With a Grain of Salt (Lindell Book 3)

Chapter 41

Walker

”I heard what you did,” Mac says as I slide him a fresh beer across the counter.

”I don”t know what you”re talking about,” I say, letting my eyes dart toward Claire.

She”s here with Madison, Adalynn, Kristina, and a couple of other women from town.

They”re laughing and having a good time, and I can”t help but smile when she does.

My woman isn”t pretending to be happy right now, but I also know that she”s a little sad.

Leo passed away yesterday, and we both know what a loss it is for Larkin. She loved her PopPop and although I was there when Claire tried to explain that he had cancer, I could see that Larkin was just too young to fully grasp the reality of death. I think that upset Claire the most.

If I were to believe the rumors I”ve heard whispered this evening, Leo had been fighting cancer for the last five years. He had it before Hux left for the Army. It was the catalyst that set things into motion. Leo didn”t want his son to be a burden on Nora when he was gone. He, not Nora, is the one who told his son to get his life together, and I imagine he”s lived a life of regret every minute since.

”You know exactly what I”m talking about,” Mac accuses. ”Asbestos? Really?”

My cheeks flush.

”Was Jason in on it?”

”It”s no big deal,” I tell him.

But it is a big deal. Because Jason told Claire that they had to work through asbestos removal in the duplexes, she was a little upset at being told she had to move out.

Then I suggested that she come to stay with me. Of course, she fought against that for a day or so but finally said yes with my head between her thighs. Orgasm denial can be a powerful motivator, but I think she just argued against it for the sake of keeping with the status quo. Agreeing outright in the beginning just wouldn”t be her style.

”It is a big deal. You”re trashing my father”s name. He built those duplexes. In the fucking nineties, Walker. They hadn”t been using asbestos for decades by then.”

”She doesn”t think any less of your father,” I mutter, sort of feeling bad, but Claire has been at my house full time for three days, and it’s been absolute bliss.

Just the memory of waking up and pulling her to my chest as I lifted her leg and slid into her in the next breath, catching her moan with my mouth so we didn”t wake up Larkin, makes me a little hot.

I pull at my t-shirt, forcing cooler air between it and my skin.

“I have a reputation to keep,” he snaps.

“Is there something else bothering you?” I ask because it’s not like Mac to catch such an attitude.

A couple of months ago, he would have probably laughed when he found out I used some backhanded actions to get Claire to move in with me.

”No,” he answers a little too quickly. ”I”m fine.”

I nod, my lips forming a flat line because I don”t believe him. At the same time, it”s not my place to force someone to open up. I know the guy has had a rough couple of months, and from his attitude problem right now, it appears things are still troublesome for him.

”Let me know if you need anything else,” I tell him before going to help another customer.

When I get a free minute, I type out a text to Claire, watching her check her smartwatch when it dings with the notification.

She spins, eyes wide, with her hand over the face of the watch as if she”s afraid someone else would see the promise I just typed out for how her new year was going to go.

With her mouth open in surprise, she shakes her head as if she can”t believe it.

The watch was just one more thing she argued with me about when I gave it to her on Christmas. When I reminded her that she missed a phone call from Madison about Larkin, she was less argumentative.

Love you, I mouth at her from behind the bar, loving how her cheeks flush pink.

I can see the warmth on her face from the two drinks she’s had, and although it doesn”t really matter that Madison”s mom has the twins and Larkin tonight, I”m kind of excited about seeing how loud I can make my girl scream when we get back home.

Instead of coming toward me herself, I see her speak with Riley before the woman walks toward me.

I swear if she sends dirty messages via someone else, I won”t hesitate to take her to the office and make good on those promises I teased her with before the ball drops at midnight.

”Can we get another round?” Riley asks with a smile.

”Watch out,” Mac grumbles. ”She might try to burn your house down too.”

Riley”s eyes widen before she snaps her head in Mac”s direction.

”Are you kidding me?”

”The fifteen thousand dollars’ worth of damage to my house, and the hotel room I”ve been staying in for five days, would prove that I”m not,” he spits.

”Making me sound like the fire was my fault alone. Why don”t you explain exactly how your kitchen caught on fire,” she challenges.

Mac shakes his head, lip curled up in a sneer as he lifts his beer bottle to his mouth.

”I”m a gentleman, and it”s not proper to complain about bad sex.”

”Bad—Bad!” Riley yells, smacking her hand down on the bar top as she continues to glare at him.

Her cheeks flame red when she realizes that her argument with Mac has drawn the attention of almost every person in the bar.

Instead of staying to argue further, she spins around and rushes for the door.

I”ve been a bartender for a very long time, so I know exactly what the look means when Mac watches her leave.

What I can”t figure out is how I missed that level of chemistry all along.

I pull my eyes from him when people in the bar start counting down from fifteen. I rush around the end of the bar and meet Claire for a midnight kiss, watching just before my lips meet hers as Mac slaps some money on the counter before angrily rushing for the door.

***