The Malt in Our Stars by Sarah Fox

Author:Sarah Fox [Fox, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

We spent the rest of dinner talking about less embarrassing subjects, like the pub and the brewery. When we’d cleared our plates of food and Grayson produced a covered dish, I assumed he’d bought dessert from Lumière as well as dinner. I soon saw that I was wrong.

“It might not be the right season for pumpkin pie,” Grayson said as he uncovered a scrumptious-looking pie with a perfect golden crust. “But I know you enjoy it, so I thought I’d make one.”

“It’s always the right season for your pumpkin pie,” I said, unable to take my eyes off the gorgeous dessert.

Grayson cut generous slices and topped them with whipped cream he’d stored in the cooler. We lapsed into comfortable silence as we started in on our desserts, and I savored every bite, enjoying the way the pumpkin filling and the whipped cream blended together perfectly. This was the third time I’d had a chance to sample Grayson’s award-winning pumpkin pie, and I still couldn’t get over how delicious it was. I didn’t bother to ask him his secret this time. I knew from past experience that he wouldn’t share his recipe with anyone. I didn’t mind so much now, since he’d baked one for me twice.

We were halfway through our slices when Grayson spoke. “I looked into Marcie Kent’s background last night.”

I couldn’t believe I’d temporarily forgotten about my request, but it only took a split second for my curiosity to reawaken. “Did you find anything interesting?”

“Not really. It seemed she was an upstanding citizen, save for one incident.”

“What kind of incident?”

“She was charged and convicted of trespassing six years ago. She’d broken up with her boyfriend and went back to his place to retrieve some belongings. They got into an argument and he called the police.”

“That’s all there was to it?”

“From what I can tell.”

“Not exactly a dark, criminal past.”

“No,” Grayson agreed. “But it could be what Eleanor was hinting at.”

“I can picture her blowing it out of proportion,” I said. “But how can we be sure it wasn’t something else?”

“We could ask Eleanor.”

I set down my fork with a sigh, my plate now empty. “I doubt she’ll talk to me. I think she believes I’m an undesirable addition to the town because I run a pub and she’d reinstate Prohibition if she could.”

Grayson had finished his pie now as well. “She might talk to me.”

“You brew beer,” I pointed out. “Why would she like you any more than me?”

His easy smile sped up my heart rate. “I think I can win her over.”

I reached for my nearly empty wineglass. “This I’ve got to see.”

* * *

We stayed up on the roof long enough to watch streaks of orange and pink color the sky as the sun disappeared below the horizon. Grayson assured me that he’d clean everything up later, so we left our dishes behind and strolled down his driveway and into town. We’d decided to leave the brewery tour for another time so we could seek out Eleanor instead.

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