Page 8 of Best Kind of Trouble
“No shit?” Rob says, his gaze following Sophie as she and Hannah hurry Briar away from the door. No doubt he’s interested too. Sophieishis girlfriend.
“What’s going on there?” I ask, nodding toward the front.
“Don’t know,” he says, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. “But I’ve got a feeling Hannah and Sophie are about to find out.”
This makes me laugh, though it doesn’t lift the uneasiness pressing down on my chest.
The others start talking about music again. I leave them to it, slipping away to check in with Eugene and make sure we don’t need to tap another keg yet. Through it all, there’s a metaphysical itch at the back of my neck—the need to findout just what the hell is going on with Briar. It’s not my problem, though, and Hannah will surely deal with her friend.
When I come back, Rob and Travis are God knows where, and Cormac is watching a woman with a short dark bob and a no-nonsense expression.
“Creeping on someone else, Eugene Junior?” I ask.
I meant it as a joke, but he jolts as if I’d slapped him. “Oh, no. That’s Nora. I don’t like her.”
The name rings a bell, and I realize I know who this woman is. She’s the brewer at The Ginger Station, and good old Jonah’s fourth secret girlfriend.
Well, damn.
This town is big enough, but it can feel as small as the one inThe Andy Griffith Show. Except with more secret dating and old grudges.
I whistle through my teeth. “Tell me how you really feel.”
Cormac adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “You know my dad’s girlfriend? That’s her daughter. She probably doesn’t even remember me, but we went to school together.”
“Small world.” My sister’s going to have a field day with this one, no doubt. “She uptight?” I ask sympathetically.
“Something like that. She ruined my science project our senior year.”
I laugh again, finding this guy plenty entertaining. “Must have been a hell of a science project if you’re still pissed about it.”
“It was. But that was twelve years ago. She probably doesn’t remember.”
“But you do.”
He shrugs. “I put a lot of work into it. It was one of my first inventions.”
“You’re an inventor?”
He looks uncomfortable, like I just gave him a wedgie. “It’s agrandiose word, but yeah, I guess. I like taking things apart and putting them back together better. And building things to solve problems. But my day job is in coding.”
“Solving problems. I like that. You might have just solved one of ours.” I cock my head to study him. “Say, why’d you take up bass guitar if you mostly play alone?”
“The bass is what holds the music together. It’s the backbone. You wouldn’t get very far without a backbone.”
I nod, liking the analogy. “Damn straight.”
“And then there’s the way it feels. You can feel the vibration inside of you.”
“You sound like Travis when he’s talking about his drums.”
I’m distracted by an officious tap on my shoulder, and I turn to see Hannah and Travis. She’s practically buzzing with energy, the way she gets when she sucks down too much sugar or is high on an idea that will either make or destroy someone.
“What’s up?” I ask, my mind flitting to Briar. “Something wrong with your friend?”
“Yes,” she says. “You and I are having a super-secret meeting in the storeroom.Right away.”
“What about Travis?”
