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He shrugged. “Doubtful. All I did was bring her to lunch. Stanton will probably yell some before he settles down. I’m not too worried about him hiring a new bartender—he’s too cheap for that. I’m safe for the time being.”
“How long do you think you’ll go on working at Black Mountain? How long before Bec needs you full time at the brewery?”
He gave her a slightly uncomfortable look. “I’m already getting ready to leave the tavern. Bec could use me full time right now. Or anyway, she could use somebody—it doesn’t have to be me exactly. It’s a matter of money. It’s cheaper to use me than to hire somebody else to do what I do for Bec. If I leave Antero, she’ll have to find a new assistant.” He frowned slightly, then pushed his lips back into a smile.
Ruth smiled back. “I hope I can hang on to Bec as an assistant cheesemaker at least until the winter. It’s going to be tough to replace her.”
A series of footsteps—more like footstomps—echoed from the stairwell. Apparently, Carol had come downstairs long enough to get something to eat. “Get ready for martyrdom,” Ruth muttered.
Carol entered the kitchen, her chin high, pointedly not looking at her mother. Ruth ignored her efforts. “Here’s your gyro and some grape leaves,” she said, handing her a plate.
Carol took the plate with a grimace, clearly torn between maintaining her injured silence and talking to Liam. “I’ll eat in my room.”
Ruth shrugged. She’d rather have Carol go off and sulk on her own than have to put up with it while she had dinner. “Suit yourself. Bring your dishes back down when you’re through.”
Carol frowned. Then she turned on her heel, stomping back to the stairs again.
“She needs to work on her plan B,” Ruth murmured.
“Why?”
“She wanted me to tell her she had to eat here. Then she’d get to do her injured martyr routine and also be able to talk to you. Now she’s stuck eating in her room when she really wants to be down here with us.”
Liam shook his head slowly. “Thank God I’m not a parent. I’d never be able to figure all that out.”
“Practice. We’ve had twelve years together. I’ve figured out a lot about her moods. She’s probably figured out a lot about mine, too.”
“How long have you two lived here?”
“About ten years or so. I moved here when Carol was a toddler. My brother lives on the family farm over near St. Cloud. This house used to belong to my uncle. He rented it to us, and then he sold it to me when the deli got on a secure footing.”
“Your brother’s the one with the goats, right?”
She nodded again. “I use all his milk for the cheese. He’s part owner of the Salty Goat.
“Antero is home. I wanted to be back here in the mountains. I missed them when I lived in California.”
He picked up his gyro. “That’s where your ex lives?”
“Yeah. He’s an actor. Well, he was an actor. Now he’s a producer. He’s from Colorado Springs originally, but he didn’t feel the same way about the state that I did.”
“Did you make cheese when you lived out there?”
She shook her head. “I worked in restaurants, learning how to cook. I already knew how to make cheese—I learned when I was growing up. It’s a good thing to do with extra milk. We were a full-service goat farm.”
The silence stretched. They seemed to have backed into a conversational dead-end. Ruth fumbled for a way out. “You and Bec grew up here, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. We went to Antero Regional High School. Just like Carol will eventually.” He settled back into his chair. “Both of us left for a while. I got as far as Phoenix, and Bec worked in Steamboat Springs and Breckenridge. But we both came back. It’s like you can’t get away from the place.”
Ruth frowned. “You want to?”
“Now and then. I wanted to before Bec reopened the brewery. I couldn’t see any reason to stay when I thought Antero Brewing was done for.” He grimaced, taking a bite out of his gyro.
“Do you ever hear from Colin?”
Liam shook his head. “I don’t even know where he is. And I don’t know what I’d say to him if I did. I really thought he’d screwed us when he pulled out of Antero Brewing, but it turned out the place can operate without him. Or anyway, Bec’s starting to get the operation going right now. With any luck, the brewery will be fully operational by next year.”
