On the Rocks, page 8
“Money, vast amounts of it, makes it hard to trust.” Roger didn’t scream butch, but he was tough. “You, though, Ms. Wyatt, I’ve been curious about for a long time.”
She locked eyes with him, trying to sense if this was a test or not. “Why’s that?” If it was a test, she didn’t care. No matter what happened, she was going to lose big even if Max dropped the account in their laps.
“It’s nothing important.” He turned back to the front, and from his profile, she could see he’d closed his eyes.
“No hints?” Max had to have said something about her, and the three-year-old still alive in her brain wanted to know what Roger meant.
“I’m sure you remember your college days better than anyone.” He didn’t open his eyes, and if he was goading her, it was working. “Preston wasn’t expecting you, but I’m glad to finally put a face to the woman she’s mentioned a few times.”
“I’m not leaving if that’s what you’re hinting about.”
“Good. Try to stick it out this time. If not, what’s the point of all this?”
She glanced at Josie and she only shrugged. They were all quiet after that, and she stared out the window, trying to see if she recognized anything. It’d been dark the night before, so she’d concentrated more on what she was going to say than staring at the landscape. The wooded areas they were driving through made it easy to imagine how much Max must’ve loved growing up here. She’d never been an outdoorsy person, but back then, Max had changed her mind about that just by holding up two airline tickets.
“I should’ve figured it out then,” she whispered as she remembered.
“You should’ve figured what?” Josie asked in a whisper when she moved closer to her.
“This is as far out of the city as you can get, and she must love it here.” She smiled at all the sex they’d had outdoors around here and on that trip. “She used to call me a city girl, and I’m sure she still sees me that way. I might’ve been an asshole, but maybe it was a good thing I set her free. She’d have been miserable in the city.”
“It doesn’t matter what Max thinks, honey,” Josie said, taking her hand. “All you need to ask yourself is if you’d be happy here. You are a city girl, but you’re also in love. Is that enough to consider that Hallmark movie scenario we talked about?”
“I’ll have you know that I went fishing in Alaska and cooked over a campfire.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Josie and smiled. “And believe me, I cooked up more than fish.”
“You never told me that.” Josie laughed and so did Roger. Obviously their whispers weren’t all that low. “You got naked outside?”
“That’s none of your business, but yes.” That sense of freedom and fun had been missing for way too long. Everything about her year with Max had been new and exciting. It was all so different than what she’d grown up with, and she missed that version of herself.
Yes, sir, Max taught her a lot of things in that year, but one of the most important was that it was her right to ask for what she wanted. That was one of the best memories of that long weekend, but the amount of great sex they’d had still made her shiver.
“You okay?” Josie asked as the car stopped. “I’m sure Roger will let us hide in here if you need to talk about something.”
“I’m okay, just thinking.” She stepped out when Roger opened the door, and she stared at a smiling Max standing at the entrance of the main building. Her jeans, navy sweater, and hiking boots reminded her of the younger Max who carried her books to class.
“Stop whatever it is you’re thinking, because you’re blushing,” Josie whispered as they started walking. “Though, now that I’ve seen her, I’ll have a hard time not picturing her standing in the wild, naked.”
“Let’s not make this harder than it has to be.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks, and she couldn’t be sure, but she thought Max’s smile had gotten wider. “So behave.”
* * *
“When have I ever misbehaved?” Max asked through gritted teeth when her mother issued the warning.
“We don’t have the kind of time for me to go through my list. Maybe later.” Her mother smiled and stepped forward. “Welcome, everyone. I’ll be leading one group on the tour, and Preston will take the rest of you,” she said after introducing herself.
When the first group followed her mother, her group consisted of Hayley and Josie. “Are you ready?” She and her mother would have to have a long talk later about ambushes and inappropriate behavior.
“Roger,” Josie said, and Max dropped her head until her chin rested on her chest, “I have a bunch of questions that’ll slow us down, so would you mind giving me the tour?”
“I’d be delighted.” Roger offered his arm and they speed-walked down the path.
“That was subtle, wasn’t it?”
Hayley laughed and nodded. “Brick walls and Mack Trucks have nothing on them. Sorry, and if you point me in the right direction, I’ll catch up with your mom.”
“I give a pretty good tour,” she said, obviously having an out-of-body experience. It was the only way to explain the response. “Are you interested?”
“Yes, but I’d like to start somewhere else.”
“Okay, where?” Fuck me, she thought as she stared at Hayley’s mouth. She’d burned all the pictures of them, so she’d forgotten how beautiful Hayley was—and of course that was a total lie. Amnesia would be the only way to forget that.
“The spring, where the process starts.”
“Sure, but that’s not as interesting as the tour.” She led Hayley to the parking lot and smiled at Hayley’s delighted laughter when she saw the Jeep.
“You still own it,” Hayley said, taking her arm like Josie had with Roger. “I was disappointed last night when I saw the BMW.”
“The fancy car is for when I have to play the executive, this is more—”
“You,” Hayley finished. “This is more you, no matter how much more responsibility you’ve taken on.” Hayley held her hand as she helped her in, then put her hair in a ponytail while Max started the engine.
The drive down the private dirt road took twenty minutes, and she played tour guide as they went. Hayley placed her hand on her forearm when she saw the ancient oak that grew in the middle of the Y in the road they’d come to. To the right was a spring, and to the left was Cinclair Bayou.
“I remember this place,” Hayley said when she stopped. “We came here a few times.”
“Cinclair Bayou’s that way.”
“Do you have to rush back?”
This was not a good idea. Not at all, but she turned and headed for the spot Hayley would remember, the place she now avoided. The ring of cypress trees made the perfect private nook, and they’d taken advantage of it more than once.
Hayley waited while she took a blanket out of the back and spread it out. “There’s so much history here,” Hayley said as she gazed out at the water. “I could sense that even then.”
“My family loves the land—always has.” She stretched her legs out and tried to relax. It was like being stress free with an agitated cobra in your lap.
“Can you tell me something about you?”
“I started at the distillery full-time when I graduated and took over for my father as the master distiller five years later.” If the questions were all this easy, the afternoon would be a breeze. “He’s more interested in farming and traveling with my mother, so I’ve been pushed to the front of the line of responsibilities sooner than I would’ve liked.”
“I understand that, and that’s different than my family. My father will retire when we plan his funeral and not a day sooner.” Hayley turned and stared at her longer than she was comfortable with. “How about in your personal life? Who’s the lucky woman you married?”
“I’m not married, and there’s no lucky woman. Not yet,” she added, hoping it’d close the subject.
“We have that in common.” Hayley said it and smiled, which meant no such luck to closing the subject. “Why aren’t you with someone?”
“Really, Hayley, we shouldn’t do this.”
Hayley shook her head and bit her lip as if to keep her tears from falling. “Jesus, I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately, but I doubt you’ll want to see me again once this is over.” The words rushed out of Hayley like an avalanche, and her tears started down her face and fell on her coat. “I hate myself for what I did, and I deserve your contempt.”
“Hey.” She reached out and Hayley was in her arms before she could stop her. The promise not to be cruel kept her from pushing Hayley away. “Stop putting yourself down or thinking I hate you. I don’t, but our realities aren’t much different than they were then.” Logic got her more tears, and Hayley held on tighter.
Hell, this wasn’t what she had planned for the day, so she decided to do something to make herself feel better. She lay back and enjoyed the feel of Hayley’s head on her shoulder and the press of her body against hers. This really brought back memories, and she waited for Hayley to stop crying—her tears made Max want to cry as well, so she did her best to be comforting until Hayley pulled away.
“So, there’s no one special waiting for you?” If she didn’t know better, she’d guess her mother had gained control of her mouth because that was not at all what she meant to say.
“I’ve dated some, but not that much. There’s no one, and I think you know why.”
“Yeah,” she said because nothing better or more intelligent sounding came to mind. The best thing to do was to shut up and wait Hayley out. But five minutes later she was about to crawl out of her skin from the pressure of not pulling Hayley closer and kissing her. “Would you have dinner with me?” For the love of absolutely no fucking control, why had she said that?
“I’d love to.” Hayley rushed her answer as if sensing Max’s internal struggle to change her mind. “We could go to your place and I can cook for you. That’ll give us a chance to catch up with no interruptions.”
Or get naked and reminisce, her brain supplied, dropping her into a pit of hell of her own making. Why torture herself and uphold that whole I’m-pissed stance, she thought. “Sure,” she answered, deciding on the condo in town instead of her house. “Do you still want to see the spring?”
“Yes.” Hayley sat up and gazed down at her. “It’s doubtful we’ll get your business, but that spot is important to our pitch.”
“You don’t have much faith in me, and I might prove you wrong.” She missed Hayley’s warmth when they stood, which only proved she’d gone completely insane. There had never been a reason to think crazy ran in her family, but here it was.
They rode for another half hour to the top of the small hill that was almost at the center of the property where the original distillery and the Cinclair House were. “Gramps’s family installed the necessary piping to divert the water, but not all of it. This still feeds Cinclair Bayou, which eventually ends at the lake toward the back of the property.”
“It’s a beautiful spot.” Hayley took pictures from every angle, and Max smiled when she aimed her phone at her. “It looks completely untouched.”
“The intake is downhill and underground.” She pointed to a spot to the right. “The water is pure enough not to need filtering, but of course we do, and it’s what starts every bottle.”
“Who knew all the bottles of Cinclair’s I’ve purchased through the years had this place to thank for it.”
She chuckled. “No need to butter me up.”
“You can’t think that I forgot your whiskey advice as well as your lessons from all those nights at the bar.” Hayley moved her closer to the rocks that marked the spring’s opening and posed her. “No way, so I’m not blowing smoke.”
The silence on the way back was thankfully not awkward, and she smiled whenever Hayley made eye contact. She needed to hang in for a week, that was all, and then she’d be safe again. At least her heart would be safe, and she could go back to her miserable dating prospects.
They walked through the distillery together next, with Hayley only nodding as Max explained the process from cornfield to the clear liquid that went into the barrels. Then she took Hayley to the building where she was distilling Traditions.
“The building is new, but the equipment is some of the stuff my great-grandfather put online.” She stopped them at the top of the filtering silos and placed her hand on the large wooden cover. “It took my team and me a few years to get it all repaired and back in working order.”
“The result was certainly delicious. Congratulations, Max.” Hayley closed her eyes momentarily and touched her hand. “I’m sorry, do you prefer Preston?”
“You and the guys at the bar are the only ones who call me Max, and it’s okay.” She lifted the cover and the aroma of whiskey wafted out. “This is the last stop before it goes in the barrel,” she said, wanting to change the subject.
Hayley nodded and seemed to unconsciously take her arm when they headed down the stairs. The distilled liquid dripped out like a gentle rain, and the sight always made her smile. That slow trickle was proof of a job done right and done better than anyone else could do it.
“It’s amazing that it ends so slowly,” Hayley said as if reading her mind.
“My father loves to say the best things in life come from taking it nice and slow, and he’s right.” They walked to the next room where the barrels were being filled.
One of the workers let Hayley hammer in the plug to the barrel that had just been topped. “If that was his philosophy when it came to parenting, it worked out for him.”
“Thanks, and we have one stop left.”
She drove them to a set of buildings surrounded by a tall fence topped with razor wire. There were security cameras, but no guard on duty, and the gates opened slowly when she hit the remote. Their rickhouses were generic in appearance and most were scattered along the riverside.
“Leave your phone.” She left hers back as well, fishing the key to the door out of the console.
“Are you hiding another secret in there?” Hayley waited while Max unlocked the only door on the windowless structure.
“Static would not do good things in here, and if I burn the place down, my father would kill me right after he fired me.” The low lighting was enough to see the rows of barrels that filled the space in neat lines. “Each rickhouse has about thirty million in whiskey each. That’s roughly three thousand barrels spread over fifteen floors.”
Hayley walked to the center of the nearest row. “You simply let them sit for five years?”
“We shuffle some around, but it’s a constant game of roulette to meet demand.” She joined her with a glass pipette and pulled the plug on their test barrel. “These are three years old.” She held her thumb at the top of the pipette and trapped some of the whiskey inside. It didn’t yet have the color associated with their brand. She offered Hayley a taste.
“It’s not as mellow as the Cinclair brand I’m used to.”
“It’s like us,” she said, taking her own taste before placing the wood plug back. “It needs to mature.” Thankfully Hayley laughed at her joke. “And that, from start to finish, is how we make whiskey.”
“Thank you.” It was starting to get dark when they went back outside, and Hayley finally seemed relaxed. “Should we go grocery shopping, or do you have everything we need?”
“My parents are having a cocktail hour, so let’s decide after that.”
“Oh, right, I forgot. Should I change?” Hayley looked at her, her head resting on the back of her seat. “If I had a choice I’d skip it and just have dinner with you.”
“My grandfather will like you more dressed like this than in the power suit, and we don’t have to stay long. I do need to show up and answer questions, but if you’re tired afterward, we can wait on dinner.” She started the engine before Hayley’s gaze bored right into her heart.
“I want to, and I’d love to talk to your grandfather.”
“He’s a character, but he’s one of my favorite people in the world.” She stopped to make sure the gate closed before heading to the big house. “Just don’t believe everything he says.”
* * *
“I’m telling you, if I’m lying I’m dying,” Carter said, holding his right hand up like he was being sworn in. “Totally naked.”
Hayley laughed at the image of Max that popped into her head and tried to stifle it when Max walked into the kitchen. “Did I hear the word ‘naked’ come out of your mouth, old man?” Max’s question made her laugh harder.
“I hear your mother calling me,” Carter said with an exaggerated wink as he left.
“He’s wonderful, and he certainly loves you.” Hayley stood and handed Max her empty glass. She’d been in the kitchen for most of the night, and she’d enjoyed her time with Carter and his endless stories. “Thank you for not making me mingle.”
“My parents and Roger can take it from here if you’re ready.”
Max’s Jeep was out back, and she put it in gear and turned to head farther into the Cinclair property.
“That’s one beautiful home.” Hayley glanced in the side mirror as they drove away. She and Josie had spoken with Max’s parents briefly, to answer questions about their firm, but she had been glad to join Carter away from everyone. “Carter told me a lot about it, but you can tell he really misses your grandmother, and it seems like she’s closest to him around that table.”
“Gramps is great, but he hasn’t been the same since Gran died.”
“How long were they married?” She figured the Cinclair history probably had quite a few love stories that spanned decades.
“Fifty-seven years,” Max said softly.
“You don’t hear about those kinds of relationships much anymore.” She stared out at the beautiful home they were getting closer to with the wide porch that seemed to wrap around the entire first floor. The rocking chairs and the bench swing at the left corner defined what she imagined tranquil country living to be.
“Both sets of grandparents and my parents are good role models when it comes to happily ever afters, but maybe you’re right.” Max got out and waited for her.
