Page 13 of Hammer and Hops

“Duh, of course they did. I just didn’t eat there. And never thought about it much. But it seems kind of strange to have one in Foggy. I mean, it’s such a small town.”

“Well, the city portion is, but when you take in the outlying areas, it’s bigger than you think.”

“Maybe I need to see more of it then.”

“Happy to show you.” I plastered my best cheesy grin on my face and headed to the stand.

“Well, if I can ever get out of the brewery,” he huffed as if he doubted the possibility of future dates.

I planned on making that happen, though. Operation Get Everett to Relax included a lot of getting him away from work. This was only step one. With luck, we would get to step two.

After getting our food, we headed out again, and I drove out to the lake. It was a nice spot to hang out, near the main road, with a dock and a small grassy area. You could even see the mountains on the far side. I loved it, especially since it wasn’t a well-known area.

“This is nice.” Everett helped me spread out the blanket that I always kept in my truck.

“Right. Not too many people know about this particular spot. ‘Round the other side, though. That’s a different story. Tourists. But here, it’s just locals.”

“Am I in the club now?”

“Guess so. Let’s eat.”

We sat and ate great Mexican food and talked. Everett was sweet when he wasn’t pissed off, and I would take him either way, but I really liked the sweet side and how he moaned over the food after taking a bite of a tamale.

“That’s good, right. Not too spicy.”

“Mm-hm. That place is great and entirely too close to the brewery. Now that I know about it, I’ll end up going every freakin’ day. Great.” Of course, it sounded like he thought it was anything but great. He probably scrutinized every bite he took.

“Eh…eat what you want. You can always throw in an extra workout or something.” As if he needed it.

“It’s not like I’m on a diet or anything. Sheesh.”

“What’s with all the scowling? This is a beautiful night, and we’re having a good time, aren’t we?”

He put his taco down on the napkin in his lap. “Sorry. You’re right. This is nice.” But he was still frowning. I gestured toward his face, and he gave me a half-smile. “Every second I’m not working, I’m worried something will go wrong. I’m under an incredible amount of pressure. I have to get this off the ground. I moved out here to Foggy Basin for reasons that don’t include eating tacos by the lake with a cute guy.”

“Ahh…you think I’m cute.” I batted my eyelashes at him in an overly dramatic fashion.

“You’re cute, alright.” He snorted, rather than laughing, but at least he seemed a little more relaxed. “I love how that’s the only part you heard.”

“Ah…Everett. I heard it all. I just think it could do you a lot of good to de-stress every now and then. The brewery isn’t going anywhere, and I’m sure you have someone helping you there? Employees? That big dude.”

“Lukas Rodbell.”

“Is that the guy who came out and talked to me?” Might as well own up to it.

“Yep. He’s my Brew Master. Couldn’t do this without him. We met in college, and he’s been my friend, my cheerleader, and my instigator from the beginning.”

“Well, see. You should trust him. He’s not going to let shit hit the fan while you’re out. Right?”

Everett exhaled loudly. “No. He’s not. But it’s everything if I fail. I mean for me. For him…” He shook his head. “He’ll go back to the city and find a better job anyway.”

“I doubt that.”

“Doubt what?”

“Any of it.” There was no way this man was going to fail at anything he set his mind to, unlike me. I was convinced I couldn't do much right. Even at work, I didn't get fired because I usually worked for family or friends that were close enough to be family. Or friends that knew my family. Small towns were like that. On my own, I'd probably crash and burn. I smiled brighter to hide my insecurity from him. He didn't need to know all that, especially on a first date.

Everett went back to eating his food as if he were finished with the conversation. I wasn’t going to push him, either. If he didn’t want to talk about it, we wouldn’t. At least for now. Maybe after we got to know each other better, it would be easier for him. Maybe easier for me, too. But he surprised me again. After finishing his mouthful, he took a swallow of water and wiped his face. “It’s more than just getting the brewery off the ground. Success means being able to go home and look my parents in the face and show them that I’m somebody. It means being my own person.”