“Solemn Summit.”
“The one named after you.” All the Baileys had a special barrel named after them.
He sat next to me. Only the corner of the table was between us. “I shouldn’t be surprised you know them all.”
“You know, when I got the job, I went out and bought a bunch of bottles to try before I started.” I’d used all my tip money from the serving job I’d had through college.
He was midslice of his pork chop. “You bought them all yourself?”
“I was excited.” I still was. “It’s a dream job, and I wanted to be good at it.”
He cut a chunk of pork off. “We’ll reimburse you.”
“That was eighteen months ago.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He swiped his meat through his potatoes and shoved the forkful in his mouth.
“Oh. Thank you.” I took a bite and groaned. “So good.”
Tenor paused, his fork in the air.
I patted my mouth with a napkin. “Sorry. My mom isn’t a big cook. If it’s not from a box, she can’t make it.”
“Mama’s food is the best, but it’s been basically her full-time job most of her life.”
“My mom’s sensitive about it. About her cooking.” I loaded up on mashed potatoes. None of my family could cook this well. “I think it’s because she had me so young. Then my stepdad, or my ex-stepdad—I never know what to call him. Bill. They’vebeen divorced for several years. We don’t talk much anymore.” He’d met another woman who hadn’t liked that his stepdaughter was still in his life. “Anyway, Bill used to tell her she could scorch water.”
“Did he cook?”
“No.”
“Then why was he complaining?”
“I asked him that once. He didn’t have an answer, and Mom pointed out what a good question that was.” Bill and my mom had divorced shortly after. I’d been sad to see him go, but the atmosphere at home had gotten lighter. Mom quit trying to be superwoman when he wasn’t there and could just be Mom.
I finished my food about when Tenor did.
I took a sip of the coffee with bourbon. “Mm. I think this is the only way I can drink decaf from now on.”
“It’s the only way any of us can drink it.”
I chuckled and caught a flash of a smile from him before he closed his lips around the rim of the mug.
My heart fluttered. I longed to push his hair off his face and take those glasses off. Or leave them on, as long as I could see sharp cheekbones and intense brown eyes.
“Cara and Brock might be moving to Bourbon Canyon, but we won’t let them bother you if they keep coming into Copper Summit on your shifts.”
I scoffed. “You Baileys can do a lot, but you can’t control other people.”
His steady look said maybe they could.
I shivered. His attention warmed me faster than the hard coffee. “She shouldn’t have power over me. She wasn’t even that bad, but I felt like I was in middle school again, wondering why she was making me feel bad in front of her new friends. I had a weak moment and dragged you down with me.”
“We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “The only part of me that Cara’s dangerous to is my pride.”
He shook his head and rose, taking both of our plates. “People like her shouldn’t get away with how they treat others.”
