Keren detached her mouth from Scott’s and turned her eyes on Layla. “This is Scott. You heard a lot about him.”
Layla eyed him up and down and shook her head. “I hearda lotabout him. None of it good.”
“I bet.”
They headed into the distillery which was full of Severton residents and several people from outside the area who Keren figured were something to do with the world of gin. Or even just business.
“Long-time no see.” A familiar voice grounded her from looking round the room.
“Vanessa Moore!” Keren grinned at the woman who had a similar sized bump to her. Vanessa had been a year or two older than her in school, but she’d been friendly with pretty much everyone. “Congratulations. I keep hearing about how well you’re doing.”
“Thank you. And it’s Vanessa Callaghan now – if Jackson hears me using my maiden name he gets all worried and broody.” She pointed to one of the dark haired men standing near the bar that had been constructed.
“So that’s your husband. I’ve heard all about him and his brothers from your gran.”
“I bet you have.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. “She never passes up an opportunity to torment them. Or touch them, which really does worry me sometimes. She’s a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“She’ll be fine. Isn’t your husband a lawyer?”
“And two of his brothers.” They glanced over to where Gran quite clearly was copping a feel of someone’s abs. “I don’t think they’d be in any rush to post bail.”
Keren laughed. “How long have you got left?”
Vanessa touched her bump. “Three months. Three more months of Jackson thinking I can’t even walk without support. Then I’m hoping all his attention will be on the baby. Or maybe not all. Just most. But then I suppose Scott is the same.”
A loud roar of laughter erupted from where Vanessa’s husband and his brother were, the Maynard siblings joining in.
“Pretty much. Although he tries to pretend he’s chilled about everything.” She’d caught him checking himself several times during the week, moving his hands back when he was clearly wanting to help her stand or pick things up. “So you’ve gone from a small family with you, your dad and Gran to a huge one with a load of brothers?”
Vanessa laughed and her husband made his way over. He was tall, dark haired with tidied stubble across his jaw. His build was similar to Scott’s, and also like Scott, his arms were covered with tattoos. He did not look like he was a lawyer. “And three sisters-in-law. Plus, one of them is married too.”
“Are you spilling the family secrets?” Jackson said. “Mind you, if this lady knows Gran, she’ll think my family is tame.”
The rest of the evening slipped away easily. Layla was still a bright light, attracting moths, mainly in the form of men, to her. There was no time to catch up on why she had left California and her husband, but there would be more days before she returned to the States to pack and then came back to Severton for at least a year.
Summer felt heady. The darkness was short, the sun high and bright most of the time, the promise of laughter and good company and happiness just as warm as the day had been. Vanessa’s brothers-in-law had managed to charm most of the town, arranging some form of rugby match the following morning on one of the sports pitches that wasn’t being used.
For the first time since the fire, the edge that Keren had found herself on was no longer sharp. The town felt calmer, as if it was finally healing from the scars the flames had caused. No one had been arrested; in fact, Alex had openly said they were at a loss as to whom was behind it. The most popular theory was that it had something to do with the man who had assaulted Lena just after Christmas and then attempt to hustle her sister into a car. But there was nothing concrete. So there was only time or a breakthrough in the investigation that would clear the scars completely.
Gran’s Gin was already attracting media attention. The fact it had been kick started by three not-so-little-and-don’t-dare-call-them-old ladies had helped enormously. Vanessa’s marketing company had done exactly what it needed to do, as had any association with the Callaghans, who as well as being renowned in the legal world, were also occasional media fodder. The three main members of the coven were handing out little gift packs with a tiny Gran’s Gin glass, a small bottle of gin, a complementary bottle of tonic and a hangover cure.
All you ever needed.
“Want to head off?” Scott’s arm snaked around her. “I can see this lasting most of the night.”
He wasn’t wrong. Someone had set up a poker tournament – possibly Vanessa’s husband – and it appeared that some sort of open mic was about to begin. The people had spilled outside, onto the landscaped grounds around the factory, the peaks highlighted by the full moon.
“I think so. I’m not tired, but I’m not sure how much energy I’ve got left.” Layla was chatting to Seph Callaghan, one of Vanessa’s brothers-in-law. It turned out they were staying in the same hotel and Keren wouldn’t be surprised if only one room ended up being used tonight.
“We can stay and you can watch the soap opera?” Scott grinned. He’d spotted the same thing. “Oliver seems keen on your friend too.”
“Really?” Keren hadn’t noticed that.
“She’ll make things interesting in Severton. If you want to leave I have something to show you.”
“Is it big and hard?” The opportunity was too good to miss.
“It’s very big and almost always hard. But that’s not what I was going to show you. Let’s head off. It’s only a short walk.”
