Little Miss Sunshine
Shona took a leisurely stroll through Kirkby with Nessie in tow, heading towards Isla’s.
As she passed the Old School, she spotted Collum and Colleen outside the community centre with a group of people she didn’t recognise.
Everyone was smiling, so they must have come to an agreement about the secret event.
Shona was curious to finally hear what it was all about.
She was hoping for a big party that would attract a number of out-of-towners.
Having to travel to Inverness or further just to see a few new faces was getting tiresome.
As Shona was about to cross the street that led to the village square, she heard honking and stopped dead in her tracks, holding Nessie back with one arm.
She had been so lost in thought that she had almost walked out into the road without checking.
Then again, there was hardly any traffic in Kirkby, so her little oversight was perfectly understandable.
She turned to look at the car that had honked at her.
The vet! Again! And she could clearly see the self-righteous bastard in his stupid mobile practice shake his head as he drove by in the direction of Inverness.
Shona was still a little grumpy as she entered her sister’s kitchen garden, where Polly, who had been dozing in the shade, greeted her like a long-lost family member.
The Newfoundland was particularly taken with Nessie and had been ever since she had rescued the alpaca from Loch Ness three months ago.
Nessie didn’t share the sentiment and threw the dog a cautious look.
But she no longer panicked when the dog approached and that was certainly progress.
She also seemed increasingly accustomed to Kirkby’s large canine population. Baby steps!
“Don’t be like that, sweetie,” Shona said to her pet while giving the black dog a good scratch. “Polly is a very good girl. Just like you.”
Through the large window, Shona had a clear view of the kitchen, where Isla and her two assistants were busy preparing for tonight’s service. She waved as Grace, the youngest chef, spotted her.
A moment later, Isla stepped out into the garden and grinned. “I thought we might be seeing you here soon.”
“Hello to you too,” Shona replied, slightly piqued.
But why should she be surprised? The decision to produce gin on a large scale at the Golden Alpaca Distillery was almost an hour old, at least as far as her patrons and investors were concerned.
No wonder Isla already knew about it! “Who spilled the beans, Collum or Da?”
Isla laughed. “Neither, for once. Sarah stopped by on her way back. Congratulations, sis, this is going to be huge.”
“Right back at you,” Shona grumbled. She loved her sister with all her heart, just like the rest of her family, but it annoyed her no end that the greatest success of her professional life to date was not fully her own but relied heavily on Isla’s contribution.
She knew this soloist attitude didn’t make much sense, but she couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Hey, sis, don’t be cross. The Alpaca Thistle is your baby!
It was your idea, and it was spot on. It only exists because you are so creative – and also very persuasive when you want something.
I’m proud I could play a part in this success story.
” Isla sounded sincere; she apparently meant what she had just said.
Maybe it was time to stop behaving like a spoilt brat, Shona wondered in a rare bout of self-awareness.
This inner voice was probably right, just as the external ones were: Da, Kieran, Collum, Sarah and now Isla.
“True, it was my idea,” she agreed. “But without your knack for flavours, it would never have turned out this well.”
“Aye, that’s true, but you’re still the product owner. I consider myself a service provider.” Isla winked at her. “A service provider who will receive fifty percent of the profit.”
Shona rolled her eyes but then laughed. “And we all know I can’t complain about our deal. But seriously, Da and Collum want me to make a big splash with this gin production, and in return ...”
“Hold on! Did you just say ‘Da and Collum’? As in, they agreed on something?” Isla interrupted, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“Indeed they did, and the two of them may be more surprised than any of us about it. I suspect they might have offset the divine balance, and we better prepare for the arrival of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Can’t be long now. Fortunately, that’s not my problem.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. But if they don’t show up, I don’t have an excuse not to produce gin on a large scale. Which means I’ll need large quantities of all the ingredients for your secret recipe.”
“I see.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Don’t be daft! I’m wondering if everything we need is readily available.
Or did you throw in a handful of wild herbs to the first batch that can only be harvested during one full moon a year or something?
” Shona hated to hear the desperation in her voice, but her fear was not entirely unjustified as Isla had been known to commit such eccentricities.
Her sister frowned. “Do you really think I’m such an amateur?”
“Not an amateur. More like a sorceress with some magical connection to the plant world who can achieve things we regular mortals can’t.”
“I may be a sorceress, but I’m not naive. I factored in that our gin could become a hit and only used ingredients that are readily available in sufficient quantities.” Isla crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave her younger sister a challenging look.
“Even the herbs and thistles? And all organic too?”
“Fair warning: you better stop goading me,” Isla shot back with a raised eyebrow.
“All the ingredients are local, either from wild harvesting or organic farming. Why would I approach the gin I developed any differently from the food I serve? And to anticipate your next questions: I freeze-dried all the herbs before adding them to the alcohol for maceration. I could have used fresh herbs, but that would make it harder to achieve the same taste when we produce another batch. I also took the liberty of stockpiling ingredients. But as I said, they all grow around here and will continue to do so until late autumn. That gives us plenty of time to harvest more and enough to get you through the winter. Happy, sis?”
Holy cow, her big sister really did know how to work a miracle! With her flaming red hair, she looked the part of the sorceress too. Shona hated to admit it, but she was seriously impressed. “Wow, that’s amazing! Thank you,” she muttered.
“My pleasure,” Isla replied, giving her sister another warm and loving smile. But her blue-grey eyes, so similar to their da’s, flashed. “And I’ll take my payout monthly or quarterly – whatever works for you. Or, if you prefer, I could become a co-investor in your distillery.”
Shona laughed. “I admire your business acumen. Let’s think some more about how to handle that and decide later. For now, I’m delighted to hear there’s a solid foundation for the gin production.” She looked around for the pets. Polly was back resting in the shade, while Nessie snacked on some grass.
“Aye, no need to decide all that today. Would you like some coffee? I’ve also got a few of Kristy’s mini blueberry buns left.”
Shona nodded, and a few minutes later, the two were sitting on the wooden bench in front of the large kitchen window and savouring their afternoon treat.
“Kristy is so good at this,” Shona smacked her lips. “If she had your mind for business, she’d have a coffeeshop franchise in no time.”
“I’m sure Kristy will find her way,” Isla replied as she stretched her legs. “Just like you.”
“And you! Let’s not forget that you’ll soon officially be crowned the best chef in Great Britain and Ireland,” Shona reminded her of the upcoming restaurant competition.
Isla had won the Scottish knock-out round in July and the finale between her and the winning teams from Ireland and England was scheduled for September.
“We’ll see,” Isla dismissed. “I mean, it would be a great honour, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t signify all that much. In the end, it’s about the passion and commitment you bring to your job, and life in general.”
These were rather unusual words from her ambitious older sister, who used to care a great deal about awards of any kind.
First and foremost her Michelin star. But since she had fallen in love with Jon, she had noticeably mellowed.
Even though she still applied her old rules to the new gin.
But there could be no question that love had exerted its very special power over Isla.
“That bloody vet nearly killed us again earlier today,” Shona blurted out, and she had no idea why that thought had popped into her mind right as she was contemplating love’s mellowing force.
“Ha, good ol’ Kendrick must have it in for you!” Isla smiled. “The poor bloke certainly got a lot of flak. Have you seen the newspaper article and the social media posts?”
“Can’t say I feel sorry for him. It’s all well deserved.”
“Oh, come on! It was just bad luck. Obviously, he didn’t do it on purpose. And he’s actually a pretty nice guy. Handsome too.”
“Don’t forget humourless and homicidal! He may not have meant to hit Nessie, but he certainly meant to lecture me on animal husbandry. Nessie is a very happy pet.”