Page 23 of Thirst For Me
“Stranded?” Tommy says gruffly. “Why?”
“Uh, just ... new in town.” While Layne and Kaylie gaze at me curiously, Tommy eyes me with suspicion. Much like his grandson did when I first walked into his bar. “I was trying to get a hold of June Spencer.”
Tommy snorts. “What the hell would you want withthatwoman?”
Layne says, “Grandpa.”
But the way they’re looking at me, they all seem to be wondering the same thing. It’s clear I’m not standing in the middle of a June Spencer Fan Club meeting.
Same vibe I got when I brought up June’s name to Mason and his friends at the bar last night.
“I was supposed to stay at a cottage on her property. Actually, I should really go find her ...” Since Mason told me that June’s property is next door, and I have no idea how deep this neighborly feud or whatever it is goes, I should probably clear out of this family’s kitchen and get on with the search.
“You sure you don’t want to eat first?” Layne places a big platter of sandwiches on the island in front of Kaylie, and his grandfather immediately digs in.
“Thank you, but I couldn’t possibly.”
“Okay, then,” Layne says. “We wish you good luck with tracking down June.”
“Yeah,” Kaylie says, selecting a sandwich. “Good luck with that old battle-axe.”
“Kaylie. We don’t call people names.”
“Gramps called her that yesterday!”
“Then maybe Gramps needs to work on his patience.” Layne shoots his grandpa a pointed look, which Tommy ignores. “I’ll show you out, Sierra. Get you headed in the right direction.”
“Oh, great. Thank you.” Embarrassingly, I have no idea what the right direction is. Other than some wobbly memories of moonlit country roads, I have no idea how I got here.
I follow Mason’s brother out the back door, with a quick “So nice to meet you both.”
Kaylie waves, mouth full of sandwich.
Tommy watches me go, not hiding his suspicion. “You take care, Sara.”
I pop my head back in the door. “It’s Sierra.”
“Hmm,” he grumps, gray eyebrows twisting over shrewd blue eyes.
I follow Mason’s brother across the back porch and down the steps to a wide gravel path that meanders through the lush backyard. “Well, that was embarrassing. Your grandfather thinks I’m a strumpet.”
“My grandpa doesn’t take easily to strangers, Ms. Daniels. Especially beautiful ones from the city who distract his grandson from his duties.” He smiles disarmingly.
“It’s Sierra, please.” I smile back tentatively. “I slept with your brother last night, so I think we can skip the formalities.” We’re walking through trees now. They grow tall and lush, bending lazily over the path. “I take it your family and June Spencer aren’t all that ... amicable?”
“You could say that. Around here, you could also say the older generation likes to hold a grudge.”
“I really didn’t mean to cause trouble. Yesterday was ... kind of a rough day.”
He considers that. “Better now?”
“Other than the hangover, actually, yes. I think so.”
He stops at a fork in the path, so I do, too. “My brother have anything to do with that?”
My cheeks heat traitorously. “He might.”
I catch the small smile as he looks away. “As you can see, that’s the orchard. You’ll want to follow the path to your left. It’ll take you around the cider house and out to the main drive.”
