Four Months Later

Cal tapped a spoon on the side of his glass.

“Excuse me, everyone. Excuse me.” The tavern crowd, packed to capacity, quieted down from its earlier raucousness. “Hey, folks. Thank you so much for coming to the grand re-opening of the Hemlock Creek Tavern. You know, I had this speech all planned out, but if the past six months have taught me anything, it’s to just roll with whatever comes your way because, chances are, it’s happening for a reason.”

“Serendipity for the win,” Tobias called from the back of the tavern, and Cal heard chuckling from the crowd.

“That right there, Toby, that’s it. Now, let’s see how many more clichés I can pack into this little speech, all right?” That got more chuckling from the crowd. “ ‘When it rains, it pours’—y’all know what that means, right? Six months ago it was raining. And, well, I don’t know what it was raining, but it wasn’t good. And then I got on a seven-hour flight to Dublin, Ireland, for a conference I couldn’t really afford, and met a woman who was having a run of luck that was worse than mine. But fast forward six months, and now I’m standing here in front of all of you, blathering like an idiot, and she’s standing back there laughing at me—y’all say hi to Kat because if she hadn’t kicked my ass into acting on what she knew would be a good thing, this tavern would now be just another chain restaurant.” Cal waved at Kat, and every head in the tavern swiveled to look at her. She blushed and gave a shy wave before blowing him a kiss.

“See? She’s awesome, right? But anyway, I wouldn’t change a thing that’s happened during these six months—all the help, all the ass-kicking, everything that’s transpired. So I’m gonna say thanks and then shut up and let y’all enjoy selections from local farms and dairies, Robbie Mac’s Owltown Muscadine Shine, and music from everyone’s favorite award-winning grouch, Tobias Harper.” The audience laughed loudest at the last statement. “So . . . thanks, y’all!”

The patrons of the Hemlock Creek Tavern erupted in applause and cheers as Cal made his way off the stage and Tobias took his place. Cal shook the hand of every person in the place because every single person in this room had done something to ensure the success of the Hemlock Creek Tavern, and he was determined to do everything in his power to guarantee that good fortune rained down on them like it had on him.

“You did well.” Kat had slipped up to Cal’s side and gave him a little squeeze. “See? That wasn’t so bad, right?”

“I suppose not, but if you give me some sugar, it’ll be a lot better.”

Kat gave him a peck on the cheek and a coy look. “I’m going to save the really good stuff for after we get home.”

“Ooh, I am definitely looking forward to that.” He gave her another peck on the lips.

“Do you need to slip into the storage room or something?” Tobias had finished his set and was settling down with a flight of local craft beers. Cal was tempted to flip him off, but Tobias beat him to the punch and gave him a friendly shove before his face grew contemplative. “Good job, Calhoun. I’m proud of you.”

“Toby . . .” Cal got ready to be mushy, because it was just that kind of night, but Toby held up his hand and drained one of his beers.

“Don’t even think about it, Cal.”

Kat and Cal were both chuckling at Tobias’s grumpy face when Cal felt a touch on his arm. He turned and saw Tally Douglas of The Backward Glance. Tally, along with the whole Backward Glance crew, had helped update the interior of the Hemlock Creek Tavern as well as Cal and Kat’s house.

“Hey, Miss Tally, welcome back.” Kat gave Tally a hug. “Did your trip go smoothly?”

“Yes, it did. A lot smoother than I ever expected. Mama tends to catastrophize things, but it ended up fine. She was reluctant to come back, but she knows that Bunny needs some help and he’ll never, ever admit it. But I wanted to say hello and tell you congratulations before we took off.”

“Oh, is she here?” Cal looked around the great room for a moment, but then he stopped because he had no idea what Tally’s mother looked like.

“Tally, honey, Ace, Bunny, and I are going to head out. You can stay—”

“No, I’ll go with you, but let me introduce you to some people. Everyone, this is my mama, Elizabeth. Mama, this is Kat Fahey, and Cal and—”

“Hello, Tobias.”

“Hello, Liddie.”

The two of them stared at each other, the electricity between them almost palpable.

Elizabeth was the first to look away. “It was nice meeting or seeing you again. We’re going to go.”

“I’ll go with you, Mama.” Tally smiled apologetically and scurried off behind her mother.

Both Kat and Cal snapped their attention toward the eldest Harper brother.

“Toby? Who was that?” Cal watched Tobias carefully.

“That . . . was a damn ghost.” Tobias finished the flight, draining glass after glass. “I gotta go pack up.”

Tobias lumbered off toward the stage, leaving Kat and Cal looking at each other in confusion.

“What in the world?” Kat exclaimed.

Cal scratched at his beard. “I have no idea. I’d better go—”

“Cal, no. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Kat shook her head, still looking completely befuddled. “Give him a few days, I think.”

Cal looked over at Tobias, who had an amp cord in his hand and was staring out the door. He had a vague, half-formed memory in his head, but he knew Kat was right: confronting Tobias for more information wouldn’t do anyone any good. So he turned back to Kat, his Celtic queen, and spun her around in his arms, because in this life, his life, a bad pour wasn’t always a disaster; sometimes, it was quite the opposite.

 

 

 

The End