Scandalous Engagement

“I’m actually going to offer to buy Lockwood Lightning from you,” Nick stated.

Reese jerked his attention to Nick, who only had his sights set on Rusty. From the way Sam reacted, he was just as surprised by Nick’s offer.

“Buy me out?” Rusty scoffed. “When hell freezes over.”

Nick shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets. “I knew that would be your first reaction, but that’s why you’re failing right now. You aren’t thinking like a businessman. Instead, you’re letting your emotions override common sense.”

Rusty glanced at each of them. “Is that why you all came here? To gang up on me and get me to sell? You think I’m just passing down all I’ve built because I supposedly fathered you?”

“Bloodlines have nothing to do with this decision,” Nick amended. “You don’t need to answer me now, but I will own this distillery.”

“What do you know about running a distillery?” Rusty mocked. “You renovate buildings and sell them off for others to run.”

“He doesn’t know about distilleries,” Sam agreed. “But I do, and I’ll be his partner.”

“You think I’d sell to either of you?” Rusty asked. “After I tried to buy you out for years and you turned me down? I supposed your third crony is going to want in on this, too?”

Reese shrugged. “Always looking to expand. I’d go into business with them.”

Rusty puffed up his chest as he pulled in a breath. The buttons on his shirt strained against the movement.

“If that’s all you guys wanted, you wasted your time.” Rusty started to turn back to the steps, but stopped himself. “I won’t sell my distillery to any of you and I’m not really looking for children who will inherit my legacy. You can see yourselves out. The door will automatically lock, so don’t come back.”

And with that warm parting, Rusty went back up the steps to his lair or office or hellhole.

Nick and Sam both turned to Reese and he honestly didn’t know what to say about the anticlimactic, not to mention fast, meeting they’d just had.

“Well, I guess that settles that,” Reese said. “Clearly, he doesn’t care about his sons, so I’m done here.”

Nick glanced toward the empty steps and back to his brothers. “I meant what I said. I’m going to buy this place. It was something I’d thought about, but the minute I saw him, I knew. If you guys want to join me, we’d make a hell of a team.”

Reese didn’t make rash business decisions, but this was one thought that held merit. An already-established distillery run by three brothers who had all already made names for themselves in the hospitality and real estate industries was a no-brainer.

“We should discuss this elsewhere,” Sam stated as he started toward the main door. “Let’s head to my place where we can talk. I have a feeling this is going to take some strategic planning.”

Reese followed, already pulling out his phone to text Josie and tell her what had happened and where he was heading. Odd that his first instinct had been to contact her and not his parents, but he would talk to them in person. He missed Josie when he wasn’t with her and wanted to fill her in on everything going on in his life.

After last night, between the hot tub and then falling asleep holding her on the swinging bed under the stars, Reese couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he was ready for more. Maybe the thought of commitment and long-term had always scared him in the past because the right person hadn’t come into his life.

But she had.

She’d been there all along.

As things started to settle in his personal life, maybe long-term included Josie as well. Maybe she was settling right into the spot she was meant to be.

Reese had so much to think about regarding his brothers and Josie. There was a whole host of things he needed to weigh in his head before he made any life-changing decisions.

One thing was certain, though: the life he’d been living only a few weeks ago no longer existed. He was facing a new chapter and hell if all of this didn’t scare him to death.

* * *

“I put an offer in on a house here.”

Josie shifted and turned over in the swing bed, shocked by Reese’s words. They swayed as she moved.

/> “In Green Valley?” she asked.

With one arm braced behind his head, he toyed with the ends of her hair with his other hand. His eyes held hers and she truly wished they could stay right here forever.