Page 29 of Break My Heart (The Haydon Falls #2)

Gina

I don’t understand it. Cars have been driving by G’s since we opened and hardly anyone has stopped. Are they just in a hurry to get into town? What’s the rush? The festival doesn’t start until tomorrow.

‘You can go home,’ I say to Lexi as she stands at the bar, looking bored.

‘Really?’ She perks up. ‘Right now?’

‘Yeah, go ahead.’

She races to the back, leaving Aria and me behind the bar, which nobody is sitting at because the handful of people here are at the tables.

‘You can go too,’ I say to Aria. ‘There’s no reason to have both of us here. ’

‘What’s going on? Where is everyone?’

‘I don’t know. I can’t figure it out. It’s like everyone just stopped coming. Is it the beer? Did something happen to it?’

‘It’s not the beer. The beer is great.’

Just to be sure, I grab a glass and get a sample of stout from the tap. ‘It tastes like it always does.’

‘Yeah, I told you, it’s not the beer.’

‘Then what’s going on? This is festival weekend. We should be packed.’

She shrugs. ‘I guess they’re all going to Sawyer’s place. You have to admit he’s got a better location.’

‘And we’ve got better beer.’

‘You didn’t tell Sawyer that, did you?’

‘No, but it’s true. He knows it is. I’ve been doing this a lot longer than he has.

He’ll get better. It just takes time. Point is, we should have customers.

It’s not hard to get here and we have plenty of parking.

The parking downtown is a nightmare. It’s hard to get a spot even when it’s not festival weekend. ’

‘Maybe people don’t want to drive out here once they’re in town.’

‘People who like beer won’t care. Ryder and I used to go to microbreweries in the middle of nowhere and they were twice as busy as we are. People will drive out of their way for a good craft beer.’

‘Then I don’t know what to tell you.’

I turn to her. ‘Aria, I’m sorry, but I really need you to go. I can’t afford to keep paying you when we don’t have the sales.’

‘You don’t have to pay me. I’ll just keep you company.’

‘You don’t have to—’

‘I know, but I want to. I’d rather be here than go home to an empty apartment. ’

We remain behind the bar, leaned against the counter, staring at the door like we’re willing it to bring in customers.

‘So I met this guy today,’ Aria says. ‘He asked me out.’

‘What’s he like?’

‘Short, bald, looks nine months pregnant, and smells like cigars.’

I smile. ‘Lenny asked you out?’

Lenny is the old guy who works at the grocery store. He greets you when you walk in. I think that’s his only job. I’ve never seen him do anything else.

Aria tells me the story, which makes me laugh and gets my mind off my lack of customers for at least a few minutes.

An hour later, she goes home. By midnight, the place is empty so I close down early, deciding it’s not worth staying open for the one or two people who might show up.

I go in my office and try to brainstorm ways to get customers.

At this point I’d do most anything just to make enough to cover the bills.

I was hoping Sawyer would offer up a suggestion or talk through my options to maybe spark an idea I haven’t thought of yet.

But he didn’t, which makes me wonder if he doesn’t want to help me.

I can’t be mad at him for that. Why would he help his competitor?

But I’m also his girlfriend. I thought he’d do more than just tell me to check that my signs were still up.

When I get back to my apartment, my phone rings. Assuming it’s Sawyer, I answer, ‘Hey, I’m home. I closed early. There was no use staying open without customers.’

‘Gina, it’s me. Dad.’

I instantly panic, thinking something happened to him. Other than holidays, he almost never calls. ‘Dad, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?’

‘No, I just thought I’d give you a call. I know it’s late there, but I assumed you’d be up. How are you doing? ’

‘Okay. Dad, are you sure there’s nothing wrong? You never call me out of the blue like this.’

‘You don’t have your grandfather watching out for you anymore. Or Ryder, now that you two broke up. I worry about you, kid.’

‘I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.’

‘What was that you were saying about not having customers? Is that bar of yours not doing well?’

‘It’s a microbrewery and it’s doing fine. It was just a slow night.’

‘Who were you talking to when you answered? A new boyfriend?’

‘He’s just a friend,’ I say, not wanting to tell my dad about Sawyer.

I don’t tell him much about my personal life.

I didn’t tell him about Ryder until after I’d moved in with him.

My dad doesn’t share much about his personal life either.

I know he’s dated since my mom died, but he doesn’t talk about it.

‘How do you like that town you’re living in?’

‘It’s okay. There isn’t a lot to do, but I work a lot so it doesn’t really matter.’

‘And that place of yours. It’s making money?’

‘It’s getting there. It takes time to get a new business going. I just need to be patient.’

‘If you had used that inheritance of yours to buy a house—’

‘Yeah, I know, Dad, but that’s not what I wanted to do. I don’t want a house. I want a business, something that’s mine where I get to make the decisions and don’t have to work for someone else.’

‘And what happens if it doesn’t work out? You’ll be left with nothing. No money. No place to live.’

‘I’ll figure it out,’ I say, feeling annoyed. He hasn’t been around for most of my life and yet he thinks he knows me and can give me advice. This is why we don’t talk. It just turns into a lecture of what he thinks I should be doing.

‘Willy shouldn’t have put those ideas in your head. If he hadn’t, you’d still be working a real job and could’ve used that money of his for something practical, like a house.’

Willy is my grandfather and the person who taught me to believe in myself.

Growing up, he told me I could do anything.

He’s the reason I beat boys in sports and competitions.

He never let me doubt myself or think that because I was a girl, I couldn’t do stuff that boys did.

It wasn’t until I was older and saw people dismissing me because I was a girl that those doubts started appearing.

But when they did, my grandfather would shut them down, telling me I’m only limited by my own beliefs, not those of others.

Before he died, I told my grandfather I wanted to open my own microbrewery.

He didn’t question me or tell me I couldn’t do it.

He said to go for it. I didn’t have the money then and was looking into getting a loan.

My grandfather offered to give me the loan himself, but then he died before he could.

In his will, he left me the building in Haydon Falls along with a note saying the building was the future home of G’s brewery.

G was his nickname for me. Even after his death, he was still pushing me to follow my dreams.

‘If things don’t work out,’ my dad says, ‘you might be able to get some money for that building. Probably not much, but enough for you to live off of until you get a job.’

‘It’s going to work out. I just need more time. Nobody knows me here. Once they do, things will get better.’

‘It’s not easy in a small town. Those people tend to take care of their own. They give you any trouble yet?’

‘No. Everyone I’ve met so far has been great,’ I say, thinking of Sawyer’s family. Other than them, I really don’t know many people in town.

‘Just be careful. Sometimes locals don’t take well to new people.’

‘I haven’t had any problems and I’ve been here for months.’

‘Well, that’s good. Hope it stays that way. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about the holidays.’

‘You’re coming home, right?’

‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m thinking of staying here in Germany during my leave.’

‘Why? Why wouldn’t you come home?’

‘There’s a woman, a lady friend I’ve been seeing for about a year now. She has family here and asked if I’d go home with her when I’m on leave. I wasn’t sure what your plans were but—’

‘Yeah, go ahead,’ I tell him, knowing he’d rather be there than here.

It hurts that he doesn’t want to be with me over the holidays, but the reality is, he’s never been much of a dad, and when he’s home, it’s awkward between us.

We don’t know what to talk about and he always seems like he’s in a hurry to leave.

‘Are you sure? Because I can tell her no. I already told her I’d planned to come see you. I’d hate for you to be alone over the holidays.’

‘Don’t worry about me. I can spend the holidays with friends.’

It’s not really true. Aria is my only friend in town and she’s going to a resort in Mexico for the holidays. And Sawyer and I aren’t serious enough for me to spend the holidays with him and his family.

‘If you’re really okay with it, I’ll let her know.’

‘Yeah, go ahead and tell her. Dad, I should get to bed. It’s late.’

‘Before you go, if this bar of yours doesn’t work out, you’ll be okay. You’re a fighter, kid. ’

That’s actually a compliment for him. He rarely gives me compliments, saying it’s not good to think too highly of yourself. Gives you nothing to work for.

‘Let me know how everything goes.’

‘I will. Bye, Dad.’ I end the call and feel myself tearing up. I go in the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. This isn’t worth crying about. Who cares if my dad doesn’t want to see me? I should be used to this by now. I shouldn’t expect anything from him.

I’m on my own, and I can make this business work.

I just have to be smarter and work harder.

I need to get that competitive spirit back.

That’s what drives me to do better. I need to compete with Sawyer like I did when we were kids.

Just because I’m dating him doesn’t mean I have to let him win. If he can get customers, so can I.

Starting tomorrow, the competition begins. I’m stepping up my efforts, determined to succeed.

*?*?*

‘Hey,’ Aria says as she comes into work the next day just before four. ‘You look happy.’ She smiles. ‘Did Sawyer come over last night?’

‘No, I’ll see him at the festival.’ I walk over to her and hand her the flyers I printed out. ‘Pass these out to anyone who comes in and tell them they can take extras.’

‘What’s this?’ she asks, staring at the flyer.

‘A flyer about our new promotion. I’m calling it Beer Bingo.

When people come in, we give them a bingo card with the names of our beers.

When they order a beer, we’ll cross it off on their card and when an entire row is crossed off, they’ll get a free beer.

It’s a way to encourage people to try all the different beers so they’ll find a favorite and come back. ’

‘Sounds fun! Does this start tonight?’

‘Yeah, I’m taking some of the flyers with me to the festival. I’m going to ask Sawyer’s parents if it’s okay to hand them out. Oh, and if someone comes in wanting a bingo card, they’re on my desk.’

‘When did you do all this?’

‘This morning. I got up at four and had all these ideas. I came here and started working on the flyers and bingo cards. I also ordered one of those banner signs that stick in the ground. I think they’ll get more attention than a regular sign.’

She smiles. ‘What got into you? You were all depressed last night and now you’re all fired up.’

‘I was thinking of Grandpa Willy and what he would’ve told me to do.’

‘Get your ass in the fire!’ she says, imitating him in his gruff tone. That was one of his sayings. It means that if a problem is heating up, don’t run from it. Get in there and fight. Be the flame that rises the highest and burns the longest.

I laugh. ‘You sound just like him.’

‘I miss him.’

‘Me too,’ I say, wishing he was still alive. I would’ve loved for him to meet Sawyer. I told my grandpa all about him when I got back from camp that summer. I pretended to hate him, but I think my grandpa knew I secretly liked him.

‘Is there anything else I need to know before you go?’ Aria asks.

‘I don’t think so. Lexi should be here in a few minutes to help out. If you need anything while I’m at the festival, just call.’

‘I will. Oh, while you’re there, find out if Sawyer’s brother is single. You don’t have to ask. Just see if he’s with a girl.’

‘What brother? ’

‘Brody. The younger one. The guy who owns the lawn company. I saw him mowing someone’s yard yesterday.’ She fans herself. ‘He’s really hot.’

‘I’ll see what I can do.’

On my way to the orchard, I try not to think about my lack of customers and tell myself to just go and have fun tonight.

This festival is a big deal for Sawyer and his family and I don’t want to bring the mood down.

Besides, G’s lack of business isn’t going to be a problem anymore.

I’m determined to get people back there.