Page 7 of The Summer for Us (Golden Falls #1)

WESLEY

The universe was testing me—or punishing me—because I couldn’t remember the last time the bar had been as swamped as tonight. It was a Friday night, so I expected it to be busy, but we were already drawing a bigger crowd than we had at last year’s peak—and summer had only just started.

Most customers tonight were understanding of the longer wait to get a table or be served drinks, but I’d told my staff to offer a free drink or basket of fries if people got impatient.

I had to figure something out and fast.

Tonight, I didn’t mind having to help with running food and making drinks, but I knew it wasn’t sustainable if we wanted to continue to grow. Normally, I helped set up before we opened and then spent the evenings in the back office catching up on paperwork and payroll.

Since that hadn’t been the case today, I knew I was in for an even longer day tomorrow.

“See you tomorrow, Louise.” I gave her a nod as I left through the back door.

“Nice work today, boss,” she called back from the bar as she finished closing up for the night. I still wasn’t used to being called “boss,” especially not from Louise.

My dad hired her as a bartender back when he still owned the place, and she’d been working here for the last fifteen years. The best bartender in town. Hell, the best bartender in the state.

I was grateful for my staff, especially Louise, who I’d learned a lot from over the years. I was nervous to add someone new to the mix, because I didn’t want to ruin the current group’s dynamic.

I got into the driver’s side of my new black Ford pickup truck, continuing to think through who in town might be looking for a bartending gig.

I was thrilled to upgrade my truck to an all-electric model earlier this year, and that new car excitement still hadn’t worn off.

As I started to pull out of the parking lot, my phone rang through the truck’s Bluetooth system. Mom was calling.

“Hey, Ma. You’re up late.” I shouldn’t have been surprised she was still up.

Ever since my sisters and I moved out, Mom became a night owl, often staying up late watching crime documentaries or reading romance books.

Something about how she had “so much energy” because we weren’t stressing her out anymore.

I knew that wasn’t quite true—she still worried about us.

She laughed. “I couldn’t put my book down. Had to finish it before going to bed. Plus, I was hoping to catch you before bed but knew you’d be busy at the bar. How’d everything go tonight?”

“Busier than I anticipated but…overall fine. I know if this keeps up, I’m in trouble, though. I want to hire a couple more people this summer. Just thinking through the logistics. Know anyone who might be looking for some extra work?”

“Well,” Mom said, “Lily mentioned Eliza was looking for some extra work here and there when she gets back from her trip to Madison. She’s a fast learner and was a bartender in college. I bet she’d be a good addition. She knows the staff and regulars already, too.”

Now that I thought about it, Cooper, who was Eliza’s older brother, mentioned she was looking for a second job to help fund plans for her yoga studio. Eliza taught classes during the day and into the early evening.

“I’ll ask and see what she thinks. Lily didn’t say anything to me.

As usual,” I grumbled. It was a low jab at my sister, and I knew it.

I was frustrated at her for renting out the cabin, especially now knowing it was to someone who spent their free time on reality TV.

But I also couldn’t blame her. After all, Lily didn’t know the full story of what happened. No one did.

“Oh, come on, Wes. Don’t give her a hard time. We’ve been renting out the cabin for years.” Mom paused, clearly wanting to say more. Just as I thought she’d drop it, as she had over the last two years, she asked, “Why did seeing it rented out throw you off so much?”

Wasn’t that a damn good question I wish I knew the answer to.

I didn’t even have time to think of a way to deflect before she added, “What happened between you and Gretchen?”

I let out a low sigh. Now that I did know the answer to, but I didn’t have much interest in revisiting the past. Cooper knew majority of the story, but I hadn’t even told him the full truth of how my heart had been broken by someone passing through.

“Things didn’t work out. Not much more to tell.

I’ve moved on and am focusing on Lake Ridge now.

That’s my priority.” That much was true.

Gretchen might have broken my heart, but I didn’t have feelings for her anymore.

My focus was making the bar as successful as possible, which left no time for dating, relationships, or falling in love.

Besides, I was better off alone, because it meant not getting my heart broken.

“You said you wanted to ask me something?”

Even over the phone, I could tell Mom wasn’t happy with my answer and changing the subject, but she dropped it. For now at least.

“I did. I was hoping you’d be able to stop by Hal’s this week. I was talking to him today, and he mentioned his card reader at the store wasn’t working. He should really update his whole computer system, but…one step at a time. Think you’d be able to help him out?”

“Yeah, no problem at all. I’ll stop by later this week,” I said with no hesitation. “I’ll even see if I can convince him to upgrade everything down the line. It’ll be easier on him.”

Hal Nelson was like a grandfather to me and my younger sisters. I was lucky both sets of my grandparents were around when I was growing up, but they didn’t live nearby. Hal did.

He was at every sports game, every graduation, every milestone for me and my sisters. Even now, with us all grown up, he still found ways to support what we were doing. Helping him fix the card reader was the least I could do.

“Thanks, Wes. See if he wants to come over for dinner soon, too.”

“Will do.”

Hal was an honorary part of our family, but I often wondered about his own family. He lost his wife Vera a couple of years ago. He had a son and grandson, who was a few years older than Lily. Hal had pictures on the walls of his hardware store of his grandson over the years.

Hal’s son and my dad grew up together, but Ron Nelson left Golden Falls and never came back. Ron made a name for himself with Nelson Group, a real estate firm based in Milwaukee that now had offices all across the country. Nelson Group focused on development, construction, and property management.

Their whole model was bringing in more “modern” businesses while keeping a small town feel. The latter was a bunch of bullshit.

They bought buildings and made local businesses think it was in their best interest. But really, most tenants were priced out when the rent increased.

I knew there were likely some benefits for the businesses that were able to afford to stay, but it still didn’t sit right with me for the businesses that had to close or find a new space.

Especially when the companies that filled the now vacant space were chains and multi-billion-dollar businesses.

A local coffee shop closed, and suddenly the space turned into a chain coffee shop. A building filled with small businesses was suddenly getting turned into a luxury apartment complex.

It didn’t feel like a coincidence. To me, it seemed like they were working against the businesses these small towns were built on, ones that spanned generations. The very type of business Hal owned.

And I could only imagine they were eyeing the building Hal owned and managed, which housed Lily’s café and Eliza’s yoga studio. But Hal said we had nothing to worry about, and all we could do was believe him.

I finished up the call with my mom as I was pulling into my driveway, the gravel crunching underneath the tires. I was more than ready to end the night with a beer on the back porch overlooking the water and then go to bed.

As I stepped out of my truck, I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander to the property to the left, obscured by various maple and cedar trees. My evening had been too busy to think about Juliette Campbell, but now, all of a sudden, I had all the time in the world.

I thought back to our first interaction and how she didn’t back down. How the golden sun lit her up like she was a goddamn angel. The fire in her green eyes ignited something inside me, something I had no business feeling.

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how she’d only been in my town for less than a week and already had people talking about her, already found a way to get under my skin.

A woman who looked like that—sun-kissed skin, wavy brown hair, long legs, and a sassy mouth—didn’t fly under the radar. No way in hell.