She glanced at her watch, deciding that he had probably gotten held up at work. She wouldn't text him just yet. She would wait a few minutes before checking in and making sure everything was all right.
“Hey, Faith!” Annie, one of the waitresses, greeted her with a warm smile. “You here for some food?”
“Those burgers do smell absolutely divine,” Faith said, laughing. “But I'm not here for food at the moment. I'm supposed to meet up with Ryan, but I guess he's not here yet.”
“Well, feel free to sit down at one of the empty tables,” Annie said. “Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
“Yes, actually, that would be lovely.” Faith smiled at her. “How about an iced tea?”
“You got it. I'll be back in two minutes.”
Faith sat down at a little table by the large, modern-looking windows. True to her word, Annie returned just a couple of moments later, bearing a glass of delicious-looking iced tea.
“Just holler at me if you need anything else,” Annie insisted.
“Will do. Thanks.”
Faith pulled out her phone and browsed social media for a few minutes before opening her library app and continuing the Kindle book that she had been devouring over the past few days. It distracted her completely for about ten minutes, and then she glanced at her watch again and realized just how late Ryan was.
Feeling a little concerned, Faith sent him a quick text, asking him if something had come up. She assured him that she wasn't upset but she wanted to make sure that he was all right. She sat quietly for a few moments, sipping her iced tea and wondering why Ryan hadn't sent her a text to let her know that he would be late.
When two minutes had passed and she still hadn't heard from him, she did her best to go back to her book. This time, however, she had trouble focusing. She kept glancing up at thefront doors, hoping that Ryan was striding through them. It wasn't like him to not let her know that he wasn't able to meet her at the time they'd planned. She didn't feel truly worried yet, but the change in his behavior gave her a little pause.
I hope everything's all right,she thought, pressing her lips together.
After nearly half an hour had passed, Faith was feeling much too rattled to try to read her book anymore. She stared at her phone screen, wondering why Ryan hadn't texted her back. Finally, she picked up her phone and dialed his number. It rang one time before she saw him walking through the front doors of the brewery, a frown on his face. He looked extremely unsettled, and as soon as she saw him, her heart gave a lurch.
Immediately she stood up and hurried to his side, wrapping her arms around him.
“Are you okay?” she asked, touching his face. “What's going on?”
Ryan glanced at his watch and groaned. “I'm so sorry,” he said. “I had no idea it got so late. I should have texted you.”
She shook her head. “That's okay. I can tell that something's wrong. What happened?”
“You were sitting over there?” Ryan asked, gesturing to the small table that still had Faith’s glass of iced tea resting on it. She nodded, and he took her hand and led her back to the table. Her stomach sank, since she knew that if he wanted privacy, it was serious news indeed.
“I was with my father this morning,” Ryan explained, “and he started feeling pain in his chest. Not wanting to take any risks, I told him I was going to take him to the hospital and I wouldn't take no for an answer.”
Faith gasped in alarm. “Is he all right?”
Ryan nodded gravely. “He is now. But he did have a mild heart attack.”
Faith placed her hand on her own heart, feeling worried about Judd despite Ryan's reassurance that his father was now okay. “That must have been terrifying for both of you,” she said.
Ryan nodded. “My dad was trying to put a tough guy face on it all as usual, but it's pretty clear that he's shaken up about it. And this isn't really the end of it.” He paused and took a deep breath. “The doctor gave him strict orders to take it easy so that he doesn't stress out his heart again. He's been working at a mile a minute for decades, and now in one day he finds out that his whole life has to change. He has to learn how to rest, starting now.”
“Oh my,” Faith said. “I can understand how that would be tough for him. I used to be addicted to work too. Do you think after a while he'll be able to work as much as he used to, as long as he makes sure he isn't getting too stressed?”
Ryan shook his head. “The doctor doesn't think so. Dad is getting on in years, and running this brewery took a lot out of him. You know it's like the center of his universe. Most people can run a business without getting too emotionally invested in its highs and lows, but Dad isn't like that. He feels as though the stakes are always at one hundred percent every single day.”
“Yeah, I can see that a little bit.” Faith stared into space, feeling bad for Judd and wondering what the future would hold for him. “Well,” she said finally, “I guess all we can do is try to be as helpful as we can. Let me know if there's anything I can do for your dad, okay? And I already know you're going to try to help him out as much as possible.”
Ryan grimaced slightly, and Faith knew as soon as she saw his expression that there was more to the story that he hadn't told her yet. “Actually,” he said slowly, “he has made a request of me already. It's a pretty big one.”
Faith, filled with suspense, asked “What is it?” as soon as Ryan paused for a moment.
Ryan inhaled. “My dad asked me to take over his duties at the brewery. He wants me to run this place.”
