Page 35 of Raised On It (Between the Pines #1)
We chat for a couple of minutes before Miles asks his grandmother how long we have until dinner. She tells him he has twenty minutes before he has to set the table and he says we’ll be back in time to do just that.
He takes my hand, and we walk out of the kitchen and out the French doors that lead outside.
“Miles, they're great. Thank you so much for bringing me along today.”
“You’re welcome…”
“Oh, and your Granny loves you so much and…”
“Mason. ”
“…Miles, she is so proud of you, and you look so much like Pops and your dad of course, but…”
“Mason, baby.”
“Sorry, am I rambling?”
“You are.”
“Sorry, but they’re just so…”
He kisses me to shut me up. His method is effective, and I’m no longer thinking about his grandparents.
“Mason?” he says against my lips.
“Miles?”
“Will you please look to your right?”
“Okay…”
I interrupt myself this time with an audible gasp.
Turning my body away from him and toward Elsie Lake, I never could have expected this.
A lake with a long dock taking you over the water and ending with two white Adirondack chairs.
It’s the EBC logo.
In front of me is a living, breathing Eastlyn Brewing Company logo that I’ve taken a hundred pictures of.
Only the reality is so much better than the label.
The breeze is blowing the weeping limbs of the trees hanging over the lake. The water ripples from the graceful landing of a goose. The sound of frogs echo in my ears, and a golden retriever is basking in the sun in the grass in front of us.
It’s beautiful.
Without a word, he takes my hand, and we walk through the grass until we reach the dock where he stops us.
“You said one day you wanted to sit here and drink a beer with someone special. I have the beer, and if I’ll do for that someone special, what do you say we have that beer?”
“Miles, I don’t even know what to say.”
For some reason, my eyes fill with tears, but I only let one escape. Am I crying over a beer logo come to life ?
“Come on,” he says, not calling attention to the tear.
Walking on the wood planks with my hand in his is surreal, to say the least. When we reach the two white wooden chairs, he says, “Take your pick.”
I take the one on the right because that’s the one I always imagined sitting in, but I don’t sit down. He pulls two bottles of EBC out of his shorts pockets along with a bottle opener.
He pops the top of each bottle, puts the caps in his pocket, and hands me my beer, lifting his up in the air.
“Cheers to dreams coming true, baby.”
I tap the neck of my bottle with his. “Cheers to dreams coming true.”
We each take a sip, and then I turn and just stare at the chairs.
“Go ahead, it won’t bite,” he says, giving my shoulder a little nudge with his.
“You sure?”
“Uh, that’s what they’re here for. Sit, woman.”
Doing as instructed, I sit in the chair on the right, and when my butt has finally hit the seat, he takes the chair on the left.
We sit there in silence with the sound of the wind rustling the leaves and that same breeze caressing our skin, reminding us to live in the beauty of the moment.
To be present.
To see the gifts we’ve been given.
Twenty minutes have gone by and Miles leaves to set the table and to give me a few minutes on my own.
It’s still light out, but it’s that time of the evening when the mosquitoes have arrived.
When they land on the water, the circles they leave on the surface mesmerize me, but I know all too well how those same mosquitoes love the way I taste, and I know it’s best if I get inside before they begin feasting on me.
Getting up from my chair and leaving the dock is the hardest thing I’ve done today. But if I’m lucky, I’ll be back.
Dinner is great and the fresh baked apple pie for dessert even better. The conversation is light and constant, consisting of everything from the success of harvest to Rachel and Reece in Africa and Stacci’s impending due date.
Something is mentioned about Miles and New York, but Krista shushes Mitch and tells them there will be no business at the table.
As quick as she is to shut the conversation down, I have a feeling New York has something to do with the part of the business Miles and his parents haven’t been seeing eye to eye on.
Miles and I help with dishes and then say our goodbyes. Granny and Pops tell me I’m welcome anytime, and Mitch and Krista make it clear we better be over for dinner sometime this week so they can see us before they leave for Chicago to welcome their new grandbaby.
His family waits on the porch waving goodbye, but halfway to the truck, Miles stops.
“Hey guys, we're gonna go for a little walk. We won’t be long, but we gotta work off that apple pie,” he says, patting his ripped stomach like he’s grown a belly from one meal.
“You kids take your time,” Pops says while everyone else goes inside.
“Everything okay?”
“With you here, it sure is,” he says distracted.
We walk around the house and back through the grass down to the dock. There is only a hint of the sun still painting the night sky. The lights bordering the property and lining the dock dance off the water, celebrating the arrival of tonight’s nearly full moon.
It’s magical.
If only the West Coast had lightning bugs like we do back East.
Talk about a fairy tale .
In all my time imagining the EBC logo coming to life, I never thought to imagine it at night. I know without a doubt I’ll be adding an evening scene on a dock to my writing.
With the crickets and toads serenading us in the background, he sits in the chair on the right and pulls me down on his lap. He’s got something on his mind, but I don’t ask because I know he’ll tell me when he’s ready.
For now, I cuddle into him, letting him sit with his thoughts while I gaze at the dazzling lake in front of me and take in the last moments of light and the sounds of the evening.
“I’m thinking about taking EBC public.”
He’s sharing, but he’s quiet, and I’m shocked at his statement.
“That’s a big deal, Miles. Are you really just thinking about it or is it already in the works?”
“Well, I have interested investors.”
“And?”
“And I really want to go international, and this would give us the capital to do that.”
“How do your parents feel about it?”
“They’re ready to retire. They think we should just sell and be done with it.”
“Sell EBC?”
“I know, right?”
“If they have you to run things, why do they want to sell?”
“They think it’s too much. They think I’ve been working too hard.”
“I’d have to agree with them there, Miles.”
“I know, but if we go public, we’ll have a board, investors, shareholders.
It won’t be all on me. We can expand and have distribution centers all over the world and not just the US.
EBC could be a global company. I could never have dreamed it was even a possibility.
Even as it is now, things are way too successful for us to stay on top of.
Even with the team in the Portland office, it’s just too much. And we’re growing so fast. ”
“Won’t you lose a lot of control by going public?”
“Yes and no. I mean, I’ll still be the president of the company, but decisions will have to go through the board.”
“But EBC is your baby. You and your dad built it from the ground up. It’s what you’ve dreamed of since high school.”
“So, you don’t think we should do it?”
“I didn’t say that. I would just imagine it would be hard to give up control of your one true love.”
“Mason, look at me.”
I turn in his lap to look at him.
“I do love EBC. It’s my family's business, and I love my family. But I only have one true love.”
Gently pulling my face to his, he kisses me. Signifying, I am his one true love.
Sighing into his mouth, I say, “I love you too, Miles.”
“I have some meetings with some possible investors coming up in New York in a couple of weeks, and I’d love it if you came with me. You could show me your town.”
“I guess I do owe you a tour.”
“Yes, you do.”
“You sure I won’t get in the way?”
“Nah, it’s not like the meetings are gonna take all day and night, and there are only two.
I’m just doing the right thing by meeting them in person, so they know we’re not only serious but also appreciative of their interest in investing.
The rest of my time would be all yours to do with as you please. ”
“Well, in that case, how can I say no?”
“Simple. You don’t.”
“Well, it sounds like we’re going home for a few days. I’ll let Katie know, and we can stay at my place.”
“Brutal, you’re gonna kick her out?”
“Seems we aren’t the only two who have found love during our little house swap. Our sweet little Katie met someone, and apparently, they’re official. She spends half her time at his place anyway.”
“Good for Katie. If she’s even half as happy as I’ve been since you walked into our little town, then she won’t care where she’s sleeping as long as it’s with him.”
“Um, so…I have a bit of news.”
He pulls as apart so he can see my face.
“What’s that?”
“I typed the end on book one yesterday.”
“What? Yesterday? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t ever had anyone to share that with except for the girls and the people paying me to write. I usually keep it to myself for a few days before I share.”
“Well, thank you for telling me. When do I get to read it?”
I jump off his lap like he’s on fire. “What?”
“You heard me. When do I get to read it?”
“Miles, I haven’t even sent it to my editor yet. It’s just the first draft. It’s not perfect yet.”
“I don’t need perfect. But I do need to read this book inspired by our dreamy little small town.”
He winks because what he really means is inspired by him.
“Well, the truth is, I was done, but now that I’ve been to Elsie Lake, I think I need to go fit in another chapter because I’ve just been inspired.”
“How about this? Add your chapter and do whatever tweaking you want to do. As long as it is in my hands before we board the plane for New York, I can read it on the plane! Now, that sounds perfect.”
“So, you want to be my beta reader?”
“If it means I get to read it first, then yes! Sign me up!”
“You sure?”
“I am. Now, sit back down and give me some more sugar.”