had decided the previous day, would be Jack. She had thought of Annie too, but remembering the landladyâs valiant attempts to be diplomatic when it came to discussing the personalities of both Terry Smith and Keeleyâs own mother, she thought Jack her best bet. He wasnât one to mince his words.
For once, though, he wasnât alone as she stepped into the dingy half-light of the Tavern, but sitting with two other men, both as craggy and hard-bitten-looking as Jack himself. He looked up and nodded at her as she came in, his nicotine-stained fingers clutched as ever around his pipe. The other two men eyed her with a curiosity that didnât seem entirely friendly, but Jackâs dog at least was pleased to see her; sitting up and wagging his tail in an excited motion that caused his whole body to shakeâno mean feat, given the size of him. Again Keeley thought about the fact that if it wasnât for the wolfhound, the arson attempt on her café may well have succeeded. She crouched down by the dog and rubbed behind his ears, and he rewarded her with an affectionate butt to the side of the head that nearly had her sprawling on the floor. Jack tutted and yanked the dog away.
âBehave yourself, now, Bambi,â he admonished, the name eliciting a surprised squawk of a laugh from Keeley as she stood up.
âBambi? Thatâs his name?â
âAye. It were the wifeâs idea. When he was a puppy, he had these long spindly legs and these big eyes, see. And she always was a soft âun, so Bambi he became. She had just gotten ill then, and the dog was a comfort to her like.â
âIt suits him,â Keeley said kindly, remembering Jackâs wife had died just a year before her father, of a cancer that had taken a long, painful time to reach its inevitable end. Jack had been by her side throughout.
âCan I get you a drink?â she asked him, glancing at the other two men, who had made no move to introduce themselves. Jack shook his head and Keeley made her way to the bar, ordering a tonic water from a vacant Tom. As she walked back over to the table, she realized that Jack hadnât actually invited her to sit with him and hesitated, wondering if she was interrupting something.
âJack, have you got a minute?â She hovered uncertainly at the edge of the table. Jack looked up at her, frowned for a moment, then waved his hand toward a free stool.
âSit down. This is the Carpenter girl,â he said to the two men, who gave her a brief nod in unison. They looked alike, one just being a little fatter than the other, with a red nose that spoke of a life spent working outdoors and a touch more homemade liquor than was healthy. Brothers, perhaps.
âTed and Dan Glover,â Jack introduced, confirming her assumption. âThey own the big farm at the top of the hill.â
âOh, of course, I remember,â Keeley said, giving them a warm smile. âWe used to get our milk and eggs from you.â
The skinnier of the two menâTed, she remembered nowâregarded her with an even look that froze the smile on her face. Definitely not friendly.
âThatâs right, and your father got a lot of his meat from us, too, you know, just over the road.â
Keeley nodded in encouragement but felt her stomach sink a little. She had a feeling she knew where this conversation was going.
âI hear youâve got plans to turn it into a vegetarian café now,â the brother chimed in, saying âvegetarianâ the way another person might say âcockroach.â Trying to pretend she hadnât noticed their obvious hostility, Keeley nodded, her smile now not so much frozen as having succumbed to rigor mortis.
âThatâs right.â She sensed that launching into her usual mini sales pitch about a healthy diet and lifestyle wouldnât be advisable in the face of the Glover brothers.
âYou donât think thatâs a bit
Yenthu Wentz
Aneesa Price
Suzanne Weyn
Mary Marks
Craig Johnson
Patrice Michelle
Kate McMullan
Sherryl Woods
Steven Savile
Hallie Swanson