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Peaches frowned. “She’s around. Or she was just a minute ago. Maybe she went to get more coffee.”
She turned back to the kitchen as the door to the cheese room opened and Ruth stepped through. Warmth pooled in his gut. God, she was lovely.
She glanced up and caught sight of him. And stared blankly.
Liam frowned slightly. Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for. “Morning,” he said.
She seemed to re-collect herself, giving him a fairly warm smile. “Morning yourself. What brings you here? I thought you worked the late shift last night.”
“I did. I slept over at the brewery. Just thought I’d drop by and see if you’d take pity on a man who needed coffee.” He hoped that was suitably light. He was getting a funny vibe from her right now, one he didn’t know how to deal with.
“Sure, any time. Did you try Peaches’s rolls? They’ve got raisins.”
He nodded. “Working on it now.” The silence stretched between them. “I’ve got some news. About the tavern.”
“Oh?” She picked up her own cup of coffee, warming her palms against it. “What’s up?”
“Stanton’s closing it down,” he blurted.
Her eyes widened. “Really? When?”
“Saturday’s the last day. It’s when his lease runs out. Apparently he’s been planning on closing down so that he can concentrate on his new place.” He tried another bite. It was pretty good, but he had a feeling anything he tasted would be like sawdust right now.
Ruth looked genuinely concerned. “That’s awful. What happens to the people who work there? Is he going to hire them for the new place?”
“He’ll hire them if they can afford to wait until the new place is finished in six weeks or so. Except most of them can’t do that.”
“Oh, Liam, that sucks.” She put her hand on his arm. Maybe the whole funny vibe thing was just in his head.
“It’s okay. I can work the brewery for now. I just wish I’d known what was up. I wish all of us had known that. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so pissed.”
“Sit.” Ruth gestured toward one of the café tables. “Have some more coffee.”
Definitely in your head. She seemed fine right now, anyway. “How was your dinner with your ex?”
And just like that, she closed up again, her shoulders stiff, her eyes downcast. Hell. Whatever it was, it was going to be bad.
“We ended up fighting,” she said slowly. “And then I fought with Carol, too. Everything feels like it’s just…closing in. Everybody’s mad.”
Liam reached across the table, placing his hand on hers. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know much about parenting, but I know it’s tough.”
She looked up at him, chewing on her lip. “She wants to go to California with him, and I don’t want her to. I don’t trust him. He’s likely to forget she’s there and take off for Tahiti or something.”
Liam narrowed his eyes. He wanted to reassure her, but he also wanted to punch her ex-husband in the mouth. “You mean he wants her to live with him?”
Ruth stared up at him with wide eyes. “No. Nothing like that. Just a visit. I mean, I don’t think so…” Her voice trailed off.
He wanted to kick himself. Instead of comforting her, he’d given her something new to worry about. “Has he ever had her stay before?”
She shook her head. “He doesn’t really know anything about her. He keeps wanting her to go shopping. I think he thinks she doesn’t look right. He wants her to dress up.”
“That’s crazy.” Liam leaned forward. “Look, Ruth, Carol is a great kid. Everybody knows that. She’s got her head screwed on right. Maybe this asshole doesn’t appreciate her, but everybody else in town sure as hell does.”
Ruth shook her head. “I just don’t want him to hurt her. I don’t want her to feel like he’s ignoring her because she isn’t good enough.”
“I don’t think she’d believe that.” He frowned. “She’s a very smart kid, Ruth. And she seems to be a good judge of people. Why not let her go? She’ll see what he’s like and maybe come back here knowing he’s an asshole.”
