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Carol sniffed. “Can I choose the movie?”
“Within reason.” She didn’t put it beyond Carol to choose Quentin Tarantino.
“Okay. But if Dad still wants me to go to L.A., you’ll talk about it, right?”
Ruth massaged the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off another sinus headache. “I’ll talk it over with him.”
Carol subsided into her seat, and Ruth turned the car back onto the road again. “Liam Dempsey’s coming for dinner tonight. You can try out being charming.”
Carol made a rude noise. “I don’t have to be charming with him. He likes me anyway. You think I have to be charming with my father?”
“I think you’ll be charming with him just by being yourself.” She just hoped David appreciated Carol’s charm—it tended to be a little unusual.
Carol folded her arms across her chest. Apparently, she had nothing else to say about this particular subject. Under the circumstances, it was a blessing.
“What are we going to have for supper?” Carol asked when they were almost back in town.
“Tomorrow night?” Ruth hadn’t even thought about that yet. Clearly, she should have.
Carol shook her head. “No. Tonight. What are we going to have when Liam comes over?”
“Oh.” She hadn’t thought about that, either. Her brain had been in a holding pattern. “Macaroni and cheese?”
Carol raised an eyebrow. “With your cheese?”
Ruth nodded. It was a recipe she knew and it was relatively easy. And it tasted good.
“Okay. I like that. Sometimes. If you make extra, we can serve it to Dad tomorrow night.”
“I’ll consider it.” But not seriously. Somehow Ruth didn’t think David would be impressed by leftovers. Maybe she should have Peaches make something. On the other hand, did she want to impress him? Not so much, as it turned out.
Liam was a different story. She did want to impress him. Very much.
…
Liam was more than willing to leave the tavern when he finally managed to get away. McCullough was in the usual foul mood. More annoying still, Stanton hadn’t renewed the order for craft beer. The only orders he’d renewed were for the main beers on tap, like Coors and Budweiser. He was letting the craft beers slide, which meant the local customers would be even less likely to show up, although the tourists probably wouldn’t care.
The locals who usually came in to drink craft beer had lots of other places where they could do their drinking. And it wouldn’t take them long to move on.
The whole situation had set Liam’s spider senses tingling. Something was up, and it wasn’t good. He was surprised at how protective he was about Black Mountain Tavern even though he was getting ready to leave it. He’d spent a lot of time behind that bar, after all.
Why let a great bar go the hell?
When he knocked at Ruth’s door, Carol answered, regarding him through narrowed eyes. “Mom’s in the kitchen cooking. Do you want to play Minecraft?”
Liam shook his head. “I don’t think you’d have time to teach me how it works. But maybe I can watch you play after I say hello to your mother.”
Carol shrugged, heading toward the living room, which probably contained the game console. Liam turned toward the kitchen, guided by some truly delectable smells.
Ruth was standing over the stove, putting the finishing touches on a casserole that seemed to be the source of the general deliciousness.
“That smells beyond great,” he said with absolute sincerity.
She smiled. “It’s my one specialty. Mac and cheese with goat cheese and cheddar. And some other stuff, obviously.”
He held up the bottle he’d brought with him. “Some of Bec’s wheat beer. It ought to work well with mac and cheese.”
“Put it in the refrigerator. I’ll pour it later.”
He turned to do as she asked, then paused. “How are you? Carol seems okay.”
Ruth shrugged. “We’re guardedly okay. She’s annoyed with me, but that’s par for the course. David’s coming to dinner tomorrow night, and I’m not sure what he’s going to try. Should be interesting.”
Liam grimaced. “That’s putting it mildly.”
