I’d called Mayor Stokes to make sure we both had extra copies of my contract with the Bonners filed away should things go awry. That, and he deserved to hear the truth. My former attorney knew firsthand the town’s dependence on bourbon. As soon as he took office, he’d made a point of trying to help new businesses—ones that were independent of the bourbon industry—flourish. Yet the Bonners always seemed able to convince him to funnel the city’s money toward infrastructure that directly benefited the distillery.

It had seemed uncharacteristic of him, and I’d wondered if Christian had gone after him with threats of some sort. Now I knew the one behind his sudden change of heart had been Sylvia.

I had a few choice words I’d like to call her when this was all over.

I swirled my almost-empty teacup three times to the right, focused on what my family had to do. I tipped it over and flipped it back up.

An hourglass warned of imminent danger.

Hawks suggested enemies at the door.

And right at the top of the porcelain, near the handle, a kettle.

A slow smile spread across my face. The death of the Bonners’ influence was close at hand. What else could the kettle possibly mean?

Chapter 38

Irene

Irene watched as her mother went slack and her eyes glazed over. Clem and Taylor followed. She lifted the bottle and glanced at Kaden.

He held his high. “Bottoms up.”

One sip.

Another.

As the bourbon coated her tongue, her head went heavy, and the entire missing summer flashed before her eyes, along with other memories she hadn’t realized she’d forgotten. Every day she and Kaden and Clem spent time at the rope swing. His cheers as she and Clem cut the ribbon in front of Lavender & Lemon Balm. His outrage when he learned what his brother had done. The first night she and Kaden spent together…

It all whirled around in her mind, coalescing into the morning of the bourbon festival.

Kaden and I met up with Nate at one of our favorite restaurants on the square—the same place I’d found Nate’s car parked earlier that summer. He wore a pair of pressed khaki shorts complete with a belt, a tucked-in T-shirt, and a blazer that spoke more to his money than the weather. He’d arrived before us and was already deep in conversation with the bartender. He waved when he saw us. At the sight of his smile, that familiar itching of anger started up, but when the first cicada landed, I forced it away. There was too much to do today to let it get the best of me.

As I redirected him to an open booth, Kaden ordered a round of Bonner’s, with a whisper to the bartender to fill ours with a different brand.