Brewery.
“Lower your voice, Jed,” Hank says.
“Why? Everyone knows already. Miss Hartford has the biggest mouth. You’d have been better off with the Gossip Brigade finding you two. They might’ve had sympathy for you, being men and all.” Jed laughs.
Hank gives Jed a look, but it doesn’t stop him. I assume not much does.
“Anyway, I called you over here to ask a question,” I say to Hank.
“He’s the stepdad, but our dad is a cocksucker, so you can ask me for Nikki’s hand.” Jed comes to stand with us.
That wasn’t what I was going to ask Hank. “Um…”
“Jed, go inside,” Hank says.
“Sure, one thing though. I hate hearing rumors about my sister being naked in the woods. If you two could keep it behind closed doors, it’d be much appreciated.” Jed dramatically shakes his entire body as though it skeeves him out to know his sister has sex.
The sound of someone banging on the window pulls our attention to the brewery. Molly’s standing there with her hands on her hips.
“Jed! I am not working this place alone. Get in here.” She says it so loudly, we have no problem hearing her through the glass.
Jed walks backward. “Whatever happened to respecting your boss, am I right?” He disappears back inside.
“You have to excuse Jed—”
“It’s fine. I should probably ask for Nikki’s hand, but I haven’t had any contact with her father. From the sounds of it, she doesn’t much either.”
Hank’s lips purse and he shakes his head. “The kids were old enough to know what happened between him and their mom, and they still harbor ill feelings toward Jeff. But I can get you in contact with him if you’d like.”
“Yeah, maybe, but that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you.”
He waves to a few more people and some of them say hello to me too. Hank smiles at me. “Becoming a regular, huh?” He laughs at what I imagine is my surprised look. “What do you need?”
“Nikki’s talked about wanting to do a podcast. Since we don’t own the Linville house and I have no idea where we might move, I’m thinking about building a small studio for her in an office somewhere.”
Hank’s smile grows wider, and he pats me on the back. “I have just the spot. I heard the small shop next to Pump It Up will be coming up for purchase in a week or so. It’s been vacant for years. Was once our small newspaper office, but they can’t afford the rent, so they’re working out of their houses now. You might be interested in that.”
“And as far as getting it soundproofed and stuff?”
“Are you asking me to do it?” Hank asks.
“Yeah. Or if you know a guy.”
He’s quiet for a moment, and I wonder if I messed up somehow. I just want to show Nikki how much I want her to succeed.
“Can I offer you some advice?” Hank asks.
I nod.
“Come, let’s walk.”
I walk in stride with Hank, and he leads us away from the town square, taking us toward the bay.
“I’ve done my research on you, Logan.” He glances at me and shrugs. “I had to be sure I was protecting Nikki. And I know you don’t have a father, so you can take my fatherly advice however you want.”
My stomach squirms. I respect Hank, but I never needed a father growing up and I sure don’t need one now.
“Nikki’s dad, Jeff, is pretty rich. He doesn’t lack for much. And when the whole thing went down between him and Marla, he thought he could buy his kids’ love. They each got a brand-new car at sixteen. They were given credit cards to use how they wanted. It’s how he shows his love and it’s part of the reason things didn’t work out.”
I nod. “I understand completely. I don’t wanna buy Nikki’s love. I want to earn it. Plus, I don’t want her to be with me just for my money.”
He pats my shoulder. “That’s why I’m going to give you this advice. I’ll chip in and help with the studio podcast, especially since you’re not knowledgeable about building, but if you put in the blood, sweat, and tears yourself, I suspect it will mean much more to her. Thinking of her is one thing. Acting and executing it yourself is another in a woman’s eyes.”
I stop for a moment and think about what he’s saying. He’s right. Paying someone to do things for her isn’t the same as me doing it for her.