Chapter 27
I’ll see you soon.
I sigh—out loud. A couple of heads turn to look at me but I don’t care. Kam was right when she said I’m happy in a way I never have been before.
I grab my phone from beneath the counter and send Jameson a text thanking him for the flowers.
I haven’t heard from him since he left in a rush this morning, which isn’t normal for him.
I push that thought away and shove my phone into my back pocket.
I don’t want to be the girlfriend who needs to hear from her boyfriend constantly.
The door creaks open again, and a group of people shuffle in, their lively chatter carrying over the soft twang of music flowing through the bar.
Behind them, Hank hobbles in. He looks around the bar, grumbles something about ‘insufferable youth taking his seat’, before finally sliding onto a stool in front of me, the worn leather creaking beneath him.
I press my lips together to hold in my laugh as I reach for a pint glass. “Isn’t it a little late for you?” I ask, pulling on the Pbr tap, which sticks, as usual.
He grunts, shrugging off his flannel jacket.
“Martha wouldn’t let me leave until I helped her put up Halloween decorations.
” He folds his arms, eyes fixed on the beer as I slide it across the counter.
“It’s not even October yet,” he grumbles, wrapping his hand around the glass and bringing it to his lips.
Betsy, who I hadn’t noticed coming in, slides onto the stool beside Hank. He mutters what sounds like ‘just wanting to enjoy his beer’ before getting up to move further down the bar.
Betsy’s eyes follow him. “Is he always so grumpy?” she asks, her attention landing back on me.
I shrug and grab a glass, the ice clinging against the glass as I fill it. “Martha made him put up decorations today, so he missed his early afternoon beers with his buddies.”
I hear her chuckle behind me as I pour vodka in her glass, topping off with a slash of orange juice, just the way she likes it. When I turn, drink in hand, her eyes are fixed on the bouquet of wildflowers still sitting on the bartop.
I slide her drink across the smooth bar, the glass scraping softly against the aged wood. Her eyes find mine, a bright smile on her lips. “That man is keeping Tina in business with all of the flowers he orders.”
I smile, but something about flowers sparks a kernel of warning deep inside of me. “Did she hire someone new to do deliveries?”
She grabs her drink, pulling it closer. “No, she still has the same people.” She brings the glass to her mouth but pauses, her brows pulling together. “Why?”
That kernel of warning flares brighter, but I push it down. I’m just being paranoid. “I just thought I had met all of the delivery drivers.”
Her lips tilt up in a mischievous smile. “Kam told me about his piercing.”
My mouth drops open and I put my hands on my hips giving her a stern look. “You and Kam should stop gossiping so much.”
She chuckles. “Where is the fun in that?”
I shake my head, walking away to tend to my other customers who have filtered in, making a mental note to have a conversation with Kam about boundaries.
A forewarning hums through my body, as I pour drinks and grab bottles from the cool, but I don’t have time to dwell on it as more people pour through the door. Once the band starts I’m so busy, I completely forget about the note and the delivery driver.
It isn’t until I’m waiving goodbye to the last of my customers as they walk out the door that I have a second to breathe. It’s been nonstop all night, and the smell of spilled beer and cigarette smoke clings to me like a second skin.
My eyes move around the now empty bar, and I let out a sigh when I take in the mess that awaits me.
Empty beer bottles and overflowing ashtrays sit on every table, the floor is stickier than usual with spilled beer.
Someone dumped what looks to be a full bowl of popcorn on the ground, and left it there bowl and all.
I pull my phone from my back pocket to let Jameson know it’s going to take me a while to clean up. Just as I pull up his text thread, the door slams open, the sharp crack ricocheting off walls as cool air rushes in.
Jameson stands there, panic flashing through his eyes, raw and unguarded in a way I’ve never seen before.