Beers, Bears, and Betrayal: A Small Town Cozy Shifter Romance (The Lonely Tavern Book 4) by Harmony Raines

Author:Harmony Raines [Raines, Harmony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harmony Raines
Published: 2024-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen – Calvin

What is going on here? Calvin’s bear asked as Calvin trailed behind Damien, his eyes scanning the warehouse that had been transformed into a brewery.

Brewing, Calvin replied. The scent of hops and barley filled the air as industrial equipment hummed softly in the background.

You know that’s not what I mean, his bear replied shortly.

If you mean Damien, I have no clue. Calvin glanced at his friend as he led them deeper into the converted warehouse.

Damien’s excitement was palpable, his chest puffed out with pride as he led them through the large airy space. Demelza, on the other hand, wore her disapproval like an ill-fitting coat.

She thinks we’re trying to steal half the business, Calvin’s bear grumbled.

A business we didn’t even know existed until five minutes ago, Calvin countered silently.

A business Damien intended to share with him. Whatever had possessed his best friend to start this venture without talking it over with Calvin first?

What was Damien expecting? Calvin had a job and a life outside of Wishing Moon Bay.

Had, his inner bear reminded him, as he glanced at Laurel.

Yeah, going back is going to be tough, Calvin admitted internally.

So, this is our chance to make this work with Damien, just like we always talked about, his bear urged.

“Damien,” Calvin asked. “What exactly have you been up to?” He glanced at Demelza, though his question was directed at the brewery itself. “Why switch from importing tea to brewing beer?”

“So, I was at The Lonely Tavern when Liselle, Flint’s mate—he’s the burly bartender—arrived with her craft gins,” Damien began, his hands moving animatedly as he spoke. “And it got me thinking.” He paused, looking at Calvin expectantly. “I remembered how we used to make those home brews back at your Uncle Stan’s place. You do remember, too? It was basically rot gut at first, but we got pretty good. Good enough that Stan had his friends over to drink whenever we had a new batch.”

“I remember,” Calvin replied, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he recalled their past experiments. “That was a long time ago.”

“And then Morwenna served this terrible beer. Bread beer,” Damien continued, his nose wrinkling in distaste. “And I figured the folks of Wishing Moon Bay deserved something better than that.”

“Damien’s beer is much better,” Laurel chimed in. “It’s the one we tried last night.”

“HoneyClaw Beer?” Calvin’s eyes widened. “I knew it tasted familiar. It really is my old recipe?”

“Yes! Stan kept all our recipe and tasting notes. You made so many notes. I remember you created that whole ‘tasting scale’ so you could log the changes you made and whether they improved the taste or made it worse. Well, as much as I never understood it, no one could deny that through that process, you made a good beer.” Damien’s grin widened. “But it needed a secret ingredient to transform it from a good beer into an exceptional beer.”

“It sure is exceptional,” Calvin agreed.

“And Laurel helped me with the name and the branding.

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