5. Ellie
5
ELLIE
It was loud. Louder than usual, even for a Friday night. Way busier than we were a few nights ago when I worked briefly with Wade . Tammy and I were behind the bar, and even though it was busy, she and I had developed a great flow between us that made the shift go so smoothly.
She was friendly and quick-witted, and I genuinely enjoyed working with her. We generally split the bar down in half, and each picked a side to cover while also filling drink orders from the waiters and waitresses, but on occasion, we would cross over the middle line if one of us got busy or we knew the people on the other side. Really , it was just if Tammy knew them because I still didn’t really know anyone here, at least not anyone that would come visit me at the bar.
“You mind if I grab the good-lookin’ one with the goatee and tight black shirt in the corner over on your side?” Tammy asked, pointing at a man who looked about her age.
“Sure, no problem,” I told her. “ You know him?”
“Not yet, but hopefully I will by the end of the night.”
I laughed and told her to watch out for that one because his muscles looked like they could break through his tight shirt at any moment.
“I like my men like I like my coffee – strong enough to pick me up. And he will definitely be able to do that,” Tammy said with a sly grin on her face. “ Though , saying that, I also don’t want them lookin’ like something I drew with my left hand, which is usually what happens when I pick ‘em online.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at her descriptions and headed over to grab some more freshly washed glasses to dry them.
Ruthie had come over after work and was sitting at the bar on my side. I appreciated the fact that she came, because I knew she worked long hours over at Ranger Shield’s front desk. Every time I would pass by the front office, whether on my way to or from the apartment she seemed to be there.
“I keep meaning to tell you every time I see you that I like your necklace,” I told her as I pointed to the two little pale pink boxing gloves hanging from a silver chain around her neck.
She grabbed the charm between her fingers as she looked down at it.
“Archer gave it to me when we came here,” she said and then paused. “ It’s to remind me that I’m a fighter.” Her words were strong, yet there was definitely emotion in her voice.
“I’m not much of a pink person, but it’s really cute, and it suits you,” I told her, smiling.
“Thanks.” She smiled back at me, small at first, but then she straightened her head and smiled even bigger. “ I like your necklace too.”
I looked down at my charm necklace and smiled.
“My grandma gave it to me so I could add charms that would tell the story of my life,” I told her. “ I miss her so much, but it’s been nice to have this keepsake to remind me of her.”
“That’s awesome,” Ruthie said to me with a sad smile.
We didn’t get to chat too much more since more customers started to trickle in, but any free moment I had, I made my way over to her to get to know her better. I learned she was born and raised in Vegas , and moved here at the same time as Archer since he offered her a job, which she was happy about since her grandpa lived in Georgia , too. Sadly , her mom had died when she was young, just like mine, and she also had an older brother like me. The difference was she did not seem close to her family she had left at all. When I asked about them, her response had been, “ Don’t know, don’t care.”
We found we both shared a love of rom-coms and decided that we would see one at the theater soon. We also made plans to go back to the Chattahoochee National Forest in a few days to try out a new trail. My parents had taken Jack and me to Gatlinburg and Great Smokey Mountain National Park when we were kids, and I loved it. I loved the outdoors. I was glad Ruthie did too.
Tammy bumped her hip into mine with a drink in each hand and nodded her head toward the back. “ Phone call for you Blondie .”
“Who is it?” I asked, but Tammy was already on the other side of the bar handing the drinks over to her customers and chatting them up.
I walked over and picked it up, wondering who on Earth would call me here since the people I was closest to would just call my cell. Granted , I always kept my cell underneath the counter at the back of the bar so I wouldn’t be distracted by it while on shift.
“Hello,” I said, but there was no response. “ Hello . This is the Watering Hole . How can I help you?” I said again, but there was nothing. I hung up and figured it was just kids playing a prank, so I walked back over to Ruthie to refill her drink up.
“Who was on the phone?” Tammy asked as she winked at me. “ He sounded like he could be handsome.”
“How can you tell that over the phone?” I laughed.
“Honey, I’ve been on this Earth for four decades. I can definitely tell which ones sound handsome and which ones don’t just by their voice,” she said, sounding so confident. “ Now , my problem is, I tend to let the handsome face overrule all the other red flags that usually go with the smooth voice,” she said as she laughed.
I could sympathize. I’d definitely missed all the red flags with Randall .
“Same. I feel ya on that,” Ruthie chimed in, and then leaned forward and stage-whispered to Tammy and me, “ So , tell us more about your gentleman caller.”
I laughed at the enthusiasm coming from both of them and just shook my head.
“Whoever it was must have hung up, because there was no one there by the time I got to the phone.”
“That’s a shame. We need to get you back out there and have a little fun.” Tammy said with a smirk.
“I don’t exactly have a great track record, and right now I need to focus on myself and starting school,” I told them, though if I was being truthful, it was also because the only man my brain seemed to be interested in anymore was Wade . Given he was my boss, not to mention Jack’s good friend, meant he was off-limits.
“Honey, I’m not trying to marry you off,” Tammy said, grinning like a loon. “ Sometimes one magical night with a good-lookin’ man is exactly what the doctor ordered.” She winked and pointed at me, then made her way back to the muscled man with the goatee she had been flirting with tonight.
“That’s exactly what got me in trouble the last time,” I mumbled under my breath, but it must not have been too quiet, because Tammy’s smile disappeared.
“Ellie, you listen to me,” she said in her mothering tone. “ We all make mistakes in life, but we learn from those mistakes and come out better on the other side. You also can’t let those mistakes keep you from living.”
“Amen, Tammy !” Ruthie chimed in.
I knew she was right, but once you’ve been burned, it’s hard to re-program your brain into trying again.
“Tell ya what.” She snapped her fingers, and her face lit up like she had the greatest idea in the world. “ When you find a man, you think might fit the bill, we’ll have Wade and his boys run a quick background check on him and make sure he doesn’t have any outstanding warrants, or a second family in another state or something!”
“Or one of those guys who posts cringey dance videos on TikTok ,” Ruthie added, her face twisted like she’d just bitten into a sour lemon.
Yeah, I’m never going to ask Wade to run a background check on a guy.
Reason number one, he would tell Jack , and I didn’t need my brother knowing all the details of my love life.
Reason number two, background checks didn’t tell you everything. I was pretty sure Randall’s job at the bank required a background check, and it probably hadn’t told them the monster he could be behind closed doors.
Reason number three, my interest in Wade would make that all kinds of awkward.
“Speaking of which, maybe having a fun night with one of the boys upstairs would be good, Lord knows they are all super handsome, and single,” Tammy said, fanning her face with her hand as Ruthie laughed behind me. “ They’re all too young for me, but the minute he brings one in that’s closer to my age, I’m gonna take my chance, hop on that horse and ride him into the sunset.”
Ruthie and I chuckled at her bold declaration, but Tammy wasn’t done.
She sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. “ I mean, it’s been a while, ladies. At this point, I’d settle for a man who knows how to use power tools and doesn’t breathe like a dying walrus when he sleeps.”
I snorted. “ Tammy , your standards are both oddly specific and concerning.”
Tammy shrugged. “ Listen , I’m a woman of simple needs. A strong back, decent stamina, and the ability to kill a spider without screaming. That’s all I ask.”
Ruthie shook her head, laughing. “ I’ll make sure to tell Wade to start recruiting accordingly.”
Tammy pointed a finger at Ruthie . “ You do that. And if he finds one with salt-and-pepper hair and forearms that look like they could split firewood? Give him my number immediately.”
“What are y’all talking about over here?” Beth said as she came over to the bar to pick up some drinks.
“Men,” Tammy said, then turned to me. “ This one here said she doesn’t want a man right now, but I think that’s exactly what she needs.”
“I just got out of a relationship,” I told Beth . “ I just want to focus on myself right now and school.”
“You do you, girl, and don’t let Tammy persuade you otherwise,” Beth said, then walked back to her table.
“You want me to talk to Wade ,” Tammy started to say, but I jumped in.
“No!” I said, probably a little too quickly. “ He’s my boss, which would be all kinds of weird. Plus , that would be awkward with him being friends with my brother.”
“Honey...” She grinned at me conspiratorially. “ I meant I was gonna talk to Wade about any of his single friends, but interesting that your brain went in that direction,” Tammy said, smirking, and I knew I had said too much.
“Yes, very interesting,” Ruthie chimed in.
Ruthie stared at me, suspicion written all over her face. I decided to get back to my customers and ignore Tammy , Beth , and Ruthie before I said anything else stupid.
I also tried not to think about Wade , but I kept finding my thoughts going back to him. How kind he had been to me, how ruggedly handsome he was, how I seemed drawn to him whenever he was near. Yeah , definitely not thinking about him. Just as I felt I was getting a handle on not thinking about Wade , the universe had other plans.
I was in the middle of pouring a beer when Tammy’s voice caught my attention.
“Hey, boss-man, I changed a few things on the schedule. Take a look and tell me what you think,” Tammy said as Wade walked by the bar.
“Just here to drop off a few things off, but I’ll take a look real quick,” he replied, briefly looking at me, giving me a chin lift but saying nothing, then he walked back through the employee door—likely headed to his office.
He wore a charcoal gray polo shirt with dark jeans and looked so good. His beard appeared freshly trimmed, but his hair could’ve used a cut. He was more dressed up than usual, and I wondered if he had an important meeting for the security business today. Trying to bring my thoughts back to something else, I turned to one of my customers and took their order.
Minutes later, I heard Wade’s voice behind me and Tammy talking back to him, but I was trying to write down the order and not screw it up, so I didn’t turn around until after their exchange was clearly done. When I finally looked over, Wade was on his way out, but stopped to chat with a booth full of women. They were all dolled up, and one was now standing next to Wade , her hand stroked his arm in a very familiar way.
I found myself getting irrationally angry at the thought of that woman touching him. I tried to focus on putting the order into the computer and not staring at them, but my eyes kept flitting over from time to time. Wade didn’t seem to be encouraging her touching, but he also wasn’t stopping her either. He seemed to know her or was at least familiar with her based on his body language. An old girlfriend, maybe? Occasional booty-call?
“No matter how hard you hit those buttons, it won’t make the food come out faster,” Tammy said beside me.
I looked up at her to find her looking at me, then glancing over at Wade , then back at me.
“For what it’s worth, that girl is a regular customer,” she said quietly. “ She flirts with him all the time, but as far as I know, he hasn’t done anything with it.”
She patted me on the shoulder and walked back to grab some empty glasses and dishes from her side of the bar before I could sputter out any kind of comment—whether to defend my thoughts or pretend I wasn’t angry. As I watched Wade talk to that woman, I sighed and tried to clear the jealousy from my mind. I needed to get my focus on myself right now, not a man. I told myself I wasn’t going to look back over at them.
“God, what a hussy,” Beth hissed as she walked up to my side of the counter to pick up her drink order.
I glanced up at her to see she was also looking at Wade .
“That woman comes in here all the time, making a scene with Wade ,” Beth continued unprompted. “ All up on him, being a bitch to the rest of us servers if she can’t have Wade personally bring her drinks out. Then , when she gets stuck sitting in one of our sections, she’s a horrible tipper and crazy rude. Such a pain in my ass. The only good part is watching her face every time he turns her down.”
She left no room for comment, grabbing her drinks and walking away. Her parting words put a small smile on my face—especially when I looked up to see Wade stepping out the door. The woman frowned as she sank back into her seat.
I wasn’t proud of my initial reaction to the so-called “hussy,” but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a little pleasure in seeing Wade reject her.