Page 12 of Scotch on the Rocks

“Running late for a seance?”

“A cursing, actually. I’m short of a few ingredients.”

“What might those be?”

“Five eyelashes and a pint of blood. Yours would probably suffice.”

His lips twitched, revealing the lone dimple that lived between his scruff of facial hair and cheekbone. “I’m flattered, harpy. Truly. Unfortunately, I prefer to keep my blood where it belongs.”

“A pity.” I scratched my cheek with my middle finger, a total primary school move that made him snicker.He won’t be laughing in a moment. “I’ll take twelve oat and raisin cookies please, Jess.”

Callum drew in a sharp breath and Jess’s thin eyebrows rose. “All twelve?” she asked.

“You can’t buy them all!”

I let one side of my mouth curl. “And why not? Is there a new cookie policy I’m not aware of?” Jess’s gaze pinged between us. It had been a few months since we’d had a show-down in Brown’s – or anywhere, I usually aborted before it got that far – but yesterday, he’d crossed a line with those water guns. My blood demanded retribution.

“Well …no,” Jess said.

“Excellent. The same box is perfect, we have a guest who requested them.”

Smelling the lie, Callum gritted his teeth, hands on his hips while he watched Jess pack away every one of the freshly baked biscuits. Jess kept the cookie selection on a daily rotation. Monday being oat and raisin day. And who just happened toloveoat and raisin cookies, you ask?

“Oh, did you want one?” Box securely in hand, I turned to Callum, feigning a guileless smile as I flipped the lid. “I’m sure my guest won’t mind sharing … if you ask me nicely, of course.”

He eyed the still-warm treats and his lips parted. Tempted.Yes!I mentally fist pumped. Bloodywillinghis begging into existence.

Then just as I thought he was about to break down and tear the box from my hands, he slumped back. “You take them. In fact.” He pulled his wallet from the pocket of blue scrubs, and I refused to acknowledge how delightfully they stretched across his wide chest. “Allow me to pay and send yourguestmy best wishes.”

Fuck.“Great.” I flashed my teeth in a semblance of a grin.

“Just a coffee for ye, Callum?” Jess asked as I fell out of the line. “We have chocolate muffins too.”

“No thanks, Jess, just the coffee is fine.” He flipped his wallet open, and I aimed for the exit, waving my goodbye to Jess while she was distracted.

Flying through the door, I was met with a surprisedoof. My elbow brushed flesh. “Oh, I’m sorry—”

“Watch where you’re going—” Somewhat harried, Jill Mortimer blew a perfect blonde curl out of her eyes. “You almost knocked me over.”

Bloody wonderful. The woman and her little posse of friends hated me. It was all very juvenile of course and it gave me one more reason to stay out of the village.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, edging around her on the cobbled path. “I didn’t see you.” Her eyes ran over me, taking in my hair, my clothes and settled on my septum piercing. Her lips pulled down.

“You’re a little old to still be playing the hapless high schooler, aren’t you Juniper?”

The tinkling of Brown’s bell saved me from answering. Callum came into view and Jill transformed from shrew to siren in a heartbeat.

“Callum Macabe.” Her voice went all breathy. Not “just finished a 5k breathy” like mine would have surely sounded,but “mid-sex breathy”. My teeth ground as his face lit up, offering her the “Community Ken” smile he never gave me. “Fancy running into you here.”

With less than three hundred residents in Kinleith and one main shopping street, the odds of running into Callum three doors down from his veterinarian practice were pretty substantial.

Instead of pointing that out and incriminating myself with my own deductions, I used the moment to slip away unnoticed. I made it all the way to the car park before he caught up with me.

“Well played, harpy,” he called with a wink. “I hope you know what you’ve started.”

Parking outside Ivy House, I found my mum, Fiona locked in a battle with her overloaded suitcase. “Let me get that.” Gravel crunched under my feet. Setting the box of cookies on a large planter, I hoisted the case into my arms.

“Careful now, June bug. Don’t pull your back.”

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