Chapter 2
Chapter Two
R uby was wiping down tables at the end of the night when the door opened, letting in a burst of cool air. It was a reprieve from the stuffy bar, and Ruby took a deep inhale of the crisp fall breeze before speaking.
“Sorry. Last call was half an hour ago,” Ruby said without looking up. Her lower back ached from standing all night and her feet were killing her. Whoever this was could go pick up a six-pack at the twenty-four-hour market next door and let her get going. She was exhausted.
“I…”
Ruby looked up at the sound of throat-clearing.
She froze.
The man in the doorway was staring at her, his eyes an eerie silver flash in the semi-darkness.
He was tall and broad, with dark hair down to his shoulders.
His five o’clock shadow was more like ten o’clock, thick and dark.
It was his eyes, though, that were freaking her out the most. There was something off about them, something?…
predatorial. If Ruby had to guess her time and place of death, it would be here, now, at the hands of this man who was most likely some kind of ax murderer.
This was what she got for wishing life around here was more exciting.
Death by psycho killer.
Why hadn’t she locked the door?
Because she’d never needed to before.
He cleared his throat again, but his voice still came out as a raspy rumble, like he didn’t use it very often. “I was looking for Macy.”
“She left for the night.” Ruby let her fingers brush the hunting rifle Macy kept under the bar. Would she have the guts to use it? Probably not.
The man’s face fell as he fidgeted awkwardly from foot to foot like he didn’t know what to do now. Ruby got the distinct feeling that he didn’t get out much. Mostly because she’d never seen him in town before and because he was still looking at her like she held the answers to the universe.
Which she definitely did not.
“Do you want to leave a message for her?”
He thought for a moment before nodding. “Yes.”
Ruby waited.
His brow furrowed as he formulated his words. Ruby nearly laughed. Probably not the best idea when you’re possibly about to be murdered.
“Tell her I came by about the tables.”
Cryptic.
“What about the tables?”
He gave his head a little shake like he was trying to work up to having a full conversation with her, like he hadn’t expected to have to do this much talking. Maybe that’s why he came in after last call.
“Macy hired me to make new tables. I’m a woodworker.”
“Oh. Cool. I’ll tell her.”
He blew out a relieved breath. Mission accomplished. He’d delivered his message. Again, Ruby had the ill-advised urge to giggle.
“Do you need to take measurements or anything? You could do it now while we’re empty. I have to finish cleaning up anyway.”
This would be the part in the true crime doc about her murder where every expert would be baffled about why she’d asked the killer to stay.
Her best guess was that her parents’ death had knocked the ability to feel real fear about anything out of her.
What did she have to be scared of when the worst possible thing had already happened?
It made her immune. Death was inevitable and it had visited Ruby early in life.
Not that she particularly wanted to die, but she’d made her peace with it much earlier than most people.
So maybe that was why she invited the scary man in. Or maybe, upon further inspection, he wasn’t that scary.
He seemed kinda nervous, actually.
“Okay,” he nodded. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Ruby said, watching him as he came further into the bar.
She’d turned off most of the lights so the space was dim, the floor and the tabletops were sticky, and there was a giant moose head staring at them from the wall, but the man didn’t seem to notice any of that. He was still looking at her.
Heat prickled up the back of Ruby’s neck.
“What’s your name?” she asked, attempting to break the tension.
“Rafe.” It was more like a sound than a name. The rumble of it, deep and throaty from his mouth, did nothing to break the tension.
It was Ruby’s turn to clear her throat. “I’m Ruby.”
Rafe’s gaze flicked down to her mouth which she’d painted her signature deep red. His lips tipped up in the corner like this amused him, that her name matched her taste in make-up.
“Nice to meet you, Ruby.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” The wooden bar top was between them, but Rafe had inched closer during their introductions.
He placed his hands on top of the scarred surface.
They were big, with scars of their own on the knuckles and one jagged one across the back of his hand.
Woodworking must be a rough job. Or she hoped it was anyway.
“I haven’t seen you around before,” she said, going back to wiping down the counter, avoiding Rafe’s stare and his hands.
“I keep to myself.”
She could have guessed that.
“Do you live in town?”
“Nah. I live further in country. A cabin.”
“Sounds nice.”
He shrugged his giant shoulders. He hadn’t taken any measurements yet, still too busy watching her.
“I haven’t been there too long,” he said as though that explained everything.
“How did Macy ever find you to hire you?”
Rafe let out a rusty sound that may have been a laugh. It was hard to tell. “I have an Etsy shop.”
Laughter burst out of her before she could stop it. She clapped her hands over her mouth.
“Sorry, that was rude. You have an Etsy shop?” This big scary man had an Etsy shop? Her aunt was right about that whole “don’t judge a book by its cover” thing.
A wolfish smile crossed Rafe’s face and holy shit, he was?… hot .
That was unexpected, but damn, as it turned out, up close, this scary dude was really freaking good-looking. People would kill for that bone structure, and he was hiding it with scruff. It was a shame really.
“I do. It’s a good way to sell my stuff.”
Ruby blinked. Right, she’d asked a question.
“Macy found me and realized I was local. Asked me to come and take a custom order. I agreed.”
“And you decided 1am was a good time to stop by?” Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow.
Who the hell was this guy? Hands like a boxer, eyes like a killer, but he sold handicrafts on Etsy?
Ruby did not know what to make of this whole encounter.
If she made it out alive, it’d be a hell of a story to tell Lena tomorrow.
He shrugged again. “I guess I figured I’d catch her before she went home.”
“Well, I’m usually the one to lock up, so you’ll have to come earlier if you want to talk to Macy.”
“You’re here every night?”
“Every night except Thursday. That’s my day off.”
Gee, Ruby, why don’t you tell him your address too? Just give away all your information! It was like she had learned nothing from those stranger danger lessons they had every year in school.
Rafe nodded like he was tucking that detail away for later. He pulled a tape measure from his back pocket and went to work measuring the current tables, giving Ruby a break from his unrelenting gaze.
It was Ruby’s turn to stare.
She couldn’t help it.
She couldn’t help watching Rafe as he made his way around the room, crouching and bending across tables, his wingspan reaching across the whole thing.
He was wearing a worn flannel shirt and jeans that had certainly seen better days, but they clung to him like they loved him.
Like he and those jeans had been through some shit together and now they were best friends.
He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it from his face, and she watched the muscles flex in his exposed forearm. What was it about forearms? Why did she want to run her teeth across his?
She shook her head.
She went back to her closing tasks.
She tried very hard not to look at the sexy woodworker/possible-serial-killer man anymore, but she found her gaze wandering back to him over and over.
There was something about him. Something magnetic. Captivating. The way he moved. The way he spoke. The way he looked at her.
Rafe walking into this bar was the most interesting thing that had happened to her in years. And she was now fairly certain he wasn’t going to hack her to bits and bury her in the woods. About eighty-five percent certain.
“That should do it,” he said, straightening from the last table, his gaze finding hers again. His lips quirked up when he found her already looking at him. She didn’t bother to pretend she wasn’t. His smile grew.
“I’ll come in earlier next time,” he said.
“You do that.”
“But not on a Thursday.”
Ruby bit down on a smile of her own. “Okay.”
“See you around, Ruby.”
She lifted her hand in a wave as Rafe strode out into the darkness.