CHAPTER THREE
Dinner was a circus. The Pierces and their progeny occupied the entire loft of the brewery, and Nikolai soon realized it wasn’t necessarily an issue of space. Emma had tucked them away to protect Blue Moon from a chaotic dining experience and the Pierces from being interrupted every five seconds by Blue Moon.
Beckett, or Mr. Mayor as his brothers ribbingly called him, had been called downstairs three times before the appetizers arrived to deal with a little town business and shake a few hands. Each time, he took a different kid with him to make the rounds. Evan, technically both Beckett and Gia’s stepson, was a mini mayor at thirteen with neatly combed hair and the uncanny ability to carry on conversations while wrangling his two little sisters. There was no “step” about the relationship between Evan and his parents that Nikolai could see.
And there was no awkwardness between the Pierce brothers and their mother’s fiancé, Franklin Merill, the jovial restaurateur holding court at the head of the table. Phoebe Pierce juggled grandbabies that were passed their way and grinned as if there was nowhere in the world she’d rather be.
The youngest Pierce, Jax, appeared to be in the midst of a battle royale with his wife, the sarcastic and leggy Joey. Just by looking at them, Niko could tell the fight was more foreplay than fury.
Niko was wedged in between Joey and Summer at the long table. The upstairs of the brewery had all of the charm and architectural impressiveness of the first floor. The same scarred, pine floors from the first floor ran the length of the dining and bar area on the second. The massive timber rafters loomed above their heads reining in the sheer space and reminding all beneath that they were drinking and dining in one of the oldest structures in Blue Moon.
Old and new twined together within John Pierce Brews. Wood that could claim decades or centuries of previous lives gleamed under sexy industrial lighting. A small freight elevator ran all three levels of the barn from basement keg room to loft. The art was all local with pastoral prints and bucolic landscapes.
Niko had to hand it to them. The Pierces had an eye for design. And judging from the rumble of the crowd below, the population of Blue Moon appreciated it as well.
He sipped his saison and observed the energy around him. It would be a fun scene to shoot. The blur of action while freezing a smile, a laugh, in time. Here, perhaps, was what had pulled him back to Blue Moon. Summer had married into a real family. A large, loud one. But here, even an outsider could see the love that flowed fast and deep.
They ragged on each other in one breath and offered a helping hand in the next, each depending on the other. They formed their own community, a village, a family.
Niko shook himself from his reverie. He wasn’t here to feel envious of the Pierces. He was here to remind himself how much he loved the life he’d already built. Consuming, exciting work, sleek, interesting women, and many of the finer things in life that a padded bank account could provide. He called the shots and had climbed the ladder high enough that he now chose his assignments.
And yet, suddenly it wasn’t enough.
He thought about what an entertaining distraction Emma would be. He felt the corners of his lips lift. She ran hot and cold in a way that fascinated him. Orchestrating the happiness of her employees in one breath and then coolly shoving him out the door in the next, she was nothing short of intriguing. And it had been a long time since he’d found a woman that intrigued him.
He’d seen her when they’d arrived. Emma was dressed in the same slim pencil skirt and black sweater she wore earlier. But she’d exchanged her flats for impractical stilettos. He couldn’t help but watch her as she shifted from task to task, greeting guests, hopping behind the bar, poking her head into the kitchen. She’d given him a cool nod before warming up her greeting for the rest of the family.
For whatever reason, Emma was insistent on putting him in his place, and that place was as far away from her as possible. He couldn’t wait to find out why.
He felt the weight of a gaze on him and found Summer eyeing him expectantly as if she’d already asked him a question.
“What?”
She shrugged delicately, her shoulders moving beneath the silk of her blouse, and smiled. “Just wondering when you’re going to come clean about what you’re doing here.”
“I’m visiting my overly suspicious friend and her family.”
“Are you on the lam?” she asked conspiratorially over her wineglass. “Did you murder a model?”
“No,” he said dryly.
“Get caught in bed with a married woman?”
He felt the energy of the space change and looked up to spot Emma standing within earshot. She held a plate of wings, and the chilly smile on her lips told him Summer was confirming what Emma had already believed about him.
And for the second time that day, he felt everything else lose a few shades of vibrancy as his attention focused solely on her. She leaned over him to slide the wings onto the table, and he caught the hints of citrus and vanilla on her skin. She’d pinned her wild curls back in a low twist, showing off a delicate bone structure and the sensual line of her neck. Her skin was a lovely ivory, and he couldn’t tell if the flush on those high cheekbones was skillfully applied makeup or a natural glow.
She was enchanting, like some sort of magical fairy, yet she moved with the determined energy of a general marching into battle.
He brought himself back to the conversation that was currently giving Emma the wrong idea about him.
“The only married woman who’s been in my bed is you when you passed out in it this afternoon,” he reminded Summer loud enough that Emma would hear.
“Slept for two whole hours,” she announced proudly. “I feel like a new woman. Also, remind me to get you a new pillow since I drooled all over yours.”
She leaned over to pick up the pea-encrusted spoon Jonathan had flung to the floor. The baby’s toothy smile meant he’d be pitching the spoon overboard again next chance he got.
Summer dumped a fistful of organic puffy treats on the table in front of Jonathan and expertly tossed the container to Carter who repeated the move for Meadow.
“Seriously, though,” she began again. “You look sad. And while that lonesome, Russian cowboy thing will probably get you a million dates, I get the feeling it’s not just an act geared toward luring in the ladies.”
Niko glanced up at Emma who made solid, smug eye contact with him before leaning down to put Evan and Aurora in headlocks.
“How are my favorite niece and nephew?” she asked as they both tried to wriggle free.
“Aren’t you supposed to be so absorbed in motherhood you forget all about your big city friends?” Niko asked, changing the subject.
“No one could forget about you, Niko.” Summer fluttered her eyelashes at him. He watched as Emma blew her father a kiss and headed back downstairs without another glance in his direction.
“If that’s how you flirt, you’re lucky you locked down Carter. You’d scare the guys off with that eye action,” Niko teased.
“She doing her creepy eye flutter?” Carter asked, leaning in to snag a fried green bean from his wife’s plate and dropping a kiss on her forehead.
“It’s not creepy,” Summer insisted. “It’s highly effective.” Summer hooked her fingers into the opening of her husband’s Henley and pulled him down for a kiss.
Carter grinned down at her and winked before shifting his attention to Joey. “You hire any more help yet, Joey?”
The brunette’s spine stiffened to the snapping point. Joey’s hair, which was pulled back in a serviceable ponytail, quivered with rage.
“Oh, so now you’re siccing your brother on me?” she demanded, jutting her chin out at Jax.
Jax raised his hands defensively. “Hang on to your bitch fest, Brunhilda.”
The table “oohed.”
“I didn’t sic anyone on you. But maybe you should take the opinions of your partners into consideration instead of going into your vacuum of stubbornness.”
Joey bared her teeth at her husband, and Niko sat back to enjoy the show. He knew from past visits that Joey ran the stable operations and new breeding program for Pierce Acres. She tended to be more than a little territorial about it.
“You think I’m not doing my job?” she demanded, daring someone to drop the accusation.
Jax wasn’t one to back down from a fight. “I think mucking stalls is a waste of your god damn time,” he snapped back.
“So you think that because Calypso, one of the finest pieces of horse flesh in the country, is ready to foal at any damn moment that I should cut back on my time in the stables?”
Carter waded bravely, or stupidly, into the fray. “Look, Joey.” His tone was calm, even. “You are the most valuable piece of the stables operation, and if you’re going to insist on spending your time dabbling in basic tasks, we’ll bring someone in to help you run it. We’d all prefer for you to hire help, but if you want a manager, we’ll bring in a manager. It’s up to you.”
For a second, Niko thought there might be bloodshed. But then Beckett put down a beer in front of Joey.
She hefted the glass and Niko knew women well enough to know she was contemplating dumping it on one of the Pierces. The table breathed a sigh of relief when she sipped instead. “If you have a problem with my performance—”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Jax threw up his hands. “Do you see what I deal with?”
“Joey,” Carter sighed. “You’re wasting your time handling all of the shit that we could be paying someone else to do. And to get it all done, you’re pulling twelve-hour days.”
“I want things done right,” she snarled, clenching her jaw.
Jax yanked her chair around so she was forced to face him. “Then train someone to do it exactly how you want it done. Be a god damn barn Nazi, and stop wasting your own time.”
It felt like an old argument to Niko with lots of history on both sides. Summer and Gianna wisely pretended they were deaf to the discussion and focused on entertaining the kids with their grandparents.
“I’ll help, Jo!” Aurora, Gianna’s firecracker of a daughter with her halo of red curls, piped up. When he had arrived for dinner, she had proudly announced to Niko that she was almost a second grader.
“Thanks, Roar,” Joey acknowledged the little redhead, some of her temper disappearing.
“She can shovel sh—”
Evan’s comment was cut off when Beckett cuffed him affectionately in the back of the head.
“Ow!”
“Language,” Gia said mildly.
“But Uncle Jax said f—” Aurora’s defense of her brother was cut off when Evan clamped a hand over his sister’s mouth.
“I’ll explain double standards to you later,” he hissed.
Franklin’s laugh boomed out, and the tension that had settled over the table fizzled out.
Jax leaned in and whispered something in Joey’s ear, and while the stiffness in her shoulders remained, Niko saw the corner of her mouth lift.
Emma returned with pitchers of water to top off the glasses. “See how we rate? Service from the manager. How’s the crowd, Emmaline, my lovely?” Franklin said with a fatherly smile. Emma gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek and did the same to Phoebe.
“Under control, at least downstairs,” she said, pointedly eyeing Joey. “How are my two favorite soon-to-be-newlyweds?”
Niko had learned that Franklin and Phoebe were finally tying the knot in a week, and he was invited. Their engagement had stretched out first to accommodate the weddings of each Pierce brother and then the building of their dream home on the farm. Now that construction was complete and four of their six combined children had been married off, it was time for them to tie the knot.
“We’re thankful you let us crash your restaurant tonight so none of us had to cook.” Phoebe’s eyes twinkled behind her dark rimmed glasses.
“Happy to accommodate,” Emma said, topping off their glasses and moving around the table. “Everyone having a good time?” she asked, her gaze landing on Nikolai before flitting away again.
They all answered in the affirmative.
“Good. Because I could have sworn I heard shouting, and I know you wouldn’t want to ruin a paying customer’s night with a family squabble,” she said as she skillfully juggled water glasses and doled out guilt.
“Emma, you’re still new here. A family feud in Blue Moon draws a crowd,” Phoebe teased.
“Just try not to shed any blood. The stains are hard to get out of the linens,” Emma said, leaning over Nikolai and reaching for his glass. He made the mistake of looking up at her and felt a swift, almost painful awareness rush his body when those gemstone green eyes met his. She felt it, too. He could tell by her white-knuckled grip on the pitcher.
Emma fumbled his glass, nearly upending it, and Niko closed his fingers over hers on the glass to steady it.
Yeah. There was something there, he thought. Something worth exploring if he could get past the prickly exterior.
Emma slid her hand free but didn’t move away. And when she leaned in, the anticipation of what she would say had his blood thrumming. She was unpredictable, and he liked it.
But instead of moving her lips against his ear, she was whispering in Joey’s.
“There’s a girl downstairs who says she wants to see you,” Emma said quietly.
Joey frowned. “Literally everyone I care to know is sitting around this table.”
“She’s young and very determined,” Emma told her. She hesitated a moment and then added, “She looks hungry.”
Joey tossed her napkin on the table and sighed. “Fine. Whatever. It’s probably better than listening to these assholes browbeat me.”
Jax gave his wife a winning smile, and Joey rolled her eyes at him. She made a move to get up from the table but stilled when she saw the girl waiting at the top of the stairs. Joey and Emma shared a look that Niko couldn’t read. Some kind of feminine intuition was in play.
The girl was tall and lanky and looked barely old enough to drive. Her hair, somewhere on the border of blonde and brown, was tied back in a long braid. Her pale skin had a smattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks. She had solemn brown eyes.
Emma was right, Niko thought. She looked hungry and very determined. Joey got up and he saw the girl straighten her thin shoulders under the plaid shirt that had seen too many washings. She stalked toward Joey with a purposeful stride.
“Mrs. Pierce?” she offered her hand to Joey.
Joey took it, shook. “Mrs. Pierce is my husband’s mother. Call me Joey.”
The girl nodded showing no hint of a smile.
“I’d like to work for you at the stables,” she announced briskly.
Joey turned back to the table and glared at the Pierces. “Which one of you dildos put her up to this?” she demanded.
“What’s a dildo, Mama?” Aurora asked in an unsuccessful whisper.
“Aunt Joey will explain later,” Gia said, shooting a dark look in Joey’s direction.
The girl retook control of the conversation. “No one put me up to this,” she insisted. “My name’s Reva. I’ve had riding lessons before, and I like horses. I’m strong and a fast learner, and I’ll do what you tell me. I’m always on time, and I have no life, so I’ll work as many hours as you can give me except for school. I’ll muck, I’ll groom, I’ll feed, I’ll clean tack,” she ticked the tasks off on her fingers, her pitch coming out in a rush.
“If you worked for me, and I told you one of these ‘gentlemen’ was banned from the barn, what would you do if he tried to weasel his way in?” Joey asked jerking a thumb at the Pierces.
“I’d chase him out with a pitchfork,” Reva answered, showing no hint of humor.
Niko saw it in the girl’s eyes, the pride, the hope, and that sliver of hungry desperation. For the love of God, Joey, he thought, give the girl the job.
“Fine. You start tomorrow. Be at the stables at seven,” Joey said.
Elation and disbelief sparked to life in Reva’s sad eyes.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously,” Joey said, shaking her head as if she was already regretting it. “Now go away before I change my mind.”
Reva surprised them all, and possibly herself, by throwing her scrawny arms around Joey before practically dancing down the stairs. Emma turned to follow her.
“Happy now?” Joey demanded, tossing a middle finger at Jax and Carter.
“That’s the bad finger!” Aurora giggled. “What’s a dildo?”
“Joey, you’re scarring my kids,” Beckett teased.