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“What do you plan to do with the animals?” Sawyer asks, looking at me.
“I will rehome them. Shit, might even keep that stupid goat that bleats all night. It could be a good security alarm to have around the back of the distillery.” We both chuckle at that.
“Why do you want it so much?” Sawyer asks me, looking at me seriously for a moment. “I mean, you have a lot of land surrounding the distillery. You could build your accommodation in any number of places. Why this one?”
“It’s special, that area. Grass is always green, the natural springs are on that parcel of land, and the soil is nourished so you can grow anything. The wind blows from the west across the springs, so the air is fresh, no matter what time of the day. Plus, the outlook onto the distillery is photo worthy. It’s quiet, picturesque. There is just something magical about that place,” I tell him.
Seeing the look on Sawyer’s face I know he doesn’t quite get it, so I turn it into business speak. “People will pay top dollar for a weekend here, and adding accommodation to the site will just further push the destination of Whispers.”
“You love this town, don’t you?” he asks, and I swear Isee some admiration in his expression as we drive through the small place I have called home my entire life.
“It’s in my blood. Whispers and whiskey. You can’t have one without the other.”
“You missed aW,” Sawyer says, and I frown, wondering what he is talking about.
“Women. You need whiskey, Whispers, and women.”
I haven’t taken another woman permanently into my life since Connor's mom skipped town over thirty years ago. Heard she came back once. By the time I went to her parents’ place to see her and ask why she ran out on her only child, she had already gone. She stayed an hour to pick up some paperwork and fled. So it was clear that the life I had and the son we shared was not what she wanted. Her parents helped out a little in the beginning, but their support eventually waned as well, before they both passed about a decade ago.
That’s not to say I have been a saint. I meet women, mostly in the city when I visit. There is something city women seem to like about me. I'm not sure if it is my slight country accent, my ruggedness, my money, or just that I am from out of town, but either way, I am never short of female attention. I just never commit.
When Connor's mom left, I had to focus on him. He was and still is my number one priority. I tried to be the best dad I could and to be there for every milestone. I cooked his birthday cakes, coached his baseball team, nursed him when he was sick, helped with homework. The town talked, of course. I was young, just a kid myself. So I had to prove to them and myself that I could do it. There wasn’t time to look at girls or go on dates, regardlessof how many tried. Connor already had a mother figure leave him, and I wasn’t going to be responsible for that to potentially happen again. The fear of being left is something that festers inside of me and has for years.
When Connor went away to college, it coincided with the distillery business booming. So when he left, I filled the void with work, kept my head down, developed new batches, new labels, turned my millions into billions, and the distillery became my new baby. I nurtured it, and I worked hard to build something for Connor to come back to. Women have always been a distant second to all that. I thought someone would cross my path along the way, pique my interest, but as the years roll on, I am more settled being on my own with Connor and the business.
I don’t need any complications. Besides, I am fifty-one, too old and too grumpy to even think about it.
“Whiskey and Whispers are fine,” I growl, gripping on to the steering wheel tight. Connor and the boys are always on my case about finding someone. He is scared that I am going to end up alone. But that is exactly how I like my life.
“I think you just came up with your new slogan.Whiskey and Whispers, you can’t have one without the other.Better let the marketing team know. I think it would work well with your new accommodation offering,” Sawyer says, and I smile.
“What, so now you want a bonus?” I smirk, knowing he doesn’t need a bonus. His law firm is one of the biggest in the country. At the helm of it, he’s just as wealthy as the rest of us.
“Nah, just my own jet will be fine, thanks,” he says injest. I chuckle as I turn down Distillery Drive, the road that houses exactly two properties, my distillery and Marie’s place.
“Is that Jerry’s truck?” Sawyer sits forward, looking out the window.
“I’ll pull up,” I say, coming to stop in the middle of the road and Jerry’s truck does the same. I open the window to chat.
“Jerry, we can meet you at Marie’s and sign the papers today if you want?” I tell him, keen to get this sorted.
“She turned up,” Jerry says in disbelief.Well, shit.
“She turned up?”
“Yes, she is here,” Jerry says, nodding back to where Marie’s place is located.
“Shit,” Sawyer mutters, looking at me.
“What do you mean, she turned up? Who even is she?” I ask, my tone growing angry and desperate.
“Pretty little thing. Looks like she was plucked straight out of a movie set. I sure as hell know she has never set foot on a farm before. Hell, she probably hasn’t ever left New York. Fancy clothes, hair nice and neat, friendly and polite,” Jerry says, and I frown, not liking this at all.
“I don’t understand. Why would she leave New York for here?” Sawyer asks, astounded. He catches my eye, and his face changes. “I mean, Whispers is lovely. Of course, she would want to be here.” He rolls his eyes, and I send him a scowl.
“Is she planning to stay?” I bark, my body feeling tighter by the second.
“She didn’t elaborate on her plans. I told her that you were keen to buy, but she didn’t seem interested.”
