5. Nash

Chapter 5

Nash

W hen I finally make it back to my office, I check my email and am disappointed when I don’t find any new emails from Everly. Heat fills me as I realize I’m being ridiculous. What am I even doing? I need to just stop. I head downstairs and get ready to work my shift at the pub. Stop thinking about her. She’s not mine and not any of my business. I’ve already gone too far by being a dirtbag and not telling her that I’m her landlord.

Luckily, it’s a busy night for the pub. Our regulars are in their usual spots around the bar, and the tables are full of people having happy hour drinks and appetizers. We have bruschetta with fresh tomatoes from the farmers’ market on Hayley’s toasted baguette bread tonight. It’s always a hit, and we’ve been popping up on tourist’s social media and travel blogs, so business has never been better. We need to consider hiring another bartender and someone to help Hayley out in the kitchen. She started baking to supplement Bookers, but it has become a local little best-kept secret to get the finest baked goods around. It’s not something we planned on, but Hayley enjoys it, and the baked goods are a big draw for people who want to eat at the pub.

When the pub went up for sale a few years ago, I had already worked here, starting out as a bar back and then a part-time bartender for seven years. I knew the ins and outs of Bookers and what I would do to make it even better. I saw an opportunity and seized it. I dragged Hayley into it with me because she’s got a head for business like no one else. Plus, she was able to put the restaurant part of it together better than I ever could. She and I put together a business plan and ran with it while she finished her MBA. Owning a pub wasn’t her dream, but owning a business is something she’s fantastic at, so we looked at it as an investment for her. And it’s been a hit. We both agreed that if either of us didn’t want it anymore, we’d buy each other out, but to start, we needed each other. And it’s proven to be a great investment. Hayley is an early bird, and I’m a night owl, so it works out. We’ve run it smoothly for the most part at separate times, and most importantly, we’ve had fun with it together.

I lift my chin in hello to a few of the regulars at the pub and get to work. Work is what keeps me busy and sane at this point. I try to work away the feelings for the woman I can’t have. In some ways, I had always dreamed that maybe she’d return to Cozy Creek and see what I’d done with my life. Perhaps she’d be proud of me in some stupid way. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love Everly. Every little memory of her was like a million paper cuts to my soul. Everly is love. She’s the person who will always make me feel like she’s connected to me in every way. She’s like a piece of my soul, and I feel whole when she’s near me. I can’t remember a point in my childhood when she wasn’t a part of the memories. After high school, I was busy getting into trouble, into fights, then later working at the pub, then straightening up and going to horse farrier training, doing my apprenticeship, and figuring out my shit. By the time I pulled my head out, I’d lost Everly, and it was my fault. I fucked it all up, and there’s no way to unfuck it up now. Everly got pregnant in college and married the town asshat and son of an even bigger asshat, Richard Sullivan. Hayley so eloquently calls them a bag of dicks, and she’s not wrong. They’re some of the worst people I’ve ever met. My life is busy and empty at the same time. Most days, the silence is so fucking loud and lonely.

One of the best things about owning and operating the local town watering hole is that we hear everything. Whether we want to or not, we hear all the gossip, drama, and everything happening. Cozy Creek is a small town, and like most small towns, people love to sit around and gossip. For example, who is having an affair with who in town. Which town administrative people are doing dirty things. And Richard Sullivan is a dirty town manager. I have enough dirt on him to bury him if his son doesn’t stop messing with Everly.

I do a final sweep of the pub and look around. All the chairs are up, and everything is wiped down and ready for the morning. I glance down at my watch. Hayley will be here to start baking in a few hours. That gives me a few hours to measure the stairs and cut all the wood to finish it when I know Everly will be at work later today.

Grabbing my grandpa’s old dented green metal toolbox, I throw it in my truck, back it up to the small garage behind the pub, and get to work.

Richie Sullivan played professional hockey for a few years but wasn’t very good. His attitude and ego were even worse, so no one was surprised when he was cut loose early from his team and lost his contract. Nobody likes Richie Sullivan as much as Richie does. He still thinks he’s a hockey legend even though that’s far from the truth, and everyone knows it but him. He took his hockey money and opened a car dealership. I personally would never buy a vehicle from him, but apparently, people do.

I walk down the street to check the measurements. Scanning the street, I look for Everly’s car, but I’m still not seeing it.

Hmm.

The cottage has a few faint lights glowing inside, indicating someone is probably home, but the house is dark, so everyone is likely asleep. I turn on my flashlight and quietly make my way around back to measure the stairs, making a note on my phone. I see the broken tread and grimace. I should have just replaced these stairs before she moved in. I didn’t know they’d give out. After getting my measurements, I quietly head back to the pub to measure and cut the wood .

I’ve always preferred to work while everyone else sleeps, so I’m up at night for the most part. Less interaction with people. People in this town made up their minds about me a long time ago. I used to think I could be successful and prove that I wasn’t the shithead kid they all thought I was. Now, I don’t care what anyone thinks. Well, maybe what the horses think. My clients can’t talk, and that’s nice, too.

Anyone but Everly, that is. I used to think she’d come back and see who I’d become and be proud of me. So far, she doesn’t seem to see me at all.