Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Erica
I pulled into the gravel parking lot on the following bright and sunny Friday afternoon.
I’d managed to get out of work a few hours early, so I didn’t have to fight traffic out of the city.
Of course, Manhattanites were more likely to head to Long Island or New Jersey for the weekend than to drive four hours to central New York.
I’d almost taken a flight, but I would have ended up coming in even later. So, here I was putting another couple hundred miles on my car.
But the trip upstate reminded me how much I liked driving, and I’d actually handled three meetings on the way, thanks to the Bluetooth in my car.
Now I could focus on the bar this weekend.
A half dozen cars were in the parking lot as I approached from the back entrance.
An ancient pickup truck with more rust than paint full of lumber and tools was backed up to the loading dock.
The back door of the bar was open, and a familiar redhead was smoking as she held the door for a trio of burly guys.
I parked and grabbed my bag. I slammed my door and growled under my breath. “Jake.”
At least I’d dressed the part this time, wearing old jeans, sturdy boots, and a layer of long-sleeved and short-sleeved T-shirts in deference to the early spring temperatures.
I jogged to meet a fourth man carrying lumber on his shoulder.
“Ma’am.” He adjusted the stack of boards he was hauling. “We’re not open yet.”
“I know. I’m the owner.”
“Oh.” He smiled broadly. “You want to talk to Mills then.”
“Considering he’s not the owner, you’re damn right I do.”
The ridiculously jacked man in front of me didn’t seem frightened or offended. He just grinned, a dimple popping from his trendy scruff. He was wearing a slouchy navy knit hat and an EMT T-shirt that stretched across his impressive chest. “He’s inside.”
I marched in ahead of him, my ire growing with the laughter behind me and the banging and loud male noises ahead. Rita gave me a salute and held the door for me as I stalked inside. Jake was in the middle of a half dozen men, one being my brother.
Perfect. Just what I needed. We’d sort of discussed having people come to the bar to help, but I thought I’d have today to figure out a game plan. My older brother thinking he could take over meant my father would be next, followed by…
Yep. There she was. Along the back of the eating area was a long table loaded with food, courtesy of my mother. She was shouting out orders for the boys to hydrate and eat as all good Italian-slash-Spanish women did.
I was not a good woman.
I wasn’t feeding these animals.
Okay, that was a lie. I’d totally have fed them if I’d known they were coming. If I’d made the damn decisions.
Damien and Jake had their heads together over some sort of plans. My brother’s handiwork, I was sure.
“Excuse me. Move, please.” I pushed through the men. Far too many of them were congregated around the bar area, and all of them towered over me.
Two of them were draping the game area with drop cloths, and another three were taking care of the floor. Paint cans were stacked against the right side of the main room, and drywall was being installed on the left.
“Who paid for this?”
Jake held up one finger while he finished talking to my brother.
I stalked over to him and grabbed it and bent it back until he yelped. “Do not put your finger up at me when I’m asking a question about my bar.”
“Okay, okay. Ease up, Freckles.” I released him, and he shook out his hand. “Impressive technique.”
“Do not try to be charming. What are you doing here? And who authorized these purchases?” I swung around to my brother. “And who invited you?”
Damien grinned. “Nice to see you too, hermanita.”
“Don’t make me slap that smile off you. I told you I was handling this.”
“And I’m sure you can do it well, but we wanted to get a jump on things. It’s just drywall and primer, piccola.”
I hated when he called me that. Yes, I was the tiniest of the siblings, but we were close in age and it was insulting.
All of them doing this without even consulting me as if I couldn’t possibly know the next step to take was really freaking insulting too.
“Freckles—”
“I have a name. I’d appreciate if everyone used it.” My voice rose to a screech. Enough that I could feel the flush creeping up my neck and heading for my cheeks. I couldn’t stand feeling out of control, and no part of this bar situation was sitting right with me.
My mother started clapping for attention. “All right, off you go to work. Let me talk to my daughter.”
“Mami,” I muttered.
Her dark eyes flashed at me, and I bit my tongue. “You go over there—” She gestured to the food-laden table. “Now.”
I ignored her directive. I’d pay for it later, but I needed air. And lots of it.
I headed for the front vestibule. Another half dozen firefighters and EMTs were working on the porch. My shoulders were tight and I knew I was being an ungrateful shit, but everything was going on without my say so.
This was exactly why I’d left Crescent Cove. I hated that everyone got into everyone else’s business. The chaos made me mental.
I mumbled thanks to the guys for their work and hurried down the makeshift stairs they had set up.
I stalked across the parking lot and followed the gravel-strewn path to the road.
I needed to walk off some of this anger.
The lake was so close, I could taste the water on the air.
The one thing I did miss was the lake. Maybe if I saw it, it would help me chill the hell out.
“Freckles.”
I stiffened at Jake’s voice and kept walking.
“Erica, come on.”
My name sounded wrong on his lips and that pissed me off even more. I whirled around. “You cannot take over my life.”
“We talked about having everyone come in and start the renos. Remember?”
“Yeah, we talked about it. There was no plan.” I put my hands on my hips. “Actually, let me be clear. No plan I was involved in.”
“You were in the city. I figured I’d start it for you.”
“You figured.” We were on the side of the road, and people were blaring their horns as they drove by.
He hooked his hand through my arm and pulled me back toward the parking lot. “Would you just listen?”
“Please enlighten me. Because I love when people make all the decisions for me.”
He raked his fingers through his freshly shorn hair.
I tried not to get distracted by the fact that his beard was also trimmed, and he was ridiculously handsome in his aviator sunglasses.
He had on an old navy CCFD T-shirt that had been through so many washings it had shrunk enough to cling to his wide chest.
Not the time for getting distracted. I was mad at him.
He crowded into me and cupped my face. “You’re strong and perfect and don’t need help from anyone. But I want to help. I want to show you I can be the kind of guy who is here for you.”
Shocked, I lifted my hands to his wrists and didn’t stop him when he bent down and kissed me right in front of everyone. The mouth I hated that I’d missed for a week.
The taste that had stalked me all week long—especially in dreams.
I went up on my toes and kissed him back. There were whoops and whistles coming from the porch, and right then, I didn’t even care. Damn him and his talented mouth and capable hands that made me want things I thought I’d never want again.
The scary little part that always secretly wanted this man.
“Chief!”
“Not now, Sullivan,” he muttered against my mouth.
I could feel someone in our space, and I tried to get my thoughts together. This freaking man always left me so off balance.
The not-so-subtle clearing of a throat made Jake groan into my mouth.
Jake finally let me go and turned toward the man I’d met just a little while ago. “First of all, Ben, stop calling me Chief.”
“Right, Chief.”
Jake sighed. “What is it?”
“Sorry. Ma’am.” Ben gave me a tight smile before focusing on Jake once more. “We just got a call.”
The parking lot was suddenly full of men and women piling into trucks and cars. “Okay, we’ll hold down the fort. Be safe.”
“It’s an all hands-on deck, sir. One of the mansions on the lake.”
“Shit.” Jake’s demeanor changed. He stood taller, and his shoulders went military straight. “Right. You called in extra trucks?”
Ben nodded. “We’re using the lake water, but it’s still thawing.”
Jake swore, regret heavy in his eyes. “I gotta go, Freckles.”
My heart twisted with a worry I’d never really faced before.
“Need a ride, sir?” Ben asked.
“I’ve got my truck.”
Ben jogged back to the parking lot.
I turned to find Jake even closer. “Please, be careful.”
“Always.” He cupped my elbows and dragged me up onto my toes. The kiss was hot and deep. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Then he took off after the younger man.
“This fight isn’t over,” I yelled after him.
He turned, still jogging backward, his teeth a bright slash against his dark beard. “I’m gonna fight with you till my dying breath, Freckles.”
I blew out a breath. I had a very strong feeling he was correct.
I made my way back to Sharkey’s. All my mad had fizzled out. Knowing Jake was a firefighter was one thing, but the realization that he would place himself in danger sat a little heavier today. I glanced over my shoulder at the lake and the wisps of smoke teasing the late afternoon sky.
I wasn’t sure if that was my imagination or fact.
The lake was fairly large, but the mansions that hugged the craggy coastline were mostly populated on one side.
The other side had been bought up by Maitland Enterprises.
They were building a spa and high-end summer properties last I’d heard from my weekly gossip from my mother.
As I got closer to the bar, I glimpsed two lone men cleaning up the porch, so it wasn’t a safety hazard. At least that was my guess. Then my brother came out to help in his usual high-handed fashion.