Page 40 of Stronger Than Blood

Chapter thirty-seven

Rory

It was mind-blowing how quickly things moved. One minute, I was living in Memphis; the next, I was about to move to a small town, preparing to open a distillery, of all things, and falling for a man I hadn’t even had sex with.

That was something I knew I could remedy sooner rather than later, especially now he’d given me the green light. I just needed to get him alone.

Unfortunately, there’d been no chance for that to happen yet. He spent the night in Chattanooga after staying with his granny the day before. Then Bev’s mentor came in, and he was, as she predicted, a fountain of information.

I trusted Kalinda’s instincts, and the way she smiled as he showed us distilling equipment made me think we were fine.

Of course, it helped that Bev didn’t hesitate to give him the business, asking him to “discount this if we did that,” and the frown he often gave her confirmed she was indeed working in our best interests.

Then Bev stuck a piece of paper in front of him to sign a nondisclosure agreement, and when he did, she showed him the stash. His eyes grew as big as saucers. When she let him listen to some of the stories we’d gathered, he actually clapped with glee.

“Oh, this is a nice fortune you have here,” he said to Mick.

“Do you think you can auction this off?” Bev asked.

The guy shook his head. “I mean, yes, I can, but they’d be better off allowing Mr. Jimmerson to buy it outright. He’s likely to give you more than we could get from private investors.”

I looked at Kalinda, who was eyeing him closely. The smile had dropped from her face.

“Kalinda, what do you think?” I asked, wanting her to share her insights with Mick.

“I think Mr. Roark may be correct, but my guides are telling me competition never hurt anyone. Mick,” she said, turning toward him, “if you want my advice, you’ll have Mr. Roark set up an auction, and then Bev and he can invite this Mr. Jimmerson to view the stash.

If he wants it, he will make an offer that can’t be refused.

If not, I would recommend you take your chances at the public auction. ”

Mr. Roark frowned so hard I almost laughed. I’d be willing to bet he had some agreement with the rich buyer that led to him getting a better commission if he was able to avoid any public sales.

“What say you, mentor?” Bev asked.

When he glanced over at her, his frown melted, and he sighed. “I guess it is what it is, but, you know, Mr. Jimmerson will be annoyed we didn’t give him a chance to make an offer before we started talking about auctions.”

“So he can lowball us,” she said, and I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that she’d included herself in the equation.

“So be it,” he said and left shortly after.

Kalinda looked at Mick and shook her head. “The cat is out of the bag, Mick. I suggest you move the stash to a secure location. My instincts tell me it will no longer be secure here, even if it’s in the safe.”

He nodded. “I… well, I think Jonah might have a suggestion on where it can be stored.”

“Oh,” she said, her smile returning. “I-I’m about to meet him now. I’ll ask.”

I looked at the floor to avoid her seeing my smile. Meet with him, indeed. In the year I’d known her, I had never seen her flirt outright with a man. However, she didn’t even seem to be trying to hide her feelings for Jonah. Not that I could blame her; he was a handsome man.

Bev left shortly after to meet Essie. I guessed the couple had serious discussions to have. Essie taking over the café, and Bev running the distillery for us. It must be pretty intense for her.

“Rory, will you and Mick be around a little longer? I was supposed to meet Christian to give him the keys to do the reno upstairs. He was already supposed to be here, but… well, he did say he was driving here from Nashville.”

“I can stay,” I said, and Mick nodded too.

“Thanks. See you both soon then,” she said and quickly exited, heading toward Jonah’s office.

I immediately went over to Mick and drew him into my arms, kissing his lips when he turned his face toward mine.

“It’s like a dream,” he said when he snuggled into me, letting me hold him.

“Yeah, a good one though, right?”

“Oh yeah, a really good one. Granny Ida was thrilled about the potential earnings. I think she’s been worried about how I was gonna make it once—”

“Yeah,” I said, knowing he meant once she was gone.

“So, when Christian gets here, and you can hand the keys over, do you think you’ll be able to get away?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve not got anything else planned.”

“Good, I have an idea.”

Before I could express what that was, a very harried Christian came in. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late. Is Kalinda still here?”

“No, sorry, man, she had to get to another meeting, but Mick here said he can give you the keys.”

“Perfect, and while you’re here, can I get more information about what you’re wanting done?” he asked Mick.

“For now, I think just the apartment. We may know what we’re doing down here soon but haven’t decided the details yet. Um, Christian?” he asked, causing the man to turn toward him. “Should I be concerned about breakables I’ve got stored in the back room getting destroyed in the renovation?”

Christian shrugged. “I doubt it. We’re mostly just fixing the plumbing and ensuring the old wiring in the apartment is safe, although it appears that most of the wiring was updated some time in the early 1980s.

We’ll be putting in a new bathroom and kitchen and painting, but I can’t imagine it causing much trouble on this lower level. ”

“Then, she’s all yours,” he said, handing him the key.

We left, but Mick seemed troubled. “I got a bad feeling about leaving all that here. Kalinda was right. I know they’re probably on a date, but let’s see if we can get the stash transported to a safer location. For real, I’m worried about it now I know what it’s worth.”

I nodded ’cause, to be honest, I felt the same. Truth was, I could all but hear Eddie, the ghost warning us to move things along. “Too valuable,” he kept repeating, enough times that even with my unpredictable gifts I could hear him. I also suspected Mick was feeling his warnings as well.

We found Kalinda in Jonah’s office. When Mick told them about his concerns, Kalinda stood and went to him, placing her hand over his before closing her eyes.

“I… well, I’m not as strong as I was before I passed the torch to my niece, but I do feel there’s some urgency, although not an imminent danger.

I think your uncle is a bit worried as well.

Jonah, if you have somewhere safe to keep the stash, we should probably do it if for no other reason than to put Mick’s and Eddie’s minds at ease. ”

It was good that Jonah didn’t seem too concerned that Kalinda was referring to a man who’d been dead for more than a couple of years.

The solution turned out to be a simple one. One of Jonah’s contacts in Chattanooga owned a secure, climate-controlled facility. One phone call and an armored truck arrived with all the necessary equipment to transport the stash to the safe location.

My plans to woo Mick that night had been for nothing, but I was happy he was no longer concerned about the shine.

The storage unit was one someone had used to store fine wines before Mick rented it.

It cost a pretty penny, but after we unloaded all the contents onto the beautifully painted shelves and had the huge oak barrel propped along one side, I had no doubt it would help him get the money he wanted before all was said and done.

By the time the stash was stored and locked down safely, it was late.

Mick pulled me along to visit his granny, and we ended up eating with her.

I could tell, when we left, the poor guy was running on fumes, so although I’d wanted to spend the night making love, I kissed him and sent him on his way to his apartment.

I’d spent enough time with Madam—now known as Kalinda—to know that some things shouldn’t be forced, and I knew, despite him saying he was ready, that I had to let it happen on its own timeline.

That didn’t mean I wouldn’t be thinking lascivious thoughts about him later while I lay in the hotel bed.