Chapter 10

Skye

As Gabriel walks me back to the tasting room, I can’t help but feel things went well. I was only in there for about fifteen minutes. He certainly seems more relaxed than when he was in the cafe. Maybe because I wasn’t scalding him and making him mad.

“So, are you still going to be working at the cafe as well?” he asks, looking a little sheepish about the question.

“I don’t think I’m cut out for coffee making,” I confess. “Which is not a bad thing… for the customers.”

His lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile. “I’m sorry if I was an asshat about it.”

Woah, what?An apology. Now we’re really getting somewhere.

One of my personality traits is always giving people the benefit of the doubt. Some would say that’s na?ve, but I don’t like holding grudges. It gets you nowhere.

“That’s okay. We get all kinds of customers. Some are fussier than others.”

He quirks a brow. “Is that right?”

I smile pleasantly. “Yes.” Why am I noticing every single detail about him? And why does he smell so incredible? He could’ve just walked off the front of a magazine cover…

“Well, coffee isn’t a requirement of working for me, thankfully.” He smiles tentatively. “It was nice meeting you, officially.”

We stop just in the doorway of the tasting room.

“You too.” See. Gabriel Bassett isn’t a total asshat. And he did say sorry. “Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

“I’ll send through the paperwork shortly and if it’s to your liking, the directions to my homestead will follow.”

“Thank you.”

“The retail section is just down the stairs to the left,” he tells me as we say our goodbyes.

Well. Gabriel Bassett is a dark horse, after all. I’m pleasantly surprised. He wasn’t the ogre I thought he was going to be.

As I walk carefully down the carved out wooden stairs — damn this place is amazing — I hang onto the steel railing. Everything about this place is rustic and charming, but with modern touches thrown in for good measure.

The store below is just as impressive with lines of apparel with the bull’s head logo, including jackets, caps, t-shirts and scarves, as well as shot glasses, decanters and bumper stickers. They have it all.

I hear a familiar voice as soon as I’m on solid ground.

“Hey, how did it go?” Georgia asks, excitement in her tone.

“It went well,” I say. And as I approach, I hear another familiar voice.

“Skye!” Celeste enthuses, just as cheery.

“Hey, nice to see you again.”

“Do you need a double shot of espresso after being in there with Gabe?” She quirks a brow. “Or bourbon?”

Georgia cackles. “Knowing my brother, she probably won’t ever want to come back.”

“He wasn’t that bad,” I say, and they both do a double take.

“Really?” They say in unison.

“Yes, and I got the job.” I feel rather pleased with myself, truth be told.

“Way to go!” Georgia claps her hands together. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Congratulations,” Celeste chimes. “George told me about Friday and I’d love to come. We can celebrate then.”

“But first, check out the rock that Celeste has on her finger.” Georgia grins.

“Callan and I got engaged!” she shrieks, holding up her left hand.

While I vaguely remember that he’s their cousin, I haven’t met him yet.

The sapphire and diamond sparkler is stunning.

“Oh my God!” I gasp. “Celeste, congratulations to both of you.”

“Thank you. Callan popped the big one unexpectedly when we were in the spa. I was terrified I was going to drop the damn thing!”

“Can you believe that?” Georgia chuckles. “He was wearing it on his pinky finger!”

I laugh. “That’s so sweet!”

“It was his grandmother’s ring,” Celeste tells me. “So it’s very special to both of us. She was a really special lady.”

“And I don’t want to brag and say I’m going to be Maid of Honor.” Georgia nudges Celeste. “I mean, I am, aren’t I?”

Celeste puts her out of her misery pretty quickly. “Of course you are! It was you who encouraged me to go for it with Callan in the first place when I had those revelations, but was too chickenshit.”

“Ah, the memories,” Georgia sighs. “Why don’t we all go have a coffee and I can tell you about the time me, Celeste and Trudy all burned Celeste’s former wedding dress at the stake before Callan came around the corner thinking he was putting out a real fire!”

“Wow, what?” I laugh. “You burned the wedding dress?”

“It was a bad omen not to.” Georgia shrugs.

“It’s all true,” Celeste confirms as Georgia leads us out back to a very fancy-looking staff room. They have a couple of coffee pod machines and a milk frother. Georgia sets about making us coffee and I quickly explain I only drink tea.

“That’s easy,” Celeste says, filling up the kettle. “We have all kinds of tea, too.”

“Thanks,” I say, gratefully. “So, you’re engaged, Celeste. How does it feel?”

“It feels amazing this time around,” she says. “Callan and I used to date years ago, but I moved away to LA. I only came back a few months ago, after I was left at the altar by my ex-fiancé.”

“He was a complete money grabbing jerk!” Georgia adds, reaching for the cups in one of the overhead cupboards.

“Wow.” My eyes grow wide at her confession.

“He was definitely a jerk,” Celeste agrees. “In the end, he got his karma, but that’s a story for another day. The main thing is, Callan and I found our way back to each other.”

“And not before time, either,” Georgia adds.

“That’s so sweet,” I say. “It’s so refreshing to hear a love story like that. It sounds like Callan has always held a flame for you.”

“I’d like to think so,” she giggles, admiring her ring again.

It’s a lovely thing to see someone so happy after going through something so awful. I haven’t had a real relationship since I was in my early twenties. But sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs to find your prince.

“Anyway, back to the burning of the dress at the stake thing…” Georgia fires up the pod machine. “Celeste’s old dress turned up with her belongings instead of going to goodwill, so it was my idea to set the thing on fire. You know, to bury the hatchet and put all that stuff in the past. It’s bad juju to hold on to anything that causes you so much pain.”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Celeste shrugs. “And it worked.”

I listen on, completely intrigued.

“So there we are, at the fire pit just out back here with Trudy — Callan’s sister — you met her on the weekend. And who should come walking around the corner…well at first it was Sunny — Callan’s gorgeous dog — so we knew Callan wasn’t far behind. When he saw the flames, he ran to get the fire extinguisher.” Georgia laughs, holding her sides. “Honestly, Skye. You had to be there. It was comical. Here we were, after a shot or two of the good stuff, Callan thinking we were drunk and had gone bonkers, not realizing we were doing a kindness for Celeste and ridding her of the bad vibes and giving closure to a shitty situation.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Wow, that’s unbelievable. What happened after that?”

“Celeste tells this part way better,” Georgia says as she gestures for Celeste to continue and she starts the coffee and then goes to pour my tea. “Is English breakfast okay, Skye?”

“Perfect.” I smile.

She brings my tea over as Celeste continues. “So Callan grabs the fire extinguisher and douses out the dress, looking at us all like we’re completely crazy. Then he stops, still holding the extinguisher and says, ‘is that what I think it is?’ And we’re all like, ‘yeah you party pooper. We’re not burning the place down, we’re trying to disintegrate my wedding dress once and for all’.”

“Oh, my god.” Just watching the two of them giggle is amusement enough.

“Oh, it gets better,” Georgia adds as she brings over the coffee to the table in the center.

“Yes, it does,” Celeste agrees. “He realizes his mistake, and that we’re not trying to light the distillery on fire, so he reaches back into the fire pit and lights my dress back on fire.”

The girls fall about laughing and I have to admit it’s a pretty wild but funny story.

“Oh wow, I love it,” I say, wiping my eyes. “I bet he’s glad he took matters into his own hands now.”

“Well, it was the first time I’d seen him in years, so it was quite the welcome home,” Celeste laughs at the memory.

That is kinda sweet. I guess Southern hospitality isn’t dead after all.

“Well, he sounds like a complete sweetheart,” I say. “So, good for you. It all came full circle in the end.”

“It did.” She smiles. “I’m very lucky. It was certainly worth the wait. That’s what I keep telling Georgia here. She’s still single and not doing much mingling.”

Georgia rolls her eyes as she stirs the teaspoon in her coffee. “My time will come. And anyway, there are no decent guys here to mingle with,” she says, shaking her head.

“That’s a pity. I did hear the ratio in this town was three to one, against women. Those odds aren’t great.” It’s always hard in a small town, especially when you’ve grown up with most of the people since diapers. And a lot move away, like we did.

Celeste almost splutters her coffee. “She won’t admit she’s had a major jones for Hudson — Gray’s best friend — for years.”

“I do not!” Georgia swipes her friend playfully on the arm. “Just because you’re all smug and engaged.”

“Ever since she was little. Isn’t that sweet?” Celeste goes on.

She rolls her eyes at me. “I can’t stand him half the time. We always argue and Hudson always has to be right. But I will admit that he’s big, tall and kinda cute. But he’s the broody, lonely cowboy type.”

“She likes a good mountain man,” Celeste giggles.

I laugh too. “I haven’t had the honor of meeting Hudson yet.”

“When he’s not hauled up on the cotton farm, he runs with his dad,” Georgia explains. “He’s in his cabin in the mountains, licking his wounds.”

“Why is he licking his wounds?” I’m intrigued now.

“He used to be a bull rider, back in his heyday, but he had an injury and had to retire early.”

“That’s intense,” I agree.

“Yes. Tell me about it. He shows up here a lot, being that their property backs onto ours. He’s helped with the crops before at harvest, and if Callan needs a hand hauling.”

“More like he always finds an excuse to show up here.” Celeste waggles her eyebrows.

Georgia snorts. “Hudson wouldn’t know I existed if I bit him on the ass… not that I want him to,” she chuckles. “I’m not that weird.”

Celeste and I both laugh. “He’s a nice guy underneath, and he’s gone through that sowing his wild oats thing a while back,” Celeste continues.

“Why do you think he hasn’t settled down?” I ask.

“Because he’s too goddamned stubborn as well as grumpy,” Georgia says. “Though I heard he slept with Dolly Simpson, but in this town, who hasn’t? And let’s just say she went running back for more.”

This town just gets better and better with the gossip. “Who the heck is Dolly Simpson?”

“She’s the local beautician,” Celeste says. “She likes her variety of men, not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with that.”

“So, did Hudson go back for more?” I ask. Not that I know the guy, but it’s clear Georgia has feelings for him.

“Not that I know of.” Georgia sounds lost in thought, before adding, “But it doesn’t matter to me if he did. That was ages ago, anyway. He can screw whoever he likes. It’s no concern of mine.”

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.” Celeste gives her a sympathetic smile.

“I’m better at helping others find love, or just giving them a friendly nudge in the right direction.” She smiles, waggling her eyebrows at me. “So, were any sparks flying between you and Gabe?”

“Georgia!” Celeste barks with laughter. “Seriously?”

I can’t help but laugh, too, even if I’m surprised by her outburst. She definitely calls it how she sees it.

“What?” Georgia feigns innocence as she blinks. “Can’t a girl just ask a simple question? I warned Skye that Gabe was broody and acts unemotional, but it’s all bullshit. She has to know the facts.”

“You did say he makes you want to scream like you’re having a body wax. Frustration and all of that,” I remind her.

“Ah, yes, that. It’s from being on his own for so long,” Georgia tells us. “He used to be a bit of a wild child — not that you’d believe it now with his silk ties and expensive suits. Gabe is considered quite the catch. Brooklyn is far too nonchalant, and Beau is in love with World of Warcraft. Gray is now taken, so that rules him out.”

I can see why Gabriel would be the catch of the county. He’s got it all.

“She has a sixth sense for these things.” Celeste nods, her eyes wide. “It’s kinda freaky.”

“Well, I believe everything happens for a reason,” I say. “And in the right time and place. I mean, look at Celeste’s story. Out of everything that happened, you found your Prince Charming. That gives hope to the rest of us.”

“So you’re in the singleton club too, I’m guessing?” Georgia asks sympathetically.

“Yes, and I have been for a while now. I was completing my studies after being a nurse for a few years, switching so late in my career cost me valuable time.”

“Wow, you’re a qualified nurse, too?”

“Yes, I just wasn’t cut out for it in the end. I much prefer working with kids. It’s my passion.”

“That’s wonderful.” Celeste smiles. “I took a few wrong turns myself in LA thinking that I was going to make it in the fashion world. Turns out, everything I always wanted was right here in Stoney Creek. I love what I do now.”

“And we love having you back.” Georgia gives her friend a wink.

“I needed a new start,” Celeste says. “Sometimes a reset is the best thing for you.”

“I completely agree.” I know how true that statement is.

“Well, I’m glad you’re going to be Trinity’s new nanny.” Georgia changes tact. “It’ll take the stress off Gabe, and now Geraldine can go on her cruise without having to worry.”

“He must’ve liked you.” Celeste piques an eyebrow. “He’s normally so weird about new people and his daughter.”

“Ugh,” says Georgia. “Tell me about it. Talk about the third degree, which I get, by the way. You just don’t know people these days.”

“I must be lucky,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “Either that, or he’s desperate and has run out of options.”

“No way.” Georgia shakes her head. “He wouldn’t just put anyone in charge of Trin, believe me. We would’ve all had to take different days off to help him out until someone suitable came along.”

“Family sticks together.” I smile. “That’s really great you’re all so close. I know things must’ve been hard for Gabriel, being a single dad. It can’t be easy.”

Something washes over Georgia’s face and I instantly regret my comment.

“It was very difficult in those early years,” she says, quietly. “I don’t know how he got through it, but he did. And look at him now. CEO and super dad.”

“He looks like an amazing dad,” I say. “I guess it helps having a supportive family and great friends.”

Everyone helping each other, like how it should be. Gran is always saying things like that, and coming from a close-knit family, I understand.

“And you’re going to be the most amazing nanny.” Georgia smiles like she owns a secret no one else is privy to. “Two single cuties with one common goal; looking after Trinity. I cannot wait to hear how your first day goes.”

“Me either,” Celeste says, joining in on the act.

“I can assure you, my intentions are completely honorable,” I tell them. I don’t want them getting the wrong impression, even if I find Gabriel attractive.

Georgia snorts. “Uh, huh.”

I ignore her, smiling into my tea. You can’t help but love Georgia-Blue. She’s a riot. And I don’t think they were joking about her having a sixth sense.

I can still feel the weight of his blue gaze on me as I left.

The man is larger than life and I hope I can keep a straight thought in my head when he’s around. I just need to focus. I’m here because of his daughter, nothing else.

For the first time in a long time, I feel content.

I think Stoney Creek is slowly growing on me.