36. Liam

36

LIAM

T he smile that I had when I saw Marley’s name in my text window quickly turns to a frown as I read about her website issues. It deepens further when she asks if Elliot might help because he just so happens to be in Aspen scoping out the new franchise location.

Fuck me, but it feels like I’m letting her down when I tell her.

Trace wanders by my office at that moment. “What’s up chief? Why the frown?”

I chew on my bottom lip. “Marley and Fin’s website went down, and they are supposed to have the newspaper up by Monday. They’ve lost everything. No humans available on the weekend at the hosting site.”

“They need a new hosting site,” Trace answers quickly. “But that doesn’t help them right now. I’ve done a little dabbling with websites…” He looks at me as if asking for my permission to help them.

“What do you mean by dabble?”

He shrugs, “I have an bachelor’s degree in information technology, and I run a few websites for friends from my hosting site.”

I do what amounts to a double take. “I’m sorry, what? How? You’re here all the time.”

He shrugs and gives a smile I can only call boyish. “Eh, I do a lot of things.”

I stare at him for a moment, feeling like I’m seeing him in a whole new light. “Well, go, go help them.” I make a shooing motion with my hands. “Now.”

He points to the bar over his shoulder, “What about my shift.”

“I’ll cover the bar. Just get out of here and go help my girl.”

The lift of a single eyebrow on Trace’s face makes me wish I could take the last part back, but I own it. Marley is mine, and I like it that way.

“And Fin,” he answers.

“Of course, Fin too.”

I see a hope in his eyes where Fin is concerned that makes his eagerness a little more understandable—poor kid. I don’t know how to tell him, but Fin has dated actual movie stars and models. “All right, I’m out. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thank you.”

The very moment he’s gone, I send Marley a text and Gus’ head appears in my office.

“So Marley is ‘My Girl’ now?”

I tamp down my automatic defensive response and let myself enjoy the fact that I’m in love with a woman I’m pretty sure loves me back. A woman that makes me feel whole and seen and settled. And my God, I haven’t felt settled in decades. “She is.”

Gus’ grin is huge. “Oh Liam, it is so good to see you look so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this…” She motions toward me with both hands, “Look of peace on you. It’s a good look.”

I accept the compliment with a smile. “Thank you, Gus. Thank you for always pushing us in the direction we need to go.”

She shrugs as if making major life changes for three brothers is all in a day’s work. “I just nudge. You have to do the work.”

I nod. “I know, I have a lot of work to do.”

She enters my office and sits down in the chair across from me. “You need to see a professional, someone disconnected from the reality you lived. Someone that can see it from new angles, help you grow. Not just for your sake, but Marley’s too.”

The knowledge that I need help, that there’s no other way around it, doesn’t feel as unsettling or as upsetting as before. When she mentioned it before, it felt like a step back, like failing. But now, it looks like growing and changing into the man I want to be. Into a man who loved like my father, no matter how much the loss might hurt.

“Hit me with your resources,” I tell her. “I know Max really likes his therapist.”

She smiles, this time with pride, like I’m a kindergartner who finally got his ABCs in the correct order. “I’ll send you the contact info. There are several therapists in the office. You can see which one sits right with you. Not everyone is a fit. Keep that in mind, okay?”

I grin as something close to hope blooms in my gut. It feels so brand new that it makes me understand just how low I had been for years upon years. It’s like turning a light on and shining it through a thousand prisms. “I will.”

“Now, get out here and help me stock the cooler.”

I chuckle and push myself up out of my seat. “What?” I ask when Gus stares at me like I’ve sprouted a sparkly horn.

“It’s just, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you chuckle like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like it’s natural,” she answers, “usually it’s robotic. Like uh-uh-uh.”

I roll my eyes. “I do not sound like that.”

Her eyebrows climb her forehead to tell me otherwise. “Well not anymore.”

I let it roll off me, vowing to look at things differently. To be honest, it makes sense. I haven’t felt like laughing for real in a very long time. It feels good. “If Max wouldn’t kick my ass, I’d give you a noogie right now.”

She laughs and runs out to the bar.

I follow her a few minutes later, truly considering what we’ve built in Redpoint. Not that I didn’t know before, but it always seemed like a list of things to accomplish, a vendetta of sorts to complete. But now, it just feels beautiful.

This town is fantastic, our customers are loyal, and it turns out, my brothers and I did it all on our own. We didn’t need the power and money of the Sutton Brewing name behind us. We just needed the skills our father instilled in us early on. We just needed each other.