Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [40]
Kate blew out a whistle. “Definitely not issue number three.”
“Except for the location, it’s perfect.” He parked next to a silver car that Kate had seen almost every day in Depot Brewing’s lot. “Ready to go in?”
Kate climbed out of the truck. “First, let me play tourist.”
She dug her phone from her purse and backed up until she found the perfect spot to take a picture of the barn. She liked that Matt was in the shot, too.
“Smile,” she said. And even though he was laughing, she kept the picture. “This is turning into a pretty nice day.”
“Hold that thought.”
They walked up a stepping stone path to the microbrewery’s entrance.
Inside, a taproom of sorts had been partitioned from the work area by low walls made of silvery barn wood. Above the dividers, Kate spotted a couple of tall stainless-steel tanks back in a corner, much like the ones she’d seen at Depot Brewing. The beer-making end of the business remained a mystery to Kate. Bart Fenner, Depot’s brewmaster, was notoriously protective of his portion of the domain. For all that Kate knew, fairies and elves made the beer.
Matt scanned the room. “Travis? You guys back there?”
“Yeah, hang on.”
Travis emerged, and Horned Owl’s issue number three was obvious. Kate doubted that Travis meant to be scary, but the nose and eyebrow piercings and a squinty-eyed stare did the job. The full-sleeve tattoo on his right arm actually served as a happy distraction. He appeared to be younger than Matt, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t old enough to have done some hard time.
“Travis, this is Kate, my newest employee. Kate, this is Travis Holby, owner of Horned Owl Brewing.”
Travis fixed his stare on Kate. “What’s Culhane got on you that you ended up working for him?”
Kate laughed. “It’s more what I have on him.”
Travis smiled, and the tough guy aura disappeared. Kate noticed for the first time that once you looked past the piercings, he had a true baby face, complete with pudgy cheeks.
“This is a beautiful place you have here,” she said.
“Thanks. I’ve busted my a—, uh, back, putting it together. Why don’t you have a seat?” Travis gestured to one of the three rustic-looking tables with low stools that served as seating in the taproom. “Hungry? Thirsty? Can I get you anything?”
Kate took the offered seat, but turned down food and drink.
“Hey, Bart,” Matt called. “Why don’t you come out here for a minute, too?”
Bart entered the taproom, and Kate thought there was no way she’d ever seen him at Depot Brewing. He wasn’t the sort of guy a woman forgot. In fact, he nearly gave Culhane a run for the money in the looks department. But where Culhane was a rugged kind of hot, Bart had the exotic thing going. Looking at him was like taking a sexy trip to the South Pacific. He was tall and seriously muscled, with dark skin, soulful brown eyes, and black hair.
“I heard you sing last night,” Bart said. “You’re really good.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It had been a long time since I sang in public like that.”
Matt smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat. The smile was intimate, as though they were the only ones in the room. She couldn’t help fantasizing just a little about what she might do to enhance the moment if it wasn’t for Bart and Travis’s presence.
Bart sat down next to Travis but turned his body toward Kate. “I hear you have some issues with beer.”
“It’s more like beer has issues with me.”
“When was the last time you tried it?”
“When I was in college.”
Bart smiled, showing even white teeth. “So it’s safe to say that it’s been a couple of years?”
“Absolutely.”
“What kind of beer?”
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. What kind do they typically serve in fraternity basements out of red plastic cups?” Why was this beginning to feel like she was being set up? “I try not to think of that night. But even though the details are fuzzy, the lasting impression