His steel gaze moved from her hand to her face. “I don’t have a choice.”

She squeezed. “Of course you have a choice. You can wait to spend your money until we know for sure whether you’re getting the variance.”

“The clock’s ticking.”

“This is a mistake.”

“It’s a risk, not a mistake.”

She swallowed, letting go of his hand and pushing back from her breakfast. Then she closed her eyes for a long second, knowing she had to be honest with him. “You’re not going to get it, Zach. They’re not going to grant you license variation.”

“They will if you help me.”

She shook her head. “I’m not magic. I’m trying because you’re forcing me to try, but it’s not going to work.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

She rose to her feet, pacing to the window. “Lucky, you’re living in denial. Don’t do it. Call off the bulldozers. It’s too big a risk.”

He rose more slowly. “Everything I’ve ever done in life has been a risk.”

“Not like this.”

“Exactly like this. If I wait any longer, there’ll be no point in even getting the license, because we’ll lose the spring orders and the company will go under.”

She advanced on him. “The Craig Mountain expansion will tie a brick to the entire company and drag it straight down to the bottom.”

His dark eyes seemed to pin her in place. “You can do this, Abby.”

She slowly shook her head.

He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I know you can.”

“Don’t put this on me. It’s too much. I can’t be responsible-”

“I’m only asking you to do your best.”

For some reason, her eyes stung. “My best won’t be good enough.”

He stepped forward, gathering her in his arms and holding her in a comforting embrace. He spoke against the top of her head. “It’ll be good enough.”

Her voice was muffled against his chest. The thought of having that much riding on her work was overwhelming. “Let me quit. Let me go home.”

“I can’t do that.”

He continued to hold her, and the warmth of his body seeped into hers. She breathed in his scent and fisted her hands against the overwhelming rush of desire that swarmed her. She wanted to hug him back, to hold him close, to kiss him hard and deep and bury her emotions in the passion she knew they’d find all over again.

He drew back, gazing down at her, palms rubbing circles against her shoulders.

She told herself to step away. She had about five seconds to make the right choice. His eyes darkened, and his lips parted. She knew that expression, could feel the pulse of his thoughts. She held her breath as he bent forward.

She forced herself to jerk back. “No.”

The word stopped him cold. His jaw clenched, and his hands convulsed, squeezing her shoulders for a second longer.

“We can’t,” she managed to say.

He dropped his hands and stepped back, voice clipped. “Sorry.”

She turned her head, afraid to look at him while she gave a short nod. “I’ll get back to work.”

“Yeah.”

She heard him turn. Heard the clatter of Ozzy’s footsteps. Heard the door open then close, and their sounds disappeared.


* * *

Zach slouched in a dusty, French-provincial chair in the topmost reaches of a castle tower, Ozzy curled sleeping in his lap, and his cell phone squeezed in one hand as the bulldozers rumbled into the rear, gravel parking lot. Alex was speed-dial one, but Zach couldn’t bring himself to press the button just yet.

Abigail had agreed to stay another day. She’d made it crystal clear that she had her doubts about their success with the license. Truth was, he had his doubts, too. But he couldn’t dwell on that. There was only one route forward.

He’d signed off on the construction contract this morning, and it was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do. In his experience, any action was better than no action. He knew that if he sat here and did nothing, the company would trickle down to an inevitable death.

He pressed his thumb on the one key and lifted the phone to his ear.

Alex picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Zach.”

The clatter of background noise quickly faded as Alex obviously moved to a different location.

“How’s it going?” Zach asked his business partner.

“I just found out that Shetland Trucking went bankrupt,” Alex rattled off in a matter-of-fact voice. “There’s a mechanical breakdown at the bottling plant in Charlotte. And Stephanie walked out on me last night. So, pretty much business as usual.”

“Again?” Zach asked.

“Which part?”

“Stephanie.”

“It was inevitable,” said Alex.

“She serious this time?”

“If she’s not, I am. I don’t know what other guys do, but I’m not into working sixteen-hour days then coming home to talk about my feelings.”

“So, how’re you feeling about that?” Zach couldn’t help joking.

“Shut up.”

“We can talk about it if you like.”

“Then can we braid each other’s hair?”

“You get a new trucking company?” Zach went back to business.

“As of this morning. What about you?”

“I’m looking at the bulldozers now.”

“Fantastic. So, you got the license?”

“Not yet.”

Alex paused. “What do you mean, not yet?”

“Abigail’s still working on it.”

Another pause. “But you started anyway?”

“We’re out of time.”

It took a minute for Alex to speak. “You’re putting it all on one roll of the dice?”

“I am.”

“And if we don’t get the license?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“It’s a veiled criticism.”

“You’d have done the same thing.”

“Maybe. Probably.” Alex heaved a sigh. “Hell, what’ve we got to lose?”

“Beer.”

Alex coughed out a laugh. “At least we’re both still employable as bartenders,” he said, referring to the first jobs they’d had after they left the group home.

“I could start all over.” Zach wasn’t worried about himself. He’d give up the Houston penthouse, the sports car and his platinum credit card in the blink of an eye. Some of the happiest times of his life were when he and Alex had shared a tiny basement suite while they saved up the down payment for their first brewery.

But he’d hate to be forced to lay off even one employee. Many of them had kids and mortgages, and for the first time were settling into normal lives.

“Need a roommate while you start over?” asked Alex. “The apartment lease is in Stephanie’s name.”

“You’re homeless?”

“I am.”

“You’ve got my spare key.”

“I guess it’s either your place or the Four Seasons.”

“Hey, we’re on a budget now.” Zach glanced at the third bulldozer rumbling and clanking its way off the trailer. If this all went bad, their days at the Four Seasons were definitely over.

“The Family Inn on Hawthorn Street?” Alex suggested.

“Get your ass to my place.”

“Yeah, I probably will. How long do you think you’ll be in Colorado?”

“A couple more days, anyway. Hopefully, Lucas can take it from there.”

The aging door to the tower room creaked. Both Zach and Ozzy looked toward the sound. Abigail peeked around the end of the thick, oak panels.

“Gotta go,” said Zach, meeting her eyes.

“Keep me posted.”

“Will do.”

“You’d better bring this one home,” Alex warned.

It was probably the hundredth time Alex had said that to Zach over the years. They’d been in many tight spots before, taken plenty of risks, but this was truly a make-or-break moment.

“I know.” Zach clicked off the phone and tucked it into the breast pocket of his shirt. “Hey.”

“Hi.” She moved around the end of the door and into the room, glancing at the curved walls, dusty furniture, boxes and crates, and the collection of knickknacks and outright junk that covered every horizontal surface.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“Quite the collection,” he acknowledged, dislodging Ozzy as he came to his feet.

“Don’t get up.”

“I’m already up.”

She gave him a rueful grimace. “I just came to tell you that something’s come up.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “To do with the license?”

“To do with me. I have to go to Houston.”

“Why?” Was it an excuse to get away from him?

“It’s a long story. My parents are down there. And, well, I told you about Lisa, the newly discovered cousin? We need to tell my mom about her before other people find out. I just talked to Seth and then to Travis. They want me to do it. In person. Of all the sisters, I know Lisa best. And Katrina and Mandy are-”

“Living their own lives?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I suppose not,” he allowed. Though it still galled him that she seemed to be the one in the family bearing the most burden.

“I know you’re in a hurry.” Despite everything, there was an apology in her voice.

“We can keep working while you’re in Houston,” he pointed out. “In fact, it’ll be easier. DFB headquarters is there.”

“Whoa.” She held up her palms. “I’m not going to have spare time in Houston.”

“You won’t be busy twenty-four seven.”

“Zach-”

“Abby-”

“Abigail.”

“Yeah, ’cause that’s our biggest problem.” It might not be fair to her, but he was frustrated by the situation. And he was getting genuinely worried about losing his entire company.

Her tone was tart. “I have to focus on my family right now. I’m sorry if it slows down your personal agenda for me, but I have obligations.”

He pointed out the window. “See that? Do you have any idea how much it costs per hour to dig that hole?”

She tightened her jaw. “You don’t own me, Zach.”

“Maybe not, but we have a deal.”

“I’m altering the terms.”

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“Are you drawing a line in the sand?”

He was. But maybe that wasn’t the smart choice. Maybe he’d pushed her as far as he could. It was time to change tactics. “You can have time with your family in Houston.”