Mainland vs. Island

Chapter 2-2

I scrambled Monday morning to make sure Sunrise looked presentable for Sawyer and his friends. They said they’d be there late morning so they could all sleep in a little, but I didn’t want to be in the middle of something or neck deep in a mess when they showed up.

Just before eleven, someone pounded on the door. I rushed over to open it, and found seven men on the other side. Sawyer walked in first, followed by the guys I met the other night. Ethan, Brady, Wyatt, Graham, Hunter, and Joey.

“Welcome,” I said, wondering if they expected the professional or the friend.

“This place is f*****g awesome. I’d never get anything done if I had beer around all the time,” Ethan said, answering my question.

I chuckled and nodded. “It’s a temptation, but I’ve worked too hard to screw it up by enjoying the fruits of my labor.”

They all nodded. “Makes sense. You do this all on your own?” Brady asked.

I shook my head and moved toward the kettles. “I have a guy who manages the day to day for me. My wife and I always talked about starting up our own brewery, so it was a while before I brought him on, but Wilson’s invaluable to me.”

“You’re married?” Graham blurted. “I thought you were trying to get together with the dressmaker. s**t, what’s her name?”

“Scarlett,” Wyatt provided.

I nodded. “I’m a widower.”

“f**k, dude,” Ethan said. “I can’t even imagine.”

I nodded slowly. “You don’t want to, trust me. Anyway, Stephanie and I got to know each other over beer. We always tried new ones, went to breweries for dates, and dreamed of making our own. When she died, we hadn’t started this place yet, but we talked enough about it that I knew what to do when the space became available.”

“How long have you been here?” Joey asked.

“A couple years. Long enough to know what to do but not so long that I’m killing it yet. Wilson makes it possible for me to keep my day job and still make enough product to start to grow.”

“He started selling at Laughlin’s, and Alvin brought Sunrise to Opposites Attract. A lot of the mainlanders like to try something local,” Sawyer said.

“Mainlanders?” Ethan said. “Like you’re not one of us anymore?”

Sawyer laughed. “I’m an honorary local these days.”

“Marrying in,” I said with a grin. “We adopt them once they stay here and set down roots.”

“I can’t say I blame him,” Brady said. “It’s gorgeous here. Sam would never leave her friends, but if she ever wanted to move, I’d be in favor of coming here.”

The others nodded.

“All right,” Sawyer said. “Enough talk about invading my world. Let’s try out the beer.”

I grinned and led them on a tour of the brewery. They asked a few questions, but it was obvious they were mostly there for a tasting. I set them up at the makeshift table I had for tasting. Visitors seemed to like things rustic. To know they weren’t in a polished place with a full bar, but a small, local brewery. The table was a few planks of wood on top of a couple of barrels that supplies came in. Nothing fancy at all, but functional.

“This place is a hidden gem,” Wyatt said after a few minutes. “I don’t know how you aren’t much bigger than this.”

“I haven’t had the time to promote it much. I love what I do, but I don’t want to be too big. It’s only me running things. Wilson makes the beer, but he doesn’t handle the business side of it.”

“Have you thought about hiring others?” Ethan asked.

I nodded. “It’s something I might have to look at soon. That or quit my other job.”

“Why would you keep a second job and hire someone to run your dream?” Brady asked.

“I like working at Laughlin’s. It gives me a chance to keep a finger on the pulse.”

“Of only one bar, though,” Ethan said. “If you only worked here, you’d keep all the profits and you’d be able to work with multiple bars instead of just one. And restaurants and distributors and even festivals.”

“Like we have,” Wyatt chimed in.

“Whoa, guys,” Sawyer said. “Give him a break.” He turned to me and smiled. “They know a lot about business, but they also think the way they do things is the only way.”

“Not the only way,” Ethan said. “Just the best way.”

I laughed. “It’s fine. I’m still trying to figure out how to be a business owner. I’ll take any advice they want to give me.”

They grinned and dove in. They talked about anything from expansion to product development to hiring. It was obvious they knew what they were talking about, even without knowing their backgrounds.

“Things don’t always work the same way here as they do at home,” Sawyer said. “Hawaii is much more laidback.”

“It’s still a business,” Ethan said. “The most important question is what’s your goal? What do you want this to become? If you want it to stay a small, local place, then do everything you can to protect that. If you want it to be a nationwide company with distribution throughout the states, then you need to take steps to get it there.”

I drew in a breath. Stephanie and I always wanted a small, local brewery. Something local and crafty and detached from all the pressures of running a huge business.

Without Stephanie, I wasn’t sure anymore. Nationwide distribution held some appeal, but it only appealed to me when other people were talking about it. When I thought of everything that went into it, I started to second guess the idea.

“My company makes toys,” Ethan said. “Old style wooden toys. We have a factory in Winterville, and we sell right there out of the store. But most of our sales come from our website. We distribute to retailers, but we don’t work with big box stores. We’re a multimillion dollar company, but we operate like we’re much smaller. All of our operations are based out of Winterville. It’s possible to operate on a larger scale while remaining small.”

I nodded and thought about it. That sounded like exactly what I wanted. A small feel with a big reach. “I think that’s in line with what I’ve been hoping for.”

Ethan nodded. “It’s the best of both worlds. I’m not going to say there aren’t headaches, but there are with small businesses, too. We’ll talk more while we’re here. For now, I want to try more beer.”

I laughed and opened another bottle. “This is my favorite. She’s got a lot of flavor and a sweet taste at the end. The Redhead is one of the beers I am working on, but she’s ready for distribution. I haven’t tried her out at the bar yet.”

Sawyer shook his head. “Don’t. You have to bring this to my wedding. Kiana will love this.”

“You think so?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. It’s great.”

“It is,” Graham agreed. “I’d take a case of this home if I could.”

“Me, too.”

“Are all your beers named after women?” Ethan asked, examining the bottle.

I nodded. “They are. Nothing gets a guy to try a new beer better than a curvy bombshell on the bottle.”

“Genius.”

“Thanks.”

“A beer that’s like a woman. Robust, full of curves, and delicious. Damn,” Brady said.

“s**t, I want one, and I have a woman like that at home,” Wyatt said.

“You talk her into marrying you yet?” Ethan teased.

Wyatt shook his head and scowled. “No. I keep hoping she’ll say yes one of these days. Hell, we have a kid. She still isn’t sure.”

“Maybe she’ll say yes while you’re here,” Graham said.

Wyatt shook his head. “I’m not asking again for a while. I’m not going anywhere, and she has to trust that. If I keep pushing her to get married, she’s going to run.”

“I just don’t get why she won’t,” Joey said. “She has pictures of you all over the office. You and Leo.”

Wyatt nodded. “I know. She knows I love her, but she’s anxious about it ending, or not being perfect.”

“Don’t give up on her,” Sawyer said. “Peyton wouldn’t know what to do with herself if it wasn’t for you.”

Wyatt nodded. “I’m not ever giving up on her.”

I busied myself cleaning up while they chatted about the women in their lives. I had nothing to add to the conversation since I didn’t know the women and didn’t have one of my own.

Until Ethan said, “We’re figuring out your business, but what about your personal life? We need to get you and Scarlett together.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “I’m good.”

“What’s your plan?” Joey asked.

“I don’t have one.”

“Then how are you going to get her to fall for you?” Graham asked. “I f****d that up plenty. Trust me, you don’t want to leave it to chance.”

“You need to show her you’ll always be there for her,” Ethan said.

“And that you need her, too,” Brady said.

“And that you want the same things she does,” Joey added.

“Talk to her about everything,” Sawyer added. “Even if you hate the idea of talking about it.”

“You always have to support her dreams,” Hunter said.

“And rub her feet when she’s exhausted,” Wyatt said.

“Of course, that’s assuming you want her forever and not just for right now,” Sawyer said.

I shrugged. “We’re still getting to know each other.”

The seven of them looked closely at me. Finally, Ethan spoke. “I knew I wanted Olivia to be mine the first time I saw her.”

“Me, too,” agreed the others.

“So, if you’re not sure, then maybe you two won’t be together. Is that why you aren’t? You don’t know?” Ethan asked.

I thought about life without Scarlett in it and knew that wasn’t going to work for me. I wasn’t in love with her, not yet, but it wasn’t hard to imagine falling for her.

“Okay, he’s good,” Wyatt said with a laugh when I didn’t answer.

“Huh?”

They all grinned. “The look on your face says you want her, and not just for a night.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then you need to see her. Every chance you have,” Ethan said.

“He’s right,” Wyatt agreed. “Peyton and I started hanging out as friends, but the more time we spent together, the more I wanted her. Until I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her and touching her and being with her.”

“I’m trying to take things slowly,” I said.

“Slow is for p*****s. Show her you want her. Don’t hold back. Kiss the s**t out of her and make her feel like the beautiful woman she is,” Graham said. “I almost waited too long with Abby. I don’t know what I would have done if I lost her.”

Lost her? No. That wasn’t going to work. I needed to step up my game. I needed to show her I was there for her. Just like I told her at the party. She had me when she needed someone. Which meant I had to prove it.

Before some other guy did.