Page 53 of Her Hometown Man
“I hope so.” She straightened, pulling away from him even though she was reluctant to let go. Her body ached with a need to stay close to him, but giving in wasn’t going to make leaving any easier. “I have to get another box of napkins downstairs.”
He nodded and moved back so he could pick up the box he’d dropped. The tension in his eyes and his body language tore at her heart, but she couldn’t allow herself to try to soothe it. There was no way to fix it. But she’d only gone a few steps toward the boxes of napkins when he said her name and she turned. “Maybe after the grand opening, we can talk.”
She smiled and nodded. She really didn’t want to leave Stonefield with tension between them, and no matter how much it would hurt, they needed a proper goodbye. “I’d like that.”
The final few minutes before they opened the doors was hectic enough to require almost all of her attention, but every time her gaze landed on Case, her heart hurt just a little bit more.
“Are we ready?” Ellen asked, and they all nodded. There were already several people outside, and Gwen didn’t want them changing their minds. “Okay. This is it.”
It went beautifully. Gwen knew all the planning and the work and the endless discussions had been worth it before the first hour they were open was up. Granted, the customers were friends, but it was Stonefield. Word would spread.
She saw Laura and Daphne in the crowd. Molly and her parents. So many people she knew—had known most of her life, if not all of it—as well as a few people she didn’t recognize.
Case was there, too. He mingled, table-hopping to talk to the people he knew—which was everybody—but judging by how often she caught him watching her, she knew he never lost track of what she was doing.
She’d told him they’d talk after the grand opening, and every time their eyes locked across the taproom, she was so overcome by emotion, she had to look away. Saying goodbye to him was going to hurt like hell.
But she had to go home. She couldn’t risk her book being pulled from the publisher’s schedule. She’d worked too hard to build a reputation with her readers.
“Can you take over for a minute?” Lane asked her when she stepped behind the bar on her way to the kitchen.
“Sure.” It wasn’t hard, and he’d made all of them practice with the taps until they could get a perfect pour with just the right amount of foam. “You look nervous.”
“I am.”
“The beer is good, Lane. You have nothing to be nervous about.”
He made a noncommittal sound and then gave her a considering look. “Maybe you, of all the people here, should understand it, though. You put everything into writing a book. You think it’s good, and the people around you tell you it’s good. But those people care aboutyou, so you probably get nervous when it’s time for it to hit the bookstores.”
He certainly wasn’t wrong about that. “I’ve got this if you want to take a break.”
“I just need a second.”
She thought he’d head for the men’s room, but he just turned, poured himself a glass of water and headed away from the bar. He looked like he was psyching himself up for something, and she really hoped he wasn’t on the verge of a breakdown. They could work around the rest of the family, but they couldn’t have a brewery without Lane.
But after a moment to compose himself, he turned back to face the taproom and yelled over the crowd. “Can I have everybody’s attention for a minute?”
It took a moment for the crowd to quiet, but soon all eyes were on Lane. And he didn’t look happy about it. Gwen saw the slight bead of sweat on his brow and knew he’d love more than anything to run into his cellar and not come out for a while.
Ellen moved to stand next to Gwen, and she saw Evie and Mallory come from the kitchen to listen as Lane started to talk.
“David and I talked about this brewery for years. Honestly, I’m not sure either of us ever intended to actually do it, but we were in the carriage house one day and we started playing a serious game ofwhat ifand, well, this is the culmination of a whole lot of what ifs.” He paused and then cleared his throat, which sounded harsh in the quiet taproom. “I say that so you know that when I tell you David talked to me for years about brewing, I meanyears.”
Ellen chuckled. “I was always thankful he had you, Lane, so I didn’t have to listen to him go on about it.”
Amusement rippled through the room and the warm affection and remembered exasperation glowing on her mother’s face made Gwen smile. She’d been so afraid this night would magnify their sense of loss—that they’d all be hyperaware that her dad was missing—but instead, sitting here, surrounded by his dream and the people who loved him the most, she could almost feel his arms wrapped around her in a fierce dad hug.
“You all know how important this brewery was to David,” Lane continued, “but there was more to it.”
When he pulled a thick, leather-bound journal from the shelf under the bar and set it on top of the polished wood, emotion knotted in Gwen’s throat. There it was, the pages swollen from years of being flipped through and written on with her father’s heavy hand. The leather binding the paper had a gorgeous patina from age and use, and her fingers itched to touch it.
“David experimented a lot over the years, brewing some incredible brews and some really, really bad beer.” Lane had to stop for laughter again, and Gwen could see that he was bracing himself somehow, as if he had a hard part to get through. “It was important to him that we launch this brewery with three distinct, exceptional beers—each one an expression of love for his three daughters.”
Oh, they were going to need tissues, Gwen thought, but she was unable to move. So that’s why there were four taps, but he’d only allowed them to use one. She knew the beer they’d toasted the name with was the same one they’d been serving tonight, and she’d had no idea there were more.
“You’ve been drinking our house lager tonight,” Lane announced. “But we’re going to offer everybody samples of the three beers I’m about to introduce.”
Mallory and Evie had come forward to stand with Ellen and Gwen, and Mallory whispered to their mother, “Did you know about this?”
