Ozzy’s little nails clattered on the living-area floor, and she opened the bathroom door.
“Morning,” Zach intoned, setting a tray down on the small corner table.
“You let me sleep,” she accused, slipping out of the bathroom.
“You were exhausted. I slept, too.”
“I should have gone back to Lyndon.”
Delicious aromas rose as Zach removed the silver covers from the tray. “You were way too tired to drive.”
“But it’s daytime and I’m not supposed to be here.”
“Nobody’ll see you up here.”
“So, I’m your prisoner?”
He lifted a silver pot and began to pour coffee. “You do have a flare for the dramatic.”
She was drawn to the coffee, and moved across the room. “Can I leave?”
“Not in the daylight.”
“There you go. I’m not being dramatic, I’m simply stating the facts at hand.”
He grinned in response to her indignation. “You need anything?”
“Coffee.” She lifted one of the cups and took a grateful sip. “I don’t do well on five hours’ sleep.”
“Cream or sugar?”
“Straight up is fine with me.”
“Like a cowboy?” he joked.
“I can do it over a campfire if necessary.”
“Not necessary this morning.” He gestured to the fine china and silver. It was quite beautiful.
“Where’d you get this stuff?”
“I think it might be antique.” He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down. It seemed pointless to argue, so she sat.
“Lucas is lobbying to open a small restaurant here at the brewery,” Zach continued, taking the chair across from her. “He says people like touring the castle as much as they like touring the brewery, and this would help make Craig Mountain a destination.”
“Seems like a good idea to me.” Abigail helped herself to a small pot of strawberry jam and spread it on a slice of toast.
“I’d only consider it if it helped to market the beer.”
“You don’t want to diversify?”
“We’re not a bed-and-breakfast.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” She bit down on the toast.
Zach chuckled. “These are extraordinary circumstances.”
Abigail contemplated while she chewed and swallowed. “Zach, how many people do you think you could reasonably employ in a new restaurant?”
He raised his brows. “Are you thinking about the employment exemption?”
“We’re definitely not going to get anyone to declare a state of emergency. And we’ll never sell you as a strategic industry.”
“I can ask Lucas. But I’m guessing, maybe twenty.”
She knew it wouldn’t be enough. “Even combined with the additional brewery staff, I don’t think that’ll work. You’d need to be adding a couple hundred new jobs at least.”
“That’s definitely not going to happen,” said Zach, cutting into the omelet on his plate.
“Then we’re back to the committee presentation.”
“What about job losses if we close?”
“Those don’t count.”
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “I guess because every business in the valley that wanted a change to their license would threaten to close.”
“How long do you think the committee process will take?”
“Weeks, at least. The application will take a while to write, and there’s no guessing how long the committee will take to review it.” The process was going to be longer than she’d hoped, that was for sure.
Zach set down his fork. “The bulldozers show up tomorrow.”
“What bulldozers?”
“First thing we need to do here is dig the foundation for the expansion.”
She sat up straight. “You’re starting already?”
“I’ve got no choice. If we’re not up and running by November, and into increased production by January, we won’t make our spring orders.”
“But-”
“There’s no point in me sitting on my hands while you fill out the paperwork.”
“But what if you don’t get the license?”
He lifted his coffee cup in a mock salute. “I’m counting on you, Abigail.”
Her stomach instantly hollowed out. He’d already told her DFB was in financial trouble. He was about to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on what might be useless renovations.
“
His steel gaze moved from her hand to her face. “I don’t have a choice.”
She squeezed. “Of course you have a choice. You can wait to spend your money until we know for sure whether you’re getting the variance.”
“The clock’s ticking.”
“This is a mistake.”
“It’s a risk, not a mistake.”
She swallowed, letting go of his hand and pushing back from her breakfast. Then she closed her eyes for a long second, knowing she had to be honest with him. “You’re not going to get it, Zach. They’re not going to grant you license variation.”
“They will if you help me.”
She shook her head. “I’m not magic. I’m trying because you’re forcing me to try, but it’s not going to work.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
She rose to her feet, pacing to the window. “Lucky, you’re living in denial. Don’t do it. Call off the bulldozers. It’s too big a risk.”
He rose more slowly. “Everything I’ve ever done in life has been a risk.”
“Not like this.”
“Exactly like this. If I wait any longer, there’ll be no point in even getting the license, because we’ll lose the spring orders and the company will go under.”
She advanced on him. “The Craig Mountain expansion will tie a brick to the entire company and drag it straight down to the bottom.”
His dark eyes seemed to pin her in place. “You can do this, Abby.”
She slowly shook her head.
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I know you can.”
“Don’t put this on me. It’s too much. I can’t be responsible-”
“I’m only asking you to do your best.”
For some reason, her eyes stung. “My best won’t be good enough.”
He stepped forward, gathering her in his arms and holding her in a comforting embrace. He spoke against the top of her head. “It’ll be good enough.”
Her voice was muffled against his chest. The thought of having that much riding on her work was overwhelming. “Let me quit. Let me go home.”
“I can’t do that.”
He continued to hold her, and the warmth of his body seeped into hers. She breathed in his scent and fisted her
