“Maybe later. Thanks.” I nodded and glanced around the crowded brewery. There were people of all ages. Men and women ranging from twenty-one to sixty-five, it seemed. The whole town of Moonlit Pines seemed to be bustling and about to burst at the seams the moment I drove in from a couple of towns over.
What the hell am I doing here?When was the last time I’d even stepped into a brewery? Much less one in a small mountain town the night before some damn speed dating event that kicked off a series of Valentine’s Day activities to get all the singles involved hooked up over the weekend before the holiday.
I felt… desperate.
I had to be if I let my sister Courtney talk me into this shit.
But she’d known how to guilt trip me into doing what she wanted. Always did. One look at me with those damn blue eyes like a sad little puppy, and like usual, I caved. It didn’t help that my own kid, my seventeen-year-old daughter, Cassie, was in on her shenanigans to plot against me.
But I knew why my daughter wanted me to find someone.
Since she’d started high school, we had one rule at my house: no dating until she graduated. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her or her taste in guys. It was just that I wanted her to do better than her old man.
That is ultimately what every parent wants, no?
I was a dumbass kid in school, one who thought he knew better and didn’t need to graduate high school in order to chase his dreams. Five years later, I’d returned to Steele Springs, broke and with my tail between my legs, much to my parents’ dismay. Not that they said a thing to me. They simply let me stay at home while I worked on getting my shit together.
And I had to admit, I’d done well for myself. Got my GED, went to college, and got my degree while I’d worked construction. I’d been in a good place when I met Carol. She’d been sweet and bubbly. We hadn’t fallen in love exactly, but we liked to spend time together, and when she turned up pregnant, I asked her to marry me. To my surprise, she told me she couldn’t do that just because we were about to coparent a child.
And as crappy of a human being as this was going to make me sound, it was honestly the best thing that could have happened to us. We raised Cassie together in Steele Springs. Carol had even met the love of her life and got married and had two other little kids. Siblings for my daughter. And watching Carol with her family made me honestly happy for her and glad she’d turned me down.
I’d dedicated every waking day to my kid and my work. And at forty-five, with my daughter in her senior year of high schooland my landscaping business thriving, it felt like life had passed me by. At the end of a heavy workday, I walked into the spacious place I’d sweat and bled to own, only to find it was too empty and too quiet. Especially when Cassie was staying with her mom. In a couple of months, my daughter would be off to college, and both her mom and I knew we’d be lucky if she stayed in the same state.
I was alone and felt it.
Maybe that’s why, when my sister brought up this speed dating thing, despite my knee-jerk reaction to turn it down, I’d let her convince me. Well, her and Cassie both got on me about taking a chance.
Take a risk, Dad, I could hear Cas say in my head.It’s never too late for love.That made a knot form in my belly. I’d dated. I might have never fallen in love, but maybe some people weren’t meant to find that one person who was meant to be theirs?
Yeah, Caleb, it’s time to get your life going,Courtney had added, but she was always a little dramatic. According to my sister, I’d taken one failure way too seriously and decided to never try again. I scowled at the reminder. It wasn’t that I never tried again. I did. My landscaping business proved that. Not that Courtney agreed with me. I picked up my phone and called my daughter.
“Hello?” Cassie’s voice sounded through the line, and relief washed over me. I’d known my sister and daughter had made it to their destination safely, but we hadn’t talked.
“Hey, kid, how are you?” I glanced around the brewery, watching people drink and laugh a little too much.
“Good.”
“Did you and your aunt get to Pinehaven okay?” I scratched the back of my neck.Why does it feel like the place is overflowing with way too many bodies?
“I’m pretty sure you already tracked us and know we’re all settled at the hotel.” I grunted because I had a strict rule about lying. We didn’t lie to one another. Ever.
“The room okay?”
“It’s great. It has a view of a lake,” Cas shared, the smile clear in her voice.
“Nice.” I smiled. “You got all your stuff? Your cheer?—“
“Dad, are you okay?” she asked, not bothering to hide the concern that laced her voice.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I tried to sound like I was having a good time, but I doubted it came across well enough. “Just having a drink at the brewery.”
“Sounds like they have karaoke going on,” she observed. I made a face because the woman up on the stage sounded like she was skinning a cat alive. But for some damn reason, everyone listening was either cheering her on or singing along.
“Yup,” I muttered.
“You should go up there. Show them your singing chops,” she suggested. I frowned.
“I don’t have chops,” I muttered as my lips twitched. But it seemed Cas was too astute for her own good.
