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Once I’m showered, I’m lured to the kitchen by the promise of coffee and breakfast. I realize that the last time I ate anything was a protein bar on Sunday evening and I’m absolutely starving.
When I make it to the kitchen, I grab coffee and go give Olive a kiss on the cheek. I even smile when I see that she made me smiley pancakes. When we were little and Olive was having a bad day, I’d always make her pancakes and either use fruit or chocolate chips to make a smiley face in them to help her feel better. Ironically, it works on grown ass men as well.
“So, you ready to tell me what happened after Spencer left the festival. I’ve had a few texts from different staff members concerned about your well being after working with you Sunday. I had to finally ask Chayse what was going on only to find out from my boss that my big brother dumped her big sister.”
Olive crosses her arms and gives me the look that reminds me so much of our mom when I was in trouble as a kid, that I know I’ll be spilling my guts within seconds. I didn’t think I wanted to talk about it, but Olive has always been my sounding board and knows me better than anyone else. I trust and value what she has to say and probably should have talked to her sooner.
I tell her everything that happened that night and the following morning. She listens attentively, but doesn’t say anything and it’s nice to just get everything out there. Even though I’m eating my pancakes, I still am not very hungry and am feeling so frustrated, angry, and depressed about the situation I’m in.
“Okay, that’s a lot and I have some thoughts about all of that, but I don’t think you’re ready to hear them yet.”
“Seriously? That’s not at all what I was expecting you to say.”
“I know, but I need to think on things a little bit more, and even though you were honest with me about what’s going on, I know you Mav, and I can tell you’re not ready to get to the nitty gritty of things.”
I blow out a breath and try to wrap my head around what she’s saying, but I’m struggling and that alone tells me she’s right.
“So, what I think you should do is take a few days off. You’re a fucking mess, and I say that as your loving sister who you adore so much. You’ve been going non-stop since we moved here whether it was with the business or with me and Pat. I talked to Gage, and he said that he would make sure everything was covered at The Tavern and I have the day shift the next few days I work, so Pat and I are fine. Just take some time to yourself and do a little soul searching. I’ll be ready to talk when you are.”
With that, she stands and places our dirty dishes in the dishwasher before coming over and giving me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before I’m left on my own. I’m still fucking exhausted, so I head back to bed and stay there for the next two days.
I barely eat and I surprisingly have no desire to go to The Tavern. Hell, I haven’t even been blowing up Gage’s phone to see how everything is going. Although, he checks in every day to let me know things are good there and to let him know if I need anything.
The only thing I do those two days is think about Spencer on repeat. I think about how we first hooked up and all the hot as fuck sex that came after that, but I also think about all the time we spent together.
The more we were together, the more she opened up and I got to see the most beautiful woman, both inside and out. She is so caring and compassionate and the most natural nurturer I’ve ever met. It’s no wonder she wants to be a mother someday. There’s no doubt in my mind that she won’t be one of the best mothers out there.
I can picture her pregnant belly as she glows from the inside out. But the craziest part about dreaming of Spencer that way is that my arms are wrapped around her from behind and my hands are resting on her belly. I’ve got my chin leaning on her shoulder and I’m completely lost in her smile.
For the first time since Spencer brought it up the day that I broke things off, I can see the pictures she was talking about. I can see our kids, her walking down the aisle, the massive amount of food spread out as we celebrate Christmas with our families and all I can think about it is how much I fucking want that.
The only thing stopping me is the doubt that I can be that man for her. I realize she was right when she said that I put Olive, Pat, and my business first. I’ve always been a workaholic and Olive has always been my number one girl. I don’t know how you just shut that off or if I’ll ever be able to, but I'm willing to work on it.
By Friday, I’m over sitting in my house with nothing but my thoughts, so I get up, shower, and head into The Tavern. I’m happy to see the place hasn’t burnt down and that Gage had everything handled. It’s almost as if Olive was forcing me to see that everything would be okay if I wanted to take a little step back from the place.
I love my little sister, but it’s hell when she proves time and time again that she’s smarter than me. I guess she had a point to make me wait to talk to her for a few days, that little brat. But, I’m happy to say that I think I’m finally ready.
Chapter Twenty
Maverick
Itdoesn’ttakemelong to find Gage in the back once I make it to The Tavern. I know I’m probably going to have a shit ton to catch up on, but I need to check in with him and see how everything has been first.
I make my way over to him and just watch as he tests the current brew he’s working on before writing a few things down in his notebook. That thing is like a bible to us, and we’d be screwed without it. We should really get a better computer system to keep track of all of that data, but when I mentioned it last, he all but shut down on me. I can only assume it’s because of his past position with the big wig name brand he used to work for.
I clap him on the shoulder making him jump. I can’t help but laugh when he glares at me for sneaking up on him. It's so easy to get a reaction out of him, that I just can't help myself.
“Fucking dick. You couldn’t clear your throat or, I don’t know, maybe just say hello like a normal person.”
He shoves me and it only makes me laugh harder. Thankfully, I see a smirk letting me know that he’s really not mad at me.
“So, I definitely owe you a thank you for stepping up when I needed a break. I know I didn’t give you much of a choice, but knowing you were the one here making sure everything ran smoothly really let me take a minute to just fucking breathe.”
“I get it man. It wasn’t too bad. Everyone else stepped up so I didn’t even have to people so much. It helps that you’re anally organized. I hate to admit it, but it’s probably time to ditch this and move to the system you were telling me about.” He waves his notebook in the air and I’m fucking shocked that he’s on board with this.
“If you’re sure, man. I love your old school approach, but I’d be struggling to move ahead if anything happened to you and that notebook. You’re the king of fine tuning our brews and I’d be lost without you and that book.”
“I’m glad everything went smoothly without me here. Is there anything I need to take care of first before I dive into all of my orders for inventory?”
