Chapter Twenty-Four
“Self-preservation should always be standard in matters of the heart.” - Miss-Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.
Gracie wiped down the counter for what seemed like the fiftieth time, wishing she wasn’t so distracted this morning. She wanted to blame her lack of sleep on the late-night talk with her mother about Pip or the fact that Netflix had added Leap Year to it’s catalog. It was one of her favorite movies and she’d been up well past three in the morning watching it.
But in fact, her foggy brain was due to her lack of communication with Eric. She’d actually sent him a text this morning, asking him how he was, but she hadn’t heard a peep from him yet. Of course, he could be sleeping…
Or he’s avoiding me because I’m an asshole.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Buck and Connie opening up the glass double doors and stepping inside.
Gracie smiled warmly at them. “Hey, Buck. Hey, Connie. Where you off to today?”
Buck gave her a grin that stretched his whole face and exposed his gapped teeth. “Gracie Lou, I’m taking my sweet Connie up to Stanley for a little romantic trip. We need two of those really good caramel mochas you talked us into last time.”
“You got it.” Gracie finished their transaction quickly. “All right, I’ll have those drinks right up for you.”
Buck moved over to look at a couple of travel mugs, and Connie lingered, watching Gracie with a stern expression that made her uneasy.
“Something on your mind, Connie?” Gracie asked.
The older woman hesitated before finally speaking bluntly. “You know I like you a lot, Gracie.”
Gracie had a feeling there was a large “but” just waiting to attach itself to that sentence. Connie Henderson had total “but” face. “Thank you, Connie. You know I’ve always liked you too.”
Connie leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “I know it’s not my place, God knows my sons are both grown men, but Eric mentioned he hasn’t seen you recently.”
Gracie swallowed, cursing Eric for talking to his mother about her avoidance. “Really?”
Connie’s mouth dipped down into a frown. “Which I find strange, since the two of you seemed really good the last time I saw you together.”
“I’ve just been really busy here and with my parents in town. I shot him a text this morning and planned to call him when I got off.”
Connie’s frown didn’t fade. “I always thought you were a girl who spoke her mind and didn’t play with others. I’d be disappointed if I was wrong.”
Gracie’s face flushed with humiliation. There was one thing she’d always hated to hear from people, and that was their disappointment in her.
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Connie, and I assure you, everything is fine with us.”
Connie finally gifted her with a small smile. “I’m glad, because I have to say, I’m not the only one who noticed something was wrong.”
“Oh? Who else said something?” Gracie asked.
“You haven’t seen Miss Know-It-All’s column this morning? It said you two were already on the rocks. Something about you having the hardest time committing and you get scared off easily.”
Gracie’s blood boiled under her skin to the point that she wanted to scratch it. That manipulative son of a bitch! It wasn’t enough that he’d dragged his mom into their business, but now he was using his column to get the whole town involved?
Forcing a smile and hoping that Connie couldn’t tell how upset she was, she handed them their drinks. “There you go. You folks have a safe trip, okay?”
After the Henderson’s left, she turned to Tanya, slipping her apron off. “Tanya, I’m heading out for a bit. Can you and Renee handle things?”
Tanya’s grin split her chubby face. “Sure, Gracie, we’ve got it.”
“Great. I’ll see you in a few.” She grabbed her purse and jacket from the office and walked out the back door, ready for war.
* * *
Eric pulled out another crate of Haskin’s Pumpkin Beer, stepping over a sleeping Dog, who’d decided sprawling in the middle of the floor was just about the best spot he could find. The bar wasn’t open, and he’d wanted to come in early to restock everything. He’d left early last night to be with Dog, and his parents had been slammed hard if the angry texts from his mom had been any indication. He figured at least this way, they’d be ready later for when shit hit the fan.
His brother, Grant, had seemed to make a miraculous recovery and was busy wiping down tables. Eric went back into the storeroom for another case of Bear Island beer. He’d convinced his dad that spreading out and bringing in local vendors of spirits would help boost the economy of Rock Canyon and surrounding cities, and it definitely had. And with Hank’s sucking up some of their business with karaoke contests and shit like that, the local beers and wines that Rock Canyon locals couldn’t get anywhere else but Bucks kept them coming back.
Eric couldn’t figure out why anyone found a bunch of drunk people butchering classic songs entertaining. He’d been thinking about going by to scope the place out but hadn’t gotten around to it. It wasn’t as though the two bars couldn’t coexist together. Although if one more place opened up, he might get a little uncomfortable with all the competition.
“Hey, Eric!” Grant hollered from the barroom.
Eric came out of the stockroom with the case of beer, still walking down the hallway. “What?”
When he finally came into view, Grant gave him a sly grin and pointed. “Someone here to see you.”
Eric saw her before Grant finished his sentence. She stood just inside the doorway in a long black coat, her blonde hair clipped back from her face, making her narrowed eyes and thin lips stand out more. Eric wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and kiss her until those hard eyes softened, but he had a feeling if he tried anything, she might kick his nuts straight up between his shoulder blades.
“Well, hello there, Gracie Lou. Long time no see.”
Gracie gave him a look that could have fried fungus. “What in the hell is wrong with you? Siccing your mother on me! Have you no balls?”
Eric looked over at his brother, who started whistling and scrubbing the tables again. “Hey, Grant, why don’t you take off and get us a couple of burgers from Jensen’s Diner?”
Grant grinned at him, unashamed to be enjoying his big brother’s discomfort. “Sure, bro. It was good to see you, Gracie. You look smoking hot, by the way. Too good for my idiot brother.”
Eric shot him a warning look, and Grant sauntered out the door with a swagger. When the door closed behind him, Eric turned the full force of his irritation onto Gracie, slamming down the case of beer in in his hands. “Now, what was it you were blathering about?”
Gracie’s acidic look matched her tone perfectly. “I was blathering about how your mother stopped by and let me know how disappointed she was that I had hurt your feelings, and how even Miss Know-It-All had noticed our strained relationship.” She pulled a paper from inside her coat and smacked him on the shoulder with the rolled-up parchment. “Really? You had to put it in the goddamn paper? You couldn’t come and talk to me like a man, but you had to use the whole town and your mother to bend me to your will?”
Eric’s whole body lit up with rage. Who was she to come in here after avoiding him like the plague and start shit?
“Look, I didn’t say anything to my mother, but if that column got you to do the adult thing and come talk to me, then obviously I made the right call.”
“Except real adults don’t need to use underhanded tactics and manipulation to get what they want.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, scoffing. “And you know all about being a mature adult, huh? You get a bug in your bonnet about something, and instead of coming to me and talking about it, you avoid me like I’m the dorky guy in high school about to ask you to the prom?” Eric shook his head, refusing to pull any punches. “You’ve always been an immature little brat. Why I thought age would change you, I have no idea.”
She actually looked down at her nails as if he was being the unreasonable one. “I was not being immature, I was busy.”
“Horse shit! You were having a freak-out about something, but I’ve got news for you, sweetheart. You agreed to help me out with my little problem until New Year’s Day. After that, I don’t care if you never say boo to me again, but I have been keeping up with the McAllisters for over two weeks now. This isn’t some one-way street. So, whatever your issue is, get the fuck over it.”
All semblances of calm gone, her voice rose two octaves. “Believe me, I am wondering what in the hell was wrong with me to even agree to this crazy scheme.”
“Well, it’s too late to back out now!” he shouted.
Dog sat up, backing excitedly, and both of them jumped. Eric had actually forgotten he’d brought him to work with him, he’d been so chill.
Gracie looked over at him, and her face softened a bit. “Oh, you got him?”
“Yeah, they called me yesterday to come get him.” Eric almost added that he’d wanted to call her but had been too chicken shit to.
“That is so great. I am so glad.” Gracie cleared her throat as she faced him again. “I did have a little freak-out. I think I just got confused because all this started to feel too real, you know? I think it was a lapse, us taking the game past a mutually beneficial relationship to…”
“Hot, pulse-pounding, extremely satisfactory fucking?” He walked toward her with a grin that felt more like his jaw was going to break, uncrossing his arms so they hung by his sides. “But I’m just a lapse? ’Cause that’s not what you were saying when you were ripping my shirt off and shoving your tongue down my throat.”
Gracie’s face flamed, and she retorted, “Yeah, well, I was horny and you were there. But now that I’ve realized how complicated things can get, I’m thinking we should go back to keeping this professional.”
He was standing in front of her now, and she had to lift her face up to look at him. He reached out his big hand and cupped her chin, running his thumb along her soft cheek. He felt her shiver and smiled knowingly. “It’s like I keep telling you, Gracie Lou, it’s not all about you. Maybe I’m not ready to give up on having your sweet little body under me.”
She planted her hands on his chest and pushed. He barely stepped back, and she tried to push him again. “You’re a jackass! I’m not going to fall down at your feet like you’re God’s gift. If I say that this twisted friends-with-benefits shit ends now, I mean it.”
He grabbed her hands, fury churning in his gut. How dare she act as though that was all there was here. “Wouldn’t it be more like enemies with benefits? I think we dislike each other too often to be real friends.”
His words had been cutting, and he regretted them instantly. But he couldn’t call them back before she ripped her hands away. “You are so right. I was delusional to think that beneath all that macho bullshit was someone with an actual beating heart.”
“Oh, I’ve got a heart, all right, but there is no way I’d open it up to someone as self-centered as you.”
“You know what? Screw you and our deal. It’s off!” She turned to head for the door.
He caught her before she got far, and pulled her slight body tight against his tall frame.
She slammed her fist against his chest, her face a deep red. “Stay the fuck away from me.”
Eric saw the tears hanging on the edge of her bottom lid and knew he had put them there. He was being a jackass as much as she was being a stubborn little shit. If he’d just talked to her instead of pulling that underhanded crap with the column….
“I didn’t tell my mother anything about you except that I like you. That’s it.”
Her lower lip trembled, and he felt the tension in her body ease slightly. “Well, I don’t like you, so…”
Eric chuckled softly. “Oh, Gracie Lou, why do you gotta lie?”
Before she could give him a scathing comeback, his mouth was on hers, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say. He turned her around in his arms, deepening the kiss, his hands sliding down her back and grabbing her round little butt, lifting her against his body. She moaned into his mouth, and he backed her up toward the bar, growling in response.
He sat her up on the counter, running his hands up over her coat to unhook the buttons. He slid his hands in, over her small breasts, the hard nipples stabbing his palm as he continued a trail down to her waist.
Gracie ran her hands over his head, down his shoulders, and gripped his arms as she gave as good as she got. His body pressed between her legs, and she locked her ankles behind his back. All that was driving him was raw need and desire. He moved his hand up to tangle in her hair, his fingers massaging the back of her neck, and nearly crowed when he felt her melt against him. He took her surrender and ran with it, sliding his other hand up under her pink sweater and trailing his fingers over her skin. God, he had missed her. Her taste, her scent. Once he reached the mound of flesh, he squeezed it gently in his palm and she made a soft sound against his mouth. She reached down and pulled him closer by his belt, rubbing against him like a cat.
A loud cough didn’t even register in his one-track brain.
“Man, that is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in this bar.”
Gracie pulled back, sucking air and looking horrified. Eric cursed and turned with a glare. “Get the fuck out of here, Grant!”
Grant threw up his hands. “Hey, sorry to interrupt, I just forgot my wallet.”
Gracie grabbed Eric’s wrist and yanked it away from her breast and out of her sweater. He didn’t even protest when she pushed him back and scrambled off the bar. She tried to smooth her hair, and wiped angrily at her mouth. Pointing her finger at him, she punctuated her words with a bite to her tone. “Stay away from me.”
“Not a chance, sweetie.” She ignored him as she hit Grant on the arm and marched past him.
Grant rubbed his arm with a hurt expression. “I don’t know why you’re mad at me! I saved you from my big brother’s nefarious intentions.” Grant got a feminine middle finger for his troubles
Eric walked up behind his brother and whacked him on the back of the head. “Dumbass.”
“Ouch. Hey, just for that, I’m not getting you a burger! You can starve!” Eric ignored his brother’s threat and took off for the storeroom for more beer.
Eric shook his head and gritted his teeth against the throbbing pain in his groin. Damn woman should come with a warning label. One hot kiss and some light petting could leave man painfully hard for long periods of time. She was hazardous to his health, but he couldn’t stay away from her.