Chapter 5 So You Had a Bad Day
FIVE
SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY
CONNOR
“Turn the radio down,” Jamie whined from the passenger seat.
“No can do.”
He rolled his head toward me and pouted. “Have a heart. It’s 4:30 in the morning, I’m hungover, and Uncle Rick expects me to unload trucks today.”
“No one held a gun to your head and told you to drink your weight in jungle juice last night.” I turned the volume up, enjoying the pain written all over my little brother’s face.
He groaned and held his head in his hands. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because you made me chase your drunk ass across town last night.”
“You’re a monster.”
“I’m vindictive.”
“I’m telling Mom.”
I laughed, not touching the knob.
It was a short drive from my apartment to the new hotel being built just off campus.
For decades, a few chain motels served the community, leaving parents to battle for reservations come graduation.
After becoming mayor, Uncle Rick moved into property development, and this hotel would be his first step toward making Kirksville more palatable for the rich kids’ parents.
I pulled up to the worksite and muttered, “What the hell?”
What had to be the entire Kirksville police department was present and accounted for, their red and blue flashing lights blinding in the dark morning.
Jamie sobered up pretty damn fast and was out of the car in a flash.
“Hey, wait—”
But he was gone, already halfway to Uncle Rick. Yellow police tape circled the future basement of the hotel.
That’s not good.
I took my time walking over to the crew standing around the pit.
“I wonder who she is,” Bill said, scratching the back of his neck.
Turner shrugged and took a drink from his thermos. “Kinda looked like that gal that works at the Kum and Go.”
The guys bickered back and forth as I hazarded a look down.
Shouldn’t have done that . . .
At the bottom of the pit lay a black tarp. The tips of pink, painted toes poked out the edge. “That’s a dead body,” I said to no one in particular.
“Good eye, son,” Bill said, chuckling.
As much as I wanted to deck the old fucker, I couldn’t pull my attention from that tarp and those little toes that reminded me so much of Sarah’s.
Did something happen to her last night after I left?
A guy with the word “coroner” written across the shoulders of his jacket lifted the edge of the tarp and shook his head. “Bring the bag.”
Two big guys climbed down into the pit with a body bag.
Everything in my gut told me to look away, but I couldn’t.
The men got the bag situated, then lifted the tarp.
There was a flash of bright blond hair, and I sucked in a breath, holding it until my lungs burned.
As my gaze traveled down the bloody, broken body, relief flooded me, and the air whooshed out of my mouth.
It’s not Sarah.
“Well, shit. It is Deidra,” Dustin said, taking off his worn ball cap. “Her mama’s gonna be crushed.”
A chorus of “mm-hmms” traveled through the men as we watched the young woman get zipped up.
Uncle Rick joined us with a heavy sigh. “Boys, looks like you get the day off, seeing as the building site is now a crime scene. If you want to make up today’s hours, meet me at Thousand Hills.
I could use a few more guys on the visitor center reno.
” Just another reason folks loved my uncle—he took care of his people.
The men all nodded, shuffling back to their pickups, talking quietly.
“You boys coming?” Uncle Rick asked, running a hand down his face.
Jamie shook his head. “I think I’m going to go home. My summer math class starts tomorrow, might as well rest up before that nightmare begins.”
Uncle Rick nodded. “What about you, Connor?”
“Sure. I could always use the extra money.”
“See you there,” my uncle said, patting me on the shoulder as he passed.
“Suck up,” Jamie said, punching my arm.
Shoving him so hard he stumbled, I started toward my car. “It’s called planning ahead.”
Jamie rubbed his arm and followed. “Whatever,” he grumbled. “Do you mind if I crash at your apartment? I don’t feel like driving home.”
“That’s fine, just remember to lock up when you leave.”
Jamie, in fact, did not lock the door, but after a long day putting up drywall, I couldn’t find it in me to bitch him out.
A quick shower and I was off to job number two—bartender at the Welkum Inn.
“Connor, this is Meg. She’ll get you caught up to speed on how we do things around here. Let me know if you guys need anything. I have a new cook coming in and need to make sure Frank is ready for them.” John, a large, tattooed biker, tapped the bar top with his clipboard and left us.
Meg smiled at me, handing me a cup of water. “It’s hot out there today.”
I chugged the whole thing, the ice-cold water hitting the spot. “Thanks.”
“No problem. So, have you worked in a bar?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’ve been working construction for the past few years, but I need something that works with my school schedule.”
“They’ll definitely do that. Most of us are students, and I’ve never had a problem with scheduling.” She paused, taking a sip of her drink. “Are you a transfer?”
It was clear I’d be explaining my delayed entry into the collegiate world until I became just another face in the crowd. “Actually, I’m a freshman.”
“Huh.” She tilted her head, and her shiny dark hair fell like a curtain over her shoulder. “Why don’t you come back here, and we can start with some basics?”
“You got it, boss.”
I picked up my cup and rounded the bar. The sheer number of liquors and beers made me a little nervous, but I’d been figuring shit out for as long as I could remember. This would just be another thing for me to master.
“You can just pull beers for tonight.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. “Sounds good.”
“Pouring a beer isn’t hard.” She grabbed a pint glass and demonstrated the proper pour. “Just tilt the glass and fill. You don’t want a glass that’s all head.” She finished filling the glass and set it down. “And voila!”
“Got it. Should I try?”
“Absolutely. I don’t want to drink alone.” She took a sip of her beer, closed her eyes, and sighed in delight.
Grabbing a glass, I did exactly what she did. Once the glass was full, I lifted it for her inspection. She moved closer, and I caught the scent of vanilla. Meg smelled like a cookie.
“Perfection. You’re a good student.” She held her beer up to mine. “Cheers.”
John was nowhere in sight, so I took a big gulp. Letting out an appreciative noise, I smiled. “I needed that.”
“Yeah?” Meg’s tongue darted out to lick foam off her top lip. She still hadn’t taken a step back, and I got the feeling my trainer was interested in more than making sure I wasn’t a shit bartender.
“Yeah. It’s been a long day.”
“It’s summer in Kirksville. How busy could you be?” She propped her hip against the bar, crossing an arm under her chest, pushing everything up and together.
I did my best not to frown as I took a step back and leaned against the back of the bar, ignoring the way her smirk wavered. “This is job number two of the day.”
“Oh, gotcha.” She took another big drink. “Well, hopefully you’ll make enough tips here and can ditch the second job.”
“Are the tips that good?”
She shrugged. “Can be. Sometimes the asshole college kids aren’t the greatest tippers, but it evens out.”
I nodded.
“I know a lot of people because I’m in a sorority and still get stiffed.
” She rolled her eyes and drained the rest of her beer.
“Doesn’t matter if we partied together the night before, some of these guys can look me in the eye and still tip a quarter.
” She set her glass down a little harder than was probably necessary.
“That sucks.”
“It is what it is.” She wiped her hands down the front of her jeans. “Let me show you a few basic drinks.”
As she took a bottle of well whisky off the back of the bar, John came back. “Hey, I’ve got one more bartender for you, Meg.”
I turned and let out a sharp breath.
Standing behind my burly boss, more beautiful than I remembered, was none other than—
“Sarah!” Meg yelled, waving at the girl I’d been praying to see again. “I didn’t believe it when John said you were starting tonight!”
John gave Sarah a nod and went back toward the kitchen.
Sarah’s honey-blond ponytail swung with each step she took toward us. “Yep. Got to pay that rent.”
“Since when do you have money trouble?” Meg asked.
“Since I got cut off.”
Red flag—she’s a rich girl.
Thanks to my ex, Laura, on top of my short list of deal breakers was a woman being a spoiled rich princess.
That’s a damn shame.
While she chatted animatedly with Meg, I stood frozen, staring at her like a fucking creep.
She tugged her t-shirt down, the Welkum logo stretching across her tits and warping the letters until the word was practically illegible.
Sarah adjusted the cuffs of her denim shorts so they weren’t digging into her skin.
“I can’t say I’ve ever made one, but I’ve had my fair share of Long Island Iced Teas. ”
“It is kind of a Beta Alpha Epsilon specialty in this town,” Meg said, tilting her head toward the bar across the street. “They say E makes the best one, but I like to think I give her a run for her money.”
Sarah leaned her forearms on the bar and grinned.
“We might have to challenge her to a drink off.” Her eyes wandered from Meg.
The moment her gaze met mine, her smile became hollow.
“What are you doing here?” Despite her polite smile and the actual words coming out of her mouth, it felt a whole lot like she had just told me to fuck off.
“Uh, hey.” I tried to keep a smile on my face, but her constipated expression left me confused.
Is she actually pissed?
Tipping her chin, she turned toward Meg.
Meg looked between the two of us, a little smirk playing on her lips. “Oh, good. You know each other.”
I took a breath and opened my mouth, but Sarah beat me to the punch. “We’ve met.” She tossed me a glance and dismissed me just as quickly.