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“Pick another local draft,” he told Morgan. “Something… adventurous.” He glanced behind him at the game players. “No darts tonight?”
“Trivia night. It’s a free-for-all, so shout out whenever you want.”
“What’s the prize?”
“Satisfaction.” She offered him a tasting glass.
“Interesting and adventurous,” he decided. “Got some dark cherries going. Let’s go for it.”
As she pulled the tap, she smiled over. “Anything to go with it?”
“Just the beer for now. Had a long day.”
“Life in the tech world?”
“Like the beer, it’s interesting and adventurous. How are things in your world?”
“Busy, but I like busy.”
She filled orders, working her way up and down the bar, but with trivia in full swing, she had a lull.
“What do you do when you’re not busy?” Luke asked her.
“I’ll let you know if I ever get there.”
“Gotta take some downtime. Mind, body, spirit, and all that. Paint me a day off.”
“Paint’s accurate. My house needs more of that, but it’s not quite ready. And with spring coming on, we’ll work on planting.”
“We?”
“My housemate.”
“So he’s handy?”
“She, and she’s terrific when it comes to curb appeal, planting. She works for a garden center. Inside, Nina’s not so much, but I’m not bad.”
“Construction company job.” He pointed at her. “Handy.”
“It helps.”
“A lot of maintenance when you’re a homeowner. I guess that’s why I’ve never gone there. I’m not handy. And there’s the job.” He pointed at her again. “Army brat, so you wanted to plant roots.”
“Exactly right.”
She mixed a whiskey sour, pulled two beers before he caught her attention again.
“What made you pick this area—if you don’t mind me asking.”
“It had what I wanted. Four seasons, close enough to the city without being in it, not a small town, not a big one. Right in the middle.”
She set out a fresh bowl of pretzels for him.
“It’s a nice area, prime for some of the upgrading you seem to be doing with your place. That’s why I’m here. Homeowners and businesses looking to bump up their tech, a couple of developments where people want to option smart homes. Old houses, new buyers looking to flip or just refresh.”
He shrugged. “What I do is part of the infrastructure. Everyone has home offices now, and I can set them up. You must have one.”
“I do. It’s not especially smart, but it works.”
