Growing up, he hadn’t had a dad around. His mom had raised him and his two brothers. She was strong and did whatever it took to make sure they had what they needed. He could see the same kind of strength in Rachel. He was positive his mom would have loved her and the kids. His mom would have spoiled the kids because she’d always talked about grandkids. She’d passed before he, Brody, or Flick had given her any or even found their women.
A loud scream echoed from Brody’s room. Gunner chuckled. He’d set the prank up for his brother two days ago. Brody hated roaches. He couldn’t handle them. It didn’t matter that Brody could deal with the cows and the horses. Therewas something about roaches that made him freak out when they were close to him.
Gunner had hooked up a little spring that, when Brody opened a cabinet, would release a little slingshot filled with fake rubbery cockroaches. And it sounded like his little prank had been very successful.
Brody needed to get his heart rate up anyway. Gunner was just being a good brother.
Banging on his bathroom door had Gunner double-checking he’d locked it as he got out of the shower and dried off.
“You won’t know where and you won’t know when, but I will get you back, you jerk,” Brody yelled through the door.
“Oh, I’m so scared. What will I do?” Gunner called in a falsetto.
He grinned, slipping on his clothes and running a quick brush through his hair after brushing his teeth. He’d need to be on his guard because Brody would be gunning for payback, but Brody wouldn’t be able to get one over on the master prankster.
He grabbed his cut, slipping it on over his T-shirt. He checked his watch—just enough time for a cinnamon roll before the ride. Yeah—life was good.
Chapter Six
Rachel walked into Broken Hearts Brewing and marveled at the space. A furniture truck had pulled away as she parked her van. The wood floors gleamed. Two groupings of chairs and sofas created cozy spaces for people to relax. The shelves were all cleaned off and ready for merchandise.
Tables with chairs were set in the space, and the bar against the front window had tall chairs just waiting for people to enjoy the area. She could see all the interesting items she’d thought of for the shop on the shelves, just ready for people to enjoy.
“Hey, what do you think of the furniture? The women picked it out, but we can move it if you think stuff would look better somewhere else,” Gunner said, coming out of the kitchen.
“I love it. I think it looks great where it is. I know we talked about an evening soft opening of family and friends. I think that will let us know if anything needs to be moved,” Rachel said, grinning.
She probably looked like a fool, but she could barely contain the excitement of not only getting to showcase her crafts but also having a say in activities at the shop.
“I’ve been dying to find out what creations you’ve made. Did you bring them in that basket?” Gunner asked.
Rachel nodded, sitting down at the table. Gunner joined her, cocking his eyebrow.
“So, I had this idea about what we offered. I have these cats that I make that are super soft and cuddly. So let me introduce you to them and see what you think. This is Cina. Since the vibe of Broken Hearts Brewing is about recovering after a breakup or losing someone, I thought naming the cats would be cool. People could pick their cat for their recovery box. Cina’s named for oxytocin, which is the chemical that, besides forming bonds between a mother and child, forms bondsbetween romantic partners,” Rachel said quickly, handing the pink cat to Gunner.
He rubbed his fingers along the cat and then rubbed it against his neck.
“I’m just going to say your idea has blown me away. This is brilliant. They can come in for a drink and go home with something to cuddle with. Now, I know if you’ve thought about it this much, then you’ve got other ideas too. What are they?” Gunner asked, grinning at her.
Rachel breathed deep and let out all the worry she’d felt. Gunner loved her ideas. It was such a relief. Although she hadn’t been able to crochet last night, she’d spent a couple hours this morning after she’d eaten to crochet the cats and write out her ideas.
“This one, I wanted your opinion on the name,” she said, handing the black one to him.
“I was vacillating between Sera for serotonin, one of the feel-good chemicals, or Mina for dopamine. Dopamine influences your mood, among other things. Serotonin helps withmultiple things but also helps with wound healing,” Rachel said.
“I like both of them. Hmm, I really want to pick the right one. Maybe we could leave that one for now. If you don’t have strong feelings, maybe we could ask Clara or Regina for help,” Gunner suggested.
Rachel liked that idea because picking names was a big deal to her. She nodded and pulled out her next one.
“This yellow one is another one I was trying to decide,” she said.
Gunner took the cat, petting it like it was a real cat. She giggled at his expression.
“It’s very soothing. Did you have ideas?” he asked.
“Buttercup forBuckle Up, Buttercupis kind of sarcastic, like, hey, buckle up because it will be hard, but you’ll get through it. On the other hand, I was considering Sunshine as a reminder that you’ll get through this. It would be something people could send to those they thought might need to be cheered up,” Rachel said.
Gunner chuckled. “Man, you’re not making this easy. How are you thinking they’d know the names and what they’re for?”
