Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-two
Caleb
The door to Joy’s swung shut behind me and Remi, letting the cool air of the late spring night slip away.
Inside, the place was as busy as I expected for a Friday.
A couple guys parked at the bar, the jukebox humming low beneath the clack of pool balls from the back corner where a half dozen ranch hands were leaning over their cues.
It wasn’t hard to spot Alice. She was at the ranch hands’ table, balancing a tray against her hip, the cast on her left wrist making her movements slower but no less sure.
She set down a fresh round of beers, her smile catching in the bright glow of the pool table lights.
One of the men said something that made the others laugh, and she tipped her head politely and stepped back, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
Remi jerked his chin toward our usual table. Tearing my eyes from Alice, I followed him, parking myself in my seat. It’d been a long, strange week. Quiet without my boy and the phone calls with Alice I’d gotten used to quicker than I expected. Not that I’d had time for reading.
Remi shook his head. “You look worn out.”
“I am. Seems everything that can go wrong is happening all at once. A water line broke, we had a downed fence, and last night, a heifer had trouble giving birth. We had to call out the vet and”—I expelled a heavy breath—“well, needless to say, when it rains, it pours.”
“That’s a lot.” He put his phone on the table in case my sister called.
He didn’t have to explain that to me. That was simply who he was.
A good husband and father. Exactly who I wanted for her.
“If you want more than a couple drinks, I’ll do the driving tonight. You can spend the night at our place.”
Remi was a good friend too.
I grinned at him. “Remember the wake-up call I got last time I crashed with you?”
He groaned. “Yeah. I’m still sorry about that. I don’t know how Silas bypassed the gate to get to you. He's as wily as a fox.”
I chuckled in agreement. I’d been sprawled out in their downstairs bedroom after a rare night of tying one on, and next thing I knew, my nephew was prying my eyelids open with his little fingers. Once he’d had my attention, he’d decided to entertain me by singing gibberish at the top of his lungs.
Not the wake-up I’d been expecting, but it was impossible to be mad when he’d climbed out of his crib and over the gate at the top of their stairs in order to get to me. That, and he was cute as hell.
“You don’t need to be sorry. I grew up with Hannah. You think that was the first time I’d had my eyeballs pried open?”
Remi’s grin widened. “I am absolutely sure it wasn’t.”
“Nope. Not even the second time.” I gave my shoulder a shrug. “We’ll see where the night goes. Maybe I’ll take you up on it.”
Alice showed up at the table, catching me off guard. I hadn’t been paying attention and turned at her quiet greeting, taking her in up close.
She’d pinned the front of her hair back out of her face, and the rest fell in loose waves over her shoulders. It looked pretty that way. I was glad she was no longer hiding behind it.
What she was wearing, though?
Her plum-colored tank top had thin straps and a low neckline, revealing the tops of her small, high breasts. It was tucked into dark jeans that fit her thighs like they were made for her. I’d never seen her reveal so much skin.
Nice skin.
Lovely, smooth, velvety skin.
Aw, damn.
If Hannah were here, she’d have told me I sounded like a serial killer. That was how thrown off my game the sight of this woman had made me. Had she always been this pretty? She must’ve been. I couldn’t understand how I’d missed it for so long.
Alice’s smile was quick, polite, containing none of the warmth she’d been shining on me recently.
“Good evening, guys. What can I get you?” Her voice was steady and professional but distant. Hearing it, you wouldn’t have known we’d spent hours talking to each other on the phone.
I opened my mouth to say something casual, maybe ask how she was doing, but it was clear she was here on business.
Still, I eyed the cast on her wrist, wondering if it was hindering her.
If she was in pain. If she should have been working here at all after everything.
But I didn’t ask. She’d already brushed aside my concerns once this week.
Remi grinned at her. “I’ll take a beer. Something cold and quick.”
I glanced back at Alice, searching for a sign of…well, I didn’t know. Something. I didn’t find it. “I’ll have the same.”
She jotted it down as carefully as ever, even though I was sure she didn’t need the notepad. It gave her a reason not to have to look at her customers.
At me.
A flicker of frustration hit me. Where had the easy connection gone?
I’d thought we’d been on the road to becoming friends.
That must have been wishful thinking. After all, she was over me.
Maybe that extended to the very end of the definition, meaning she wanted nothing to do with me except this: taking my order and walking away.
“Everything all right?” I finally asked, unable to stop myself.
She paused, then gave a small, polite nod. “I’m fine, thank you. It’s busy, and the cast makes things slower.”
I wanted to press her, find out what else was going on, but she was already stepping back toward the bar.
“I’m surprised she’s back to work so soon,” Remi remarked once we were alone. “Joy runs a tight ship, I guess.”
“Nah, Alice wanted to come back. Joy tried to get her to take more time off, but she wasn’t hearing it.”
Remi paused, his gaze finding mine. “Huh. I know your mom is friends with Alice. I didn’t realize you were too.”
“We’ve talked a few times,” I hedged.
What could I say to explain what had happened over the last month?
When it came down to it, not much. Mostly to preserve Alice’s privacy, and a little because the rest made me look like a jackass.
Remi might’ve been my brother-in-law and closest friend, but I didn’t need him knowing all the ways I’d screwed up.
“Yeah? Does she have a lot to say?” Remi asked. “I haven’t ever seen her being chatty.”
“Chatty isn’t a word I’d use to describe her,” I grunted and picked up my napkin, twisting it with my fingers. “No one would describe me that way either, I suspect.”
“Truer words, buddy.” He tipped forward. “You didn’t answer my question, though.”
I cocked my head. “Does she have a lot to say?”
Remi nodded, and I considered my reply. “Alice is…interesting. I think what I know of her barely scratches the surface.”
“Hmmm.” He scratched at the scruff on his chin. “Well, if your mom has her way, Alice’ll be over weekly for dinner. Maybe you’ll get a chance to dive beyond the surface.”
“Maybe.” If she let me. The way things had gone this past week, I wasn’t sure.
Alice came back with our drinks a few minutes later, setting them down with her usual careful efficiency. “You guys know what you want for dinner?”
Remi didn’t even open the menu. “I sure do. A cheeseburger with fries and extra pickles.”
“Never too many pickles, right?” she teased.
He shot her a grin. “You’ve got that right.”
Alice turned to me. “How about you, Caleb? What would you like?”
“How about the steak sandwich?”
Her pen was poised above her notepad. “Are you asking my opinion?”
I lowered my chin, my brow crinkled. “If you’re inclined to give it.”
She brought her pen to her mouth, nibbling on the end. “If you get onion rings to go with it, I think you’ll be very pleased.”
I took my time answering as I tried to figure out what was going on in her head. All she was giving me was her polite little smile.
“I trust you, Allie. You know what I like.”
“Got it,” she said quickly, jotting it down before heading off again. No lingering, no teasing, no asking about my week like she used to. Just…gone.
Remi gave me a long, pointed stare. “What was that?”
I paused, my beer halfway to my mouth. “What?”
His eyes narrowed. “I could be wrong, but it looked a hell of a lot like you were trying to flirt with Alice.” He blew out a puff of air. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen you flirt with a woman, but I’m pretty sure that’s what that was.”
My chuckle sounded closer to choking than laughter. “I was being friendly.”
There was no mistaking his laugh for anything else. “Since when are you friendly?”
“I’m capable of it.” I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms. “I’ll remember not to do it again in your presence. Wouldn’t want Hannah to get jealous if she thinks I’m flirting with you.”
He rolled his eyes and grinned. “I know deflecting when I hear it.” Then he sobered slightly, resting his elbows on the table. “I’ll lay off, man. Just saying, if you want to share, I’m all ears, and I promise not to give you a hard time.”
He wouldn’t, and I knew it. Trouble was, I didn’t know what to share. I had a lot on my mind, but none of it was clear enough to try to get out.
“I’m good,” I stated, and it was mostly true. “Thanks for the offer.”
Alice kept up the same routine all night.
She flitted back and forth to our table to drop food, refill our drinks, and clear plates, each time staying long enough to do her job before disappearing.
The rest of the time, I caught glimpses of her smiling at other tables, leaning in to hear a joke, laughing with people I’d never seen her speak to before.
I picked at my sandwich, more interested in tracking her than eating, which was a first for me.
Not much got in the way of my appetite, especially when it came to Joy’s cooking.
But every time she laughed with someone else, I felt it, that new, unfamiliar restlessness in my gut.
There was no room for anything else. I didn’t understand it, just that it’d been happening more and more often when she was around.
She’d just taken our orders for another beer when it happened.
A song started up on the jukebox. Something older and lively. I tapped my toe under the table, and more than a few customers hummed or quietly sang along.
When Alice reached the bar, Bryan, one of the old-timers who parked himself on his favorite stool most nights, hopped up and snagged her tray, putting it on the bar top. Then he held out his hand. After a beat, she slipped hers into it, and he yanked her into his chest.
Alert, my muscles tensed.
Alice threw her head back and laughed as Bryan pushed her away and spun her in dizzying circles.
Her hair slid from her shoulders and cascaded down her back as she twirled like a ballerina in a music box.
Just when I thought she’d never stop spinning, Bryan brought her into his arms and led her into a bouncy two-step.
Alice’s cheeks were rosy, her eyes alight, and her mouth was poised in a grin wider than I’d ever seen.
Boom.
I was still in my chair, but I’d hit the ground without even realizing I’d been falling. I knew I’d missed a lot, but there was no missing this sudden, bone-deep awareness that I wanted to be the one making her laugh like that—be the reason her eyes shone and cheeks flushed pink.
I sat frozen, watching her spin under Bryan’s hand, every turn unraveling something in my chest. I wasn’t jealous, not of Bryan, who was old enough to be my grandfather. But I was feeling mighty stupid. If I’d been smart, that might’ve been me twirling her.
Now? She looked happier and more alive than I’d ever seen her, and I hadn’t been the one to make her so.
The song wound down, and Bryan gave her a playful bow. She clapped, still beaming like the brightest star in the sky, then slipped back behind the bar like nothing had changed.
But something had.
For me at least.