Page 79 of Since We're Here
“I’ll never be as good as you,” Niamh whines.
“Right, because I’m almost forty, and this was literally my job for fifteen years of my life.”
She giggles again. “You’re super old.”
“That I am.” I shrug.
“When are we painting the wooden sheep you made, Uncle Patrick?” Niamh asks the question, but even Erin stops what she’s doing and looks for my answer.
“After dinner, loves.” I love that I’m here for this part of their lives. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Five minutes later, my mobile vibrates in my pocket with a call.
“Be right back. Keep practicing.” Heart racing, I stride back to the house and pull my mobile out on the way.
“Is it Maddie?” Erin calls.
It’s not. It’s Sean.
Damn. Disappointment smacks me across my face. I should text her again. Or maybe call.
“Sean.” I slip into the kitchen. The girls give up on juggling and kick their balls into the pop-up goal.
“I’m handing in my resignation, effective immediately.” Sean enunciates each word, like he’s reading from a piece of paper.
“What?” Sharp panic feels like a ball to the gut.
“I’m getting too old for this nonsense.”
“Wait, Sean...” My heart’s beating so hard, I can feel it in my ears. “Let’s work this out. You love this job. Or you love Slea Head, at least. And you’re the best head brewer in town.”
Sean and I might not always see eye to eye, or be able to stand the sight of each other, but he’s damn good at his job. And Slea Head needs him.
I need him.
“Aye. But I’m just done, you hear? Cormac fucked up.”
I pause and swallow. “How?” Dread creeps up from my toes to my head like a slow icy wave.
“He changed the goddamn temperature on the fermenter.”
“What?”Oh, no.
“He said there was some handwritten note from you that he couldn’t quite read, so I guess he went ahead and changed it before calling me. Or you. He turned the lager fermenter up to an ale temperature.”
“Feck. When?” Lagers need to ferment at much lower temperatures than ales. This could have tainted the whole batch.
“This morning. It might be okay, but I don’t think we can take the risk. We need to trash the batch.”
My stomach drops out. “Both fermenters?”
“No, just one. And why would he do just one? I don’t care. That kid’s a fecking eejit. I’m gone.”
My brain whirls. What kind of note did I leave? Damn, but I should’ve been there today. Yesterday. I should be checking in with Cormac more often. He’s still new, and Sean’s too harsh with him to be a good boss or mentor. I’m hesitant to stand up to Sean sometimes, so I can only imagine how Cormac feels.
“Slea Head was fine just how it was before you came on board.”
I massage my temples with one hand spanning my forehead. He’s not right. Slea Head was not fine. It needed change. Progress. New brews. New distribution. Otherwise, we’d keep fading until we shut our doors for good.
