Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Austin
I’m walking Mum through the bar, wanting her to be the first to see all the updates, when a horrendous racket sounds from outside.
“What on Earth—” Mum begins, but I’m already sprinting outside to see what’s happened.
The moment I set foot out the back door of the bar, my jaw unhinges in shock. “What the fuck?”
“What is it?” Mum huddles close, trying to see around my broad frame.
Lost for words, I stumble forward towards the car that’s turned my beautiful outdoor seating area into a nightmare.
Bowman’s is due to reopen its doors for the soft opening in a week—the timing of this could not be worse.
The figure behind the wheel isn’t moving and my stomach drops—here I am working about my business when someone might be seriously hurt.
Shaking off my panic, I quickly navigate the mess and make my way towards the car to check on the driver.
When I reach the black sedan, my concern dims, leaving room for anger to seep back in when I see the woman is fine.
She takes a deep breath, shaking the tension from her hands, then opens the car door without looking, nearly hitting me in the process as if she hasn’t done enough damage already. I step back, glaring at her.
The first thing I notice is how short she is—the top of her head only just reaches my shoulders.
Then she cranes her head up to look at me, her baby-blue eyes wide with fear and framed by delicate wire-rimmed glasses, and I’m struck by how damn pretty she is.
Conscious of my size, I take another step back, not wanting to scare her—I’m pissed off, but I’m not a complete arsehole.
“Are you alright?” Mum asks before I can say anything.
The woman gives her a wobbly smile. “I’m fine, which is more than I can say for the garden.” Her gaze darts between us. “Are you the owners?”
“Yes,” I answer distractedly, trying to place her accent. She’s not from Pine Grove, that’s for sure—I would recognise her. It’s early for tourists, but she could be here visiting family or friends.
“I am so sorry. A cat ran in front of the car, and I swerved, but then the brakes wouldn’t work because of all the water.”
“It’s OK. The most important thing is that you’re alright,” Mum reassures her.
“I’m fine, just really embarrassed.”
“We should exchange insurance information,” I say, already running through everything I’ll need to do to sort out this mess before the reopening.
The colour drains from her fair, peachy skin, turning her a ghostly white. “No!” Her cheeks burn. “I—I mean, I can just pay for the repairs.”
“Really?” My scepticism is obvious. I can already tell at least one of my outdoor heaters is toast, and those things aren’t cheap.
She shifts uncomfortably on her feet. “Um, yeah? At least I think so.” She bites her lip, then mutters to herself, “Should have opened a bank account just for this trip.”
Great, she’s a clueless tourist who didn’t even bring her bank cards with her—who does that?
She glances around, her wide eyes landing on the sign on the door a few feet behind me.
“You’re opening next week?” I nod. “I’m staying in town for a while.
” She fiddles with the hem of her t-shirt.
“Do you need any more staff? I could pay for some of the repairs upfront and work off the rest?” She asks hopefully.
“Normally I’d be good for the money, but I only brought a little bit of extra cash with me. I’m a hard worker, I swear.”
“I don’t think—”
“That sounds fair,” Mum replies, cutting me off and jabbing a sharp elbow into my side. “Austin was just saying he’d hoped to find another server before we reopen.” She looks at me, gesturing towards the deceptively sweet-looking menace. “Well, here you go.”
“That’s not—”
“Excuse us a sec,” Mum says, steering me by the elbow, then stopping when we’re a few paces away. She smacks me lightly on the arm.
“What was that for?”
“Can’t you see that girl needs help?” Her tone is as chilly as the wind that ruffles fine strands of white-streaked ginger hair that have escaped her ponytail.
“What she needs is driving lessons and some common sense. Seriously, who travels without their bank cards?”
“She’s afraid, Austin.”
Not wanting to be short with Mum, I take a deep breath, the scent of rain-damp earth filling my nose before replying, “Yeah, because she destroyed our beer garden and can’t pay for it.” This mess is the last thing I need to be dealing with.
“No, it’s more than that.”
“What, are you psychic now?” I ask, growing more frustrated. The spoiled princess is so clueless she didn’t even bring her cards on holiday—I don’t need someone like that working for me.
Mum gives an irritated huff. “Call it a mother’s intuition.” She points a warning finger at me. “You will give that girl a job or so help me—”
“Alright, fine,” I hold my hands up in surrender, the muddy grass squelching beneath my feet as my weight shifts from one foot to the other. “But she’s your responsibility. I’m too busy to do any handholding.”
Call me a judgemental prick, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn this woman has never done a real day of work in her life.
Everything about the pretty brunette screams pampered princess, from her clueless attitude to her fancy car and clothes.
I’d place her somewhere in her early twenties, and not many people that age could afford that sleek sedan of hers on their own—probably a gift from her rich parents.
Her jeans and t-shirt, which at first glance aren’t anything special, upon closer inspection are high-quality fabric and fit her petite frame perfectly.
She’s not flashy—I’ll give her that much—but she doesn’t belong in my bar.
With Mum following close behind me, I stride back towards the woman in question, and she immediately stops wringing her hands and straightens her posture.
“How long are you in town for?” Despite Mum’s insistence that I give her a job, there’s no way I’m going to the trouble if she’s only going to be here a week.
“At least a month. I, um, I’m not in any hurry to head back home so if you give me a job I could stay on through the summer. Only if you want. I figure you must get a lot of tourists around then is all.”
“We do.” I eye her appraisingly. Not completely clueless, then.
Maybe there’s hope for her yet. I sigh. “You can start on a trial basis. There’s training for everyone on the new menus and tills this week.
You’ll need to join in with that. Your first proper shift will be Saturday, the night of the soft reopening.
Once you’ve done a full week, we can discuss your plans for the summer.
Obviously, if you stay on, you’ll be paid the same as everyone else.
Until then, you can keep all your tips. Sound fair? ”
“More than. Thank you. Really.”
“What’s your name, hon?” Mum asks.
“Cassie, ma’am.” Ma’am? Who the hell says ma’am? I thought that was an American thing. This woman’s accent is English, though not one I can place.
Mum chuckles at the unusual formality. “Just Abby is fine. Will your car start?”
Cassie grimaces. “I’m not sure. The engine cut out when I crashed.”
“Give it a go. If not, we’ll call the mechanic to tow it.”
Gingerly, Cassie slides back behind the wheel. Her shoulders droop when the engine fails to come to life. “Great, something else I need to pay for,” she mutters under her breath before turning back to us with a sheepish expression. “Looks like I’ll be needing that tow.”
“I’ll get it sorted, don’t you worry. Now, where are you staying? A lot of the B&Bs are within walking distance of here, but a few places like the Hudson Barn are further out.”
“The barn was booked up so I’m staying at The Dragonfly B&B.
” I scoff. Figures the fanciest place in town was her first pick, not to mention the Hudson Barn is huge.
The converted barn is designed to accommodate large groups who all want to stay together—way more space than one person needs.
Booking the place for an individual would be a complete waste of money.
That she considered doing just that cements my impression of her as a spoiled princess.
Cassie looks at me questioningly while Mum shoots a stern glare my way. “Perfect, Austin can help you carry your things over there.”
“No.” My refusal comes out harsher than I intended. “I need to stay here and clean this up.” I wave a hand at the surrounding wreckage in explanation. “We’re only a week away from the soft reopening, two from the grand reopening, and there’s still a lot to do. I can’t let this put me behind.”
Mum opens her mouth to argue, but Cassie is quicker. “Of course. I didn’t bring much anyway. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“If you’re sure…”
“Absolutely.” Cassie gives Mum a bright smile. It doesn’t quite meet her eyes, but that’s not my problem. If you ask me, it’s instant karma that she has to lug all her belongings over to the B&B on foot after the mess she’s caused.
“Great. Training starts at ten on Tuesday morning. Don’t be late.”
“Yes, boss.” She gives me a jaunty salute, and I narrow my eyes at her attitude but don’t say anything.
Cassie walks around to the boot of the car and pulls out a small suitcase, a rucksack, one of those handbags with the long strap, and—to my surprise—a worn guitar case.
Looks like my new hire and I have something in common after all, I muse, absentmindedly rubbing the calluses on the fingertips of my left hand together.
“A gentleman would help her,” Mum grouses next to me, bringing me back to the present.
“Well, this gentleman is busy. Besides, it looks like she’s got everything under control,” I reply as Cassie hoists the straps of her rucksack onto her narrow shoulders over the long strap of her handbag that already rests across her slender torso.
With a slight bend of her knees, she pulls up the extendable handle of her suitcase in one hand and lifts her guitar case with the other.
The vibe she gives off made me assume she was the type who wouldn’t go somewhere for a month without a full set of designer luggage, but I stand corrected.
Mum rolls her eyes. “One of these days you’ll realise there’s more to life than work.”
Ignoring her familiar refrain, I head inside to the stockroom where I know there’s a thick pair of gloves one of the workers left behind—I’ll put them on to clear up the mess outside. The last thing I need on top of all this is to injure myself on a sharp bit of broken wood or a stray nail.