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“I remember the broken arm.”
“I rest my case.”
Clay’s voice went from light and fun to soft. “Reid’s dad was not amused.”
“Neither was your grandfather.”
“What’s Ace?” I asked to break the sudden tension between them.
“Ashley Academy.” Ransom sliced open another box and pulled out a massive marble urn, setting it beside him.
My eyes widened. “You went to prep school?” I was trying to picture Ransom in the severe uniform. I wasn’t really up on the whole private school set, but during my senior year, I’d messed around with a guy named Brant who went there. The mistake was going out with anyone named Brant, but I did remember the all-black uniform with the gold and green crest.
He gave me a lazy look. “Into guys in uniform?”
“Not generally.”
Rachel narrowed her eyes and glanced from him to me.
Before she could ask a question I really didn’t want to answer, I dragged her attention back to what we’d come over for. “What were you guys talking about?”
Clay moved to Rachel and took her hands. “Something happened. It’s not a huge deal, and I checked with Hayes to make sure we can fix it.”
Rachel’s grip increased and I caught Clay flinching at her hold. “What happened?”
“Evidently, there was a break in last night.”
“What? Here? At the orchard?” Rachel’s voice rose.
“Calm down. It’s not a big deal. Probably some stupid kids who were looking for some booze to party with.”
“Booze?” She pressed her lips together. “Explain. And don’t placate me.”
My gaze tracked to Ransom. We didn’t have break-ins at the orchard. And if kids wanted to get some alcohol, they’d go to the gas station at the edge of Turnbull, everyone knew that.
Well,I’dlearned that during my summers at the orchard. Not that there had been a distillery on the property when I was younger, either. But where there was a will, there was a way. And traveling deep into the orchard wasn’t exactly an easy grab.
Ransom shook his head as he opened another box.
I fisted my hands. “What happened?”
Clay sighed. “I’m getting there. Someone stole a dozen cases of the cider we were using for favors.”
“What?” Rachel’s voice pitched high enough to alert a dog.
“It’s okay.” Clay rubbed her arms up and down. “We just won’t have a bunch for the reception. But Hayes said he had enough leftovers to do a few kegs for the bar instead. We’ll just need to do the whole decorating deal again.”
Rachel’s eyes filled. “When are we supposed to have time to do that?”
“Ransom and I will do it.”
Ransom straightened. “Excuse me?”
“We don’t have as much to do. We can do it.”
His jaw locked and his nostrils flared. “Sure. We can do it.”
Besides, I wanted to get a look at the brewing room. And if that meant putting different labels on a bunch of cider, so be it. I’d just drink the crooked ones.
