Beauty and the Brewer

29: Feels Like the Right Thing

*** Ash's POV ***

The next few days go by without incident. It's a nice departure from the clusterfuck that was the prior days. Living with Reese, being domestic and shit, I never want her to leave.

We get into a little routine once she's spending half days working from home and the other in the office. I take her in bright and early since her boss is in a different time zone. I get her coffee and breakfast ready while she showers and she comes out looking fucking stunning and refreshed.

The bruise on her face has started to dissipate, but she's self-conscious and takes care to cover it with makeup. I drive her to work and after several minutes of goodbye kisses, finally relent and let her go for a few hours. I run errands and am super productive during that time.

On Tuesday, I held a staff meeting to warn them about Deca, telling them to report anything suspicious immediately and call the police without hesitation if he shows up. True to Mick's expectation, everyone appreciates me sharing and promises to keep Reese and the brewery safe.

I'm back by lunch to pick Reese up. When she gets in the car, it's another few minutes of hello kisses before I actually put the car in drive and head back to the brewery. After lunch, she sets up in my office and works for another few hours. At quitting time, she joins me in the tasting room for a beer before we head up to make dinner together. We make love before bed and fall asleep in each other's arms. It's a type of life I could totally get behind.

I wake up Thursday morning and don't feel Reese beside me. I look to the bathroom door. It's open, no light on. I hop out of bed and scramble to put on my pants.

"Reese?" I listen for her reply.

Nothing.

I look at the clock. It's later than usual. Where the hell is she? I'm trying not to panic. She's probably just walking Lupa, but then I see Lupa laying near the front door. She lifts her head and wags her tail when she sees me, getting up.

"Where's our girl?" I ask her with a quick ruffle of her fur. I run back to the bedroom to grab a shirt and to check my phone. No calls. No texts. I send her one.

Text from me: Where are you?

I pace around the kitchen for a few minutes and then head to the outside door to see if her car is still here. It is. Now my heart is beating fast. I close the front door and look around to see if there are any signs of a struggle. There isn't. I decide to call her.

"Come on, baby. Pickup." I plead. It goes to voicemail. "Fuck!"

Lupa goes back by the brewery entrance and whimpers. "Let's go see."

I open the door and Lupa is down the stairs. The tasting room is quiet, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I see the light on in the office and hear Reese. "Oh, looks like Daddy is up finally. Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Gerber. I absolutely agree with that arrangement and would add..."

I wait out at the bar, not wanting to interrupt her further. I feel like an idiot, but after the past two days it felt off to stray from our routine. She comes out about ten minutes later.

"Good morning." She chirps.

"Hey, good morning. What's with the shift in our routine? I thought we had a good thing going?" I tease.

"You forgot. I'm going out with my colleagues tonight after work." She reminds me.

"Oh, for some reason I thought you meant next Thursday." I lie.

"Nope, it's tonight. You freaked, didn't you?" She reads me.

"No..."

"Liar."