20. Griffin
Chapter 20
Griffin
Old Memories
I helped out with kegs and cleanup while I waited for Lennon to finish up for the night.
I kept missing her, figuring she was doing her usual running around. That woman never stayed in one place, even when she was working behind the bar, but it had been a while since I’d seen her.
I bussed a table and brought the empties up to the bar.
“Thanks, man.” Kevon took my empties.
“Have you seen Lennon?”
He shook his head. “She’s been gone for a bit. I figured she was helping CJ again. It’s so fucking hot in here most people are going outside.”
I nodded. “Okay, thanks.”
Which was damn true. I wished I hadn’t worn a long-sleeved shirt that night, that was for sure. I wandered out to the patio, finding Justin breaking up another fight.
Was there something in the air tonight?
Based on the plastic shot glasses I was seeing everywhere tonight while doing pickups, I guessed what some of it was. Whiskey could sneak up on a body. I know it had for me on more than one occasion.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Justin’s head snap back from a punch. With a low oath, I dropped my tray on one of the small tables and rushed over.
A fist came straight for my face, and I ducked at the last second. A half dozen broken noses made for quick reflexes—finally. Took me a bit to figure it out.
I plowed my shoulder into the exceptionally tall guy, and he took it to the solar plexus. The guy was a bull and drove me back, grappling with a leg wrapped around mine to put me on my ass.
Luckily, after living ten years with Marcus Justice, I was well aware of some jujitsu moves. I hooked my arm around his back, and we both crashed into the stone patio. One of the Adirondack chairs tipped over, digging into my back.
“Son of a bitch,” I growled and flipped him onto his back. “What the hell man?”
“Get off me!”
“You swung at me,” I muttered and rolled off him.
Justin was bent over, gasping for breath. “Get the hell out of here.”
The guy sat up, his cheeks ruddy with drink. “My girl split.”
“No wonder.” I managed to get on my knees, and Justin held out a hand for me. I let him haul me off the ground then we both looked down at the gargantuan guy.
“Broke up with me.”
“Oh,” we both said in unison.
“Sorry, man.” Justin reached down to help up the guy. “Don’t swing at me.”
He grabbed onto Justin’s outstretched hand and got to his feet. “I won’t. That tool pissed me off, but I’m fine now.”
“Good. What’s your name?”
“Landon Cole.”
“Well, that’s a helluva right hook you got, Landon.” Justin wiggled his jaw.
He smiled ruefully and shook out his hand. “And you’ve got a stone jaw.”
“Goes with his hard head,” I said with a grin.
“What do you do, man?”
“Why?”
“Wondering if that right hook comes with training.”
Landon chuckled. “Navy.”
“Oh, hey. Me too. A long time ago.” I grinned. Not many navy men around this part of New York that was for sure. “AIRRs.”
“Shit, that’s elite shit. I was just a sub, man. I got out last year. Was tired of living in a tin can.”
“Can’t blame you.”
“Well, Landon. You looking for a job?” Justin asked.
His eyebrows shot up. “I just clocked you. Now you want to give me a job?”
Justin laughed. “You didn’t clock me. Just got in a lucky shot.”
“Sure. You can think that all you want.”
He slapped Landon on the arm. “Think you’ll do just fine. That is if you want a job.”
He shrugged. “I work over at the mill.”
“Bet I’ll pay you more. That is, if you’re not always a hothead.”
Landon folded his arms over his chest—big fucking arms. “Weirdest job interview I’ve ever been on.”
How the hell did he survive on a submarine? I was a big guy, and I’d looked for anything other than submarine life. He was at least three inches taller than me.
Justin thumbed away some blood at the corner of his mouth. “If you can ring my bell, I figure you might be a good bouncer. You can probably still work at the mills if you want just to make some extra cash here.”
“Well, I officially don’t have a girlfriend. Not like I have any use for weekends.”
“Good. If you’re up for it, we’ll try you out.”
“Because I got a punch in.”
“And let’s not forget the jujitsu shit.”
Landon grinned. “I spar at the gym in town.”
“Got any friends?” Justin dug into his pocket and came out with a card. “If you know anyone else who wants to make some cash—and isn’t an asshole—have them give me a call.”
Landon took the card. “I might.”
“Cool.”
“Why use a job finder,” I muttered.
“Bouncer isn’t exactly on the list of options.”
“I guess that’s true.” I checked out my forearm, which had gotten a bit scraped up from my trip onto the stone. “You got my vote.”
Landon grinned, unrepentant. “Gotta be faster, old man.”
“Man, ouch.” Justin chuckled.
I just shook my head. After a trip to the ground, I was feeling every inch of my thirty-six. “Hey, Justin. Have you seen Lennon?”
He frowned. “Actually, no. She’s probably at the bar, though.”
“Yeah. Maybe I just missed her.”
“Is that the hot dark-haired chick?” Landon craned his neck. “Her?”
I looked over my shoulder and spotted Ronnie threading her way through the lingering patrons. “Nope. That’s one of the waitresses.”
“Good, because damn.”
“Guess you don’t need time to get over your girlfriend.”
He jammed his hands into his pockets. “I wouldn’t mind her distracting me from my broken heart.”
I rolled my eyes. “You and Justin will get along fine.”
Justin grinned. “Life’s too short and there are far too many beautiful women for me to get wrapped up in one.”
“That gets old eventually.”
“So, you say. Especially since you’ve got Len. Might make me rethink things myself.”
“She’d chew you up and spit you out, son.”
“What a way to go.” Justin sighed wistfully, then he laughed at my hard look. “Don’t worry about me, man. I already tried to show my interest there.”
My shoulders tightened. “Is that right?”
“She sunk my battleship, if you will.”
Landon rolled his eyes. “Maybe I don’t want to take a job, after all.”
“Yeah, you’ll have to get on board with lame jokes if you work here.” I relaxed. “And if you want to pick up some extra hours, we’ll be looking for help over at the concert stage down the road.”
“Man, I guess tonight turned into a far better deal than I thought. Bye, Ashley, hello jobs.”
“I’m going to get back to it.”
Justin nodded and the two of them kept talking. I wasn’t sure if Kira would be on board with the way Justin did his hiring, but I had a feeling both Kira and Beckett were used to his impulsive ways.
I buzzed by CJ and the outdoor bar then I headed back inside to the two bars set-up inside. The crowd had thinned considerably, but Lennon was nowhere to be found. Maybe she was in the back. I headed for the storage area with the kegs. They’d given me the code since I helped out more than not.
She wasn’t there.
The kitchen was closed, but maybe she needed a little quiet. I pushed through the swinging doors, but the kitchen was dark, and the staff already gone for the night. The music wasn’t quite as pulsing back here, and I could actually think. I went down the hall and tried the door to Kira’s office.
Locked and no light from under the door.
A tiny niggle of worry wormed into my gut.
She wouldn’t leave with how busy it was. I went farther down the hall to the walk-in fridge. Then I heard a voice.
“Hey! Anyone!”
I hurried down the hall. “Lennon?”
“Oh my God.” She slapped at the door. “Hurry up and let me out of here, please!”
Her voice was a little strained. How the hell long had she been back here? I tried the handle, but it was locked. “What’s the code?”
“3-2-3-8, wait, no.” I heard a thunk against the door. “Shit.”
“Hey, darlin’. It’s okay.”
She blew out a breath. “3-3-2-8.”
I punched them as the light went green. I swung it open, and she flew out and into my arms, knocking me back a step. “Hey...” I coasted a hand down her hair to her back. “It’s okay.”She was trembling. “It’s okay.”
“Sorry.” She gulped in a breath, her face pressed into my chest. “Just a second.”
“How long were you back here?”
“I don’t even know. I didn’t have my phone.”
I wrapped my arms tighter around her. “It’s okay now.”
“Sorry. Just brought back a few old memories.” She pressed her cheek against my heart as her shaking subsided.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.” I rubbed my hand up and down her back.
After a minute, she sighed. “My mom used to lock me into the office sometimes when he wasn’t supposed to let me come with her. And to make sure I was safe.”
I peered into the room, which was dark. “Ah, I get it. So, you had to hide in the dark.”
“Yeah. Most of the time, I had my tablet or phone, but...”
“Not now.” I rested my chin on top of her head. “Got it. Did the door close or something?”
“Yeah. I propped it open to get some stupid dragonfruit juice. The stopper must have slipped.”
I glanced down at the floor and the little rubber stopper was kicked away nearly a foot away. Had someone played a prank on her? It was seriously fucked up if they had. I urged her out of the room and back down the hall.
“Wait, I need the juice.”
“The bar is closing down. Kevon did last call fifteen minutes ago.”
“Dammit. How long was I in there?”
“I don’t know. Had to be at least forty minutes. At least that was the last time I saw you.”
She stopped me when we got to the kitchen. “Give me a second.”
I cupped her face and pressed a light kiss on her mouth. “Take all the time you need.”
She rolled her neck on her shoulders and shook out her hands.
“Really got you, huh?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t get the light to go on. If it had been on, I’d have been fine. Pissed...but fine.”
The door burst open, and Kira came in. “Oh, there you are.”
“Sorry. I got locked in the way back storage.”
Kira frowned. “How?”
“Door must have shut behind me. I thought I put the little stopper under the door, but it must have slipped.”
I rubbed her back. “I don’t know. It was kicked pretty far away from the door.”
Lennon peered up at me. “What?”
“Yeah. I don’t know for sure. Seems weird.”
“I’ll kill Justin if he did it thinking he was being a smart ass.” Lennon’s hands were fisted at her sides.
“No. I was out on the patio with him.” I glanced at Kira. “Think he just hired a bouncer.”
Kira rolled her eyes. “Great. Is it a drinking buddy of his?”
“Not exactly.”
“Well, that’s a worry for another day. I gotta get the tills settled up and these people out of here. We’re already a half hour after closing. Any longer and I’ll have the cops lurking in the parking lot.”
Lennon nodded. “Probably too busy at Lucky’s tonight. Though I’m not sure with all the traffic we got tonight.”
“Me neither. I’m not complaining, but I definitely wasn’t ready for this many people. We might have to hire a few more staff for the floor and bar.”
“Cool. We’ll figure it out.”
“Where do you want me?” I asked.
“Herding?” Kira asked hopefully.
I laughed. “That I can do.”
Kira headed back into the taproom, and I ushered Lennon after her.
Before we got across the threshold, she glanced back at me. “Thanks for looking for me.” Then she was gone.
I tried to push back the worry that itched at me. I was probably just overreacting. Lennon brought out a protective side of me that I hadn’t felt in a damn long time.
Ushering out drunk people was a bit more challenging than I thought it would be. Most had designated drivers, but I ended up taking quite a few sets of keys and calling for share rides. By the time we got everyone out of there, it was well past two in the morning.
Clean-up took another forty minutes. By the time the doors were locked, I was pushing an exhausted Lennon out the door with me. She didn’t even blink when I steered her to my truck. The drive to my place on the property only took seven minutes and when I rolled in, she was already dozing against the door.
I parked and hopped out, going around to her side. When I opened the door, her eyes blinked at me owlishly. “You’re wiped.”
“I haven’t worked this late since Miami in January. Someone hasn’t let me sleep all that much.”
I curled my arm around her and pulled her into my arms, letting her slowly lower to the ground. “I like when you sleepover. And I’m pretty sure you get plenty of sleep after I’m done with you.”
She punched me in the shoulder, but she was too tired to give it too much energy. “You’re taking me home to sleep, pal. That’s it.”
“I can handle that.”
We bumped against each other as if we’d been the ones drinking. Now that I was close to my place, the tiredness was swamping me fast. I unlocked the door and dragged her inside with me. She kicked off her sneakers and went directly to the bookcase hiding my bedroom.
Shaking my head, I headed to the fridge and grabbed us both a tall can of water. I cracked mine and drained half of it on the way across the living room. I checked that the front was locked and followed her into my room. She’d stripped out of her clothes and the door was cracked to my bathroom.
The shower was running, steam pluming from the doorway.
Leaving her to it, I went to find her a shirt. This time, it was an old Arcade Fire shirt. I pushed the door open, my chest tightening at her in my space.
Her hair was pinned up as she lowered her head to let the hot water roll over her shoulders. Whatever soap she used was long gone. I grabbed a big navy towel, opened the glass door, and reached in to turn off the water. “C’mon out before you’re pruny.”
She glanced at me sleepily. “It’s nice and warm.”
I held up the towel. “C’mon.”
She sighed and let me bundle her up. Quickly, I dried her and dropped the shirt over her head, then I led her to my bed. I pulled back the blankets and she dropped, face first on the bed. Dragged a pillow under her head and she was gone.
I covered her up and left her to take my own shower.
My annoyance at how she’d been locked in the storage room only increased. I was probably overreacting, but I couldn’t shake how odd it was. Then the tires, and my outside lights had to be a coincidence. Just a string of bad luck.
But why? And how?
I shut off the lights and crawled into bed with her, tucking my arm behind my head as I stared up at the shadowy streaks across my ceiling from the big window. When she rolled against my side, I turned off my brain and let her soft breathing drag me under with her.
When sunshine replaced the shadows, slowly, I woke with a bundle of Lennon sprawled across my chest.
She certainly stole covers and space in her sleep. I had a paltry sheet covering half of the lower part of me. But it was worth it.
“What time is it?” she mumbled against my skin.
“Not sure. Morning still. You can go back to sleep. It’s Sunday.”
She sighed. “Sunday is for doing nothing.”
And then she was out again.
I’d never met anyone who could go so completely to sleep in a blink. I tried to steal back some of the covers, but that was a losing battle.
Resolved to be awake, I slipped out of bed and checked my phone. After ten wasn’t too bad. I got dressed and wandered out to the living room and made coffee.
When that didn’t rouse her, I whipped up some waffles with the ridiculous heart-shaped maker I found in the cabinets. I swore I’d become Laverne’s little project. Since my own mother never took that kind of interest in me, I didn’t have the heart to tell her not to bring food and kitchen appliances over on each of her visits.
I shoved the waffles into the air fryer to stay warm. When that didn’t wake her up, I went onto bacon.
Finally, she appeared at the door, wearing my borrowed shirt and a pair of boxers she’d found in my stash. Damn, she did look good in my clothes.
She pushed her wild hair out of her face. “You didn’t wake me.”
I flipped over the lengths of bacon. “Figured the food would.”
She came up behind me and she ducked her head under my arm. “Bacon always works.”
“Good to know.” I lowered my head to hers and gave her a slow, lingering kiss.
“You taste like maple syrup.” She licked her lips and slipped her hand under my old sweatshirt to lightly scratch my belly. “How are you all muscly with the food you eat?”
“Chopping wood.”
She squeezed my upper arm. “Can’t say I’d hate watching that.” She slipped away and went right to the coffee.
A knock at the door had her glancing at me with wide eyes.
“It’s probably Laverne or Kain.”
She glanced down at herself. “Hell.”
“You’re covered.”
“Barely.”
I laughed. “Well, go on into the bedroom if you don’t want to be seen.”
“Griffin?”
“See? Laverne.” I crossed to the door and unlocked it. “Hey, love of my life.”
“Charmer.” Laverne went onto her toes and brushed my cheek with a kiss before pushing inside. “Oh, Lennon.”
She cleared her throat. “Um, hi.”
Laverne glanced from me to her and then back, her smile widening.
“Don’t get any ideas.”
“No ideas. Just happy.” She came in with a casserole dish and set it on the dining room table. “When did this come about?” Laverne went right to the kitchen and filched a piece of bacon from the plate.
Lennon hurried down to the living room and grabbed one of the throw blankets and wrapped it around herself. “Nice to see you, Laverne. You do this often?”
“I like to make sure he’s eating.” She crunched into the bacon and chewed, a thoughtful look on her face. “And now that I know you’re playing sleepover, I’ll stay away.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Lennon cupped her coffee mug between her hands and sat down at the table. She peered under the foil of the casserole. “Hmm, I don’t mind you stopping in with stuff like this.”
Laverne laughed. “Neither of you cook, I take it?”
Lennon shrugged. “I can. Just isn’t all that exciting to cook for one.”
“And look at this, now you’re two.”
I resisted the urge to groan. “What’s up, Laverne? I made some waffles, you want any?”
“Oh, no. I’m fine. I already ate with Fred. I figured you’d enjoy the hash brown casserole.”
“And I will.” I took the casserole and put it on the counter. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She finished her bacon and went to the coffee pot and made herself a mug like she usually did. “This is very interesting.”
Lennon sipped from her coffee. “Keep your matchmaking fingers off me, Laverne.”
“You know, I’ve been trying forever to figure out who would interest you. I’m not sure why I didn’t put this together.”
“Because it just happened. Ish ,” I said, as I set the mini oven to heat up our breakfast.
“Hmm.” She took her coffee to the window and looked out. “Justin went to Rochester to get a part for the bottling machine, so you have the day off. You can take Lennon out for the day.”
“Laverne...”
“What? It’s a gorgeous day.” She turned from the window and the sun gilded her silver hair. “I have faith in you.”
“Laying it on thick.”
“Nah, just a thin layer.” Laverne winked and finished her cup. “I’ll get out of your hair.” She stopped at Lennon and settled her hands on her shoulders. “This is wonderful.”
She didn’t say anything, just kept sipping from her mug.
Laverne didn’t seem to notice, she just rushed over to me and enveloped me in her lilac and powder scent. “I’m off. Have a nice, relaxing day together.” Then she bustled out the door, only pausing to smile and wave before she was gone.
“She do that often?”
“Sometimes.”
“We could have been naked.”
I laughed. “We could have been. But I wouldn’t have let her in.”
“Does she have a key?”
“Probably.”
“Then we could have been naked.”
I leaned against the table and crossed my arms. “You worried about her seeing us involved or that we are involved.”
She didn’t say anything, just looked down into her mug as if it had all the answers to the universe.
“Or that it’s Laverne?”
She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. Once my Jeep was here, I was fucked.”
I straightened then I moved back into the kitchen for the waffles and bacon, as well as the fixings for the waffles. I set my armful on the table near her. I knew she was a private person, but I didn’t care who knew we were together. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for Lennon.
And that bothered me more than it should.
We were just getting started.
Tamping down the annoyance, I got us plates and sat down kitty corner from her. “This going to be a problem?”
“No.”
She reached for the bacon. Evidently, that was the key to her heart—at least for today. She took a waffle off the top and wrapped it around two pieces of bacon with a dash of maple syrup, then took a bite out of it like a taco.
“I can take you to your Jeep after we eat.”
“Fine.” She tore off a bite and stared at the table.
“Christ.” I gripped the edge of the table. “Can we start over?”
“Sorry. She just had that Laverne sparkle in her eyes. I’ve seen it before. I just...” She huffed out a breath. “It’s bad enough I might have to say goodbye to everyone. This kind of pressure is too much.”
“Is it maybe because you don’t really want to go?”
Maybe it was too much to hope for. And it wasn’t fair to push on her.
She started to get up and I reached for her hand. “Sorry. That wasn’t fair.”
She was quiet, but she nodded and sat back down, the blanket fell off her shoulders and pooling around her hips. She tucked her legs up against her chest and looped her arms around her knees. “What if we just have the summer? Maybe the fall.”
“Then maybe that’s a good start.”
She relaxed. “Okay. That I can do.”
“I’ll take it.” And maybe, then I could convince her for more. “Plans for the day?”
“Laundry. Groceries and maybe the gym.”
“Well, I can be your workout.” I gave her a wink.
She rolled her eyes, but she nodded. “Maybe.”
“Sun is shining. How about we take your Jeep and take a drive? Then you can have your way with me in some secluded parking spot with a great view.”
“I could get behind that.”
“So could I.”