“Not anymore, no. Actually, I never touched it until college when I met Eric.” Nic stopped as they stood outside the Red River Brewery. “I don’t ever overdo it. I think in the back of my mind, I am afraid I’ll—” She shrugged. “I don’t want to end up like them.” She motioned to the brewery. “This wasn’t my parents’ kind of drinking anyway. They did theirs at home, behind locked doors where no one could see.”

“Except you?”

“Yeah. So this doesn’t bother me. It looks festive.”

“It is. And in the summer, their patios are hopping. It’s probably the most popular place in town.” She opened the door and went inside. “They have a deck on the side that is winterized. Let’s try to sit there.”

The place was buzzing inside, and she watched Nic as her eyes darted around the room, pausing over the big Christmas tree, then up to the garland strung over the bar. She had a contented smile on her face and Abby realized she quite liked it. Nic glanced at her then, nodding.

“I love it. Let’s get a beer.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Abby read the note for a second time. It was addressed “To whoever gets home first” and it had a list of things to do. Like take two pounds of ground beef from the freezer to thaw, start the rice maker at two o’clock—wonder why she didn’t just set the timer for it?—and chop onions, celery, and bell peppers, which were already prepped in the fridge.

“I’m guessing she’s making the Creole dirty rice casserole for dinner.” She smiled at that thought. It had been a childhood favorite and she hadn’t had it in years. Of course, after just consuming a huge burger with sautéed mushrooms, avocado, and pepper jack cheese, she was too full to think about dinner.

She went about the business of chopping onions, but her thoughts were on Nic. They’d had such a pleasant time at the brewery she hadn’t been in any hurry to leave. While Nic didn’t say anything more about her parents, she did talk freely about her time in college and her friends Eric and Addison. And in turn, she had shared some of her exploits with her friends as well. She paused in her chopping. She would say Nic was nice, yes, but she was still a little…what? Mysterious? Well, not mysterious in a creepy sort of way, no. Guarded. Maybe guarded was a better word. Nic was certainly guarded about her younger years. She sliced through the onion again, then paused once more. Actually, she was pretty guarded about her current life too, wasn’t she? The only thing she talked freely about was college. She stared out the window and shook her head. No, the only thing she talked freely about was her friends Eric and Addison.