17. Ray #2
I was walking up to the Watering Hole when I saw Stella coming over with a bright-pink box in her hands.
Yesterday I had swung by her store in the morning to get some of Tammy’s favorites. I knew she had likely thought and overthought about the fact that I didn’t take her to bed after our date Friday night.
I’d done it because I wanted her to know I wasn’t just in this for sex any longer.
I wanted her to know I was interested in more.
She’d seemed tense Saturday morning though, so I’d thought I’d grab some of her favorites from the bakery and bring them home for lunch.
The only problem was, Stella had been out of what I’d wanted by the time I’d gotten there.
In fact, she’d been out of three of Tammy’s favorites, thanks to a woman who came in and bought a bunch of stuff for a last-minute get-together with her family.
Stella had told me to swing by later that afternoon before they closed, and she would save me some from her next batch.
Unfortunately, I’d gotten a call from Vince and Frank that afternoon for an emergency meeting about a plan they’d come up with for Sunday night—the same night all the other burglaries had taken place.
That meeting had taken too long, though, and the bakery had been closed by the time I returned.
“I saved these for you, but since you never made it back, I figured I’d bring them here,” Stella said, holding out the box for me with a smile.
“Thank you, and sorry for not making it over there sooner. By the time I got back you were closed.”
She shrugged. “No worries. My hunky fiancé is working tonight anyway, so I figured this kills two birds with one stone.”
I smiled, holding the door open for her with my free hand while balancing the pink box in the other.
We both walked up to the bar, and I watched Tammy animatedly talking to Ruthie and Ellie. Her gaze briefly scanned to us, and she immediately stopped talking to them and fully turned to me.
“Is that what I think it is?” she said loudly, pointing to the pink box.
I smiled at her and then handed the box over. She snatched that thing up so quickly it was a wonder the box didn’t go flying.
“What kind are they?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Tammy asked me incredulously. “You don’t know what you bought?”
“Actually, no. I stopped by yesterday to get you some items, but she was sold out, so Stella just brought them here, and I haven’t had a chance to look.”
She huffed, nodding, and then opened the box like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Ooooh, these are great.” She practically salivated while looking in the box.
“Well, what kind are they?” Ruthie asked.
“The kind that disappear, that’s what kind,” Tammy responded, shoving some ball covered in white powder into her mouth before moaning loudly as she chewed it.
“This is torture,” Ellie said, echoing my thoughts exactly.
Tammy turned and took the box back into the kitchen area with her before returning a few moments later with a knife and small plate. She cut up one of the pastries into four smaller pieces and offered one each to Ruthie, Ellie, and me before she ate the fourth.
Feeling bad that she hadn’t offered Stella a piece, I reluctantly gave her mine.
“Oh, no thanks,” Stella said, shaking her head. “My rule is I am only allowed to eat them at my bakery. Nowhere else.”
I nodded and slid it back over before inhaling whatever delicious thing this was.
“Okay, ladies, back to our previous discussion,” Tammy said, clapping her hands.
“Remember, it’s all in how you word something.
For example, if you tell someone to ‘have a nice day’, it sounds pleasant and kind.
But if you say ‘enjoy your next twenty-four hours’, it sounds way more intimidating and ominous.
This is why choosing your words carefully is most important in an argument. ”
I chuckled at her assessment just as some man I’d never seen before walked up next to me at the bar.
“Tammy, you know you get me all hot and bothered when you get bossy like that,” he called out from beside me.
The man was smiling as he stepped up to the bar and climbed into the chair next to me. He wobbled a little getting situated, so I assumed he’d had more than a few beers.
“Dale…” she teased back.
Dale laughed beside me, irritating me.
“Tammy, I’m moving back to Oklahoma…so this is my last chance to take you to heaven,” he flirted, though his words were slow and slightly slurred.
Tammy sighed and rolled her head as if to work out the stiff muscles.
“You know what would help ease your stiff neck?” Dale asked.
Tammy rolled her eyes. “Let me guess…a trip to heaven?” Her voice was flat and monotone, but there was also a hint of teasing.
Several guffaws sounded around the bar—from both men and women—as Tammy just smirked.
“Your loss, my dear lady friend,” Dale teased back. “If you’re ever in Oklahoma, look me up.”
“I’ll do that,” Tammy said, but the opposite read true, given the look on her face.
He got up from his seat, still smiling, and waved to Tammy as he departed.
“Oooh, Tammy, did he get you all hot and bothered?” Stella joked.
“Just the bothered,” she shot back quickly, causing the other women to all laugh.
I knew the conversation was all in fun, but I still didn’t like that man just brazenly coming on to her like that. I felt the sudden urge to punch him in the face, even though he’d already left.
I looked up to find Tammy’s eyes on me, assessing.
“What?” she asked.
“Not a fan,” I replied simply.
She gave me a knowing smile—the type that told me she saw my jealousy for what it was and found it cute.
Hours later, Tammy had just finished everything she needed for closing and Andre and Diego were waiting by the bar to walk us both out.
Given the fact that the last two times someone had broken in—or attempted to—were on Sundays, we’d decided it would be best to have extra coverage tonight as we all left.
“Alright, I think that’s it,” Tammy said, returning from the office and joining us at the bar.
“You switching it up?” Andre asked, pointing to the pouch in her hands.
“Huh?” Tammy asked.
“The money pouch in your hands.” Andre pointed again. “You not gonna lock that up like usual?”
“We’re actually depositing it through the ATM tonight instead,” I explained, having worked out the plan with Tammy already.
“It’s not as reliable as taking it in person because the machines can make mistakes when you deposit that much cash, but we’re gonna take that risk for tonight just in case that asshole comes back. ”
“You want us to go with you so you’ve got extra backup?” Diego offered, pointing to himself and Andre.
“Vince and Frank are meeting us at the bank for that very reason, but thanks,” Tammy told them, giving them the same information I’d given her a few hours ago.
They both nodded, though neither one seemed pleased by that answer. We all made our way out to the parking lot, as I constantly scanned the area.
The money bag was shoved inside Tammy’s purse, which she was clutching close to her like it held the crown jewels from the Queen of England.
Once inside my rental car, I turned to her and handed her my phone. “Will you text Frank and tell him we’re on our way?”
The drop went off without a hitch, though we realized we could only insert roughly two hundred dollars at a time so the machine didn’t get stuck.
Several thousand dollars later, the money was deposited and we were on our way.
Now we waited—waited to see if the person showed up tonight and received a rude surprise when they got there or not.
I glanced over at Tammy as we stopped at the traffic light. Her eyes were closed. She looked peaceful as she leaned back in the passenger seat.
This woman was quickly turning into someone who meant something to me—someone I wanted to keep around in my life.
I knew that meant I needed to figure things out as far as moving here and dealing with all those logistics.
The more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it and found I was actually looking forward to it.
Tammy was a fascinating puzzle. A complicated one, but one that I knew deep down would be worth it to solve.
She was as stubborn as a mule sometimes but also sweet as a cinnamon roll when she wanted to be.
She was great at letting people into her life on a surface level, but very few people knew the real Tammy deep down. I wanted to be one of those people.
I didn’t know which cards to play with her. But lucky for me, I had a full deck, and I intended to use them all if I had to.