll do the same thing now that I did then. I’ll learn.” Then, because she wanted to put it all on the table, she added, “And Jack’s going to help me.”

  Adalia blinked. “You’ve been planning this with our father’s illegitimate son?”

  She put particular emphasis on those words, and a few people turned to look at them. Georgie shot her sister a glare. “Our brother, Adalia.”

  “He is not my brother,” Adalia spat out in contempt.

  Her attitude toward Jack hurt Georgie, but she’d deal with Adalia’s feelings about him later. Right now she wanted them on board with her plan. And if she couldn’t manage that, well, at least they’d be informed.

  “Does Jack know anything about running a brewery?” Lee asked.

  “No,” Georgie said, “but he’s the manager of a bar—”

  “Running a bar and managing a brewery are two different things. This is harebrained,” he said in disgust, “not to mention Dad wants us to sell it. He already has plans for the money.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Georgie demanded. “Grandpa Beau gave us the brewery and his house, not Dad.” When Lee looked away, Georgie narrowed her eyes. “I suspect he’d want all four shares of the money, or at least the three from us.”

  Adalia gaped at her brother. “You’re really planning on giving everything to Dad?”

  Lee put a hand on her arm. “It’s for an investment, Addy.”

  Her face hardened and she jerked her arm away. “No.”

  Confusion washed over Lee’s face. “What do you mean no?”

  “I mean no. I’m not giving him a dime.” She turned to Georgie with fire in her eyes. “But I still vote to sell. You have to get rid of it, Georgie.”

  Get rid of it. The words sent a pang of pain through Georgie’s chest. Because despite her initial trepidation, she had seen the brewery through her grandfather’s eyes. And River’s. It was a living, breathing entity, just waiting to spring back to life. The brewery wasn’t a building full of equipment to sell off. It was her grandfather’s legacy. It was the Buchanan siblings’ future, whether they recognized it or not.

  “Grandpa Beau wanted us to keep it,” Georgie said. “He wanted us to run it together.”

  “Then he was a fool,” Lee said. “I have a high-six-figure job. I live in New York City. I’m not moving to Asheville to make beer.”

  “I have a life too,” Adalia said. “And friends. And my art. What is it you expect me to do?”

  “You don’t have to live here if you don’t want to,” Georgie said. “Jack and I will run it.”

  “You don’t know the first thing about running a brewery, Georgie,” Lee pointed out again. “And from the sounds of it, neither does Jack. And you’re going to give up your life in Boston and move to Asheville?” He said Asheville as though it were a trash dump.

  “If you knew anything about my life, you’d know that I have nothing to do at the moment, and I hate standing still. I’ve been looking for my next project, and I’ve decided this is it.” She leaned closer to the table. “But most of all, Grandpa Beau thought I could do this, and I don’t want to disappoint him.”

  “News flash,” Lee said. “You can’t disappoint the old man because he’s dead.”

  She cringed at him calling their grandfather old man. “He trusted me with his brewery. And Jack and I are going to make it great.” Her brow lifted. “Plus, we hired a brewmaster who’s going to put Buchanan Brewery back on the map.”

  “You already hired someone?” Adalia asked. “Without consulting us? You
can’t do that, Georgie. We’re selling.”

  “We’re not selling,” Georgie said, infusing authority into her tone. “And yes, Jack and I hired him together. You and Lee can be silent partners, and we’ll work out how we’ll deal with the profits when we start making them. For now, Jack, River, and I will work on rehabbing it together. And Lee, when we start paying you your share of the profits, if you want to give your share to Dad, be my guest, but I’m keeping mine and so is Adalia.”

  Lee looked like he was about to have a stroke. “You can’t do this, Georgie.”

  “I can and I will.” She was so furious with her brother it took everything in her to not wring his neck. “You say you’re proud of me because I built Moon Goddess from nothing and sold it for five million, but you never thought I could make it work.” She stabbed the table with her index finger. “I took an idea and made it into a multimillion-dollar business. I can do the same with our grandfather’s brewery.” Tears burned her eyes. “For once, Lee, I wish you’d have just a little bit of faith in me.”

  Regret washed over his face. “Georgie.”

  She sucked in a breath and gave him the best resting bitch face she could muster. “Jack and I both want to do this, and Grandpa Beau wrote his will so that only one of us had to want it. I don’t need your blessing or your help. Call me stupid for wanting it anyway.”

  “It’s going to take a lot of work, Georgie,” he said, his voice soft.

  “I’m not afraid of hard work,” she said. “If you’d seen any part of me building Moon Goddess, you’d know that.”

  He grimaced. “Ouch.” Then he added, “but I suppose I deserve that.”

  “I can do this, Lee,” she said earnestly.

  He studied her for a moment. Then a soft smile spread across his face. “If anyone can, it’s you.”

  “You’re giving her your blessing?” Adalia asked in disbelief. “What about Dad?”

  Something flickered in Lee’s eyes, but it was gone too quickly for Georgie to register what it might have been. “Dad should know by now how headstrong Georgie is. He’ll just have to get over it.”

  “You’re really agreeing to this?” Adalia asked.

  Lee’s face broke into a huge grin. “Yep. The Buchanan siblings own a brewery. What would Mom think of us now?”

  Georgie wanted to cry with happiness. Their mother would be so proud.

  Chapter 10

  It’s on. Will you meet Jack and me after our meeting with the lawyer? One o’clock. We can do a walk-through of the brewery together.

  There was a pause after Georgie’s text came through. Then she added, Thank you again for last night. I’m excited to do this with you.

  River gusted a sigh, and lifted the little animal carrier Maisie had given him. “Well, pup, there goes that. I guess I should be happy.”

  He wasn’t, not totally, but he’d decided to accept anyway.

  He went to unlock the door of his loft, but it was already open. The only two people who had keys were Maisie and Aunt Dottie, so he wasn’t terribly surprised to see his aunt sitting at the table opposite his open kitchen. What did shock him was that Finn sat across from her. His hand fisted around the handle of the animal carrier, his knuckles turning white. Part of him wanted to turn around and leave, but he wasn’t a coward, and he didn’t run away. He was the type of person who established roots rather than broke them. He’d promised himself that a long time ago.

  As soon as Aunt Dottie saw the animal carrier, she cooed and hurried over. She went to take it from him, and he let her, eliciting a little whimper from the dog.

  “Goodness, Maisie finally broke you, and none too soon,” Aunt Dottie said. “I made a sweater for Jezebel, but wouldn’t you know it, she refuses to wear the darn thing. It’ll look perfect on your pup.”

  “Don’t get too used to him, Aunt Dottie. He’s just a foster,” River said, but his gaze was on Finn.

  Finn looked terrible, like he’d stayed at Buchanan Brewery for the whole night and staggered home. He had on a Big Catch T-shirt and jeans, which was like someone else wearing pajamas out of the house. Maybe it was foolish of River, but it made him feel a little better. At least Finn cared about selling him out, not that it changed anything.

  “You know, I didn’t give you that key so you could let in anyone you want,” he said, shifting his gaze back to Aunt Dottie. She’d already lifted the puppy out of the carrier and was fitting him into a bright pink sweater with pom-poms. He knew better than to dissent, and from the way the puppy was wagging his tail, he didn’t seem to mind. Part of him wanted to share a look—and a silent laugh—with Finn, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  “Well, dear, I was under the impression you gave it to me to be used at my discretion, just like Beau and I told you where he kept his spare key.” She gave him a wink as she said it, which made him wonder just how much she knew, or thought she knew, about what had happened last night.

  Of course, Jack had seen her at Buchanan, hadn’t he? So she at least knew Georgie might make him an offer.

  “I just want to talk, River,” Finn said. He ran a hand through his hair, which was almost too short to be messy, but it was messier than River had ever seen it. Again, it made him feel a little better, although the part of him that was still Finn’s friend weirdly hated to see it. “I know you’re pissed, and you have every right to be. I should have talked to you first.”

  “Damn straight, you should have,” River growled. He set down the things Maisie had given him for the dog and moved toward the table, staying several feet away. Even if Aunt Dottie had brought over fresh cinnamon rolls. “It was something we built together. You always said that. Shouldn’t I have had some say?”

  “Yes,” Finn said. “Of course. And I would have, but then Beau got sick, and I knew you’d feel—”

  “Betrayed.”

  Because he did. In a way he’d only felt one time before and had never wanted to feel again. What was worse, he’d expected it the first time, at least a little—he’d thought he could trust Finn.

  Finn’s face lost a little more color, and he looked to be just this side of puking.

  “Did Aunt Dottie make you any of her hangover cure?” he asked. He told himself he was just asking because he needed to get this conversation behind him, the sooner, the better, but again there was that awful feeling of caring. You couldn’t just shut it off, even if you wanted to.

  “How’s something with a raw egg in it going to make me feel better?” Finn asked dubiously.

  “You’re questioning the wisdom of my aunt?” he asked, feeling the corners of his lips twitch up a little in spite of himself.

  “Exactly what I said,” Aunt Dottie offered. “His color is so peaky, and the energy in here… You fixed that right up, though, didn’t you?” she cooed to the puppy, who was literally eating something out of her hand.

  “I know,” Finn said, drawing River’s gaze back to the table. “I guess I’m making all sorts of dumb calls lately.” He rubbed his nose. “The thing is, River, I was always going to walk at some point. I wanted to build the biggest brewery in the state, and we did that. Where else is there to go from here?”

  “We could have become an anchor in the community,” River said. “The kind of place people can count on.” The last words sounded a little sharp, like some of his hurt was leaking out, and he patched it back in. “And yeah, maybe I knew you’d walk at some point, but I didn’t think you’d sell to the devil. And I definitely didn’t think you’d do it now.”

  They both knew what now meant, and he saw a flash of pain in Finn’s eyes. Yeah, he knew he’d messed up good.

  “Like I said, I made some bad calls. But selling to Bev Corp was the right move.”

  River started to say something, but Finn cut him off. “I know what you and Dottie think about them, and hell, maybe you’re not altogether wrong, but they offered a good deal to you, and to the rest of my people. That’s what mattered to me. I don’t want to screw anyone over.
I’m just… I got bored.” Finn met his gaze then, and he held it. “And be honest with me, River, because I got the impression that you were getting bored too.”

  River’s first instinct was to rage at him again, but then he found himself thinking of how he’d felt last night, sitting with Georgie and Jack, talking about their plans for the future. He’d felt more excited about work than he had in at least a year, maybe two. And it wasn’t because he lived for challenges—he and Finn weren’t alike in that. It was because Buchanan Brewery was a different kind of place. It was a family business with deep roots. It wasn’t a flashy new thing, but something well loved that had been pushed to the back of the drawer. And he and Georgie and Jack could polish it up and make it new again. There was something special in that, something sacred.

  “Yes and no,” he said, his tone softer than it had been, “but you let me down by not talking to me. And I still quit. I’ll give Gladys a call to work out details and pick up some of my stuff today or tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Finn said, “I accept that.” He got up from the table and pushed his chair in, then shot a longing look at the cinnamon buns.

  “Go ahead,” River said with a wave. His aunt had brought a good dozen.

  Finn nodded and scooped one up with a napkin. “So where does this leave us?” he asked. It wasn’t the kind of question Finn usually asked—to the point where River almost wanted to tease him about it, but he wasn’t ready for that yet.

  “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I don’t trust you right now, and I don’t know if I ever will again.”

  He saw the hurt on Finn’s face, but he didn’t back down. Couldn’t. They both knew he meant it.

  “Well, I heard something about you working with the Buchanans.”

  River just nodded.

  “Word to the wise. Bev Corp wouldn’t be opposed to buying them out as a second location for Big Catch.”

  And he’d thought calling them the devil was putting it too strongly?

  “Thank you, Finn. But I think it’s time you leave,” he said flatly, stepping aside.