Written in the Stars Page 19

  Follow her, a voice shouted in his head. But like a dumb-­ass, he stood there, feet planted, arms folded, and watched the woman he loved go out the door. He looked down at the hat and uttered an expletive that his mother would box his ears for saying.

  Mason knew, of course, what had gotten into him. The soft opening was going to be hectic and could quickly turn into a zoo. Although they’d invited a couple of hundred friends and family in an open-­house kind of coming-­and-­going way, he also knew that word spreads like wildfire in a small town and they’d likely have at least a hundred more party crashers. He’d warned Grace that this would likely happen, but she’d shrugged it off, promising that they were prepared for extras and when the beer ran out the party would be over, plain and simple. Leaving people wanting more was part of the supply-­and-­demand game anyway.

  Mason was still standing there in the middle of the room when Danny strolled in. Rusty trotted in with him and came over to have his ears scratched. “Hey there, boy. Sorry I’ve been so busy lately. What’s up, Danny?”

  “I just passed Grace heading out, and she didn’t look happy. What’s up, bro?”

  “I was an ass.”

  Danny looked down at the hat and picked it up off the floor. “What the hell? Why?”

  Mason shrugged. “Nerves. I’m a fucking shit show. I took it out on her.” He pointed to the witch on the wall. “I told her I couldn’t stand the logo. Bad timing.”

  “Ya think?”

  Mason shot him a look.

  “Do you really hate it, though?”

  “Danny, I hate this crap.” He walked over to the bar and sat down heavily on one of the stools. “This place isn’t what I expected it would be. Why did I let her call all of the marketing shots?”

  “She took over marketing, networking, social media, the parts that you suck at. And she happens to be a genius at it. She landed several articles in the local paper. Did you know that you have over ten thousand likes on your Facebook page? And lots of them are women.”

  “I’ve got more important things to do than jack around on Facebook and Tweeter.”

  “Twitter.”

  “Whatever. It’s all a bunch of bull.”

  “Mason, you don’t have a clue how important this is nowadays.”

  “I do, Danny. I just don’t like it.”

  “Well, get with the program. On the grand-­opening night, Grace said we’ll have the local TV news here. Southern Way magazine is interested in doing a huge spread. Mason, the only problem you’re gonna have is keeping up with the production.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “While you buried yourself in the brewery, I talked to Grace. I’m impressed with her, Mason. She came up with the presale of custom growlers and the special bomber cup that will sell out in no time. Her idea to rotate the beers throughout the night is great. I can’t wait to try the coffee stout.”

  “You mean Morning Magic.”

  Danny laughed. “I like all of those clever names. When did you lose your sense of humor? Damn. Lighten the hell up.”

  Mason scowled but silently acknowledged that Danny was right. Somehow Gracie had gotten him laughing again. “This isn’t just fun and games. What if I can’t keep up? This is the kind of stress that landed Dad in the hospital with a heart attack. I do discuss things with Gracie, but, Danny, she’s talking expansion already. It’s blowing my mind. I didn’t sign up for this shit, and I let her do this to me.”

  “You didn’t let her to do anything you didn’t want deep down. I know you better than that. Quit being such a girl.” Danny went behind the bar. “What beer do you want? Or should I get you something with an umbrella?”

  “Ha, funny.”

  “So what will it be?”

  “Belgian strong ale...Oh wait.” He looked up at the chalkboard. “Under My Spell.”

  “Comin’ right up.”

  After Danny slid the glass his way, Mason took a swallow and then put it down, since the flavors of this strong ale opened up as the beer sat. “Did you know that Grace is offering scoops of vanilla ice cream to add to the milk stout...Oh wait. Witch’s Milk.”

  “I think that a scoop of vanilla ice cream sounds awesome with the full-­bodied, roasted flavor. I want to try it, and so will everyone else. Ha-­ha! My kind of milk shake. Come on, dude, you know you want to try it too. Did you forget this is handcrafted beer? You’re supposed to be creative.”

  Mason made a face.

  “When did you become so damned boring? Do you need to winter in Florida with Mom and Dad?”

  “And when did you become so metrosexual?”

  “Yeah, right.” Danny pointed to his camo hat, faded jeans, and scuffed work boots. “That’s me, all right.” Danny took a swallow of his ale and then leaned his elbows on the bar. Rusty chimed in with a bark as if agreeing with Danny. “You know what?”

  “No, but I think you’re about to tell me. When did everybody decide to stick their nose into my business?”

  Danny pointed a finger at him and jabbed. “This really isn’t about the witch theme. It’s about Grace leaving. Now that this is all running smoothly, you’re worried that she will move on. Admit it.”

  “It’s not...Wait—­did she say she was leaving?” Mason felt his heart plunge to his toes. “When?”

  “I meant from the beginning, Mason.”

  Relief flooded his brain. For a minute he thought he’d chased her away. “And you’re the jackass who told me to take a chance and give her a reason to stay.”

  “Being a dick to her isn’t part of the plan. But I get it.”

  “Really? What do you get?”

  “Getting her pissed at you solves all of your problems. Push her away and you don’t have to put your stupid-­ass heart on the line anymore. You’re a big chickenshit.”

  “It was my initial plan, but that went out the window a while ago. So you don’t know everything.”

  “Then what’s your deal? Have you lost your mind?”

  “Hey, you’d better watch out, baby brother. I can still take you.”

  “In your dreams.”

  Mason looked down at his beer, knowing full well that Danny had hit the damned nail right on its stupid head.

  “So are you going after her?”

  “I have things to do!”

  “Yeah, and first on the list is to go after the girl you’re crazy about and tell her you were being a total shithead.”

  “Look, I know you’re right.” Mason sighed. “But you know what, Danny?”

  “What?”

  “Sometimes I see her staring off into space like she’s daydreaming of where she’ll go next. As soon as this is up and running full speed, what is there to keep her here? I’m guessing that Becca will head back to London and that Sophia will return to her job in New York.”

  “You, bro. Why the hell can’t you get that through your thick skull?”

  Mason shook his head. “Right. Even if I have the ability to keep her here, it would suffocate her to stay in one place. She said that she needs constant change and challenge. Where is she going to find that in Cricket Creek? I shoved all of that worry under the rug, but it’s still there.”

  Danny raised his arms akimbo. “Expand. Make this brewery into something way bigger than what you even intended.” He held up his glass. “Mason, you have a knack for brewing beer. It’s like Spidey sense when it comes to combining just the right ingredients. Grace is right. You could go way beyond the restaurants in Cricket Creek and even the baseball park.” Danny pointed to the window, where the brewery could be seen. “Your production brew house can produce close to a thousand gallons of beer a day. That’s a hundred and eighty kegs or, like, ten thousand twelve-­ounce cans of beer. And you situated the equipment so you could double the production if you want to expand. Mason, you had big dreams in
the beginning. Why change now?”

  “It changed when I found myself in way over my head. That’s not a cool feeling. Danny, the stress I was feeling was keeping me up at night. It sucks to feel that way. I don’t want to live each day wondering how the hell I’m going to pull it off or go under. You know how it felt when we were just scraping by with the marina. It was driving Dad to an early grave. I don’t want to live like that. I won’t live like that.”

  “Yeah, but we saved Mayfield Marina. We all put our lives on hold, including Mattie and especially you. I know you don’t talk about it, but it cost you your fishing career.” He held his thumb and index finger apart. “You were this close to making it to the top, and the hiatus you took cost you big-­time.”

  “You did the same thing, Danny.”

  “I quit school, but I wasn’t on the brink of achieving my dream,” he said, but shifted his gaze.

  Mason pointed to the handcrafted bar. “Danny, you also have a talent for woodworking that needs to be pursued as more than just a hobby. Just look at this bar. And the addition to the bistro is amazing.”

  Danny shrugged. “Not enough hours in the day. We all wanted to save the marina. I have to ask, though; if you could go back in time, would you have had it any other way?”

  “No. And if I’m honest, being on the road was becoming such a grind. I like it here,” Mason said. “I’m not a traveler, a wanderer, like Gracie. I mean, sure, sometimes I do wonder how much I could have achieved in pro fishing. But whatever. Maybe it’s a thank-­God-­for-­unanswered-­prayers kind of thing. I have given it some thought, though.”

  “I hate to ask, but does that wondering-­what-­if include Lauren?”

  Mason inhaled deeply. At one time thinking about her caused a hot rush of emotion. “What she did to me hurt like hell and kept me from wanting another relationship.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I realize we weren’t right for each other.”

  “Because being with Grace feels different?”

  “She drives me crazy,” Mason said, but chuckled. “But yeah.” He looked around the brewery and shook his head. “Is this really happening? I can’t really believe it.”

  Danny pushed back from the bar and pointed at Mason. “This is your time to shine. Don’t let fear hold you back. This can be something special. I can feel it.”

  “You’re talking about the brewery, right?”

  “Not entirely. Look, if Grace is the woman for you, go after her, no-­holds-­barred, just like I said. Let her decide whether she wants to stay or hit the road after she’s done here. You’re already past the getting-­hurt stage, so what do you have to lose?”

  “Yeah, but I just hurt the hell out of her already. And I feel sick about it. Danny, I might have done more damage than I can repair.” The thought made his stomach churn. “God...”

  “Just get her back down here and enjoy the night together. You both deserve it. Sometimes you gotta risk it for the biscuit. Go for it, Mason. Tell Grace you’re on board with all of this and more.”

  “I can’t go that far. Right now I’m perfectly happy to use the pilot system to perfect the hops and additives and use the small-­batch brew house. I’m telling you, I don’t want to grow too quickly. Let me get used to the witches thing first.”

  “Okay, I get that, and trust me—­I don’t want you to feel the stress that Dad did.”

  Mason felt a lump of emotion form in his throat. “But I didn’t need to take my frustration out on Gracie that way.”

  “Dude, she’s been working nonstop.”

  “I know.”

  “Go get the girl before it’s too late.” Danny pointed to where Rusty slept on the cool floor. “Even Rusty knew when to make the big move and go after Abigail.” Rusty lifted his head at the mention of his name. The Irish setter looked over at Mason with eyes that seemed to agree with Danny.

  “Are you both trying to make me feel worse?”

  “Yes. Is it working? Mason, everyone has been looking forward to tonight. Don’t mess it up. Just look around at how sweet this place is. If you didn’t own it, I’d still come here. You’d be here too.”

  Mason sighed, knowing his brother was right.

  “And Mom’s been watching Lily so Mattie could work on the menu for tonight. Becca has pitched in big-­time too. A hell of a lot of thought has gone into all of this.”

  “Uppity stuff like finger sandwiches.”

  “Are you kidding me? I had, like, ten while they were making them, and they are awesome. I tried some Vermont cheddar dip that’s kick-­ass. Shane McCray smoked some fall-­off-­the-­bone ribs that are ready to roll. They’ve got crisp shoestring fries and onion rings. It’s going to be awesome. You should be having the time of your life today, and celebrating the moment with Grace. You’re fucking up something that’s pretty hard to wreck. I don’t even think I could do a better job, and you know my track record at being a screwup.”

  “Shit.” Mason closed his eyes, remembering what he’d said to Grace about sharing moments with her. “I’m such an idiot.”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “You didn’t have to agree with me.”

  “Mason, you’ve always been the king of moodiness. Getting you to smile is a major feat.”

  Gracie makes me smile, he thought. Made him laugh.

  “What’s up with that?”

  “Because I’m the oldest.” Mason tapped his chest. “I worry. It’s in the job description.” After taking another swig of his ale, he nodded. “This is some damn good ale.” He thought that the Vermont cheddar dip was going to go perfectly with the flavors. Pairing food with craft beer was becoming as popular as pairing wine with food. Grace was right and so was Danny. What he was fighting, he should be embracing.

  “This goes beyond Grace leaving, doesn’t it?”

  “Danny, you know I’ve kept my guard up after Lauren. Like I said, I know now that she was all wrong for me, but having her cheat put me in a dark place that had me losing friends and worried my family. And yet I’m stupid enough to fall for a woman who never planned on staying here...Oh yeah, and she lives on the other side of the damned ocean. I don’t want to visit that dark-­ass place again.”

  “Last time I looked, she lived in a cabin out in the middle of the river right here at Mayfield Marina.” He angled his head toward the door. “Now, get your ass over there and say you’re sorry and make her not want to cross that ocean.”

  “I hate it when you’re right.”

  “I’m right a lot more than I get credit for.” Danny grinned, but being the youngest and always a daredevil, his little brother probably wasn’t taken as seriously as he sometimes should have been. “Now, would you just go!”

  Rusty barked and trotted over to the door.

  Mason raised his hands in surrender. “Yes!”

  16

  About a Boy

  “MUM, QUIT GIVING ME YOUR WORRIED-­MOTHER LOOK. I told you I’m perfectly fine.” Grace picked up an artfully displayed tray of cheese, fruit, and crackers. She put it in Mattie’s new delivery van before turning to give her mother a bright smile.

  Becca fisted her hands on her hips. “Right, that’s the biggest fake smile I’ve ever seen.”

  Grace kept the smile in place and pointed to her lips. “Totally real.”

  “You can’t fool me, Gracie. I’ve had to put enough fake smiles on my own face to know what’s genuine or forced. And yours is forced. So what’s bothering you? Everyone seems to be ready for the tasting party. And super excited, I might add.”

  “Ha, except for one important person.”

  “You? Whyever not?”

  Grace turned away from the van. She needed to go inside for more food, but she paused to answer her mother. “No, I was referring to the broody brewmaster himself, Mason Mayfield.”

  “Oh, so we
have boy trouble.” Becca pressed her lips together and nodded.

  “Mum, I’m twenty-­eight years old. I no longer have ‘boy trouble,’” she said, using air quotes.

  “Okay, but I can see in your eyes that something is terribly wrong. Please tell me, darling.” Her worried-­mum look intensified.

  “I can’t, Mum. I have to get that food down to the brewery.” If she started talking about Mason, she feared that she’d start crying and ruin her carefully applied makeup. She’d gone back to her cabin and changed into black palazzo pants and a white tank sporting the Broomstick Brewery logo along with a black silk blouse open but knotted at the waist. Then she’d quickly headed over to Sophia’s flat just in case Mason decided to pay her a visit and give her a much deserved I’m sorry for being a jerk, because Grace certainly wasn’t ready to accept his apology. “I don’t want the appetizers to spoil,” she said just as Jimmy Topmiller walked out of the bistro with another tray of food. She’d met him one afternoon when he’d stopped by the brewery for a tour.

  “Jimmy, would you mind delivering the appetizers to the brewery?” Becca asked.

  “Not at all,” Jimmy replied, and then smiled at Grace. “You can relax for a few minutes, Grace.”

  “Oh, thank you so much,” Grace said, liking his Southern charm.

  “No problem,” Jimmy added and leaned forward slightly, as if he was going to kiss Becca on the cheek, but then pulled back.

  “Thank you, love. You’re a dear,” Becca said. Her gaze lingered on him and the soft expression had Grace wondering what was going on between her mother and Jimmy.

  Once Jimmy drove away, Grace turned to her mother. “Mum, are you seeing him?”

  Becca put a hand to her chest. “No...well...of course, I see him. He does live directly across the lake, you know.”

  “Mincing words, are we?” Grace grinned in spite of her crappy mood. “When you mince, that always means yes. Confess.”

  “I dunno, really.” Becca shrugged, and then bit her bottom lip and blushed. “I...we...”