Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Collin
“I like her,” my sister says when I drop into the seat beside her.
I just stare at her in question, waiting for her to elaborate.
“Lizzie.”
My annoyance shoots heavenward at the mention of her name. “You don’t know her.”
“No, but I know people, and she seems like a good egg,” my sister reasons.
I watch as Camden and Quinn rack the balls, since they lost the previous game. Of course, my silence is all my sister needs to continue to talk.
“She comes from a big family too. Sounds like she’s the oldest with a couple of younger brothers and a sister,” Charli announces, taking a final sip of her drink.
“Another?” I offer, but she waves me off.
“Nope, that was my last one. Back to Lizzie,” she starts, earning a groan from me.
“Let’s not.”
“Let’s,” she pushes, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Nope,” I reply, standing up and stretching.
“She was totally checking out your butt when you were shooting pool.”
That makes me pause, but I school my features so nothing registers. I’m a pro at making sure my siblings can’t get a read on me, something I perfected when I was younger.
“I think she likes you.”
I sigh and face my sister. “Butt out, Char. There’s nothing there.”
She shrugs and flashes a sweet little grin. “If you say so.”
“I do,” I reply, suddenly unable to ignore the fact she was staring at my ass. Not that it means anything, like Charli is stating, but it’s nice to hear. “You’re up,” I state, bending down and placing a kiss on her cheek. “I’m out.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. I’m exhausted and ready to crash. You okay to get home?”
My sister rolls her eyes. “Of course I’m good. Cade told me he’d get me home.”
I glance over at my twin, who stopped drinking a while ago. “Make sure he gets the idiots home too,” I state, referring to our younger brother and his sidekick friend.
Charli sighs dramatically. “They’re on their own.”
I narrow my eyes at her, knowing she’d never actually make them figure out their own ride home after they’ve been drinking. “Anyway, be safe. Love you.”
“Love you too, Col. See you soon.”
I nod and wave at my brothers. “Charli’s got my spot.”
I don’t miss the way Quinn’s face lights up, but my attention is quickly pulled to my twin. “Can’t hang, huh?”
“It was a long shift last night, into this morning.”
He flashes a cocky smile. “So, that means Lizzie’s all mine tonight,” he states, slapping his hands and rubbing them together.
“Whatever,” I reply, even though I suddenly feel like I just swallowed gravel. The thought of my brother hitting on her, taking her home, has my gut in knots and my brain ready to explode.
He barks out a laugh, throwing his head back for dramatics. “You should have seen the look on your face.”
“Fuck off, Cade.” With that, I turn around, the sound of his laughter echoing through the bar as I head for the door.
Just as I reach the old wooden door, I pause and glance over my shoulder.
Lizzie and Jani are behind the counter, but only one pair of eyes are on me.
If she’s embarrassed about being busted watching me, she doesn’t let on.
Just lifts her hand to wave and gets back to work.
I know I should probably go check to see if they need anything before I go, but Jani is good, and if Lizzie is correct, and she’s practically grown up in a bar, I’m sure they’ll be fine.
The thought of my brother offering to help causes my feet to falter as I push through the door, but I don’t stop. I forge on and refuse to look back any more than I already have.
Something tells me that woman is nothing but trouble.
Best keep my eyes straight ahead and remember exactly who she is.
My boss.
I open the door to…chaos.
There are people everywhere, and I’m not talking about customers. The bar isn’t open yet. On Sundays, we’re here one to nine, which covers most major league sporting events throughout the year, and Chuck usually covered it.
A mixture of people, mostly men, turn to face me when the heavy door slams. “Uhh, hey?”
“Collin,” Lizzie hollers from one of the tables farthest from the door. She gets up from the chair and moves in my direction. “Hi, sorry about all of this.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, noticing everyone is still standing where they are, watching me.
“Oh,” she replies, glancing down to try to hide her blush. “This is my family. They showed up to…help.”
“Help?” I inquire, but before Lizzie can reply, a man with dark hair and blue eyes appears at her side.
“Everything all right, Lou?”
She smiles lovingly up at the man beside her. “Yes, Dad. Dad, this is Collin, one of the employees. He’s agreed to stay on through the transition for thirty days.”
I extend my hand, and I see a touch of hesitation in the man’s eyes. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Walker Meyer,” he replies, giving my hand a little bit of a squeeze. “The other guys are my friends and business partners, Jasper, Jameson, and Isaac.”
Why do those names ring a bell?
I politely wave toward the other men, some behind the bar and another sitting at the table Lizzie just vacated.
There are a few women floating around too.
One is painting a sign over near the pool table, while the other three are doing what appears to be some spring cleaning.
Not to mention a couple of teenage kids, who look like they’d rather be doing anything else than wash windows.
“I know this is a little…yeah,” she finally says when her dad walks away.
I take another look around the room. “It’s good to have such a big support system,” I tell her. Actually, it reminds me of my own big, rambunctious family. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Well, my dad and Uncle Tank are setting up the bar a little differently. They’re not allowed to do anything without my approval though. Do you want to help? I know we’re getting ready to open the doors, but they’ll stay out of the way so you can take care of the customers.”
I lift my chin, showing my agreement, and head back to where two big guys are cleaning and reorganizing liquor bottles.
I grab for the clipboard hanging beneath the counter to “clock in” but notice it’s not there.
Looking toward the table Lizzie returned to, she holds up the clipboard and says, “Got you.”
I glance around, not really sure what to do. To the big guy who’s not-so-subtly watching me, I say, “Hey, I’m Collin. Where do you need me?”
His whiskey-colored eyes bore into me like an inquisition. I’m a man who’s comfortable under pressure, but the way this giant is staring at me makes me want to squirm. If I were a lesser man, I’d be very intimidated by him.
Slowly, he extends his hand. “Jameson. Lizard asked us to organize the bar to make it a little more accessible for faster service.”
The question is out of my mouth before I can stop it. “Lizard?”
I swear if I weren’t staring directly at him, I’d miss the way the man’s lip ticks in the briefest, faintest smile. “Lizzie. We’ve always called her Lizard.”
“That’s where she came up with the name for the bar,” a woman says.
She extends her hand and adds, “I’m Mallory, Lizzie’s mom.
You met my husband, Walker, and this guy, Jameson.
The one over there is Jasper, and the guy at the table is Numbers.
Also, Madelyn and Lyndee are the ones cleaning, and BJ is painting a sign for over the door. ”
My head’s spinning a little bit as I follow along with her finger as she points.
“We’re not making any big changes,” Lizzie’s dad states. “Lou put her foot down.”
“Lou?”
Mallory laughs. “Lizzie. Her dad’s always called her Lizzie Lou.”
I slowly nod in understanding.
“If I had it my way, we would have ordered the same setup as Burgers and Brew,” Walker mutters.
“Yeah, but you don’t get your way in my bar!” Lizzie hollers, a hint of humor in her voice.
“Has she always been this sassy?” Walker asks Mallory, who just grins.
And that’s when it hits me.
Hard.
Like a two-by-four to the chest.
“You guys own Burgers and Brew.” It’s not a question.
Holy shit, how did I not realize this?
Everyone in this part of Ohio knows about Burgers and Brew. Hell, I’ve been there, traveling the hour distance just to have one of their famous burgers. It’s probably the biggest, most well-known non-chain restaurant in the area, and I can’t believe these are the owners.
Which means the bar Lizzie grew up in was that one.
“I take it she didn’t tell you that?” Walker asks, clearly witnessing my confusion and realization.
“Uh, no. She said she grew up in a bar and restaurant, but never said which one.”
Walker snorts and shakes his head. “She’s worked there since she was old enough to legally be on the payroll, but her love for the place goes way back. She practically cut her teeth there.”
“Wow,” I reply, not really sure what else to say. Knowing that she was always referring to Burgers and Brew and never so much as mentioned the name of it is actually pretty telling. She learned from the best, but didn’t use their name or notoriety to get ahead or what she wanted.
My admiration of her just increased tremendously.
“Finished!”
All eyes turn toward the tattooed woman with black-and-pink hair. Lizzie jumps up and practically runs over to where she’s been working and looks down. “Oh my gosh,” Lizzie states, her hands moving to her mouth as her green eyes fill with tears. “I love it so much.”
Everyone else slowly makes their way toward the sign, all anxious to see the finished product. I watch as they ooh and ahh over it, giving the woman who painted it kudos for a great piece of art.
“It’s positively amazing, Aunt BJ,” Lizzie says, beaming at the woman with a wide smile and love in her eyes.
“You made it easy. It’s a great name for a bar,” she informs her niece, giving her a warm hug.
Walking around the bar and toward where everyone is standing, staring down at the sign, I can’t help but ask, “And what name is that?”
Lizzie just smiles, her excitement rolling off her in huge waves. “The Tipsy Lizard.”