16. Christian
christian
“So why’re you insisting we go for happy hour?” Kale asked as he, Jude, and I entered The Rooster after a day of practice.
The happy hour crowd was always just a few older ladies, like my mom’s friends, and sometimes a few townies. Considering it was almost Thanksgiving, there seemed to be a few extra tourists. The regulars usually didn’t come out till later.
“Have you seen the happy hour prices?” I asked him, picking up a menu to point out the three-dollar wells and sliders for seven ninety-nine. “How can you pass up a deal like that?”
“I could use a couple of those sliders,” Jude said, taking a seat at the bar.
“Bulking season?” I asked him, but I was too preoccupied scanning my surroundings for a man who looked out of place and Sage’s whereabouts to hear his response. I really should have asked Sage what he looked like.
I hadn’t told Kale, as promised, but I was hoping if he saw Sage’s ex that may force her to tell him what’s going on. She needed to tell her brother. The more people who were in her corner, the better.
Sage stepped out of the back, her eyes immediately finding mine and narrowing when she saw all of us. She was irritated with me and it made me fucking beam.
I waved at her like a fucking idiot. “Hey, Sage!”
She glared at me as she approached.
“Hey, sis,” Kale said, nonplussed at her annoyance. “How about a few whiskey shots and long necks?”
“Anything else?” she asked, going to work to pour the whiskey and crack open the beer bottles, all while shooting me icy looks.
“Could we put in a couple orders of the sliders?” Jude asked.
“Sure thing.” Her voice was sugary sweet even as she turned her back on us to put the order in the POS system.
She finished our order and took our cards to open a tab before she jerked her head to have me follow her to the end of the bar.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she hissed. “Bringing my brother here?”
“You need to tell him what’s going on,” I insisted.
“I don’t think that’s your call and this isn’t the way to go about it.”
“Would you tell him on your own?” I asked her, raising my brows.
She sat back on her heels, considering for a moment. She crossed her arms, pondering, before meeting my gaze. “Fine. I’ll tell him. But not like this. You need to get him to leave. He can’t be here when he shows up.”
That took me aback. “What do you mean he can’t be here when he shows up? Do they know each other?”
“Believe me, he knows of him. Either way, he needs to leave. Now.”
“What about you? You can’t be here alone when he shows up.”
A flash of fear washed over her before she doused it beneath her cool and collected facade. “I’ll be fine. Just, please, take him out of here.”
“All right.” I nodded. “But I’m coming right back. Might as well make those sliders to-go.”
“Thank you.” Her shoulders relaxed.
I still didn’t feel good about this — leaving her for even a second and keeping this from Kale — while I walked back to the boys.
“On second thought, this crowd cramps my style,” I told them. “Let’s finish our drinks and call it a night.”
They both looked at me with confused expressions.
“Since when have you ever wanted to leave early on a night when it’s Sage’s shift?” Kale asked.
“Since tonight,” I said as firmly as I could, shooting the shot back and letting it burn all the way down.
Jude, who’d known me the longest, narrowed his eyes. He could probably read right through me and knew something was up. “Sure, man. I’ll just let someone know we’ll take the sliders to-go.”
“Already done,” I told him, chugging the beer.
Jude took that as a cue to chug his own beer, but his eyes were still studying me. Even as our to-go boxes came out of the back kitchen and we paid, Jude was still giving me a weird look.
“What’s this about?” Jude talked out the side of his mouth as we all headed to our trucks in the parking lot, Kale walking a few feet ahead of us to his vehicle.
“Nothing,” I said overly-cheerily.
“Bull shit,” he shot back. “Something’s up with you.”
I shook my head, laughing it off, while I unlocked my truck. “See ya later, bro,” I told him, climbing into the driver's seat.
“Yeah, later.” Jude waved me off while still watching me suspiciously through his truck window.
I beamed back, giving him the most exaggerated wave in return and turned the ignition. I pretended to fiddle with the radio while I waited for Kale and Jude to drive off, watching for anyone I didn’t recognize.
After I was certain they were out of sight, I turned off the truck, hopped back out, locked it, and strode back into the bar.
Sage’s eyes flicked to me when I entered. I gave her a brief nod before taking a seat back at the bar. I gestured her over.
“Another beer,” I requested. “And this time I’m not leaving till closing.”
She gave me a small appreciative smile before popping open another long neck and going back to work serving other patrons.
I sat there like I was on watch duty, nursing my beer, watching the door every time it swung open.
As the night progressed, off-shift cowboys and ranch hands came in to kick up their boots and sling one back.
Each time Sage walked by she checked in to see if I wanted another beer, she looked at me suspiciously, wondering what my plan was.
I suppose I was acting a bit out of character while I sat like a sentinel, watching over her and The Rooster, without trying to consume her time.
She had a job to do and so did I. I just hoped she followed my lead when he came in.
It was one in the morning and at some point I switched over to coffee, considering I’d only gotten a couple hours of sleep the night before. I was doing my best to stifle my yawns.
I was starting to think this guy wouldn’t show when a man in a black felt Stetson covering short black hair, expensive looking caiman boots, and a nice sheepskin coat walked in.
The hairs at the back of my neck rose as I watched him assess his surroundings before his dark gaze slid to Sage behind the bar, a slight-knowing smile spreading across his face.
He flipped down the collar of his coat and strode across the bar like he already owned the place, his intentions set on Sage.
My gaze snapped to her and I watched her freeze in place, like a doe caught in headlights, her eyes growing large.
The color in her face drained and her perfect pouty red lips thinned like she was biting the insides to keep from either vomiting or crying out.
I didn’t waste any time, pushing off the bar and walking over to where Sage stood toward the end.
I practically cut the dude off, keeping him in my periphery as I reached over and rested my palm on her stiff arm.
“Hey, baby,” I said loud enough for him to hear and for her to hopefully snap out of her trance long enough to look at me.
But she remained transfixed. I rubbed my hand up and down her arm. “Sage baby, I was thinking I could make reservations for that place you like for dinner tomorrow night?” I suggested.
Her eyes broke away from him, blinking as they took me in. “Dinner tomorrow night?” she asked, numbly.
“Hey, stranger.” He had balls, I had to give him that. I turned to see him taking a seat on the stool beside me, stealing her attention back to him.
“Hi.” She was so timid when she spoke. My gut twisted hearing her like that. Who the fuck was this guy to make her shrink into herself?
I straightened up, hoping I was standing to my full height, looking down at him where he sat. “Oh, do you know my Sage?” I asked him. I was so fucking surprised and proud of myself. My voice was like fucking granite right now. Smooth and un-fucking-breakable.
His brows rose slightly, his eyes bouncing between me and Sage. “We go back. Don’t we, doll?”
I couldn’t help my lips from tipping up at flexing his term of endearment. “Is that right? And you are?”
That seemed to piss him off just enough to know that he wasn’t important enough here for me to know him. But like most guys like him who had a practiced mask, it quickly went back into place with a cordial smile. He held out his hand. “Clayton. Nice to meet … you?”
I hated the presumptuous way he ended the “nice to meet you” with a question like he was entitled to know who I was. It definitely wasn’t nice to meet him. I could already tell I didn’t like this asshole. I briefly glanced at Sage and it appeared she was slowly coming back to herself.
“Um.” She stumbled. “Clayton, this is Christian, my …”
That’s my girl. She was catching on.
I turned back to him, a more genuine smile breaking across my face. I took his hand to shake it. “Her fiancée.”
Sage choked on her own spit beside me, but I didn’t dare look at her, instead I was watching intently as Clayton’s face fell briefly before correcting back into his fake nice smile.
“Then I must congratulate you,” he said, pulling his hand away from my grip.
Yep, I hope you felt those bones grind together when I shook it.
“Thanks, bro.” He definitely wasn’t my bro. But if he wanted to fake nice, I could fake nice too.
“Um, yes, thank you.” Sage was starting to recover her words.
I smiled at her, leaning my elbow on the bar. “So about that dinner date tomorrow night?” I beamed at her.
Her wide eyes turned to me, her red lips shaped in an O. Fire was starting to dance behind them. She was trying to hide her irritation with me.
“Yes,” she gritted out. “Dinner tomorrow night sounds great.”
“Are there good places to eat around here?” Clayton interjected.
Fuck off, I wanted to tell him. “Oh, plenty if you head to Trenton, or better yet if you go anywhere else but here.” I laughed like it was the biggest joke.
“Willows isn’t really known for ‘places to eat’.
” I used air quotes around the last words.
“Not unless you want to hit the Burger Shack on your way out of town. Best burgers in Oregon, if you ask me.”
He waved Tessa over. “Bulleit on the rocks.” He ordered before turning back to me with a saccharin smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”