Page 27 of Last Call (Open Tab #5)

“Are you thinking about closing Murphy’s?” Dave asked.

“What? No!”

Dave looked around. “I don’t get it.”

Fallon leaned against a counter. “I’m not closing Murphy’s Law. I also don’t run Murphy’s. Carol’s been doing that for years. Hell, she’s better at it than I ever was. This? This is something different—something your mom suggested to me a few times.”

“Mom wanted you to open a brewery?”

“No.” Fallon chuckled. She didn’t intend to tell Dave that when she and Andi were together, Andi often remarked that the taste of second-hand beer was as unpleasant as the smell of second-hand smoke. “I still can’t believe Billie got her to like beer!”

“I don’t think she really likes it.”

“What are you talking about?” Fallon asked. “She drinks beer all the time.”

“Yeah, but she never finishes a bottle. And she hardly ever drinks them when Billie is around. I think they remind her of Billie.”

“She’s got it bad. ”

Dave laughed. “It’s still kind of weird.”

“Your mom with Billie?”

“Nah. Mom drinking beer.”

Fallon laughed. “It is a little weird.”

“So, why do you want me to see a brewery?” Dave asked.

“Well, if I buy this place, it won’t be a brewery—exactly.”

Dave stared at Fallon, puzzled about why she had brought him here. Typically, Fallon was direct. She was acting strange. Really strange.

“There are always people walking into Murphy’s asking where to get ski lessons, rent snowmobiles, find moose, or if there are places for ice fishing. Every year, someone ends up getting hurt on one of the ponds or riding snowmobiles into the woods,” Fallon said.

“That’s for sure.”

“What if there was someplace that offered to help with all of that? You know, a place where tourists could go and get a package deal? Someone to teach them to ski, show them how to fish on the ice, take them snowmobiling—maybe even to see moose! We could do it.”

“We?”

“Yeah. I can’t do it alone,” Fallon said. “You know how to do all those things, where the best places are, and you loved doing them.”

“Um, Fallon? Are you serious?”

“Completely,” Fallon said. “People could rent the cabins. This building could be a meeting place—someplace for coffee in the morning and a drink after a long day outside. There’s a two-bedroom apartment upstairs.

” Fallon took a breath to steady her nerves.

“I thought—if you are interested—you and Becky could use the apartment. That way, someone would be close by for any issues a guest might encounter. The lessons and excursions would be a winter business. I can rent the cottages year-round.”

“You’re serious.”

Fallon nodded. “Bad idea?”

“What? No. It’s cool as hell!”

“Isn’t that sort of an oxymoron?”

“Huh?”

“Cool as hell?” Fallon asked.

Dave shook his head.

“ Cool as hell?”

Dave looked at Fallon as if she’d grown an extra head.

“Never mind. So, you’d be interested?”

“Yeah. But…”

“But?”

“I don’t want to piss anyone off or hurt anyone’s feelings,” Dave said.

Fallon pointed to a high-top table with two chairs. “Let’s sit for a minute,” she suggested. “You’re worried about Billie.”

“Kind of. Yeah.”

Yeah. I’ve thought about that. I’ve known Billie my whole life. She’ll understand. Believe me, if anyone knows how hard it is to follow your own path—one your family may not agree with—it’s Billie. She’ll understand.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you really want my help?” Dave asked.

“No. I need your help.”

Dave shook his head. “I doubt you need me.”

“Well, I do. And I don’t want to take this on by myself,” Fallon said.

“Why not? You opened Murphy’s all by yourself.”

“Hardly,” Fallon said. “There’s a reason I named it Murphy’s Law. You were too little to remember anything about that time. Everything went wrong. I mean everything. Electrical fires, storms, flooding—you name it. I almost gave up.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. Dean was home for a few weeks. Jerry stopped by and offered to help. Pete and Dale came every day after work. Charlie helped. Your mom made us lunch. My mom brought us pizzas. Carol cleaned. Murphy’s isn’t my place, Dave.

It’s everyone’s. I think that’s why it means so much to me.

Everyone thinks it’s because it was my dad’s place. That’s part of it. Only part of it.”

“What would you need me to do?”

“I think we should work on that together.”

“Uh, Fallon? I’d be working for you.”

“No. You’d be working with me.” Fallon took a deep breath. “I talked to your mom.”

“You asked Mom about this?”

“I didn’t want to approach you about this without telling her. I’m sorry. I know you’re a man. But you’re still…”

“I get it,” Dave said.

“Look, this wouldn’t be a handout. I need a partner.”

“Don’t partners usually put up money?”

Fallon shrugged. “Call it a managing partnership. Talk to Becky.”

“She’ll tell me to do what makes me happy.”

“I’m sure that’s true. Talk to her. Believe me, this isn’t something you can commit to without discussing it with Becky,” Fallon said.

“What does Riley think?”

“About this?”

“Yeah.”

“She thinks it would be good for me—and for you,” Fallon replied. She took a deep breath. “If it matters, I’d like to do this with you.”

Dave stared at Fallon for a minute. “And I could spend time teaching people to ski?”

Fallon nodded. “Yep.”

“Could we look upstairs?” Dave asked.

Fallon smiled. “Let’s go.”

“Do you have any idea when Dave might get back?” Billie asked, her fingers tapping an uneven rhythm on the countertop.

Andi paused mid-pour with the coffee pot. “Fallon didn’t say.”

Billie ran a hand through her hair and glanced toward the door. “It won’t take much convincing.”

Andi raised an eyebrow. “Convincing Dave?”

“Fallon’s whole plan makes sense. It’s a perfect fit for him.”

Andi set the pot down. “Billie, what’s going on? You were supportive when I told you about Fallon’s idea. You said it was brilliant.”

Billie’s gaze drifted to the window. She watched the trees swaying in the wind, like the thoughts in her head.

Fallon’s idea was brilliant—Dave would thrive in a job that allowed him to guide people down trails, ski, and fish on the ice.

He’d enjoy building something new with Fallon.

It beat bartending. It beat hospital shifts.

And Fallon? Fallon would thrive, too. She loved being outdoors and meeting people, and she thrived on a challenge—any challenge.

“It is brilliant,” Billie said softly. “It’ll cure Fallon’s boredom and ease Dave’s worries.”

Andi didn’t respond right away. She studied Billie’s face.

“He’s grateful, you know. For all your help,” Andi said. “He loves you.”

Billie gave a slight shrug. “I’m not sure how I’ve helped.”

Andi stepped closer. “You’re the one he talks to when he doesn’t know what he’s feeling.”

Billie’s smile faltered. “Fallon has this way of sweeping in. She always has. When things fall apart, she figures it out. She fixes it. School, business, people, kids. She just knows what to do,” Billie explained. “I hate that I’m jealous of her sometimes,” she admitted.

Andi let out a long, understanding sigh.

Fallon could cast a long shadow. Andi thought everyone experienced that feeling at times in their lives.

For her, it had been Jake’s career and all it entailed that made her feel small.

She watched as the people in a room would turn the moment he entered.

He always told Andi she was the reason people paid attention to him.

Andi might be humble, but she knew people often cast their glances her way.

But Jake could fill a room. People talked about his talent as a surgeon and how he’d translated it to bring technical advances to the field.

She’d nod and smile, agree, and look at him adoringly, all the while feeling insignificant—window dressing, as it were.

Riley recounted the feeling of being a newcomer in Whiskey Springs.

Conversation at the pub among lifelong friends cast a different kind of shadow, one that made you feel as if you were standing outside of it, watching it looming in the distance.

No matter how hard you tried to step into it, you always felt apart—standing at its edge, never in the light, but never fully in the shade.

Billie sometimes forgot that Fallon had experienced it, too. She’d walked behind Dean her entire life. Listened to her teachers praise him and compare her to his successes. He’d gone before her in every facet of her life—school, college—Liv.

For Billie, it was Fallon. She envied Fallon’s ability to be herself—to live openly long before Billie mustered the courage to come out.

Fallon was outgoing and driven. To most people looking in, it appeared Fallon could master anything.

No matter how many goals Fallon achieved or relationships she cultivated, Fallon still felt Dean’s presence encroaching on her light.

“I understand,” Andi said.

“Fallon has had more time with them,” Billie added.

“Do you mean with the boys?”

Billie nodded.

Andi reached out and cupped her face with both hands. “Don’t take a step back for Fallon, Billie.”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“Isn’t it? You think I don’t understand.

I do. It isn’t Dave or Fallon asking you to walk a step behind.

You know that’s true. Fallon is who she is.

And I admit, she has this superhero mentality—she’ll rush in to save the day if she can.

You seem to forget how many times her cape has gotten caught on something in the process. ”

“True.”

“And that’s not what is happening. This is all about timing. She’s been mulling over starting a new business for months. I think it’s Dave who’s saving Fallon, Billie. Not the other way around.”

“How do you figure?”

“She’s comfortable,” Andi said. “She’s excellent at saving other people, saving a pub, saving animals—Christ, saving wayward travelers. For God’s sake, she married one!”

Billie chuckled.