She puts a hand up in my direction, stopping my speech that she’s heard a hundred times. “I don’t need to hear it, trust me.” She then puts her hand down, and gives me a once over, pausing at my necktie. “Oh, Grayson.” She strides down the length of the bar, lifts up the slab of wood to slide under, and stalks toward me with her hands already in the air. “I might forget where I placed my wallet, but at least I can tie a necktie.”
Her hands make quick work of undoing my necktie, one I spent almost thirty minutes trying to fix. She flicks up my collar and loosens my tie before readjusting the pieces. Her eyes are focused on my chest, before theybriefly flick up to my face, and then down again. “You’re nervous.”
She doesn’t question it, doesn’t even pretend to.
“Yeah…” I swallow roughly. “Tonight is a big deal for Holly.” I promised her I’d go to this event with her, and I’d never want to let her down. She’s shown me bits and pieces of the speech she’s planned, and while I think it’s incredible, she doesn’t agree. She has torn herself apart and nitpicked nearly every word even when she doesn’t have to. She’s going to kill it, I know it. There’s no way she won’t have the entire room eating out of her palm. She doesn’t need me there, but she doesn’t see it that way. And if my girl feels better when I’m around, well then I’ll suffer through a formal cocktail event in the city.
“Well, you look very handsome,” my little sister says as she straightens her knot in my tie. She smooths down the fabric, pulling the tie clip from her teeth and pinning it to my shirt. She takes a step back with her hands clasped over her chest as if she’s a parent sending her child off to his first school dance. “My big brother, all dressed up and going to the city.”
“I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb at this event.”
She rolls her eyes, turning to make her way back behind the bar. She doesn’t bother lifting up the wooden slab, just crouches her petite frame to walk under it. Once she’sback in front of me with the bar separating us, she reaches for a rocks glass and a bottle of scotch. “The only person that’ll think you’re out of place is you.” She pours two fingers of scotch in the glass and sets it in front of the city guy. He bites back a smirk, and when she spins to put his glass in the sink, I see his eyes briefly flick to her ass.
I puff out my chest, leaning down to rest my forearms on the bar next to him, ensuring I have his attention. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” I say, reaching out a hand. “I’m Grayson Hart.” I gesture with a head tilt toward Harper, lowering my voice. “And that young woman you can’t keep your eyes off of is my little sister, mytwenty-three-year-oldsister.”
He leans back in his chair, setting one arm on the back rest before placing his hand in mine. With a firm grip, we shake once. “Nathaniel Brooks. Nice to meet you.”
I nod, releasing his hand but keeping my gaze solely on him.
“I appreciate the protectiveness you have over your sister, but I assure you, I’m the last person you’d need to worry about hurting her.”
I scoff a little at that. “Maybe because you’re the last person I’d let her hang around.”
He brings the fresh glass of scotch to his lips for a sip. “You don’t even know me, Grayson.”
“True, but we see your kind in here from time to time. A city slicker passing through a sleepy small town, stops for a drink, and tries to get with the cute bartender for a night with no plans to call her the next day. There are plenty of other bars in this town, or the nearby towns, I wouldn’t get too comfortable at this one.”
My words don’t phase him, and neither does my size. To be honest, his size matches mine. I can tell he’s tall, even with how he’s leaned back in the bar seat. His suit looks custom made, and that’s likely to accommodate his broad shoulders and long legs. He carries a different confidence about him though, one that says he’s secure in both his size and his abilities. He takes another slow sip of scotch and sets the glass on the coaster in front of him.
“Can I buy you a drink, Grayson? I think we have a few things we could talk about.”
"I’m headed to the city for the night, I’ll have to pass.”
He nods once, reaching into the inside pocket of his suit coat to pull out a wallet. He rifles through it, pulling out what looks like a business card and slaps it on the dented bar top in front of me. I read the top of the card, stomach churning.
Nathaniel Brooks
Land Developer
Brooks and Sons Realty
I rest my pointer finger on the top of the card and slide it along the bar to rest by his rocks glass. “There isn’t anything you and I need to discuss.”
He pushes the card back toward me and stands, abandoning his drink. He fishes through his wallet again, pulling out a crisp one hundred dollar bill and places it next to his half-full glass of expensive scotch. “Your family owns one of the largest farms in Copper Ridge.”
He looks at me, but I don’t nod, don’t acknowledge his words.
“Farming is a tough business. Larger organizations often outsell the little folks. Climate change affects crops, beef prices fluctuate.” He nods to the card once again. “If you’re interested in selling, I promise I’d make it worth your while.”
I’m about to follow him to the parking lot, to remind him again, and maybe not as politely, that he and I have nothing to talk about, when Harper pipes up.
“Heading out already?”
Nathaniel and I both turn to look at her, and her eyes flick from him to me, and back again.
Nathaniel nods, tucking his wallet back into his suit pocket. “Back to the city for a few weeks. It was good to see you again, Harper.” My head whips to look at my sister, and if I didn’t know any better, there was a blushbegging to bloom brightly, even against the dim lights of the bar. Nathaniel looks at me once more, nods goodbye, and then he’s out, taking one of the side doors that leads to the back parking lot.
“What the hell is that about?” I bark, following my little sister as she moves from one end of the bar to the other, pulling empty plates from satisfied guests.
