Hayley was unexpectedly nervous as she waited for Luke to arrive on Saturday night. When he pulled up and got out of the car, she had trouble dragging her eyes from his R.M. Williams catalogue shirt and jeans look. She caught the subtle whiff of a masculine cologne. She’d always been a sucker for a nice-smelling man. They made small talk on the drive to his place and she got the feeling that he wasn’t quite as cool, calm and collected as he looked. Which made her feel slightly better about her own attack of nerves.
They pulled up in front of a huge shed that looked new compared to the heritage buildings scattered across the rest of the property. Two enormous doors led into the brewery and Hayley walked inside, pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the interior. A long bar ran through the middle of the open area, its beautifully polished timber top gleaming under drop-down lights. A rustic brick half-wall created a divide between the bar area and the huge stainless-steel vats where the boutique beer was made.
At the other end of the shed was a kitchen with lots of stainless steel in an industrial-style, open-plan design, and in between were scattered timber tables and chairs. A barrage of scents hit Hayley all at once. There was a sweet malty scent, and strong brewed coffee, mixed with fragrant, herb-like smells and something mouth-watering cooking at the other end of the establishment where she could see three people busily working in the kitchen.
‘Wow, this is impressive,’ she said.
‘Yeah, it’s come up great. It’s been about two years in the planning.’
‘I’d say all that planning has paid off.’ It was still early but already there were half-a-dozen tables occupied.
‘Do you want a tour?’
‘Can I?’
‘Sure. I know the owner,’ he said with a wink.
They walked into the brewery and the smell of hops, barley and malt was stronger than out the front but not unpleasant. Huge steel vats dominated the space.
A man came out from a side room and headed over with a friendly smile. ‘I really should look at hiring security to keep out the riffraff,’ he said.
‘Hayley, Grant, my older, uglier brother. Grant, this is Hayley, our new neighbour.’
‘So you do exist,’ Grant said, reaching out to shake Hayley’s hand. ‘I figured he had to be imagining any woman who’d give him the time of day.’
Hayley wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to their sibling banter, but their relaxed attitude indicated that it was something they did frequently, so she smiled and said nothing.
While there was a definite family resemblance between the men, the two brothers were complete opposites in appearance. Grant had a well-maintained but impressive beard in a trendy lumberjack fashion. His clothing was designer labelled, not from an R.M. Williams catalogue like his brother’s, but very urban LA. His swanky leather shoes alone would have cost a small fortune, and when he turned away briefly to toss a cleaning cloth into a nearby sink, she caught a glimpse of a man bun. No self-respecting lumberjack would have hands that clean or well maintained, she thought with a silent snort of amusement.
‘I thought we’d give Hayley a tour of the place before dinner.’
‘Sure, always happy to show off our brainchild. Have you ever been inside a brewery before?’ Grant asked.
‘No, never. It looks impressive.’
‘Thanks. It’s taken a fair bit of research and time setting it up, but we’re pretty happy with the result.’
‘So how does it work?’ she asked, looking around.
‘The first stage happens out the back in the grain mill where the barley, wheat and corn we’ve grown is put through the malting process. The grain is wet down and allowed to germinate, then it’s dried and tumbled to knock the beginnings of the roots off. Next it’s kiln-dried and, depending on what we want to do, for instance, for our porters and stouts, we caramelise or roast it to create dark malts, that kind of thing.’ The passion for his craft resonated through Grant’s voice and Hayley found herself caught up in his enthusiasm. ‘After that it’s brought in here and put into the hopper above the mash tun,’ he pointed to a large cone-shaped steel vessel, ‘where it’s milled and added into the tun with hot water. From there the enzymes break down the starch and we strain the liquid part of the mash, which is called the wort, into the kettle and add the hops and then it’s boiled.’
Hayley followed the process as they walked around the various equipment and machinery, finding it far more interesting than she’d imagined.
‘It cools as it passes through this radiator-looking thing where a heat exchange takes place and the yeast is added before it goes into this,’ he tapped another large vat. ‘It’s called the fermenter and it’ll sit in here for about a week. After that we add the hops and sugars and leave it all to settle and mature for another three to seven days before it’s filtered and most of the yeast removed. Then it’s carbonated and either bottled or kegged, ready to drink.’
‘Wow,’ Hayley said, seriously impressed by the complexity of the procedure, even though she was fairly sure he’d given her the layman’s tour. ‘What an awesome initiative.’ She looked around slowly, taking in everything with a new appreciation.
Grant and Luke both wore satisfied grins as they followed her gaze around the room.
‘You’ve managed to combine a little bit of everyone’s strengths,’ she said, looking at Luke. ‘You and your father’s love of farming, Grant’s obvious passion for brewing, Olivia’s cooking and your mother’s function-organising skills. It’s amazing.’
‘We just had to be a little bit creative,’ Luke told her. ‘People on the land have always been good at that. If one crop isn’t bringing in much, you swap to another for a while until something else picks up again. You have to be able to diversify in modern farming if you want to stay afloat. This is just an extension of that.’
‘What a fantastic asset to the region. You must be bringing in a ton of tourists,’ Hayley said.
‘We’re averaging about three bus tours a week, plus the city daytrippers on the weekends. We’re getting there,’ Grant agreed before he glanced over as some customers came up to the bar. ‘I better go. It was nice meeting you, Hayley. I’ll catch up a little later.’
‘Thanks for the tour,’ she said as they all walked over together.
‘Can I get you a beer?’ Luke asked.
‘Sure.’
‘What would you like?’ he asked, gesturing towards the large chalkboard on the brick wall behind the bar. The choices were mind-boggling and Hayley gaped at some of the combinations listed.
‘I seriously have no idea. What do you suggest?’
‘You’re the expert,’ she said, giving him free range to order on her behalf.
‘You pick a table and I’ll be right there.’
Hayley found a table for two off to one side and a few moments later Luke came across carrying a long board with round holes that held a dozen small glasses of beer. They varied in colour from light straw to amber and gold to one that was almost black.
‘Now this is what I call service,’ she said, peering down at the glasses.
‘This is our beer-sampling paddle. It’s the best way to taste all the most popular brews.’
‘So, what have we got?’ she asked a little hesitantly.
‘We’ve got ginger, chilli, this one’s lime,’ he said pointing along the row. ‘There’s a chocolate stout and a coffee stout and that one’s a watermelon wheat.’ He went on to list the remainder of the beers: blueberry, guava, pumpkin, lamington, passionfruit and an apple cider.
‘I had no idea you could have these kinds of flavours in beer.’
‘Beer’s an amazing base for all sorts of flavours.’
‘How did you come up with them all?’
‘That’s all on Grant and Olivia. They sit back there and experiment with different ingredients. I’m more of a traditional kind of guy when it comes to beer, but I have to admit some of these are pretty cool to try.’
A woman with dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail came out from the kitchen and made her way towards their table. ‘Hello there—finally, I get to meet our mysterious neighbour.’
‘Hayley, this is Olivia, head chef and sister-in-law,’ Luke introduced.
‘Hi, Hayley. I can’t believe we haven’t been able to meet before this. I was so excited when Luke told me you were coming here tonight. I’m a big fan of your books,’ she added almost shyly.
‘Oh really? I’m so pleased.’
‘I’ve read them all. I just love them.’
She was genuinely thrilled whenever someone told her they loved her books, but she’d never quite gotten used to it. Writing was something she just did. She still found it amazing that there were people who actually bought and read what she wrote. It was humbling but a little overwhelming too. ‘I’m glad you like them,’ she smiled.
‘Do you think it would be possible for you to sign some of my books at some stage? I can’t believe I’m living next door to my favourite author,’ she beamed.
‘Of course. It’d be my pleasure.’
‘Thank you so much,’ her smile widened before she looked across at Luke and rolled her eyes at his smirk. ‘Oh, be quiet, Luke.’
‘What? I didn’t say a thing,’ he chuckled.
‘He’s been giving me grief ever since he found out how much I love your books,’ Olivia explained.
‘It’s just so weird seeing the usually poised and unflappable Olivia Mason jumping up and down like a schoolkid.’
‘I was not jumping up and down,’ she said to Hayley, clearly mortified by her brother-in-law’s teasing.
‘It’s okay, I didn’t believe him anyway,’ Hayley assured her.
‘Whatever, Liv,’ he dismissed.
‘I’ve got to go, some of us have work to do tonight,’ Olivia said, aiming her barb at Luke.
‘Sucks to be you. Although some of us had to be up and working before daylight this morning.’
‘Do you know what you’d like to order?’ Olivia asked Hayley, ignoring Luke pointedly.
‘Oh…’ Hayley quickly grabbed the menu and scanned the list of scrumptious meals on offer before choosing the Scotch fillet.
‘Make that two, thanks,’ Luke said, handing over their menus with a wide smile.
‘I’ll get right on it,’ Olivia assured Hayley before making a face at Luke and walking away.
‘You know you’re really famous when the actual chef comes out to take your order,’ Luke said with a wise nod of his head.
‘At least I know she isn’t going to spit in my food. Not sure you can be so certain,’ she said, lifting an eyebrow at him. She’d found their sibling-like banter endearing, having never had it herself. She almost felt a little envious of the relationship. It must be nice to have a close family like that.
‘Nah, she loves me really,’ he told her confidently. ‘She really does love your books that much, though. She’s been trying to get everyone to read them and that was before she even knew you’d moved out here.’
‘I do feel like a bit of an idiot for not knowing what a big deal you are,’ he said with a slight wince.
‘I’m not a big deal.’
‘You kind of are. I googled you.’
‘You did?’ she asked apprehensively.
‘I read some of the articles on you. It’s pretty impressive.’
Hayley shifted in her seat. ‘I’ve been lucky.’
‘I’d say there’s more than luck involved in having that many readers. I think it’s awesome.’
‘It is awesome. Every time I see a book of mine on a shelf, it still feels as exciting and surreal as it did the first time. I’m lucky that I get to do something I love for a job, I guess. Like you,’ she added. ‘You’re doing what you love, right?’
‘Yeah, I guess. Most days I love it,’ he grinned.
‘And you grow all the crops that Lochmanning uses to brew the beer right here?’
‘Yep. Barley, hops, plus lucerne for feed. We also supply the restaurant with all its beef.’
‘That’s so cool.’
‘Yeah. It’s taken a bit of work, but when we went in on this venture it was so we could highlight the paddock to plate, or beer glass,’ he said with a quick grin, ‘model of business.’ He reached forward and took his beer from the table. ‘Nice change of topic, by the way,’ he said with a slow smile.
Luke saw the faint blush that followed his statement before she hid it behind a hurried sip of beer. He’d been serious about googling her. He’d half expected to find one or two links to a book or something, but nothing like the pages and pages her name had turned up. There’d been profiles and reviews in all the city newspapers, photos of book launches and conversation pieces. Despite her attempt to downplay her status, she was a big deal. He liked that about her. Hell, he liked everything about her. Her understated beauty, her sense of humour, her down-to-earth approach. She was very different to Lucinda and her circle of arty socialites who, if truth be told, had always bored him stupid.
No matter how hard he’d tried to fit in for Lucinda’s sake, he’d never quite managed it. To them he was only ever going to be the farmer. Eventually she’d realised that no matter how hard she tried to change him—mould him into a copy of her cultured city mates— there was just no getting rid of his country core. In the beginning Lucinda had been happy to share his lifestyle, and she’d dropped her airs and graces. That was the Lucinda he’d fallen in love with. But then she’d grown bored with country life.
A dinner party with some of her old university friends had been the last straw for their floundering relationship. Maybe he’d just been overtired after a long week and should have said no to another weekend in the city. Or maybe he’d finally had a gutful of the pretentious arsehole who’d been talking over everyone for most of the night. When said arsehole had learned that Luke was a farmer, he’d started going on about the farming industry being the ultimate in animal cruelty, and Luke had lost it.
He’d tried to bite his tongue, he really had. He’d sat and listened to the guy rave on and on about the enslavement and abuse of livestock, about the farming industry needing to be eliminated. Eventually Luke hadn’t been able to stand the ignorance any longer.
‘A farmer’s animals aren’t just his livelihood, they’re his passion,’ he’d told him. ‘You don’t spend years breeding and raising animals just to abuse them. That doesn’t even make sense. Why would someone mistreat their livestock when it takes so much work to keep them healthy? I’ve been around farming all my life and I can tell you I have never met a farmer who has ever done anything to deliberately harm his animals.’
It hadn’t stopped the man, he’d continued to rave on and on about how farmers had cleared the land for grazing, effectively ruining it, and it was time to phase farming out entirely, freeing all animals from captivity.
‘And where exactly do you propose all these freed farm animals will actually live? I can guarantee a million sheep and cattle released to roam free will pretty much bring about the end to all your big plans for land rejuvenation. Do you think maybe the fact farmers contain their animals and manage their property for the use of livestock might actually be saving the rest of the environment? Farmers have been managing soil and water for generations—even before it became trendy for tossers like you to suddenly become experts on it.’
‘Luke!’ Lucinda had exclaimed.
‘I’m not listening to any more of this shit. You people aren’t even living in the real world.’ Luke shook his head slowly. ‘You better enjoy that pinot noir and those lattes because when you eliminate farming there won’t be anyone to grow grapes or coffee beans,’ he said, then excused himself from the table.
Two days later Lucinda had arrived back at Lochmanning, informed him she was collecting her belongings and left without a backward glance.
Their meal arrived, bringing Luke back from his depressing trip down memory lane, and for the next few minutes they were both too busy eating to talk. Luke watched Hayley enjoying the food with abandon, savouring the flavours and giving a small moan of appreciation that stirred him in a way that was not appropriate in a public place.
‘This is so good,’ she said, looking up at him.
‘I’m glad you’re enjoying it.’
‘I haven’t had a decent steak in I don’t know how long.’
‘There weren’t any restaurants that served steak in the city?’ he asked with a wry smile.
‘I’m sure there were,’ Hayley said. ‘I just didn’t really go out much. I don’t go out much,’ she corrected.
‘I guess you won’t have an excuse not to go out for dinner now, considering we’re right next door.’
‘This is true. I think I could even manage to drag myself out of tracksuit pants for a meal like this.’
‘I’m sure Olivia wouldn’t care if you turned up in tracksuit pants.’
‘Don’t tempt me. The struggle is real. I’m quite happy not to get dressed or to leave the house if I don’t have to.’
‘I’m glad you decided to come out tonight,’ he said.
‘Me too,’ Hayley smiled before picking up her knife and fork again. ‘So, you work in here too?’
‘Sometimes, if we’re having a busy night. Eventually we’d like to hold a music festival on the grounds. Grant’s a big blues fan and he’s got contacts in the industry.’ Although the latest biosecurity regulations were going to cause a few more headaches as they figured out how they were going to organise a festival.
They discussed music and swapped concert stories all the way through the rest of the meal and on to dessert, and Luke was surprised when he looked around to find they were one of the last couples left in the restaurant.
‘I guess I should let you get to bed. You probably have an early start in the morning,’ Hayley said, and his spirits lifted a little at the note of regret in her voice, even if he did get momentarily distracted by the thought of bed.
‘It’s okay, sleep’s overrated anyway.’ And if it meant spending more time alone with Hayley Stevens, he was fairly sure he wouldn’t care if he didn’t sleep all night.