Page 25 of Sunkissed Colorado

“Couldn’t stay at Mommy and Daddy’s mansion?”

Her expression froze. Then she pivoted and started back toward the doorway to the dining room.

Shit. “Wait.” I grabbed her wrist. “I have a big mouth sometimes.”

“You always have.”

“If you’re not staying with your parents, I’m sure you have reasons.”

“Which aren’t your business.” She shook off my grip. “Can we just get started, please? Or do you have more comments to make about my personal life?”

“I’m done with the small talk segment. For now.”

She gritted her teeth. “You’re so obnoxious.”

I grinned. Because, guilty as charged.

We were already in the kitchen, so I gave Zandra an overview. “Alice is our head chef. She’ll be in later. She changes the menuevery season, and when she does, we all taste the new dishes at our weekly team meeting. Same with any seasonal brews, which are Russ’s domain. Not sure if you’re familiar with our menu, but?—”

“I took a look. It’s actually not that different from when my nana was running the kitchen. I grew up hanging around here, and used to hostess in high school.”

“Right.” My friends and I hadn’t been regulars at Hearthstone as teenagers. The food had been too expensive, and the only time we’d indulged in Hearthstone beer had been if somebody’s older sibling bought it for us.

Yet another advantage she’d had over me. Not that I was counting.

Zandra played with the end of her braid as her gaze moved over the kitchen, and I wondered if she was picturing how it looked years ago.

I felt like I should say something. “Was it fun? Working here in high school?”

“I didn’t always feel it at the time, but it was.”

“The computer system’s a bit more updated now. A lot of other things are probably the same.”

“I assume this old building still has its quirks.”

“Like the sticky lock in the back storage room. Gets stuck when you slam the door.”

“ThatI remember.” Her lips started to curve before she glanced at me, and she remembered herself.

After we finished in the kitchen, I took her to meet Russ. He shook her hand, his mouth open in a big shit-eating grin. “Great to see you, Zandra. It’s been forever. We both went to?—”

“Silver Ridge High,” she finished for him. “There’s a lot of us around here.”

“I was a year below you and Callum.”

For a moment, Zandra had looked amused. But now a crease appeared between her brows. “Same year as Leo Mackenzie, right?”

“Yeah. Terrible what happened to his family. I rememberwhen that’s all anybody talked about.” Then Russ stammered, “Fuck. I forgot you and Jessa were such good friends before she died. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

Zandra wrapped her arms around her middle, and I felt the urge to reach out and steady her. Make sure she was okay. Because she looked so fragile right now, and that just called to my protective side.

But the hint of vulnerability disappeared as quickly as it had surfaced. “Can you show me around the brewery side of things, Russ?” she asked. “We should probably keep this tour moving.”

“Yeah,” Russ said on an exhale, clearly relieved at the change of subject. “You got it.”

While Russ talked Z through the basics of Hearthstone’s brewing operation, I stepped away to deal with some other tasks. About an hour later, Zandra found me in the bar again. The brewpub had opened for the day, but only a few diners had turned up so far. Things were quiet.

“Finished with Russ?” I asked.