Bait: The Wake Series, Book One(29)

“You should do it. You've worked your way up this far.”

It was true. I'd worked in the brewery, the docks, and recently moved into sales. I loved hearing her say she thought I could manage it. It was reassuring, even though she was my mom and she thought I could do anything.

“We'll see,” I told her while chewing. My phone beeped and I pulled it out hoping it was Blake. She must have seen my face change from excited to something else.

“Not who you were hoping for?” she asked.

I said, “Not really.” It was Aly. Again. Yeah, I'd broken up with her a month earlier, but working for her father's company sort of kept us in close proximity. Especially that she was doing a lot more in the office. She knew where I was almost every f*cking hour of the day. Don't get me wrong. I cared about her, but f*ck. The spark—the bait—wasn’t there with us. Not like it was with Blake.

“Hey, I was thinking,” she said. “You know how you have all of that brewing stuff in the basement?” she asked tentatively as she cleaned up the mess from sandwich making. “Can you show me how to use it? I think I want to make my own.”

I laughed and almost choked on my last bite. “You want to make beer?”

“Ale, Casey. I want to make ale. Will the stuff you have downstairs work for that?” She looked hopeful, like she'd already thought it through.

“It will. What kind of ale, Momma? Are you trying to run me out of business?” I joked.

She sat beside me on the barstool to my left and slapped my arm with the wet rag she was had. “No, don't be stupid. I just want to see if I can make it. I have lots of things I can use in the garden and I thought it would be fun for you to show me how.” She nudged me. “You'd have to come over a little more than you do, and I know you're busy now, but I think if you showed me I could do it.”

She was the coolest mom in the world. Not that Carmen was awful or anything, but I wish my mom were Audrey and Morgan's mom, too. They were totally missing out.

“You're damn right you could. You have a brewing prodigy for a son.”

After we talked a little more, she prodded for more information on the person who I wanted to be calling me.

We went downstairs and I showed her how to set up the siphons, fermenters and carboys. She wrote everything down.

I had fun and she said it sounded easy enough. I told her to stop by Bay the next day and I'd make her up a little starter kit with a few other things she'd need. She agreed and told me she'd buy me lunch for my help and instruction.

To be honest, it made me proud to see her interested in doing it. That was the first brewing kit I'd used and it was how I made beer for all of my friends back in high school. I couldn't buy beer when I was underage, but I made a shit ton of money making it. My dad had left that set up when he left my mom. Cory and I found it in the storage room down there when we were about fourteen. It was amazing what a little research and juvenile mischief led to.

She'd immediately caught me on my first batch, but she'd just laughed and said that at least I was smart enough to get around the system. She'd stored my yields in a refrigerator that she locked so that I couldn't get into it whenever I wanted. I eventually found the key, but was quick to replace what I took. I think she drank more of it than we did, so she never got on our asses about it.

Being there with my mom that day took my mind off Blake for a while, but it all came back when I got to the apartment and heard Micah on the phone with her.

Micah said, “That's great, I knew you'd get the job. Congratulations!” Then she covered the receiver, which never fooled anyone, and said “Hi, Casey,” to me as she watched me walk in. There was no way for her to know that I'd sent Blake a text the day before, so I didn't let my true excitement show.

But she got the job.

She'd be traveling.

She'd be away from her boyfriend and he might not like that. They, sadly, might not work out. What a shame.

And I'd be traveling too. She might not text me that day, but she would soon. I’d wait.

The possibilities were endless.





Monday, June 23, 2008


“THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS, Micah.” And for the first time, in I didn’t know how long, I felt like things were going in the right direction. I pretended I didn't hear her say hello to Casey and focused on our conversation. “They said they liked my ideas and offered me the position on the spot. I can't believe it.”