13. Griffin

Chapter Thirteen

Griffin

"I thought Tish was irreplaceable as your assistant," I said to Rhys.

He spun his bottle of beer in his fingers on the table, nodding in agreement. "She'll be difficult to replace, that's for sure. But she wants this new position and she'll be excellent at it. She deserves the salary increase too."

I literally had to grit my teeth to keep from suggesting he just bump her pay to match it. That I even contemplated that train of thought was ridiculous. I didn't completely understand it, but it was clear Tish wanted to keep her distance from me. I would have to respect that.

"Hey, hey!" I glanced over my shoulder to see my twin brother Wyatt stopping beside the table. He tugged a chair out and sat down beside me.

"Hey, yourself," I replied, as he nudged me with his shoulder.

"What's up? You look a little—" Wyatt tipped his head to the side as he studied me.

"Tired," I offered.

I didn't doubt Wyatt likely knew there was more to it than that, but he let it slide. "Sure, tired."

Before he could say more, a waiter arrived at our table. I was relieved for the busyness of the evening. As usual, my whole freaking family was there. There was lots of chatter, and Rhys broke the news that Tish would be moving to Willow Brook.

Haven smiled over at him. "I hope for all of our sakes that she finds a good replacement for herself as your assistant."

"She will," Rosie, Wyatt's wife, chimed in. "Tish is really good at her job. She can find someone else who's really good at the same job. I have faith in her."

"When is she moving?" Haven asked.

"I'm going to put her in touch with Archer and Chase. Probably within the month. If they can help her find housing, which I'm sure they can, she can do her job here remotely as we start the search to fill her position here. We'll make it work," Rhys explained.

I found myself glancing around the restaurant a few times, wondering if Tish would actually be here. I never saw her that evening.

Two weeks later

I rounded the end of an aisle in the grocery store, glancing up to see Tish perusing the vitamin section.

"Hi, Tish," I said.

Her head whipped up, glancing toward me. "Oh!" she squeaked, her cheeks flushing pink. "Hi."

She had her purse over one shoulder and a basket looped over her other arm. Her hand tightened around the strap of her purse.

"Getting ready to move?" I asked when my eyes landed on the packing tape in her basket.

"Uh-huh," she said.

I wanted to say more, to press on why she was so insistent about keeping me at a distance. "Well, I travel to Willow Brook a few times every year. I might see you there sometime. Rhys had mentioned me helping out with the brewery there, but it sounds like that might be covered by the staff already there. I suppose you won't have to worry about coordinating with me on that." I paused, wondering what else to say. When she stayed silent, I added, "Anyway, good luck."

She opened her mouth as if to say more before snapping it shut. She cleared her throat and swallowed. "You take care, Griffin."

I watched her walk away, feeling like there was something big I was missing about the situation.