Page 47 of Stronger Than Blood
They were grinning like they hadn’t just proposed the most preposterous thing in the world. “We think we can turn your uncle’s store into a craft distillery. They’re getting really popular these days, especially in tourist towns.”
“What you’re basically saying is an upscale moonshiner?”
They both laughed. “Sure, if you want to think of it that way,” Rory said. “But, you know, legal.”
“I mean, you’ll have to get Granny Ida on board, and well, good luck there, and then you’ll have to convince the town council, and I wish you even more luck there. Then it’ll be really expensive. Like really expensive to fix up the building. Do you really want to do that?”
“It’d cost less if you joined us,” Kalinda said.
My mouth fell open again. “You want me to make moonshine?” I asked, causing several of the very well-dressed yuppies around me to look my way. I lowered my voice. “I don’tknow how to make moonshine. I barely drink, and you want me to start a still?”
Kalinda shook her head. “You don’t have to, but since your Granny Ida owns the building, if we had a partner in her and you, it could help cut the costs of getting started.”
I sighed deeply before responding. “I don’t know. I need more time to think this over, and you should talk to Jonah and maybe the mayor before you decide anything. I mean, it’s a huge undertaking, and I really don’t know anything about it.”
“But you’ll consider it?” Rory asked.
I shook my head but smiled. “You’re both nuts, but sure, I’ll ponder it. But it seems to me, the person you have to convince is Granny Ida, and she’s not a big fan of drinking or drunks.”
“Well, that’s the beauty of it. It’s not a drinking establishment. It’s a place for people to buy and leave. If anything, it’ll bring prestige to the town.”
I snorted. “We aren’t a prestigious sort of town, but… well, okay, I recommend we talk to several people. In fact, why don’t we have a little party at Uncle Eddie’s building and invite folks over, like the mayor and her husband? And their son who owns the town’s construction company would be good too. Then, you can ask them off the cuff. If any of them get it in their heads that this is a good idea, they could make it happen.”
“First, you got to decide about you and your Granny Ida’s involvement. If she’s amenable, then and only then should we pursue this,” Kalinda said.
The conversation shifted from that to something else, but my mind couldn’t shake it now I was thinking about it. What would it be like? I mean, it’s not like we all three didn’t have a connection with moonshiners. Even Kalinda said she did.
Overall, it sounded fun, and I knew my Uncle Eddie would love the idea of his building basically becoming a big public still.
The fun part would be talking to Granny Ida about it.
I’d stayed in a hotel since Rory had roommates, which was cool. Rory hadn’t pushed things further, and I wondered if maybe he wasn’t interested in going all the way. I can’t say I blame him. I wasn’t someone most players would be interested in. Not that Rory was a player, but… well, I didn’t know if he was or not. I was just too inexperienced and out of my element here.
As my granny used to say, I’m the marrying kind of guy. That’s probably true, but I lived in a world of men who were anything but. Maybe that wasn’t something Rory would want. Would that chase him away? Probably. I really was a backward country bumpkin.
By the time we got all of Kalinda’s stuff packed and stored, it was already Thursday, and I was ready to get back. Honestly, I think it was a bit more about being disappointed that Rory didn’t seem to be interested in more. I didn’t usually let myself get too attached, even if I liked someone. In fact, since my first, which led to a horrible breakup, I hadn’t let myself get attached at all.
Kissing friends was what I decided to call our relationship.
We all ate together Thursday in Kalinda’s old apartment. She said the people who’d bought the building told her they would discard her bed so she had a place to sleep before she left.
Rory drove me to the hotel I’d rented now that Kalenda’s apartment no longer had a bed for me, and when he leaned over to kiss me, I kept the kiss chaste, then quickly slipped out of the car. There were at least a few things I’d come to understand about myself and most important was how difficult it was for me to let people in.
I didn’t want to risk being hurt by another man, and if Rory wasn’t going to be more than a friend, I had to cut things off now before my heart became too attached. I honestly didn’t know what kind of relationship Rory might want, but based on him not showing any interest while we’d been in Memphis, I could makesure I didn’t continue to get close to him—someone who might never be all that interested.
I waved as he drove off, then crashed in my hotel room and let myself be miserable about the new realization. Rory was a ten in every way, and I was a seven at best. It didn’t make sense that I’d even thought something was possible. “Stupid,” I said out loud, then rolled over and forced myself to stop thinking about it. Nothing I did would make any difference anyway.
Chapter thirty-three
Rory
Mrs. Ida had immediately agreed, which shocked Mick. “Oh, my crazy brother would’ve loved this,” she said. When I looked over at Kalinda, she was smiling from ear to ear. I had to assume she’d already discussed that with him since she’d spent quite a bit of time in the old building the day before.
I looked over at Mick, who was also smiling. He was slowly coming around to the idea. Kalinda and I had both talked about it incessantly.
What sucked was the cool draught that’d settled between us since leaving Memphis. “I feel it too,” Kalinda had said after we checked back into the Piston Creek Hotel. “He’s feeling conflicted.”
Well, I guess he would feel conflicted. We’d only known each other a short time, and already, we were throwing around the idea of opening up a business and making him a partner. But that was more because all three of us had lives that were currently unclear, or up in the air.
