Chapter Nine
CHAPTER NINE
Canon tugged on his polo shirt collar as he nursed a long-neck beer while Albie sipped her sweet tea. As they waited for their food, Canon spotted Parker and Lisa reading together in Hammered’s corner booth. B.J. and Jasen sat at the bar and kept checking on him while Forrest, along with his wife and daughter, ate at another table. Only Brad and Ophelia were missing.
“The dare?” Albie asked.
The door opened and, low and behold, Brad and Ophelia waltzed inside. They paused at a bookshelf filled with romance books. Brad met Canon’s gaze and tipped his cowboy hat.
Every one of his book club members had arrived. Was this a conspiracy ?
Albie cleared her throat, capturing Canon’s attention again. He leaned forward. “We read romance novels. Brad, B.J., Forrest, Parker, Jasen, Ophelia, and I. We don’t read the same book each week. We pick a genre or a trope. Once we did a location: Texas. When we’re finished, we switch books. Ophelia is the town librarian, and she moderates the group.” He waved toward the librarian. She grinned and waved back. “Oh, if you need to find a good book, just ask Ophelia. She’ll hook you up.”
“And the dare,” Albie insisted, glancing at Ophelia.
“The book club went camping. It was awesome. There was an enormous bonfire and Parker made his award-winning chili.” Canon closed his eyes and hummed. Albie giggled and his lids popped open again. “Anyway, the point of the camping trip was to pick the next type of book to read.”
Albie fingered the plastic soda glass. He swallowed at the intensity of her stare. “After dinner, B.J. got all worked up and asked us each to think of a character, genre, and setting and write them on separate pieces of paper. The character was very general, like a bartender or clown. The genre could also be a trope like secret baby or, my favorite, friends to lovers.”
Canon sipped his beer.
“So, the setting is speculative, too? Like Times Square or Mars?” Albie asked.
“Yes. All vague, like Australia or a diner.” Canon glanced toward the bar. B.J. and Jasen nudged each other. “Then B.J. had us draw from a hat.”
She leaned forward with wide eyes and asked, “What is the club reading?”
“Sci-fi, but that’s not what the hat was about. We each drew a character, genre, and setting, then B.J. dared us to act it out with a significant other.”
“Oh.” Albie straightened and glanced over at the other men. “B.J. is a strange cat.”
Canon chuckled and relaxed against the booth. “You can say that again.”
“B.J. is a strange cat,” she giggled with her eyes crinkled in mirth.
Heat flashed over Canon, and his heart rate spiked. He loved the way she laughed.
“What did he dare you to do?” Albie asked through fluttering lashes, then she glanced at her plate. “Or have you already done it?”
His heart stalled, and he leaned forward again. “I haven’t. I picked superhero, historical, and a train. And I haven’t worked out the dare yet. Besides Grammie Nan and Ophelia, you’re the only other lady I’m around a lot.”
A pretty blush crept onto Albie’s cheeks. “What do you have to do to fulfill the dare?”
Canon crossed his arms. “Have you heard about The Visitation ?”
Albie clasped her hands together on the table. “You mean that angel story?”
“In Fortuna, that story is cherished. Not only do couples read it together, but the men dress in angel wings and visit their sweethearts while they sleep.” With a quick nod in Parker’s direction, he continued, “And some try things in public and get caught by the police.”
The Fords flipped a page in the book they read. Lisa turned red and buried her face in Parker’s neck. He smiled and patted his wife’s hands. “It’s amazing to me what romance novels have done for the Fords. They were on the brink of divorce, arguing in public. Then B.J. dared him to read a romance. He acted out favorite heroes for his wife, and now she’s the envy of Fortuna.”
“What did he receive at the camp out?” Albie asked, studying the couple.
“Scotland and a billionaire with a hidden past.” Canon stared at the ceiling. “That’s all I can remember.”
Albie scooted forward with her elbows on the table and chin in her hands. “Are you going to wear tights?”
“What color do you think?” Canon asked with a smirk. Albie giggled. He continued. “Brad actually suggested I could skip the whole modern hero suit by going old school with the Lone Ranger.”
She blinked with a dreamy expression. “I can see you in a mask and cowboy hat.”
He mimicked her with his elbows on the table, chin in hands. “You can, huh?”
“Although, I think going with an already established hero is cliché. You should invent a new one.”
He sat back again. His mind whirled. Could he invent a hero Albie would approve of? He glanced toward the book club members. Jasen winked and B.J. gave him a thumbs up. Canon rubbed his face, and a grin broke out. A little superhero brainstorming session was in order.