Page 5 of Bourbon and Lies

“I have a very small circle of people I trust. Ace and his family are in that circle. And a select few in this town will ensure you remain safe here.” She gives me a sad smile. “You’ll get through this, Laney. And I will make sure you end up on the other side of it.” When I glance at Ace again, his arms are crossed, just observing the exchange. I wonder what I look like from that perspective. It feels like a new beginning, but a tentative one.

She follows my line of sight. “She’s smart and could add some real value to your brand. Keep her tucked away, give her a job, and I’ll do my best to keep her chaos out of here.”

Ace clears his throat. “Any smell of something dangerous, she’s gone, Bea. My family is here. My brothers. My nieces. And even my crotchety old grandfather.”

“Fuck you, Atticus,” a loud, deep voice with a slow, southern drawl comes from down the hall. It startles me. I hadn’t expected anyone else to be here.

Ace mutters “fucking hell” under his breath before he speaks up louder. “Griz, this isn’t the kind of conversation to be eavesdropping on.”

The ominous, albeit hilarious voice responds, “Ya’ll are the ones shoutin’ like you’re livin’ alone. And you damn well know this is my house as much as it is yours.” Around the corner from the long hallway, a man with white and silver-streaked hair stands against the archway. Tall and lean, with a thick, more-silver-than-white mustache hiding his lips. They resemble each other. Good looking in a way that makes you look twice. “When you put out your business like it’s a breakfast buffet, I’m gonna help myself.” The side of his mouth kicks up, his cheek moving so that the skin crinkles around his eyes. “Now”—he shifts his attention to me—“who’s this lovely thing?”

Simultaneously, Atticus says, “Go back to bed, Griz,” while Agent Harper huffs out, “Jesus.”

But I ignore them and answer, “I’m not a thing. But thank you for calling me lovely.”

His chin tips down as his eyes meet mine. “I didn’t mean any disrespect by it, darlin’. I’ll make sure not to make the mistake again.” Griz walks toward us with two small crystal glasses, one in each hand, filled with just a sip of a deep caramel-colored liquor. He shifts his attention to Agent Harper. “I see you’re thriving in what looks like trouble, as usual, Beatrice.”

She smiles to herself. “You know it, Griz,” she says on an exhale.

The anxiety of my arrival all falls away. The history between these three, that I’ll probably never know the extent of, aside from igniting my curiosity, also calms my nerves.

Griz holds out a glass for me to take. “You’re gonna have to forgive us for not welcoming you properly, darlin’.” When I take it, he clinks his with mine, and sips.

The slight smell of burned oak hits my nose just as the bite hits my tongue. I knew I should have sipped it the moment it shot to the back of my throat. It takes my breath away and forces me to hack out a cough that feels like fire. My eyes water as I try to recover. It’s a novice move for someone who spent most of her early twenties pouring alcohol.

“Let it coat your tongue this time before you swallow,” Ace says. My cheeks warm at the direction, and I do as he says.

“Feel that warming in your chest?”

I nod yes. It’s a better kind of warmth with this sip.

“We like to call that a Kentucky hug.”

Griz pipes in, “And that, right there, is the one-hundred-year-old anniversary batch I tapped this morning. You’re only the second person in that amount of time to try that barrel.”

“Wow. Thank you.” I wipe at the corner of my eye that watered from my very unlady-like coughing.

Griz looks at his grandson with disappointment. And then his eyes flash to Agent Harper on the other side of me. “She doesn’t know who we are?”

Ace answers, “You say that like she’s here on a tour or something. You realize this is a private matter, and again, in case you didn’t have your hearing aids on, you’re interrupting.”

Glancing down at the floor, I look at the emblem there.Well,I’ll be damned.

Griz bats at the air in front of him. “Shut it, Ace.”

The way Ace huffs, it’s hard to hold back my smile.

“Walk me out, Laney,” Agent Harper interrupts.

“Pleasure as always, Beatrice,” Griz calls out from behind us. She doesn’t respond, but she gives Ace one final glance and a nod as she steps back out the way we came.

I walk her to the car in silence, then grab my things from the trunk. “They’re good men. All of them,” she says, starting the car and rolling down the window. She lights another clove, takes a pull, and on the exhale, she says, “You’re safe, Laney.” Looking around my face, she searches for something that says I believe her. “Try to live. Try to heal. And remember what I said...”

I nod. “Text. Find Ace. Call 911. Got it.”

She smiles. “Glad you were listening. But I meant about your dad. He’d be very proud of you.”

And I don’t know if it’s watching the dust kick up as the truck disappears down the long driveway or the fact that I know she’s right, but my eyes water as I choke back a sob. It snuck up on me even with so many feelings whirling.This ismy new life.I swallow the rest of the emotions that claw at my neck and threaten to spill over.Not now.I can fall apart later.

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