by Maisey Yates
“Aren’t bartenders supposed to be encouraging? Aren’t you supposed to smile and nod and say what everybody needs you to say?”
After feeling like she would sit in resolute silence, the words came as a surprise even to her.
“Sorry. I’m out from behind the bar. You use me as a designated driver and you get my honest opinion. People tend not to like my opinions.”
She didn’t believe that was true. Trying to think back on every event she’d ever vaguely circled around him at, she really didn’t believe it was true. If she was sorting through her thoughts correctly, he had a good reputation. He was a nice guy. He showed up at every charity event her family was ever involved in. He provided free drinks, in exchange for publicity of course, but still, he did it at considerable expense to himself.
She remembered about a year and a half ago when the community had come together to rebuild Connor Garrett’s barn. Ace had been there then. Not just helping to rebuild, but providing refreshments.
He was usually smiling.
She wondered where that guy was now.
Maybe he just doesn’t like giving people rides home at one in the morning.
That was fair. Anyone could be grumpy. She was most definitely off her game, so why shouldn’t it be the same for him?
His life was so much simpler than hers anyway. What he had, he had outright, free and clear. He owned a bar, and it was his domain. He did what he wanted to with it. He was able to help people with it. He was high-profile in the community, but he had a certain measure of freedom with it. There was all kinds of acceptance for what he did, no matter what. He had a reputation for sleeping with anything that moved, but it didn’t seem to damage him.
Yeah, he basically had it made. So for all he could say about the evils of people, she’d never seen any evidence that it had touched him.
And it made her think back to his earlier comment about her breaking a nail. How easy he seemed to think things were for her. How soft he seemed to think she was, and it made her angry. He didn’t know. He had no idea.
He turned the truck onto a narrow, paved driveway, the one that led back to her brother’s ranch.
If she was going to say the words that were bubbling up inside of her like boiling water, she had to say them now. And she wanted to. Maybe because she was feeling bold due to the alcohol. But maybe because it was just the right thing to say. Maybe because he needed to hear it.
“Things are easy for you, though,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“You said my road wouldn’t be that hard, but you’re the one who has it made. You’re a man. A man everyone just kind of gives a pass to. It doesn’t matter what you do. Everyone just kind of accepts it. You can say whatever you want. Like now. You’re giving me a ride home, after being totally condescending. And you don’t even care. Me? I have to watch what I say. I have to... I have to keep up appearances for the family name. You burned that bridge a long time ago. Aren’t you like...a pastor’s kid? And you own a bar now. But if anything, people just kind of laugh at it. How funny, your dad preaches sermons on Sunday to everyone who’s hungover from being at Ace’s place on Saturday night.”
“You can stop talking now, Sierra West,” he said, his tone deadly now. “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. You don’t know my life.”
“Maybe not. But you don’t know mine. And you were more than ready to cast judgment on me, Mr. World-Weary, I-Know-People. You think you know me, but you don’t. Maybe nobody does.”
He laughed, and it grated against her skin. It was derisive. Unkind. “Trust me, baby, everybody thinks that. Everybody thinks they’re so unknowable, so complicated. But they aren’t. People are just people, you included. You don’t have any hidden depth to awe and astound me.”
“Stop the car,” she ground out.
“We aren’t there yet,” he said, his voice hard.
“I don’t care. We’re in the driveway. I can walk to the top of it.”
“Right. And I’m going to let you get eaten by a mountain lion now?”
“I’m not going to get eaten by a mountain lion.”
“No, you’re right. He probably won’t eat you. He’ll probably just gnaw on you for a while. But I think I’ll go ahead and keep driving you so that doesn’t happen, either. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She gritted her teeth. “Out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Hell, no. Because I don’t want to deal with any of the fallout that would come from having you get gnawed on on my watch.”
“Asshole.”
“Well, now you know my secret.”
“It’s a poorly kept one. I just had to be around you for about five seconds and it became pretty clear.”
“So we’ve established that I’m an asshole, and you’re a whiny rich girl. You’re going to be very embarrassed by all of this tomorrow. I, on the other hand, won’t.”
That did it. Now she was just pissed. “Embarrassed? Why should I be embarrassed? You’re the one who should be embarrassed.”
“Why?” he asked.
Dammit. She didn’t know why. She had said it, and it had felt strong, and kind of badass, but now she felt like it really wasn’t. Especially since she didn’t have anything to back it up.
“Because—” good one, Sierra “—because, you’re just a bar owner. Serving alcohol and buying mechanical bulls for people to fall off. What is that?”
“Most of the town spends more than a bit of their free time at my humble establishment. And I seem to recall you spending money to ride good old Ferdinand, so I’m going to go ahead and say maybe you shouldn’t throw stones from your glass house.”
“Whatever. Other people grow up and move on from that kind of behavior. You wallow in it. And don’t think I haven’t heard plenty about your reputation with women. You’re just one of those guys. An eternal...frat boy. You were probably hoping to get into my pants.”
“I was very much not hoping for that.”
“So you say.”
He pulled the truck up to the front of her brother’s vast log-cabin-style house. She could see that the porch light was on, probably out of consideration for her. Something Colton had done, she was certain, and not Natalie. Natalie would probably prefer that Sierra not be able to find her way to the front door in the dark.
Natalie wouldn’t mind if Sierra was gnawed on by a mountain lion.
“I’m sexy,” she said, opening the passenger door and stumbling out into the darkness. “And I know it.” Dimly, she was aware that that was a song lyric, and she wasn’t coming across very well.
“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” Ace said. “I’m sure some men will even believe you. And on that note, good night, Sierra West. It’s been...interesting, but I think you’ll understand when I say that I hope we don’t have occasion to talk again.”
She stood there for a moment, wondering why he wasn’t pulling away before she realized she was still gripping the open passenger door, preventing him from doing just that.
“Same goes, Ace Thompson.” She slammed the door shut. “Same goes.”
CHAPTER TWO
ACE WALKED INTO the empty flour mill and looked around the open space. He had a cramp in his right hand that signified his ownership of the place, and he’d signed his name so many times that morning his signature had started to look like it wasn’t even made of letters anymore.
But now it was official. The old mill that had been standing empty for years, a ghost waiting to be brought back to life. He stood, looking around at a whole lot of square feet of potential, and expense. The roof had a steep pitch, a mezzanine floor overlooking the vast, empty room. The large picture windows gave a stunning view of the steel-gray Pacific ocean and white-capped waves.
He�
�d gotten a killer deal on the place considering the location. Of course, it had been a killer deal since the building itself was little more than a gutted corpse lying on the beach. A giant-ass beached whale.
Call him Ishmael, and shit.
But he could see beyond all that. The bar did well enough that he could afford this investment. He could afford to expand. It was a strange thing, committing to that. Committing to moving forward. To really admitting that his life was in Copper Ridge now. That he owned bars. Or, in this case, a brewery.
He checked his watch. Jack Monaghan was supposed to be here any minute, along with Eli Garrett. Ace had the money to put into this place, but he’d really like to kick it off with some investors.
The more interest he had from the community, the better off he’d be.
Buying his current bar had been more of a sure thing. Ted, the old owner, was retiring and that was going to leave a hole. Someone had been needed to step into that hole and fill it with booze.
Ace had been happy to oblige.
But this would be a new place in an old town. Another change to a landscape that had been pretty damn stagnant until recent years. And he had no idea if this was a change that would take, or if it would just get washed away with the next tide.
He turned a circle, his footsteps echoing off the high ceiling. It was easy for him to picture the place filled with chairs. Tables, the brewing equipment in the back. He was getting pretty good at making his own microbrews, and they were popular on tap over at his bar. He had done everything he could to test the venture and make sure it would be something that at least had a fighting chance. But like anything else it was impossible to guarantee.
Business ventures went to hell all the time. Business ventures. Careers. Marriage.
At least, that was his experience.
Still, he was starting to get itchy. He wanted more. Needed more. This was more.
He heard the door open behind him and he turned around just as Jack and Eli walked into the room.
“You made it.”
“Yep.” Jack paused, running his hand over one of the support beams. “I’m always interested in an investment opportunity. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not actually a dumbass.”
“I know you aren’t,” Ace said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “That’s why I asked you to come out.”
Of all the people in Copper Ridge, Ace had had the most contact post-high school with Jack. It still hadn’t been much, but back when Ace was riding pro in the rodeo, he and Jack had crossed paths on a couple of occasions. Ace rode saddle bronc, and Jack had been a bull rider, but they’d made time for a beer or two on a few occasions.
But Ace had quit long before Jack, settling down in Texas for good, or so he’d imagined at the time.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Ultimately, Ace had made his way back to Copper Ridge permanently before Jack had to.
But he’d always gotten a sense that there was a lot more to the other man than he liked to let on. He related to that in some ways.
“I like a good investment, too,” Eli said, moving deeper into the space. “But no one really doubts that.”
Jack laughed. “That’s for damn sure. We’re all pretty sure you have the word responsibility tattooed on your ass.”
“I don’t,” Eli said. “I don’t have any tattoos.”
“Of course not,” Jack said.
“So,” Ace said, eager to get things moving along. “This is the place. I plan on having a full restaurant menu, and a brewing facility. I’ll be serving my own microbrews. Which I will also be selling over at the bar.”
“Sounds like a great plan to me,” Eli said. “What kind of food are you talking about?”
“More than hamburgers. I’m thinking we can get a good assortment of seafood. I’ve already been talking to Ryan Masters about him supplying the restaurant with his catch of the day.” Ace was pleased that this new venture gave him opportunity to work with local businesses. Ryan was the kind of guy Ace liked to do business with. Hardworking. Brought himself up from nothing. A guy very unlike the West family. Who he had no call to be thinking about now. “Not too fancy or anything but you know...the type of microbrew pub stuff that hipsters lose their minds over.”
“Great idea, man,” Jack said. “I’m in.”
“That’s it?” Ace asked. “You don’t want to see any credentials, or spreadsheets, or anything.”
“I wouldn’t understand them if you showed them to me,” Jack said. “I’m smart with my money. By which I mean I pay someone else to manage it.”
“Well, sounds smart to me,” Ace said.
“I’m in, too,” Eli said. “I was telling Sadie all about it last night, and she was pretty excited. She would have come today if she had been able to get out of taking a group of people down to go whale watching. But this is exactly the kind of thing that’s going to help bolster her business with the bed-and-breakfast, too. Tourism is really up and coming here, and I think we need more places like this.”
“I’m surprised, Sheriff, that you’d want to invest in a place that encourages drinking.”
“It’s expensive drinking. Microbrews are pricey, right?” Eli asked.
“I guess so,” he said.
“I like that. The cheaper the beer, the more people drink. Bring in some of that fancy-ass stuff and people have to think really hard before they go trying to get hammered on it.”
Ace laughed. “True enough.”
“Hey, before we head out,” Jack said. “I did have a favor I wanted to ask you.”
Oh, there was that other shoe dropping. Ace should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. “What favor?”
“It’s about Sierra West.”
Ace thought back to last night, to the verbal sparring with that pretty blonde, who was a lot less pretty when she was running her mouth. “What about her?”
“She’s going through some stuff. You could probably tell by her behavior last night.”
“Not really. I run a bar. Her behavior seems run-of-the-mill to me. Actually, she was pretty tame. And I don’t know her from a barnacle on the bottom of a fishing boat.”
“Just trust me, she’s going through some stuff. She kind of had a falling-out with her old man.”
“Is that so?”
She’d said that all of her drama was over a man. He supposed that counted. It was difficult to imagine anyone opposing Nathan West. He was such an established figurehead in Copper Ridge, and as far as Ace had ever seen, a decent enough guy.
But hell, appearances didn’t mean a damn thing, and he knew that better than most. Or maybe it was just Sierra throwing a tantrum because daddy wouldn’t let her into her trust fund. Who knew.
“She needs work,” Jack continued. “A job. But she hasn’t had any luck finding one because she doesn’t have any experience that extends beyond working at the family ranch.”
“And how do you know all this?” Ace had observed there was something weird going on between Jack and the other woman last night, something about the way he watched her that went past casual interest.
But if there was anything shady going on he doubted that Jack would bring her up in front of Eli, considering Eli was Kate’s older brother, and he wouldn’t hesitate to cut off Jack’s testicles and feed them to his cows should Jack ever do anything to hurt his sister.
They had only been together for a few months, but everyone in town knew that Jack belonged to Kate. Hell, they were already engaged. Which was really something, considering Jack had spent so many years avoiding commitment.
“Oh, you know, she’s good friends with Kate,” Jack said.
Ace knew there was more than that, but he could also see that Jack had no intention of sharing what more there was.
“So what are you trying to ask me, Monaghan?”
“I was hoping you’d give her a job.”
“So, no one else in town will give her a job because she has no work experience, I just saw her drunk off her ass last night, and you want me to hire her?”
“The chicks in your place serve hamburgers. That’s not exactly rocket science.”
“Watch it, Monaghan, that’s my livelihood.”
“I know. Sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick. But it does come naturally.”
“Sure. But I’m not sure I want a completely inexperienced cocktail waitress stumbling around the place messing up orders.”
That was total crap. He’d hired people with a lot less to go on. He’d hired a borderline drifter, Casey James, a few months ago just to help her get back on her feet. She’d ended up quitting when she’d fallen in love with Aiden Crawford, a local farmer. Working on her own land seemed to be more fulfilling than serving drinks. Which he understood, even if it had left him a little shorthanded.
But he wasn’t admitting any of that.
“I’m helping you out by investing in this place. I’m taking a chance, and I think it’s a good chance. Can you take a chance on her?”
He didn’t want to. That was the simple truth. He so violently didn’t want to that he didn’t want to explore the reasoning. Because it was weird that he should care at all. She was rich, she was a spoiled brat. She had said some ridiculous stuff to him last night about him having it easy. But that shouldn’t matter.
It wouldn’t, if she wasn’t such a pretty little thing.
He gritted his teeth, ignoring that internal voice. He didn’t care if she was pretty. Pretty covered a lot of sins, but Jack had learned that early on. He spread his favors around fairly freely with women, he had no problem admitting that. But there was one type he always avoided.
Sierra West’s type.
He also never screwed around with his staff.
