Page 162 of Sunkissed Colorado
Whatever happened, whichever of us Grandpa chose as general manager, I would be fine with it.
But still, I sucked in a breath and held it as Grandpa glanced between us, his face unreadable.
“You must’ve figured it out by now, haven’t you? My decision?”
“No,” I sputtered. “I have no idea what you’re going to say.”
Callum shrugged. “Me neither.”
“EvenI’veguessed it,” Rosie said, drifting over from the bar area.
“Want to fill us in?” I asked tightly.
Grandpa huffed. “I mean, come on. I’m choosing both of you! You’ll be co-general managers.”
My head turned to the side, meeting Callum’s shocked gaze beside me, along with his toothy grin.
“Even before I knew you were dating, I was going to choose both of you.Alsobefore your email bowing out of the running, Callum, which I had decided to ignore. That made a lot more sense after I learned how you feel about Zandra, by the way. But the two of you have worked well together almost since the beginning. Everyone at Hearthstone said you had things running betterthan ever. After I got over being offended at that, I realized what it meant.”
“Which is?” Callum asked.
Grandpa shifted on the wooden chair. “At the risk of sounding sentimental… I realized you two remind me of Julia and I.”
“My grandmother,” I whispered to Callum.
“Zandra, your nana and I ran Hearthstone together for many years. We were an ideal team. I think you and Callum could be the same. That comparison fit all the more after you revealed your relationship.” His expression darkened. “Just don’t screw it up. Either my brewpuboryour relationship. Hurt my granddaughter, Callum, and losing your job will be the least of your worries. Don’t make me regret this.”
Callum leaned over to kiss my cheek, then looked back at my grandfather. “I’m going to take good care of Zandra, sir.AndHearthstone. We both will.”
While Grandpa went to harass the construction workers about the repairs, Callum slipped behind the bar. “Can I get you ladies a drink? I think we need to celebrate.”
The bottles were underneath a sheet of plastic, but Callum reached beneath to grab one. He selected a few shot glasses from a low shelf and poured us each a shot of whiskey. The bar top was dusty under our elbows, but none of us cared. I coughed as the whiskey went down. My throat was much better now after the smoke from the fire, but not a hundred percent.
Rosie, on the other hand? She tipped back her shot like it was water and tapped the rim for another. Callum poured it, then aimed a glance my way.
I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Reaching into my purse, I pulled out a small gift box and set it on the bar. “We bought something for you, Auntie.”
She downed her second shot and set the glass down with a thump. “For me? How sweet of you, Baby-Z! Whatever for?”
“For letting me stay with you. And generally being amazing.”
“I picked it out,” Callum added, bouncing on his toes. “Can’t wait for you to open it.”
Rosie opened the lid of the box. I’d expected a laugh or a shout or something, but instead her eyes glistened as she lifted the ceramic figurine from the styrofoam cushion.
“It’sperfect! How on earth did you know?”
Callum smirked. “Lucky guess.”
We’d found it at a gift shop a couple days ago, when we’d ventured beyond Callum’s bedroom and into the world. I’d needed my pistachio latte fix from Silver Linings. The gift shop had been just down the block, and Callum had pulled me in after spotting a bunch of tchotchkes with sunflowers on them.
Then, we’d seen the gnomes.
Rosie held up her new figurine. Two gnomes in pointy hats, one with bright red curls, the other with a grizzled black beard. They were holding hands. It was downright eerie how much they looked like Rosie and Jimmy.
“This is just the sweetest.” She wiped her eyes. I squeezed her arm.
