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“Were you in here a couple of days ago when I was in Denver? I found two glasses in the sink that I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave.”
Busted. Liam froze for a moment, trying to figure out what excuse to give. Or if any excuse would work. He plastered on his charming smile, although, judging from Bec’s expression, it wasn’t charming her all that much. “Yeah, I was here. I brought Ruth over to taste the red ale after I got off work.”
“Ruth?” Bec’s eyebrows elevated. “My Ruth?”
“If by ‘your Ruth’ you mean Ruth Colbert, then yeah.” Liam gave up on charming. He wasn’t feeling it. “She was at the tavern that night.”
Bec didn’t seem to be feeling the charm much, either. She narrowed her eyes. “Since when are you dating Ruth?”
“We’re not dating.” Unfortunately. “I told her about the red ale and she was interested in tasting it.”
“So all you did was drink the ale?”
He considered lying but didn’t try it. Bec was a champ at seeing through him—she’d had almost thirty years of practice. “Not exactly.”
Bec scowled. “Dammit, Liam, Ruth’s my friend. Don’t screw around with her.”
“What makes you think I’m screwing around? I like her. What’s wrong with my taking her out? It’s not like I’m a serial killer or something.”
“You like her? Are you serious about her?”
He shrugged. Getting serious wasn’t part of his agenda right now. “We’ve only gone out once. But I’d like to see her again. Assuming she ever has another evening to spare.”
“That’s asking a lot. Her life’s as busy as ours is. Busier, to be honest. She’s got Carol to look after.”
He leaned back against the table, crossing his arms. “Where’s Carol’s dad? Why doesn’t he take up some of the slack?”
“Ruth and her ex broke up when Carol was a baby. He sees her now and then when Carol goes down to stay with his folks in Colorado Springs. He does pay support, so he’s not MIA. But he’s not what you’d call an involved parent. I don’t know if he’s ever been to Antero. It’s pretty much all on Ruth.” Bec crossed something out in her notebook, then made a quick notation in the margin.
Liam frowned. “He didn’t have anything to do with the deli?”
“Nope. That’s all Ruth, too. She started it back when she started making cheese.”
“Is her cheese any good?”
“You haven’t tasted Ruth’s cheese?” Bec put down her notebook. “How is that possible? I’ve been working there for over a year now.”
He shrugged. “I’m not much of a goat cheese fan. It always tastes sort of rank.”
Bec put her hands on her hips, a sure sign that she was seriously pissed. “Ruth’s cheese does not taste rank. It’s creamy and luscious. She makes brie with her goat milk, for God’s sake. And it’s freakin’ great brie. Goat milk has a higher fat content than cow milk.”
Liam held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Maybe I’ll try it sometime. It’s probably better than the stuff I’ve had up until now.” It couldn’t be worse. But he was careful not to say that out loud. “The place always looks popular.”
Bec nodded. “She’s got good distribution—a lot of the restaurants in town use her cheese. And she’s in some of the fancy gourmet shops in Crested Butte and Breckenridge. I think she’d like to expand farther, but since it’s just the two of us and Carol in the cheese room, she can’t produce as much as she’d like. The demand’s there. The production isn’t.”
“Which is yet another pressure on her time.” Liam frowned. The situation was looking a lot bleaker than he’d anticipated. He only had a month to get this relationship on track.
“And it’s going to get worse. Eventually, I’ll have to quit working for her when the brewery really gets going. Even working part-time over there cuts into our production.”
“Well, this has been a cheery conversation.” Unfortunately, he didn’t see any way to lighten Ruth’s workload. Which meant she probably wouldn’t be going out with him.
