Page 20 of Sunkissed Colorado
I’d never been close to my own grandparents. Growing up, Mom had done her best to take care of the four of us, no thanks to our dad. After she died, us kids had taken care of ourselves, along with Teller and Piper Landry across the street.
So it was nice to see how much Manny loved his granddaughter, even if a part of me was a little envious too. She had her grandpa, her aunt,andtwo parents.
Only child, though. I wondered what that was like.
Manny and I played in comfortable silence for a while, the familiar rhythm of the dice and the click of the pieces soothing my edges. Finally, I worked up the courage to broach the very subject that had been weighing on me.
“I was surprised to see Zandra back in town.”
Manny’s face softened with unmistakable pride. “It’s good to have her around again, though I wish the circumstances were different. She’s had a hard time lately.”
My brow wrinkled. “She has?”
“Some drama with a boyfriend. Good riddance, if you ask me. But now she’s back home. Maybe I should be grateful her ex is an idiot.”
My mouth ticked up with a smile, but the thought of Zandra struggling put a damper on that. I hadn’t even thought about other reasons Z might be in town. I’d just assumed she’d left her fabulous life in whatever big city she was conquering to help out the family. The idea that she might be running from something, some asshole guy, didn’t sit right.
“She doesn’t like me much,” I said, trying to keep my tone neutral.
“Don’t worry about it. Zandra takes after me. She’s crotchety beyond her years.”
I laughed. “Not going to argue with you there.”
“She doesn’t like most folks, and neither do I. But she’ll probably warm up to you. I did. You have a tendency to grow on people.”
“Like athlete’s foot?”
“You read my mind.”
Inside, I could only hope Zandra would give me a break. At least it seemed like she hadn’t badmouthed me to her grandfather. Yet. She’d said she wouldn’t, but she’d always been unpredictable. I was relieved she hadn’t done anything overt to screw me over out of spite.
There was more I wanted to talk about with Manny, though. I’d genuinely come to spend time with him. But yeah, I had an agenda. And I had to think he’d understand.
Since I’d started at Hearthstone, Manny had become a mentor. Never went too easy on me and didn’t insult my intelligence either. When I’d asked for more responsibility in the past, he’d given me a chance. He’d always been accepting of my volunteer firefighter duties too.
I had to believe that, if I told him I wanted the general manager position, he’d give me a fair shot.
“You haven’t changed your mind about hiring someone to replace you at Hearthstone?” I asked.
He made a show of grumbling about it, muttering something about being put out to pasture, but eventually nodded. “It’s time.”
“I was thinking about applying.”
“Bar manager not enough for you?”
“I think I’ve done a great job, and I’m ready for a bigger challenge. I know Hearthstone inside and out.” I launched into the argument I’d rehearsed. “As bar manager, I’ve gotten to know the brewery side of things by working closely with Russ. I know the restaurant too. And I’ve been filling in for you here and there while you’ve been gone. Working with suppliers. Handling employee issues.”
“With my active supervision,” he noted.
“Yes. But I’ve been picking things up fast.”
He folded his hands on his stomach, his expression turning thoughtful. “You do pay attention. More than most. You’re a good kid.”
“I’m thirty-four. Hardly a kid.”
“When you’re my age, everybody seems like a kid. But that wasn’t a criticism. I like you, and I trust you. Do I think you’re ready to run Hearthstone? I don’t know. That’s a tall order.”
“If you’re worried about my firefighting duties?—”
