“And we’re good on inventory for that new hard cider, yeah?” I murmur to Bahi, my bar manager, flipping my sheet.

She checks her own, sliding her pen down the sheet as she checks what she has. “Yep, all good. Order came in this morning.”

“We good on par?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay, make sure you get feedback on that new vodka we’re using for the mixers. And let me know what they say about knocking the price off the Bud, I know he’s overcharging us.”

“You got it, boss.” She hops off the bar stool and I go back to my list, checking a few more numbers, but I look up when I feel her still standing there.

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if I can take next week off?”

Bahi rarely asks for time off, she’s my right hand and treats the bar like it’s her baby the same way I do.

“What for?”

“I just…I need some time. I’ll make sure everything’s covered and still check in.” She rushes to add.

“You don’t have to do that, you put in more than enough work here to warrant one week of freedom. You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?” We’ve become pretty good friends over the years. She knows everything about my past and I know about hers. We’re careful to keep a work relationship at work, though.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you everything. I just…I gotta get through it first.” She looks away, clutching the clipboard.

“Okay. Take whatever time you need. I’ll have Val come in.”

“Thanks, Kai. I really appreciate it, and your support.” She takes me off guard and hugs me, and I squeeze her back. She’s not really a touchy person. Matter of fact, usually I’m the one forcing her to hug me.

Something’s up, but I don’t want to pry. She’ll tell me when she’s ready to.

I hope.

Bahi is irreplaceable, as far as I’m concerned. If she’s unhappy with something here, I want to fix it.

“Daughter of mine.” A voice rumbles behind me.

I swivel on the stool, jumping down immediately. “Father of mine.” I tease, sinking into my dad’s bear hug and breathing in his long-time peppermint smell.

I pull back, scanning him, making sure he’s not aging too quickly from stress. He’s dressed neatly as always, in a dark suit and a spiffy blue tie over a crisp white button down. His dark hair is cropped close to his head, and his odd grey-ish eyes are as warm as ever. We all tease him about being a light-eyed Denzel.

“You missed brunch last week.” He raises a brow and I feel immediately chastised.

“Something came up. I didn’t think y’all would miss me one time.” I hedge, walking behind the bar. It’s almost time to open, and my dad makes me nervous. I always feel like I need to move when he’s looking for answers.

“I heard Mickey is back in town.” He also doesn’t miss a trick. “And I also heard that you got home very late that night.”

“You don’t need to keep saying you heard, Keyra is literally the only person who would know both of those things and I know you two basically have a bat signal when you don’t like something I choose to do.” I take out the only brand of whiskey my dad will drink, pouring two fingers into a glass. A born and bred politician, he’s had the same habits for years. Same as his father and grandfather before him.

Keyra will follow in his footsteps, since that ship is a little too far gone for me.

“Your sister worries.”

“My sister is worse than a helicopter parent.” I slide him the glass, taking a bottle of water for myself.

“We just want to make sure you’re not sliding back into old habits. You’ve come so far, and I’d hate to see you lose the bar or anything similar in such an important period of growth.”

I grit my teeth. I love my dad, but he’s always trying to nudge me into his little box. It never fails.

“An important period of growth for me or for you?”

“I like to think we grow together. When I prosper, so does my family.” Akin to a party line I’ve heard my entire life. Justification for missed events and late nights. He did all for us, for our family legacy.

“Mickey is family.” I tap my fingers rhythmically on the dark slate of the bar.

“She is.” He nods. “I want all of you by my side. If we don’t do this together, it doesn’t matter.”

“If none of us supported you, you’d just drop it all?” I already know the answer, I don’t know why I’m asking. I also know he won’t give a direct answer.

“I’m fortunate that I’ve never had to find out the answer to that question, since my girls are all-stars.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes, wiping off the water mark my bottle left with a small rag we keep under the bar.

“Don’t think you’re too old to get grounded, Miss Banks.” He rumbles, putting on his stern face. I’m almost tempted to roll my eyes again, but that would be childish and wouldn’t help my I’m an adult case.

“Sorry, Pops. Did you only come down here to make sure Mickey and I hadn’t Thelma and Louise’d it?”

“Very funny. I wanted to make sure I’ll see you at the children’s gala tomorrow night, and the other events that are coming up.”

“You had to come shame me in person to ensure my compliance?” I smile, leaning on my hand and blinking innocent eyes at him.

He looks at the ceiling like he’s asking for patience. “Clearly you needed more discipline as a child for you to mouth off like this.”

“Do you remember when I had that friend over from Mary Agnes’ and she was on the phone with her mom?”

“Good lord, Sina and I could not believe that girl had the mouth she did. She seemed like such a good kid.”

“I told you, I could be so much more spoiled and disrespectful, Pops. You should be grateful.” I walk around and kiss him on the cheek, grabbing my phone and papers. “Gotta go do big girl things, love you.” I start to head towards my office.

“And the gala?”

I turn and walk backwards as I reply. “Mickey and I will be there with bells on.”

“I can’t wait.” He deadpans, shaking his head. All I do is smile.

At least Mickey will be my saving grace. She makes all the boring shit fun. Between her and a few other regulars I know make the big events, I should be able to survive with most of my sanity in tact.

Maybe.