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Really, it’s no wonder none of us are too happy with him right now. He fooled us all.

“I can move her shift, and maybe Brody can take it?”

Our brother Brody doesn’t work at the bar. He prefers to spend his time outdoors. But he helps out when we need him.

“No,” Bryce says. “He has his camping trip.”

Right. Brody’s on his yearly camping trip in the wilderness by himself. It’s the reason Ethan asked me to lead the hike instead of Brody on Friday.

“It’s fine,” Bryce says. “I’m going to have to learn to deal with her eventually. It doesn’t look like Ethan plans on breaking up with her any time soon.”

No. In fact, Ethan was excitedly telling me last night about the two of them moving in together.

I sit back down on my favorite stool, the one at the end of the bar and sort through the mail.

Bryce is right. We’ll all have to accept and move on in the end. As painful as it might be.

The thought of Amelia with a new guy doesn’t really sit right with me either. But I’m going to have to accept it. Ethan doesn’t deserve her loyalty anymore. And she should be happy.

A letter from the mayor’s office catches my eye. I rip it open and read.

“Seriously?” I growl.

“What?” Bryce comes around the counter to look over my shoulder, but he’s several inches shorter than me and can’t see, so he rips the letter from my hand as I reach for my cell phone and dial Mayor Anderson’s number.

I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger, and I just found a target for it.

“Blake Wilson,” she answers, her voice raising at the end like she’s asking a question, when I know she knows exactly why I’m calling.

“Come on!” I hear Bryce complain as he reads over the letter.

“What the hell is the matter now?” I bark into the phone.

“There is no need for such language, Blake. I’m assuming you got the letter about the council’s decision?”

“Yeah, I got your letter. And all I have to say is what the hell?”

“It’s all there in the letter. There’s really nothing I can do—”

“Did I not file all the paperwork that you ask me to?”

“Yes, but—”

“Did I not spend two thousand dollars to hire a marketing firm to draw up a report showing how beneficial a brewery would be for Dogwood?”

“Yes, but if you’d let me ex—”

“Did I not take you and the council out to an expensive dinner to discuss the renovations to the bar?”

“Okay, now you’re trying to make it sound like I asked you to bribe us, and I won’t—”

“So just tell me. What else do you want from me? When will it ever be enough?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Nothing. Never. It’s over. The council has made their final decision. They want to preserve the historical architecture of the building. They won’t allow you to make those changes. They’re happy to let you open your brewery without doing any construction—”

“There’s not enough room—”

“Or you can build it outside of town.”