Page 36 of Second Chances
“She’s my boss,” he said a little too quickly.
“I wish my boss looked like that,” the young man muttered under his breath. He tossed a couple of coasters onto the worn bar and plunked down two of the most orange-looking beers Megan had ever seen.
“Cheers,” Josh raised his glass. “To Megan—Megan, what’s your last name?” he asked, holding his beer stein in mid-air.
“Snodg—” Megan started but then corrected herself, “it’s Brittle. Megan Brittle.”
“To Megan Brittle’s inaugural tour of Chance Rapids.”
“To my tour guide,” Megan replied, clinking her glass against Josh’s. She took a sip and the hoppiness of the beer caught her off guard. “Wow,” she said through a sputter.
“It’s pretty strong. Do you want something different?” Josh asked.
“No, it’s just something I’ve never tried before. I’d like to give it a chance,” Megan said, taking another sip. This time noticing subtle floral hints. “It’s actually pretty good.”
“They have all the domestic beers you could want here, but Charlie,” Josh nodded to the bartender, “has started his own craft beer brewery. There’s a new batch every week.”
“Want to know the secret?” Charlie asked as he polished beer glasses.
“I do. But then would you have to kill me?” Megan replied.
Charlie chuckled. “It’s the water. Chance Rapids has the best water in the state. You couldn’t make a beer this good anywhere else.”
The startling contrast of the trendy craft beer being served in the diviest bar Megan had ever seen was shocking. She looked around the room and noticed a brass pole in the back. “Is this a strip club?”
“Only on Tuesday’s,” Josh laughed.
Megan made a mental note to talk to Charlotte about getting Charlie’s small batch beer into the café, or, her mind began to whirr a mile a minute, or talk to her about opening a craft beer bar. This beer was too good to be served alongside pickled eggs, dog fur, and stripper poles.
“So, Megan Brittle...”
“Josh...What’s your last name?” She interrupted.
“Johnson. I was J.J. growing up.”
“It suits you, J.J.” Megan took another sip of her beer and could feel the alcohol going straight to her head.
“Why did you decide to finally invest some money into Chance Rapids?”
Had she gone too far with the façade? Could she tell him now and get away with the tale Charlotte had woven? She decided to tell the truth, as best as she could.
“My marriage fell apart. I needed something to get my mind off the fact that my life had just crumbled around me.” Truth.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Josh said. “It sounds like it was hard on you.”
“It was hard. I mean, it’s all that I had known for fifteen years.”
“Zeesh, you got married young,” Josh replied.
“Not really, I was twenty-eight.”
Megan could see Josh running the numbers. “So, you’re what, forty-three then?”
“Your math skills are stellar Mr. Johnson.” Megan’s heart sank.
Josh took a sip of his beer, his eyes gazing at Megan over the top of the glass. Megan also took a sip, unsure of what to say next, her snarky comment hanging heavily between them.
“I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but I didn’t think that you were in your forties,” Josh said and reached his hand to cup her cheek. Megan felt her face flush red with his touch, “I was guessing thirty-five – and you’ve got a little foam on your lip there.” He brushed the foam off her lips with his thumb before bringing it to his own to suck it off.
