Chapter 39 Callum
THIRTY-NINE
Callum
A week later, a line of people trailed all the way down the block from Hearthstone. Locals, tourists, folks who’d made the trek from every corner of Hart County to support the brewery.
Russ tapped at the microphone in his hand, and it squealed with feedback. “Oh, sh—uh, I guess this thing’s on.”
Zandra laughed, her arms wrapping around me as she rested her head on my shoulder.
I put my hand on her lower back. We stood off to one side of the booth we’d set up for the tasting, directly in front of the brewery’s entrance.
Other Hearthstone employees stood nearby, ready with stacks of plastic glasses.
Behind the table, next to Russ, sat a keg of our latest brew. All we needed was for Russ to get things started.
After a little more hemming and hawing, he said, “We appreciate all of you joining us today. Most of you know we had a fire here not long ago, so the brewpub is closed for repairs.” Cheers of support erupted from every direction.
“But not all was lost. My latest creation was saved, and I’ve named it Smokejumper Stout to celebrate.
Any donations will help us complete the repairs and get this place open again soon, because I promise, we won’t be gone for long. Now let’s tap this keg!”
More cheers blended into a roar. “He finished strong,” Zandra said, her voice not completely back to normal but nearly there.
“Best way to do it.” I kissed the top of her head.
Thanks to Mayor Barker’s office, we’d sped through the permit process to be able to close Main Street to traffic today. A couple food trucks had driven out on short notice, and the mayor had even declared today “Hearthstone Brewing Day,” which seemed a bit excessive.
But hey, why not?
We had plenty to celebrate.
There were lots of smiles and plenty of bills tossed in the donation jar as we poured tasters of Smokejumper.
Pretty much everyone we knew was here. My family, the other firefighters from SRFD.
Rosie and Jimmy. Dixie Haines was holding court over by the food trucks, where kids and dogs were running around between the picnic tables we’d brought in.
It had been a community effort to make this happen so quickly, but it just spoke to the love everyone had for the watering hole Manny had built. The man himself had been working the crowd, getting those donations. His last hurrah as general manager.
Manny still hadn’t made the official announcement that Zandra was GM. He was giving her time to heal. But as far as I could see, it was inevitable.
When Darius and Niko came to the front of the line, I stepped around the side of the table to give them each a back slap. “Thanks for being here today.”
“You kidding?” Darius asked. “Wouldn’t miss it. Connor said he’d be here too, but hard to track where that man is these days.”
“He seemed tense when I saw him at home earlier,” Niko added. “Something about the new girlfriend. Maybe he’ll bring her, and we can finally meet her.”
Darius snorted. “I’m starting to wonder if she even exists.”
Zandra was busy chatting with Winnie and the other brewery employees, so I gave her a quick kiss and said I was going to hang with our roommates for a while.
Grabbing a taster for myself, the guys and I wandered over to an empty space on the sidewalk to watch the festivities.
“So you and Z are out in the open now,” Niko said. “Her grandfather knows all about you two?”
“Oh yeah, we’re not hiding anything. Manny was surprisingly okay with it. More than her parents, but they’ve been coming around to the Callum O’Neal fan club.”
I took a sip of Smokejumper Stout. Maybe it was just the dark roast on the grains, but I could almost taste a hint of smoke. A reminder that, even when the worst happened, we could fight our way back to something better.
The same night Zandra had been to the police station to talk to Leo, the police had brought Paula Mackenzie into custody. From what we’d heard, a court-ordered psychologist was assessing if Paula was fit to stand trial.
It was a relief to Z, though. Knowing the person responsible for the fire was now in custody, regardless of the final outcome.
The authorities were also considering charges against Tommy Pickering for blackmail.
We were all for that, but the whole town knew by now about the entire saga and Tommy’s involvement.
The community had rallied around his wife and kids, supporting them while also condemning what Tommy had done.
People were showing understanding for Leo and Paula too, with Zandra being one of the loudest voices.
That was what I loved about Hart County. The way people came together, just like they were doing for Hearthstone today.
Zandra had been absent for so long, but now, I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of this. A part of my life.
Then Connor appeared, jogging over out of breath. “Sorry I’m late.”
We all cheered and clapped him on the shoulder, happy to have the gang back together. “Thought you wouldn’t make it!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I know I’ve been AWOL lately.”
I ran over to grab another taster for Connor, then returned and handed it to him. “You finally going to tell us what’s been going on with you?”
“Actually, that’s something I need to talk to you guys about.” Connor scratched his forehead, taking the beer without drinking it. “I’m moving out.”
My first reaction was disappointment, but this was exactly what Darius and I had been talking about. The end of an era.
“You’re moving in with this new girl we’ve never even seen?” Darius asked skeptically.
Connor took out his phone. “You’ve met her.” He showed us a few pictures of the girl. “I wasn’t sure where this was going at first.”
I remembered that she’d spent the night a few times with Connor, but none of us had any idea it was something serious.
“But after seeing Callum with Zandra, I realized it was worth a try. I mean, if the most commitment-phobic man-slut in Silver Ridge could fall for someone…”
“Hey,” I protested.
Connor swept his shoulder-length hair back from his face. “I just mean, I realized I wanted to give it a shot. I didn’t want you guys giving me shit until I really knew how I felt about her.”
“Which is?” Niko prompted.
A grin appeared on Connor’s face, like he’d been trying to keep it in and couldn’t anymore. “We’re moving in together. It’s happened really fast, but it feels right.”
Darius wrapped his arms around Connor and Niko. “Look at the three of you, growing up. All getting serious. I’ll probably be next.”
“Not so fast,” Niko said. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about breaking up with mine. I’m not ready for the one. I’m not old like you guys.”
The rest of us booed. I scoffed. “Thirties isn’t old. Besides, it has nothing to do with age or growing up. It’s about finding the right person.”
“Amen to that.” Connor held up his fist, and I bumped it.
Darius tapped his taster against the cups Connor and I were holding. “Us old guys have come a long way though. From troublemaking football players at Silver Ridge High to upstanding citizens.”
“We were always upstanding citizens,” Connor said.
Darius and I shared an amused glance. “I dunno. I remember those old bonfire parties,” Dare quipped.
The mention of the bonfire parties turned the bubbly feeling in my stomach to something sour.
Because it reminded me of the night Jessa died, and that was the one piece of the story Zandra still didn’t have answered.
Who was Jessa’s secret crush, and was he there that night?
The lingering uncertainty didn’t sit right with me.
I was proud of Z for finding closure after all these years, yet if I could somehow solve that final mystery for her, I’d do it.
I took the last sip of stout and tossed the cup into a nearby bin. “You guys have heard the whole saga about Mrs. Mackenzie and Leo and what happened after Jessa’s death by now, right?”
They all nodded seriously. “Sure,” Connor said. “Awful that Zandra had to go through all that. Leo too. He was in my year at school. If I could go back in time…”
“Same.” I nodded. “Trust me, your brain can get stuck going around in circles thinking like that. But it’s hard not to.”
After Zandra had told me about Jessa’s secret crush on a football player at our school, I’d briefly wondered about Connor and Darius. Neither had been seniors at the same time as us, but they’d been on the team.
But I’d dismissed that possibility weeks ago, pretty much as soon as it had occurred to me.
Because I distinctly remembered both of them being at the bonfire party that night.
It was the first one of the year, so it had been memorable already, but after we all heard about Jessa dying the next morning, the party got seared into my mind.
But I’d never asked Connor or Darius who they thought Jessa’s football crush could’ve been. Or if there was a possibility that one of the other guys slipped away from the party that night.
“Did any of you ever hear about someone from our team being interested in Jessa?” I asked.
Despite the rest of the story of the Mackenzie family spreading through town, this part still wasn’t well known.
“Zandra thought someone else was there at the creek that night, maybe Jessa’s mystery guy, but the police didn’t believe it.
They basically convinced her she’d imagined it, and she still doesn’t really know. ”
The guys all seemed to think, knitting their brows. Then shook their heads.
“It was a long shot,” I admitted. “But if anything occurs to you…”
Just then, all of our phones buzzed. And we knew what that meant.
I ran over to Zandra, who immediately could tell something was up. “I gotta go. We just got called to a fire in the foothills.”
Her expression did something complicated, and she pulled me into a hug. I held the side of her neck, feeling the rapid thump of her pulse.
“I’ll be fine, baby,” I whispered in her ear. “I’ll see you later.”
She nodded. “Be safe. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
The brushfire was just off the highway. Probably a damn cigarette somebody threw out a window.
But we got it under control quickly and started mopping up. The late afternoon sun beat down on us as we doused the last of the smoldering patches, turning the air thick and hazy. My gear felt twice as heavy as usual, and sweat poured down my back underneath my turnout coat.
As the sun was going down, I got a spare moment.
I sent a quick text to Zandra, letting her know I should be home in another hour or two, hopefully.
She didn’t respond, but I didn’t think much of it.
The street festival in front of Hearthstone would be over by now, but I figured she was probably still visiting with friends.
Niko took off his helmet and wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. “Man, we didn’t even get to try the food trucks.”
“We could grab tacos on the way home,” Darius said, coiling up a length of hose. “Your treat, right?”
Niko made a face. “My treat? You guys are the ones with the steady day jobs.”
I was shaking my head at them as I put my phone away. Then Connor came over, looking pensive. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “You upset about the lack of tacos too?”
Connor scratched his jaw, smearing some dirt across his cheek.
“Actually, I was thinking about what you said earlier. About any guys from the football team hanging around Jessa. There was this one afternoon way back, when I was skipping class with this girl I was dating, and we passed Jessa whispering with Russ Wheaton behind the bleachers. I’m surprised I even remember it, but I guess seeing him today at the beer tasting made it pop up in my mind. ”
My stomach dropped. “But Russ wasn’t on the team.”
“He was, though. For like the first few weeks of school. He’d made varsity the spring before, but he wound up quitting after the first game or two of the season. He was probably just one of the other new kids to you, since he wasn’t a senior.”
What the fuck. Russ and Jessa? Was that possible?
I searched my memory. I truly didn’t recall Russ ever being on the team. And I’d been working with Russ at Hearthstone for years. How had it never come up?
“I don’t know if it means anything,” Connor said, “but I figured I’d mention it.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” My own voice sounded distant. I took out my phone again and called Zandra, pacing toward the edge of the road where asphalt met blackened earth.
No answer.