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“Oh, then a week later, I lost my job. So you could say Marie saved me when she passed her estate on to me. It was divine timing.” They both look at me in admiration.
“Wow, that calls for the hard stuff,” Lacy says, putting three shot glasses on the bar and grabbing a bottle of whiskey.
She pours the amber liquor perfectly, not spilling a drop.
“To new beginnings,” Jasmine says, holding up theshot glass as I grab mine hesitantly. I’ve never had straight whiskey before.
“To new beginnings,” Lacy and I say together, and we throw back our glasses. My eyes burn instantly, my throat on fire.
“Wow, that's strong,” I cough out, blinking as my eyes water. The other two look at me like they didn’t just drink something akin to gasoline.
“It’s Whiteman’s,” Lacy says, putting the bottle on the bar. The label’s black with gold writing—at least his branding is on point. There is no mistaking it. In this town, I am surrounded by him.
“Of course it is. He is a bit of an asshole, isn’t he?” I ask, looking at them both.
“Who, Tanner?” Jasmine clarifies, her head tilting in confusion.
“Yeah. He isn’t overly friendly…” I say, not sure if I can be completely honest with them yet. They look at each other before looking back at me. I am not sure my radar for picking decent men is firing right after Josh, and I certainly don’t need another man to make me feel less than.
“Are we talking about the same man? That one over there, who's been looking at you since you walked in.” Jasmine points, and I follow the direction of her hand to a booth down the back. Familiar brown eyes burn my skin as Tanner looks right at me. He is with yet another good-looking man who seems a bit younger than him, someone more my age. But it is my older grumpy neighbor who has all my attention.
“Tanner is great. Gave me a job a few months agothe minute I came back to Whispers. I don’t know if he needed me or if it was a favor to my mom, but there was no interview, no reference checks. He hired me, and now I work the bar sometimes and work in his office during the week,” Lacy says, shrugging like it is no big deal. I barely see her out of my peripheral vision as my eyes remain locked with my neighbor while she talks. He’s wearing what seems to be his signature black button-down, open at the collar, his hair looking like he has run his hand through it a few times. Sitting back, one arm slung over the back of the booth, he nurses what looks like a glass of whiskey. He is watching me closely.Probably wondering how to kill me and hide the body.
“Tanner is with Hudson for dinner,” Jasmine says, filling me in on the other guy.
“Hudson?” I am not sure what is in the water around here, but the men in this town are the most attractive I have ever come across.
“He is a doctor in LA. But he grew up here, comes back a lot. I think he might move back and take over the medical clinic, or at least Tanner is trying to talk him into it since our resident doctor will be retiring soon,” Lacy says, and I see her blush a little talking about him.Interesting.
“Tanner wanted to buy Marie’s,” I murmur, taking another sip of my margarita, hoping to get the whiskey taste out of my mouth.
“I know. He isn’t used to not getting what he wants around here,” Lacy warns.
“Well, he isn’t getting my place.” I say it with a smile,and we get back to the topic of renovations and the happenings around town.
After a couple of hours, I am trying to rehydrate with water and feeling sleepy, all the work I did today and the fact that my goat kept me up all night finally catching up to me.
“So, Victoria, I didn’t think to mention this earlier, but I can’t push it from my mind after hearing what you said about Tanner…” Jasmine says warily, and that makes me uneasy.
“What is it?” I ask, turning to face her.
“I heard he put in a request for adverse possession.”
“I don’t know what that is…” I can feel my brow pinching as I wait for her to explain.
“Essentially, he had his legal team put forward that given the time and energy he has spent over the years at the property and assisting Marie, he applied for ownership. I only know because I heard some guys talking about it when they came into the shop to grab flowers for their wives. I think most of the town knows.”
My head swivels to Lacy, but she looks just as dumbfounded as I do. “I had no idea,” she says, frowning. “It doesn’t sound like something he would do…”
With my stomach suddenly in knots, I finish my glass of water, trying to wrap my mind around this.
“I could be mistaken. But I know Tanner, and he always goes after what he wants.” Jasmine jumps off her stool. “Well, I have to run. I have to be up early to get to the flower markets in Williamstown tomorrow,” she says, referring to one of the other larger towns nearby, acting like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me.
“Thanks for tonight,” I tell her, giving her a small hug, happy to have had a great night and met two amazing new friends. But now I’m also feeling a little off, knowing my neighbor is digging his heels in to get my property.
“I'll bring some wine around tomorrow night. I want to see what you are doing with the place,” she says, and I smile.
“I would love that. You too, Lacy,” I tell them both and they nod. I watch Jasmine go, and Lacy walks over to the booths to offer last drinks.
