Page 16 of Hammer and Hops

Cameron’s smile confirmed I was right about my doubts. “Give me your address, and I’ll pick you up at ten.”

“Ten in the morning?”

“That’s right.”

I huffed again. “I’ll be at the brewery.”

“Is there a reason why you don’t want me to know where you live?”

That deserved the eyeroll I gave him. “No, Cameron. I’m just always at the brewery.”

“Fine then.” He winked at me. He was insufferable and entirely too happy.

Chapter twelve

2nd Date - Cameron

“Where exactly are we going?” Everett practically snarled at me from the passenger seat.

“You’ll see.” I wanted to surprise him but then thought better of it. “Uh…do you like animals? Like horses?”

“Yeah, I guess… You don’t mean?”

I nodded furiously. “I’ve done work for Mr. Higgins out at Willow Horse Ranch.” My brother Jay and I had been dying to get over there and ride the horses. We also knew Ethan, who we heard was back from college, but I hadn’t popped in to say hello yet, so this would be a good opportunity, and Ethan was meeting us for our ride. “I haven’t been riding in a long time, but it’s so cool.”

“You’re like a happy puppy over there. I swear if you had a tail, it would be wagging.” He shook his head. “I like horses fine, but don’t have a lot of experience riding.”

“That’s okay. Ethan will be there.”

“Who’s Ethan?”

“He’s the owner’s son and works there, gives lessons and shit. I haven’t really talked to him in a while, but I did get him to meet us. I wouldn’t throw you to the wolves, you know.” I glanced over at him, and he had a secretive smile on his face that was so cute, I reached out and grabbed his hand. He squeezed mine, so I must have been on the right track.

We pulled into the parking area, and, as expected, Ethan was there, waving at us with a crooked smile. He was closer to my little brother’s age, and he looked more like he was ready to hang out with his friends than go riding with his plaid shirt, jeans, and backward ball cap. I knew better than that, though. He grew up around horses. “This is Everett. He’s new in town. Owns the Foggy Basin Brewery.”

“Oh yeah? Hey, I like your craft IPAs. Seriously. Welcome to Foggy Basin.”

“Uh, thanks…” Everett didn’t sound confident, and I wasn’t sure why. He had his shit together more than most people I knew. Except maybe Eddy, my cousin Brock’s partner. He owned Queen Gaming and had moved their headquarters to Foggy Basin after they got together. He was a cool dude. Brock had his shit together too, but he wasn’t actually my cousin. But he and Jackie were so close with us growing up that they felt like family. I’d have to take Everett over to meet them soon. Before they did anything I’d regret.

“Let’s get going. Follow me.” Ethan led us to the stables where he had three horses saddled. “I’ll ride along with you at least at first to make sure you got it.”

He showed us how to mount, and although I already knew, I thought Everett would appreciate the lesson. I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable about it. But Ethan was charming and set both of us at ease right away. I listened carefully and did what Ethan said, when and how he said, and Everett followed along.

“This is Buttercup. She’s one of the sweetest horses you’ll ever meet.” He rubbed her above her muzzle, then worked with Everett to get him mounted.

Once in his saddle, he patted the buckskin mare. “Nice to meet you, Buttercup. What kind of horse is she?”

“Mostly Arabian, but she’s mixed. A happy accident.” He gave Everett a chin lift before moving on to my ride for the day. “Cameron, you’ll be on Ricky.” He tugged the rein on the bay. He was a lovely reddish-brown with black legs, tail, and mane.

“Ricky?”

“Technically, it’s Maverick, but he got called Ricky too many times and it stuck.”

“Well, hello, Ricky.” He smelled a little musty and sweet, reminding me of springtime hay.

Ethan mounted his horse, a beautiful animal, a shade lighter than Ricky. “This is Storm.” He patted the side of Storm’s neck, and the horse snorted and stomped a foot. “Let’s go.” I wasn’t a horse person, but I could guess that Storm was purebred, while Ricky was more like Buttercup with some other breed mixed in. Not that it mattered, but Storm seemed just a little bit more—special.

We rode out to a trail that wound up the mountain and through the woods. It was a beautiful day with sunshine filtering in through the trees, making everything sparkly and new.