Hayes tucked a finger under her chin, demanding her attention. She greeted his gentle eyes, the stare he seemed to give only to her. “You did the right thing by leaving. The festival takes precedence, and honestly, I’m fine. Please let it go.”
“Okay, fine, I will,” she said with a laugh, finally letting herself off the hook. Responsibility sucked. She wasn’t very good at it most days. But she had this one chance to prove she could see something through. That she mattered to the success of the brewery. “You’re right. I’ve got to stay focused.”
He gave a firm nod of agreement, then turned back to the picnic table behind him and offered a white takeout container. “We passed a smokehouse driving in. Hungry?”
“Lord, yes,” she said, hurrying to sit down. Because of the delay on her leaving this morning, she hadn’t had a good meal all day, only a bag of chips, a Coke, and a chocolate bar on the drive.
He sat next to her, opened up his container, revealing brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and an assortment of side dishes. “Did you manage setting up all by yourself?”
“Yeah, right.” She laughed and opened the lid. She nearly purred in happiness at the meat, cheese grits, and corn bread before gesturing to her right. “That guy over there helped out. His name is Ralph.”
When Hayes followed her gaze, she noticed Ralph, who was around her age, was looking right at her. Well, more like sizing up Hayes.
She glanced back at Hayes to find the corners of his mouth twitching. “Another suitor I need to punch?”
“Please don’t.” She nudged her shoulder into his, completely aware of those hard, capable arms. The strength they possessed. With warmth pooling low in her belly, she remembered what those powerful muscles could do to her body. She cleared her throat, refocused. “Besides, we’ve got a busy night ahead of us. The festival opens up in a half hour.” Hopefully, all that heat flaring through her would only burn hotter later tonight once they were at the motel. She took another bite of her corn bread and then hopped up and poured them a couple beers, offering him one before she took her seat again. She nibbled a small piece of corn bread and added, “So, tell me, how was jail?”
He ate half of the corn bread in one bite. “Annoying,” he said with a full mouth.
She snorted a soft laugh. “Do you get in extra trouble or something because you’re a cop?”
“Was a cop,” he gently reminded her. “And yes, I’d be up shit’s creek if I was still on the force, but I’m not, so it’s fine.”
She watched him for a long moment. “Do you ever miss being a cop? You know, the excitement of it all?”
“Why would I?”
She shrugged. “Because for as long as I’ve known you, you always wanted to be a cop. Or at least that’s what Laurel told me.”
He studied her, assessing, before he explained, “You’re right. Being a cop was always my dream job. I come from a long line of cops, so it’s kind of in my blood. But working for Nash is good too. I needed a change after Laurel passed away. I couldn’t go back to that life.”
Maisie nodded, remembering how Hayes had been when she’d first walked into his house that day and found him so utterly broken. “I get that. Laurel’s death was hard for me too.” She hesitated, then quickly corrected, “I mean, not as hard as it must have been for you—”
“You loved her too,” Hayes interjected gently, reaching out to comfort her with a hand on her arm. “Laurel was in your life longer than mine.”
“Yeah, she was,” Maisie drawled, thinking of how things had been for her after Laurel passed away. “You know, that’s what was the hardest. If something happened good or bad, I’d always reach for the phone to call her, but then I—”
Hayes flinched.
“Sorry.” She reached for his hand on her arm, tangling her fingers with his, squeezing gently. “We can talk about something else.”
“Nah, it’s all right.” He grabbed her hand again when she began pulling away. Eyes on her, he placed a kiss on the back of her hand before letting go. “Talking about Laurel is good. It’s nice to remember her and not only see pain.”
Maisie reached for her fork. “I think so too. My sisters really pulled me out of the dark time. So did Penelope. They filled that void. Became the friends I needed.”
“Which is what makes pulling these festivals off so important to you?”
“Exactly.” She scooped some cheese grits onto her fork, liking how easily Hayes seemed to understand her. “I’m not sure where I’d be if it weren’t for my sisters and Penelope. And while the brewery was never really my thing, I don’t want to fail them, not after they were there for me.” At Hayes’s understanding nod, she continued. “Clara’s the brains of the brewery. Her ideas are just incredible. And Amelia is the reason Foxy Diva is such a hit. It took her months to perfect the beer, altering my grandfather’s recipe. Now it’s my turn to do my part.”
“And you’re doing it,” he said reassuringly.
She shrugged slightly. “I’ll breathe a lot easier when these festivals are over. Clara will have what she needs to push ahead to find a distributor for the beer. And my part in all this will be done.” Then she’d have to figure out what to do next within the company. Maybe she could take over the social media and marketing since they were gaining more followers.
“We’ll get there,” Hayes stated. “See this through.”
Her chest expanded, air a little easier to drag in. He watched her in a new way, with a little more curiosity and a lot more heat, and she liked it. She ate the cheese grits, wondering what Laurel would think of all this. Her with Hayes. She guessed from her friendship with Laurel, her friend would say, “The guy you’re with isn’t the Hayes I knew. The husband I loved died when I did. He’s someone different now. Someone you like. Just be happy.”
“Can I ask you something?”