Chapter Twenty-Five
The Rowan Bar was a small pub tucked in a corner of the high street and very easy to miss unless you knew what you were looking for.
From the outside it didn’t look at all fancy with its plain white facade and red lettering.
But as soon as you opened the door and entered, it was a sprawling and warm, welcoming place with lots of tables and chairs tucked in nooks and crannies.
In winter, there was always a log fire roaring which filled the place with the scent of woodsmoke and made it feel like a cosy hideaway.
Out the back was a large beer garden decorated with strings of fairy lights.
It was popular in the summer months but even in the autumn and winter, people liked to take their drinks out and sit under one of the canopies and patio heaters.
There was always someone to talk to in the pub and usually a quiet murmur of chatter amidst the sound of glasses clinking and quiet background music.
Brodie pushed open the door of the pub and walked in.
He felt a flicker of excitement at the thought of being out with friends but knew it was actually more to do with seeing Flora.
They now seemed to be able to slip into easy banter after their initial awkwardness.
She didn’t take herself too seriously and had a way with words which were teasing and made him laugh.
And she was extremely pretty in a very natural kind of way.
She looked beautiful even when just wearing her old shorts and a T-shirt with her hair pulled away from her face.
He scanned the room looking for Reuben, Jessica and Flora.
The place was noisy with chatter and there was a queue at the bar.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned round to see Hamish grinning at him.
‘Are you here for the quiz?’ He was looking amused.
Brodie smirked. ‘I know, I know I can’t believe it either. But don’t worry. I’m just here to make up the numbers. How about you?’
Hamish rolled his eyes. ‘It’s a team-building night out with the distillery. I thought I should make the effort to come. But some of them are regulars here, so I’m feeling a bit nervous.’
‘Well, good luck and may the best team win.’ Brodie laughed. Then he spotted Reuben at the bar. ‘See you later, pal. I’d better go and give Reuben a hand.’
‘Aye, good luck,’ said Hamish.
‘Brodie,’ shouted Reuben, waving at him. ‘The usual?’
Brodie gave him a thumbs up and weaved his way towards him through the throng of bodies. It looked like the quiz was going to be extra busy tonight. He had no idea it was so popular. He tilted his head and smiled at a few other familiar faces.
‘Here you go.’ Reuben turned to hand him two glasses of wine. ‘Will you take that out to the girls? The quiz is outside and they’ve managed to get a table. I’ll be out in a sec.’
‘Cheers, mate,’ he said, clutching the glasses and heading outside to the garden. It was packed and he scanned the crowd and the tables until he saw her. Flora. Sitting next to Jessica, her hair in loose waves over her shoulders.
She grinned when she saw him. ‘Over here,’ she shouted.
As he made his way through the cluster of regulars, he felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see Jeannie, who was on Iris’s team.
As well as being a good friend of both Iris and Catriona and Jessica’s mum, she was also a stalwart of village fundraising.
Jeannie beamed at him, her eyes crinkling in delight.
‘Och, Brodie. It’s nice to see you here tonight with some more younger faces too.
Iris said we may have a bit more competition, which is a great thing.
Keeps us all on our toes. But I wasn’t expecting it to be like this.
It’s totally mobbed.’ She chuckled as she looked over at the team of senior ladies sitting in the corner of the garden.
‘The Bay Village Rollers will be pure raging.’
Brodie looked across and widened his eyes as he saw the pinched expressions on the faces of the four women who used to be regular quiz winners.
He’d heard all about them from Iris who said they weren’t always the most welcoming to new arrivals in the village or at the pub quiz either.
They claimed their team’s name was a nod to the Scottish pop band, Bay City Rollers.
But the name did seem more apt for how the women looked now with their hair styled in tight curls.
He could understand why Iris thought they all had a thing for heated hair rollers.
He tried to suppress a smile as he imagined them all sitting there wearing their rollers along with their tight expressions.
He noticed one of the ladies had a permanent scowl and her friend was muttering comments in her ear.
‘This should be fun then?’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘Indeed.’ Jeannie gave a loud cackle.
‘Well, may the best team win, Jeannie,’ he said lightly. ‘I’d best get these drinks over to the girls. Can I get you anything from the bar?’
‘Och, that’s kind of you, Brodie pet. But I’m fine, thanks.
I’m nursing my one gin and tonic. Any more than that and I’ll be completely fleeing and unable to think.
Which won’t amuse my team members at all.
They take it very seriously.’ She pointed over to the table where Iris, Catriona and Angus sat.
Brodie was still chuckling as he arrived at the table and placed the drinks in front of Flora and Jessica. ‘There you go.’
‘Thanks, Brodie.’ Flora looked up at him and smiled.
‘Yes, thanks. I’m parched,’ said Jessica. ‘I can’t believe how packed it is.’
Brodie hesitated for a second unsure of where to sit.
Reuben arrived with their beers and sat next to Jessica, leaving the seat by Flora empty.
He sat down next to her, suddenly feeling like he’d never sat next to a woman before in his entire life.
His palms were clammy and he was aware of how loud his heart was beating.
‘Well, cheers,’ said Reuben.
They clinked glasses together.
‘Has everyone been swotting up?’ teased Flora.
‘Nope,’ said Reuben.
‘Let’s just have a bit of a laugh and not take ourselves too seriously.’ Jessica grinned.
Brodie pulled a face. ‘I’m just here for the banter. Though I don’t think the ladies in the corner are here for a laugh, are they?’ He tipped his head over to the Bay Village Rollers.
‘I think it can all get quite tense,’ said Jessica, taking a sip of her wine. ‘My folks are always delighted when their team beats them. Though last time they did there was a stand-off and they demanded a recount.’
They all started chatting easily together.
Flora seemed to fit in with everyone really well.
Brodie kept stealing sideways glances at her, knowing the warm glow he felt was down to his proximity to her.
She was intoxicating and he felt himself being drawn to her with every smile and glance.
And when she looked at him, he wondered if she felt it, too.