I couldn’t stop chuckling.
“You’re getting a real kick out of this, but I saw the way Walker freaked out with that thing too. It’s not just city boys that thing can scare.”
“Fair point. It definitely looked rattled. Just be glad it wasn’t a snake.”
“Snake? In the attic?”
“Yeah, welcome to Buckridge, where snakes are…well, everywhere.” I finished wrapping the gauze around his arm. “All set. Now I think that calls for another drink.”
“Of the rival’s stash?”
“Nah. I think I have some of the actual good stuff in Walker’s truck. I’ll be right back.” I hurried to the car, grabbed a bottle, and returned to his kitchen. I was pretty excited about sharing some of my family’s namesake with him.
“By the way,” I said. “I should probably tell you that I’ll have to be back tomorrow to fix your door.”
“Fix my door?”
“It was locked, and when we heard screaming…”
“That was the raccoon screaming.”
“If you say so. I would have probably believed you more if you’d said Isaac.” I winked, and he shook his head before grabbing glasses from a cabinet.
“So you guys just throw your weight around to get what you need around here?” Cohen asked as he set the glasses down.
“Eh…when you grow up with as many siblings as I did, you get used to breaking down doors…and fixing them. Although, that deadbolt might have nearly knocked Walker’s shoulder out of its socket.”
He enjoyed a laugh but eyed me uncertainly, clearly unsure how serious I was being. It seemed we both had a hard time reading each other. I wondered if that was part of what was so intriguing.
We stood at the counter, where I finished pouring our drinks and handed him one. “Here. Best remedy for your flesh wound.”
We clinked glasses and took a drink.
“Mmm.” His eyes filled with a certain knowing that reminded me of that look he got when he’d tasted his family’s brand.
“Ha. So you admit you like a good premium O’Ralley whiskey?”
He feigned a disgusted expression. “Sorry. I always say mmm before I’m about to vomit.”
“I saw the look in your eyes when you took a sip.”
“Nope. Not gonna get me to cave.” He winked, and I wished I could’ve kept from grinning as hard as I did.
“Well, if you’re gonna be an ass, I guess I can fairly ask how long I’m gonna have to deal with this ass?”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Depends on how many demonic raccoons I’m gonna have to deal with.”
“Just normal raccoons.”
“You didn’t look that thing in the eyes,” he teased before his expression turned serious. “There’s something about this place. I don’t know what it is, but I got a feeling in my gut that I need to be here and make something of it.”
“You want to reopen it? Trying to make your way on our turf?”
“Trying to make my own, really.”
“That sounds…heavy.”
He took a drink, a big gulp of the whiskey, like he needed it. He leaned back against the counter behind him. “I’d like to do something new. My parents—the ones who adopted me—well, my dad taught me a whole lot about finance and business. He knows his shit. Isaac and I have always been a package deal. I got my bachelor’s in business and he in marketing. We worked for some startups and were good at building or saving companies. The last one, though, it was a friend. I brought Isaac on board, of course, and the guy did us dirty. Got rid of us both when he got what he wanted out of us. It’d be nice to have something that’s just ours, ya know? See what he and I could do with this place together. I think I might need it.”
As he told me about his past, I could see this strange mix of sorrow and hope in his expression. He seemed confused and lost, but not like a guy who would throw in the towel too quickly.
“What we have here is a unique opportunity,” I said.
“A what?”
“That’s what Big Momma always used to tell us. When shit got hard or things got out of whack…it was a unique opportunity. In her mind, it was the good Lord’s way of making us step out of our comfort zone so that we could do something better, something greater.”
He smiled. “That’s lovely.”
“Yeah, well, losing her was one of our biggest unique opportunities…” It was hard to say that without my voice quaking. “She was the kind who believed everything happens for a reason, though.”
“And you?”
“I believe sometimes things just happen, and you pick yourself up and get on with it even when that’s the hardest thing to do.”
“I agree with that.”
“Well, it’s gonna be a big challenge. You sure you’re up for it?” I pressed.
“I don’t have a fucking clue, but I’ve never been one to let a little worry—or a lot of worry—stop me.”
“Hmm…you’re hard not to like, No Good Mitchell.”
That bright smile returned. “You’re gonna have to like me since I’m gonna need some expertise from someone who knows the ropes.”
I knew he meant it, and I knew I wasn’t going to tell him no. “You’re gonna get me into trouble with the O’Ralleys.”
“Don’t you like a little trouble, O’Ralley?”
His voice and expression were filled with desire and interest, something I more than reciprocated, so I replied, “I’m gonna refuse to answer on the grounds of entrapment. But if I’m gonna help you, then you have to help me.”
“With…?”
“You’re curious about how to run a distillery. I have some things I’d say you know quite a bit about that maybe I need some assistance with…” I moved closer to him, my gaze fixed on his lips, something he must’ve noticed.
“Um…”
“Business stuff,” I spat out quickly, realizing he wasn’t getting where I was going with that. Fuck my life. “The O’Ralleys haven’t been so savvy on the business front the past few years, and I was thinking with Isaac’s and your expertise, you might be able to help the O’Ralleys out; in secret, of course.”
“Oh,” he said with a chuckle. “Fuck, yeah. I…wow…I thought you were going somewhere very different with the needing assistance with something I had expertise in.”
I moved closer to him, until our noses touched. “I figured that was already going to be an even exchange. Sounds like you’re gonna be here for a while, so I don’t mind taking my time.”
“Based on that first kiss, I didn’t take you for a guy who liked to go slow.”
“I enjoy going slow…until I’m ready to go fast.”
I smiled, and he had this wicked expression on his face, like he was all about it. He moved quickly, seizing his opportunity. I relaxed into it, cupping my hand behind his head as he moved toward me, pushing me back against the table. He was about as forceful as his mouth was wet. And so fucking warm.
I took control, shoving him back to the counter, but he rolled toward me, and I found myself back against the table. The frenzy, this tug-of-war for control, electrified me. It was even more intoxicating than the bit of whiskey I had pulsing through me.