Janet Evanovich - Love in a Nutshell

And that was the thing of it. Even though they had a long way to go on a personal basis, and it made him a little crazy to have her close, he wanted her nearby.

“You can stick around,” he said. “I’m just placing a yeast order. We’re coming to the last generation we can use to brew.”

Kate had just moved to the visitor’s side of the desk when a knock sounded at the door and Lizzie poked her head into the office.

“So, business or pleasure?” Matt asked.

“Business, definitely.” Lizzie sat down. “Chief Erikson asked me to stop by and give you an update on the incident with Kate in the brewhouse.”

“I’m guessing that it’s more of a no-news update, or Clete would be here himself,” he said.

Lizzie nodded. “You’ve got his act down. The bottom line is that the brewhouse is as clean of evidence as the arson event. There were no prints that couldn’t be accounted for. I can rule someone out, though.”

“Really? Who?” Matt asked.

“Jerry. It seems that he took on a second job when his wife got laid off from the bank. He was there when Kate took her swim.”

“Good to know. Sort of,” Matt said.

“He thought he could pull off a second job without rocking the boat, but it’s been a scheduling mess,” Lizzie said. “He’s going to come talk to you.”

Matt nodded. He wished his manager had done that earlier, but he knew all about overconfidence sending a guy out to the end of a branch about to break. Matt had done it both literally and figuratively. He could forgive Jerry for doing the same.

“It’s a start, but not much of one,” Lizzie said. “For now, let’s keep things status quo. I know you’ve got the guard service, but we’ll continue with the extra drive-bys, too. And Kate, you keep staying at Matt’s.”

Matt looked down at his desk to hide his reaction to this mixed blessing. Then he started reading thtedx201D;

e papers Kate had left there. He picked one up.

“Kate, what’s this about?”

“It’s a booking contract.”

“I see that. And I see that Depot Brewing Company is contracting with someone named Dr. Love.”

“A blues band. I need you to sign the contract first, of course.”

“Nice of you to recall that detail,” he said.

“I know where I am on the org chart.”

“I don’t have an org chart.”

Kate pointed at a file folder at the top edge of the desk. “You do, now. I was going to post it by the time clock.”

“This is a microbrewery, not a multinational corporation,” Matt said. “With the possible exception of you, everyone knows who’s in charge here.”

Lizzie stood. “I’m all done here. I’ll just leave you to do… whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Witnessing a pretty impressive attempted coup, I think,” Matt said.

“Okay, then.” Lizzie gave Kate a wave. “Coup away!”

Matt turned to Kate as soon as Lizzie left the room. “What is the brewery going to do with a blues band?”

“Start a summer music series out on the terrace when the weather allows and in the taproom when it doesn’t?”

At least she’d made her statement sound more like a question.

“Look, I’m not saying that the idea is bad, because actually it’s great,” he said. “I just don’t have the time to deal with it. I’ve got too much going on up north.”

“That’s the best part. I can do all the grunt work,” Kate said. “You don’t give me enough to do, so if I have this on my plate, there’s a good chance I won’t be nosing into everything else.”

“How good of a chance?” About all she had left to do was alphabetize the pantry and tick off the cooks.

“Very good. And I really think this could work, Matt. You have a lot of summer people who will drive all the way to Traverse City for live music. Keep them in town, and your business will jump.”

Matt just shook his head. She was right. “Write me up a proposal.”

Kate came around the desk and stood close to him. She riffled through some papers, then held up a neatly bound document. “Already done.”

He opened the report and paged through a market study, cosketdocut analysis, and financial projections, complete with pie charts.

“You’re good, Kate. Very good.”

Kate smiled wickedly. “You don’t know the half of it.”

But he wanted to.

Kate didn’t want to jinx things, but she was on a roll. Over a week had passed since Matt had given her permission to schedule music events, and she’d gotten next summer booked. And because she was in overachiever mode, she’d also finished all the promo materials. Okay, maybe she wasn’t so much in overachiever mode as fill-every-waking-hour-so-she-couldn’t-think-of-Matt mode, but no matter. The results were the same. Kate rose and double-checked the events calendar she’d hung on the office wall.

Even better, her house was nearly repaired. The contractor had been very cooperative. He said he needed the work, so she could pay after the holidays. All it needed was some fresh paint, some new furniture, and a head-to-toe cleaning.

She stood hands on hip, pleased. “You’re golden,” she told herself.

Matt had scheduled a mandatory 10:30 staff meeting this morning. For no reason other than pride, she’d wanted to be done with these projects before then.

Kate’s cell phone rang. She went back to the desk, picked it up, and did a double-take at the name on the caller ID: Barb Appleton. She and her mom didn’t talk frequently. It wasn’t that her mom didn’t love her, or that she didn’t love her mom. They were just in different places in life. But today, Kate felt happy that her mom was calling.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hello, Kate. You’re a tough one to reach.”

“I answered on the third ring,” she said.

“I didn’t mean now, dear. I’ve been leaving messages on the phone at The Nutshell for days. Where have you been?”

Kate searched for an explanation. Her mom liked her kids in one piece.

“I… I’ve been having some work done out there and staying with friends until it’s complete,” Kate said.

“What sort of work?”

“I’ve been getting the exterior doors re-keyed,” she replied. Which wasn’t a total lie, because she still planned to. Eventually.

“Why would you do that? We’ve owned that cottage for decades and kept it unlocked for just as long. There’s no place safer than Keene’s Harbor.”

Kate withheld comment.

“How is the house looking?”

“Just fine. Why?”

“Your father and I are feeling a little nostalgic. I know we usually stay in Naples October through May, but we were thinking that popping up to Keene’s Harbor for a family Thanksgiving would be wonderful. Just like the old days.”

“But we always had Thanksgiving at the country club,” Kate said. “You know, the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit, then turkey with your choice of stuffing and sides, overlooking the putting green.”

“We must have had it at The Nutshell once,” Mom said.

“No. Never.”

“Then it’s definitely time. Your father and I aren’t getting any younger, you know, Kate.”

Man, she hated it when her mother played the aging card.

“Neither am I, Mom.”

“True. So this year, let’s get you, Chip, Bunny, and all the family up to the cottage for an old-fashioned meal.”

A couple weeks ago, Kate might have been horrified. The insecurity and jealousy that had infected her marriage to Richard had just sort of bled all over her other relationships, including the one with her family. But the truth was that, before Richard, holidays like Thanksgiving had always been a really big deal to her.

Suddenly, Kate realized that she missed her mom. She missed her dad. She missed her brother and sister. They were her family and they loved her and she loved them. She might as well get on the turkey train. “That sounds fun. Can’t wait.”