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A beautiful, breadbox-sized model train engine, coal car, passenger cars, and caboose.
“Cool, huh?” Mia said. “The bar’s been here forever, long before they started the distillery.”
“Definitely. Where does he keep the stills? In the back or somewhere else in town?”
“Next door, actually. Max bought the property at a tax sale a few years back, making everyone in town happy. It’d sat vacant for ages, its parking area overgrown with weeds. He built a small tasting room beside the stills, with a huge window between the spaces so people can see the distillery in action. The locals, though, just order their drinks from in here.”
She waved him forward. “Come on, let’s see if we can’t track Max down. I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you the grand tour.”
There were a few booths with patrons on the far side of the room, and a few gentlemen watching football at the rail, but otherwise the bar was empty. Perfect. Surely, Max Williams could spare a few minutes of his time to talk before business picked up.
“Hey, Lola—where’s Max?” Mia asked of the lone waitress filling sodas behind the bar.
“Home. Crazy, right? Can’t remember the last time he was off on a Sunday.” She hitched a thumb toward the bartender, unloading clean glasses at the far end of the bar. “But Grant needed Wednesday off to do something with his son, so Max swapped shifts with him this morning. Something I can help you with?”
Mia looked to Alex, who shook his head. “That’s okay, we were just stopping by to say hi. Any idea when he’ll work next?”
Lola’s gaze ping-ponged between them, a grin dawning on her face. “He should be in tomorrow by ten, prepping for the lunch crowd. Maybe you could swing back then.”
“Great, thanks so much,” Alex said, offering her a smile to hide his disappointment. Then again, moving his time with Max to tomorrow meant more time with Mia today. Now to find a way to spend at least some of it together, just the two of them.
As they stepped back outside, Alex’s phone buzzed with a text alert. It was from Max, fifteen minutes too late.
Sorry, had a last-minute shift change. Working lunch shift tomorrow if you’ll still be in town?
Alex showed the text to Mia. “Well, at least he’s still interested in talking.”
“Oh, I’m sure he is. Sorry Max wasn’t in today like you’d hoped, though,” she said as they climbed back to her car. “Guess that means you’ll just have to join in on the fun back at my place.”
“Oh?”
Yes, his mind totally went there. It was Mia talking about fun and her place. How could it not?
“Oh, yes.” She snapped her seat belt into place, hand lingering between them for a moment as a mischievous gleam lit her eyes. “Possibly the most fun you’ll have All. Season. Long.”
Oh, baby.Alex shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable in the jeans that were starting to feel a bit tight. “I’d be down with that. So, you…me…”
“And wood.” She arched a brow.
Yep, definitely had that going on right now. “Okay.”
“Lots and lots of”—Mia chewed her bottom lip then leaned closer—“artificial wood.”
Artificial? He must have misheard her. “Sorry, come again?”
“Ar-ti-fi-cial wood.” A grin suddenly split her face. “It’s what my Christmas tree is made of.”
She winked, and Alex realized this time he’d been got.
Touché, Mia. Touché.
Chapter Six
Today had definitelynot gone as planned. Mia had agreed to be accommodating, to give Alex a roof over his head for a night, but that whole “no rental places open on Sundays” deal had left her unsettled. Then there’d been the hundred and one questions asked of her discretely before, during, and after church this morning about the rumored guest staying at her place. Now her idea of leaving him with Max for a few hours to talk bourbon so she could have some time with Brooklyn to put up their tree had gone up in smoke. She was back to square one, having to accept that Alex was going to be a part of the equation today. Clearly, the universe wasn’t having it any other way. But putting up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend was a tradition, and by golly, it was going to happen.
So, Mia had Alex help her drag the boxed artificial tree and ornaments out from under the stairs. Then, while Brooklyn queued up some holiday tunes, Mia headed to the kitchen to make homemade hot chocolate. With three of them there, they should be able to decorate at a leisurely pace and she should still have plenty of time to prep her weekly school plans.
And the Brooks family still needed to come up with an alternate activity for the bookstore’s Christmas fundraiser. Sure, it’d be awesome if Alex could do his signing there, but they still needed to come up with something family friendly that could be fun for people of all ages. Reluctant as she was to have a Meeting of the Minds, especially now that everyone knew Alex had stayed overnight, gathering the town’s best thinkers was what their fundraiser needed most.
