Page 42 of Legacy

Because there was no evidence of what had happened to our mother. She’d slipped and fell and drowned in the river. And any bruises on her body could have come from the fall, and any older bruises hadn’t led to her death.

I frowned at the next barrel, watching the wort boil as it sterilized everything inside, and wondered how much death a family could take.

Malcolm was gone. Both of the mothers were gone. And my wife had followed.

No wonder I was tired.

Or that could be the fact that I had barely slept the night before, thanks to dreams of Felicity that continued to haunt me.

“So, is this when you add the hops?” Bodhi asked as he came forward, a frown on his face.

I was surprised to see him out and about, but considering the anniversary was coming up, I probably should have expected it. Bodhi would either spend time with us, hiding from the rest of the town, or wallow in a bottle in his cabin. I was grateful he had chosen this avenue, at least for the day.

“Yep. We want a little bitterness and that aroma as well as flavor. When we hit the fermentation phase, we add yeast, and then we can get our alcohol from that.”

“Because it can convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. I remember the notes last time.”

“Good. Then you won’t mind coming over to help me figure out if I actually like this new beer for the quarter.”

Bodhi shook his head, his lips twitching. “You wouldn’t have made it if you didn’t like it.”

“I’ve made a few beers that I didn’t like. I don’t mean to. It just happens.”

“I cannot believe you turned into a chemist.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t say that around the smart people who actually understand chemistry. I may have taken a few extra classes when I got back to town, but I’ll still never be smart enough to pass a class.”

“Thankfully, you had smart friends who carried you along.”

I rolled my eyes again as we went to the tasting room. We were in the private section that customers couldn’t see. This was where we did our tastings before we went into packaging.

“I went for a red ale this time. A first.”

Bodhi’s eyes widened. “My favorite.”

“Because I do everything for you,” I said dryly.

No, somebody else liked red ales, and I hadn’t even realized that I was making a beer for her until we were already into the fermentation process. It was probably going to end up shitty.

“Okay, let’s go through the process.”

“Did somebody say beer?” a familiar voice said, and I turned as Briar ran towards me.

I held out my arms, and she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck as I twirled.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” I kissed the top of my sister’s head and then looked around for her husband and baby girl.

“Where are they?” I asked, frowning.

“I see how it is. I come all the way to Ashford Creek, and I am pushed aside because you can’t find my daughter.”

“Maybe I was looking for your husband. I am a fan of Gabriel Wilder.”

“Will the drummer do then?” another voice said, and I turned to see Kiera West come into the small room right behind Briar.

“Kiera. Good to see you.”

She grinned at me and tilted her head up at Bodhi. That’s when I remembered that since Bodhi hadn’t come down to Texas at all, this would be the first time the two were meeting.