Chapter 8
Liam Davies stood just inside the threshold of JT’s Roadhouse, absorbing the onslaught of noise and energy.
The overwhelming scent of beer, sweat, cologne, perfume, and fried bar food hit him like an open hand.
It was Friday night, and JT’s appeared to be operating at capacity, which to him seemed like barely controlled chaos.
His height allowed him a bird’s-eye view of the space.
Instinctively, his gaze swept the room for exits, threats, and his little sister, all in the same practiced motion.
It took him one scan to find Poppy and Frankie.
They were in the middle of the crowd of at least forty people on the dance floor in the center of the bar doing a line dance to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em. ”
A pool table commanded the back corner, its surface worn smooth by decades of abuse and half-hearted repairs.
Around it, a small group of men seemed to be arguing or heatedly debating a subject that required a lot of wild arm movements.
A dining area held about a dozen or so tables where groups of people from a softball team to a bachelorette party shared pitchers of beer and cocktails.
An old jukebox was the centerpiece of the far wall beside a hallway that had signage indicating that bathrooms and offices were that way.
A mahogany bar ran the entire length of the building and was crowded with people vying for the attention of two men and a woman working behind it.
Liam told himself he was only there because Poppy had texted him to come out, citing “social integration” and “getting to know the people he’d be treating.
” He told himself the fact that he hadn’t shown up until she posted a selfie with Frankie on her Instagram page two hours after she sent him that initial text was totally unrelated.
Even he didn’t believe his own bullshit.
Navigating the crowd required maneuvering around a drunk guy in a cowboy hat trying to impress the group of bachelorettes with his lasso skills sans the rope.
Once he made it to the front of the line, it took another five minutes, but he finally flagged down a bartender with a nod and a raised palm.
It was six, and he gave the guy a ten for his O’Doul’s in a pint glass.
He didn’t love non-alcoholic beer, but he had to be on shift in two hours, so drinking was out of the question.
Which was one of the reasons he hadn’t come down there when Poppy texted him at eight.
He moved down the bar a few feet to the wall and posted up, giving him an optimal vantage point so he could keep an eye on his sister and, who was he kidding, Frankie.
When she’d shown up with Poppy at his office the day before, he’d been so shocked he hadn’t known what to say or do.
But after she left, he was kicking himself for not finding out, well, anything.
He had no idea how long she’d be in town. How she was. How her mom was.
Liam still kept in touch with her brothers, Niko and AJ, and her mom still sent Christmas emails that he replied to, but he never asked any of them about Frankie.
He didn’t feel he had a right to. He didn’t want them to ask why he didn’t just call her and ask.
He didn’t want to explain that he felt like he couldn’t since she was engaged to his brother, and it wouldn’t be appropriate.
He sipped his beer and watched as Frankie’s head fell back as she laughed with his sister. He couldn’t audibly hear the laugh, but in his head, it was loud and clear. He may not have heard it in over a decade, but it was a sound he’d never forget.
Even all these years later, Frankie’s laugh would randomly get stuck in his head the same way some songs would, like an earworm.
Her laugh was a string of happy bells–light and melodic.
It had a unique cadence—starting soft, then building, building, building, before tapering off to a breathless hum that made his entire body warm and relaxed but also utterly alive.
It was like the sun coming out on a gloomy day, it chased away his dark clouds.
Over the past ten years, during some of his darker times, he thought he could live on her laugh alone, that it was all the proof he’d ever need that the world wasn’t completely fucked.
He was so lost in the memory of her laugh that he didn’t notice the stunning brunette with green eyes, full lips, and killer curves showcased in a form-fitting Hope Falls softball tee, worn jeans, hip cocked, and eyebrow arched that had sidled up to the bar beside him, with her body angled in his direction.
She reminded him of someone, but he just couldn’t put his finger on who it was.
She had the kind of confident, magnetic demeanor that said, I know you’re watching, and I don’t care.
She ordered a whiskey neat, then turned her full attention on him, smiling with a sensuality that was natural, not put on.
“You’re the new doctor in town, right?” she asked, her voice barely audible with the music, talking, laughing, and drinks being mixed around them.
Liam acknowledged her with a nod and then turned his attention back to the dance floor.
It was the bare minimum required in a response, but she didn’t seem put off.
In fact, she leaned in a little closer to him, her perfume cutting through the spilled beer and floor cleaner.
She proceeded to carry on a conversation, and he politely nodded in the right places, but his eyes kept tracking back to Frankie and Poppy.
Neither had spotted him yet—both were too busy doing choreographed movements with three dozen or so other dance partners.
From this angle, he was only able to catch glimpses of Frankie between shoulders and heads. Her five-foot-nothing height made it difficult to keep eyes on her. Luckily, she was beside Poppy, who was wearing a red shirt and was five foot six, giving him a point of reference easy to clock.
“…who stitched up Johnny Cooper’s hand after the chainsaw accident?”
Hearing chainsaw accident caught his attention. He leaned down, his eyes still trained on the dance floor. “What?”
The brunette rose up onto tiptoes. Her hair brushed against his face as her lips grazed the cusp of his ear. “I said, ‘Weren’t you the doctor who stitched up Johnny Cooper’s hand after the chainsaw accident’?’”
That’s what he thought she’d said. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. He knew why she’d reminded him of someone, but he hadn’t been able to place her.
“I was.”
“I brought him in. Alani,” she reintroduced herself.
Alani was a promo model and happened to be working when Johnny had his accident, both her costume and the injury, which was gnarly, were branded into Liam’s memory.
He had to reattach three fingers because it happened during a snowstorm, and the surgeon was unable to get to the hospital.
Coming out and speaking to Wonder Woman post-surgery about aftercare when it wasn’t Halloween stuck in his mind.
“And you’re Dr. Dreamy.” Alani placed her hand on his chest.
“Dr. Davies,” he corrected her out of habit. He hated that nickname and did not want it following him to Hope Falls. “Liam, actually. How’s Johnny doing?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” She lowered her arm. “We broke up six months ago.”
“You’re here!” a woman shrieked.
Liam turned as Poppy was wrapping her arms around his neck.
When she pulled back, she was smiling from ear to ear. “How long have you been here? I was just about to leave. I’m on at six tomorrow.” She blew a raspberry and gave two thumbs down.
The response to her start time and her breath were two clues telling him there was no way she was getting behind the wheel of a car. “I’ll take you home.”
She shook her head and shoved her phone in his face, so close he couldn’t actually see what was on the screen. He gently moved her hand.
“Uber will be here in two minutes.” She put up a peace sign, replacing where her phone had just been.
“But…” She tried to snap with the fingers that had just been in a V formation but failed.
Badly. “Can you make sure Frankie gets home? Tiana and Jenna already left because they both have to get up early too. And now I’m leaving, but she’s still dancing.
I couldn’t make her leave, and she’s had a lot to drink.
” Poppy mimed drinking, then placed her hands together as she begged him. “Can you take care of her, please?!”
“Yes, I’ll take care of her.” She didn’t have to beg or even ask. There was no way Liam wouldn’t have made sure Frankie got home safely.
“Thank you! You are the best big brother ever! Isn’t he the best?” she asked Alani, then tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brows. “I don’t know you. Who are you?”
“Alani,” she replied.
“Oh. Hi.” Poppy smiled, then looked up at Liam, cupped her hands around her mouth, and whispered very loudly, “She’s hot. Do you like her?”
Liam noticed the notification that Poppy’s Uber had arrived, which appeared because her phone was held near her mouth as she tried to be discreet.
“Come on.” He put his arm around his sister’s back and started to guide her towards the door.
Poppy twisted her upper body so she was looking over her shoulder as she waved back at Alani. “Bye, Hot Girl!”
Liam managed to get his sister outside and into the Uber.
He made a note of the driver, and his car’s license and loudly told Poppy that he had shared her location with himself and to text him when she got home safely.
Liam was sure that the guy was perfectly aboveboard, but it was never a bad idea to take extra precautions.
He watched them drive away and wondered what had caused Poppy to drink so much. In all the years they’d known each other, which, granted, had only been around eight, she’d never been drunk like this.