15. Thea
thea
Glancing again at the two dart league teams, I wander over and make sure everything works well for them. Logan and Stetson are notably absent, and it looks like Dani and Graham’s fiancé Quinn are filling in tonight, plus one guy I’ve never seen before.
Laughter erupts from their section, and I wander off again, heading back to the bar. I need to do an inventory tonight, and I couldn’t really put it off again.
I’ve had more days off in the last couple of weeks than I’ve had since we opened this place.
I go back into my office and sit down, my eyes roaming over all the bills and statements. Logan’s name is on a few, and I quickly white-out over a few of them so my sisters don’t catch wind of it.
Annmarie is more the manager of this bar, so she does the ordering and the schmoozing while I handle the inventory count and paying bills. Juniper does everything in between, including bartending, because she was somehow amazing at it after only one mixology class.
I sigh and start to write out checks, then head to the computer to make payments on the rest.
The door to the hallway is open, and I hear my sisters coming before I see their faces.
“So, we just heard a heck of a story,” Annmarie announces, plopping down in the chair in front of the desk and throwing a leg over the armrest. Her hair was up in a high pony, and her feet were covered with her favorite Doc Martens.
Juniper leans against the doorjamb, her arms crossed and her face scrunched with concern. “What happened last night? I thought you took Lue home and then back to your place.”
I shake my head, wondering who they talked to out there. “I did take Lue home, but Logan didn’t get back until late, then when I was getting ready to leave, I noticed he looked bad.”
“Impossible. Not Mr. Cowboy,” Annmarie says, ripping off a bite of licorice she stole from the container on the desk.
I gave her a look. “He looked sick .”
“But wait, he went to the hospital.”
I shrug. “Well, I didn’t know what to do, so I found his phone and called his mom. She came over but asked me to take him because she wanted to be there when Lue got up. So, I took him to the hospital.”
“Aw, that’s sweet, sissy,” Juniper says, holding her hands to her chest. “You nursed him back to health.”
“I didn’t.”
“I’ll bet she did,” Annmarie says at the same time. I glare at her, and she holds her hands up in defense. “What? I bet he loved getting doted on by you.”
“Actually.” I frown and finish writing out a check before sealing it in the envelope. “He was so out of it, I doubt he remembers anything.”
Like that he called me beautiful, that he said he’s waited years for his chance with me, or that he told me this “fake dating” thing was never his intention…but I would wait to see what he remembers before saying a word.
“Wow, well, I’m sure that family is grateful.”
“I’m sure they’re just focused on taking care of him at the moment. Lue wasn’t happy this morning when she got there. I think it’s been the two of them for so long that she’s used to seeing her dad happy and healthy, not in the hospital.”
“But now she has her new step-mommy.”
I glare at Annmarie, a prickle of something tingling my neck. “I am not her stepmom. We’re barely anything.” I wave my hand around, like I could blow this conversation away and hope they don’t keep bringing it up.
But that was definitely wishful thinking.
“Yeah.” Juniper drags the word out. “How did that come about anyway? Did he just randomly ask you out or what?”
The urge to spill all my secrets rests on the tip of my tongue. How easy it would be to tell them all about Eric and his threats from last year, how he’s been threatening me and telling me he was coming as soon as he got out.
About how I was almost positive that his old posse had been in the bar at least once, and I’ve never even seen them.
I could tell them. I could spill that secret and the others I was keeping from them.
But…it was my fault we were even in this situation. It was my fault that they were even a part of these “maybe” threats.
I have to handle it myself and keep them far, far away.
“Yeah.” I shrug, keeping my answer casual. “I guess he’s wanted to ask me for a while, and I guess I finally feel ready for that.”
All true, so at least I wasn’t lying and adding more to the pile.
“That’s so sweet,” Juniper comments.
“It is. And I’m glad you’re putting yourself out there, you need more in life than just work.”
I level Annmarie with a glare. “You’re one to talk. You practically live here.”
“Yeah, but this is my scene,” she answers, standing to head back out to the bar. “I love to be here.”
I frown. “I love to be here, too.”
She gives me a small smile and nods like she’s not convinced. “Sure.”
She leaves, and Juniper takes her spot in the chair, looking like she has something to say.
“What’s up, June?”
Licking her lips, she clasps her fingers together in her lap. “Well, I want to play on Friday.”
I lift a brow. “You’re always allowed to play.”
“I know, but I have a request.”
“What’s that?”
“An open mic night run by me. I want to play still,” she reassures quickly. “But I also want to open the door up for more local musicians to get a minute to play.”
“Oh.” I sit back and think over it. “I’m not sure another event is something we can fully take on.”
“I’ll run the whole thing. I’ll handle the advertising, the setup, the schedule, tear down, everything.”
I take in her nervous posture and smile at her. “Juniper, you can do whatever you want. You’re twenty-three, and you have a stake in this business.”
“I know, I just…” She trails off, and I wait patiently. “I don’t know what it is, but I feel like getting your permission gives me the green light.”
I lifted my brows at her, shocked that she was telling me that. “You don’t need my permission,” I start. “But if you feel like asking for it, consider it granted.”
A breath releases from her, and she smiles. “Okay, great. I’ll get it set up then.”
“Perfect.” I smile at her, and then a thought occurs. “Oh, did you talk to Phee?”
“Yeah.” She frowns. “She seems homesick.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Let’s keep her in the loop. Liven up the family group chat too, and maybe Tori will respond.”
June sighs. “When do we get to start worrying about her?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. We’ll give it another day, and hopefully she’ll respond to some memes or something.”
If Tori loved anything, it was to laugh.
Juniper leaves me, and I continue working until I can’t stand the computer screen any longer and head back out into the fray. Something in me hopes that Logan would make a surprise stop, but that was silly to hope when he should be at home in bed.