Chapter 12
Adam finished unpacking several bottles of Jack Daniels and set them in a neat line on the glass shelves behind the bar. Morning light filtered through the wide front windows, turning the polished floorboards a warm honey color. The sun had finally come out.
He rolled his neck, easing the stiffness that came from too little sleep and too much activity. Not that he regretted a second, because he didn’t. Bianca had tunneled right under his skin, and he was very much afraid she was going to stay there. Even when she left.
The phone in his pocket rang, and he pulled it out before the second buzz. “Adam’s Bar.”
“Hey, it’s Elbert.”
“Hey,” Adam said, lifting the phone to his ear. “Do you need me to help you get that rental car out of the ditch?”
“No. We took care of it,” Elbert said. “Just brought it to the shop. I’ll take a look to let you know the damage. Do you know if she got the insurance with the rental agreement?”
Adam glanced toward the front window where the street still glistened from the storm. “I doubt it. Most people don’t get rental insurance, but I’ll find out. Just let me know what happened, okay?”
“Well, there was a big storm last night,” Elbert said dryly.
Adam huffed out a laugh. “I know. I just want to make sure she didn’t hit an animal.
” He remembered the ditch and the broken fence posts, the rain pounding so hard he could barely see ten feet ahead.
“I looked around,” he added, reaching for another bottle of whiskey and sliding it onto the shelf.
“Didn’t see much, but I’ll go back out and make sure we don’t have a deer or other animal that needs to be taken care of. ”
“I’ll take a look as soon as I have my coffee,” Elbert said.
There was a brief pause, and Adam already knew what was coming.
“I heard you and the movie lady have a new romance.”
Adam rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.
Elbert Collier owned Collier Garage and knew half the people in the county. The other half he heard about eventually. He also gave free oil changes for anyone who couldn’t afford one.
“Where’d you hear about my dating life?” Adam asked.
“It’s Mineral Lake, dude.”
Adam chuckled and reached for a stack of glasses, setting them near the edge of the bar so he could polish them. “Are you serious?”
“I heard she’s real pretty.”
Adam pictured Bianca sitting at his kitchen table in his oversized T-shirt, hair still damp from the shower. Heat stirred low in his chest. “She is real pretty.”
“So while she’s here, she’s taken?” Elbert asked.
Adam stilled. “You’re happily married with three kids. What are you even thinking?”
Elbert exhaled loudly. “Not for me, you dork. My great-uncle Larry is looking to settle down.”
Adam barely bit down a laugh. Larry was around ninety, at least, and loved being a bachelor. “No, he isn’t. Plus, he’s too old for her.”
“He’s loaded, so she’d inherit a bundle someday,” Elbert said reasonably. “I talked to him last week, and he said he wants to leave progeny, so he’d better get started.”
That stopped Adam in place. “Can men reproduce in their nineties?”
“Hell if I know. So, is the woman going to stick around or not?”
A pit dropped into Adam’s gut. “She’s a movie scout who travels the country. Probably the entire world. She’s not going to settle down in Mineral Lake.”
“So? If you like her, maybe it’s time you went on tour with the band,” Elbert suggested.
Adam shook his head and laughed softly. “I’d rather be shot than travel the world.
” He’d done enough of that in the service, and he liked it at home these days.
He lined up another row of glasses, the soft clink echoing through the empty bar.
“I like singing. I like my bar and I like my ranch. I don’t want to go anywhere. ”
“Not even somewhere warm? The Caribbean?”
Adam glanced toward the window again where a thin breeze moved the budding branches of the cottonwoods down the street.
Spring had finally arrived, though Montana liked to pretend winter might return at any moment.
“Well,” he admitted, “I wouldn’t mind relaxing on a beach for a week or so and getting some sun. ”
“God, no kidding,” Elbert said. “When was the last time you had a vacation?”
Adam snorted. “What’s that?”
“Good point. Hey, is Dawn Freeze singing this weekend?”
The question Adam got asked every freaking day. “I’m not sure. The Lodge-Freeze clan got hit pretty hard by the flu. I’m hoping she’ll come in for a set or two.”
“All right,” Elbert said cheerfully. “My wife and I might come down later. Talk to you then.”
The call ended.
Adam slipped the phone back into his pocket and grabbed another bottle of liquor from the box on the floor. If Dawn was singing, he’d need more vodka. The crowd always doubled when she showed up with her guitar. He also needed to check his limes.
The bell over the front door jingled.
Adam glanced up as Boyd Kessler stepped inside with Pike Nevin right behind him. Both men carried the look of people who had already been working for hours. Mud clung to their boots, and Pike swiped the back of his hand across his forehead as he walked in.
“Hey, guys,” Adam said. He reached behind the counter and grabbed a couple of thick ceramic mugs. “You want coffee?”
“Absolutely.” Pike dropped onto a stool with a tired sigh, his blue eyes bloodshot. “My brother and I have been fixing fences since dawn.”
The smell of damp earth followed them inside along with a gust of cool air from the street.
Boyd pulled another stool out and sat beside Pike, shaking his dark brown hair out of his face. “I’ve been doing construction out at the old Samuelson place.”
“Oh yeah?” Adam poured both men generous cups of his homemade brew. Some folks around town called it sludge, but it did the job.
Boyd wrapped his hands around the mug and nodded. “Yeah. His kids moved away years ago, and they want to sell it.”
Adam braced his forearms on the bar. “How many acres is that?”
“It’s about eight hundred, I think,” Boyd said. “I’m not sure. You’d have to talk to the realtor. I have a short-term lease on it, and I’ve rented it to the movie folks for their RVs and crap. I figure I’d rather have them all out that way from town and our ranches.”
Adam glanced toward the window again. Boyd was always figuring out ways to make decent money, and that was a smart move. “That’s the perfect place.” Good. They wouldn’t mess with the town too much. He watched a ranch truck roll slowly down the street.
Pike took a long drink of coffee.
Boyd pulled off his jacket and draped it over the stool beside him. The man looked tired and a little irritated, which wasn’t unusual.
Adam topped off Boyd’s mug while the quiet bar settled around them. “Where’s Thatcher?” he asked.
“He’s finishing off at our south pasture,” Pike said easily. “Did I hear you’re dating the movie lady?”
God, this place was full of gossip. “Why?” Adam asked.
Pike lifted a shoulder and gave a small grin. “I thought she was pretty. Figured I should ask her out while she’s in town.”
Adam slid Boyd another cup of coffee. “She’s dating me.” Although, she really wasn’t going to be happy that he’d just undercut her with the Willoughbys.
“Okie doke.” Pike held up a hand, though his blue eyes held clear amusement. “You know she’s going to break your heart, right?”
“Yeah,” Adam said evenly. “I do.”
Boyd reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded stack of papers. He flattened them across the bar with a broad palm. “Here’s the contract for the loan for the Willoughbys.”
Adam’s eyebrows rose as he took the pages. He’d spoken to Daniel just last night after Bianca had fallen asleep. Daniel had called him and not the other way around, although that wasn’t making him feel any better about it. The guy needed another loan, and Adam had the money. “That was quick.”
Boyd propped himself on his elbows. “I’ve been doing a bunch of construction contracts lately and just had my lawyer draw it up really quick.” He tapped the paper with one thick finger. “Look it over and see if you need any changes.”
Pike nodded toward the document. “I went in a third so you guys wouldn’t have to cover it completely.”
Adam glanced up from the page. “You did?”
“Sure.” Pike took a slow drink of coffee before setting the mug down again.
“I like the Willoughbys, and we all have parcels of land that butt up against theirs, so it just makes sense. Dan really doesn’t want movie people messing with his property, and I totally agree.
He’ll pay back the loan.” He rolled his neck.
“Are you still running your cattle with Hawk’s on the other side? ”
“I am,” Adam said. “It’s just easier.”
Pike nodded. “Yeah, some of our land abuts theirs, but for now the three of us are the Willoughbys’ neighbors, so I’m glad to help out.”
Boyd kicked back on the stool and stretched his legs. “We put the interest rate at four percent. That’s low, but it works for me.”
“Me too,” Pike added, glancing toward Adam. “Is that all right with you?”
“Sure.” Adam would rather not charge his friends interest at all, but he understood the need to keep things above board.
Daniel Willoughby was a proud man, and he would insist on paying them back anyway.
Adam scanned the contract while the other two men drank their coffee.
Finally, he reached beneath the bar for a pen and signed his name across the bottom of the contract.
“How fast can you get your third?” Pike finished his coffee and pushed the mug away.
“I could get it today if we need it,” Adam said. “I just need to go down to the bank.”
Boyd tilted his head. “Are you that flush, really? Daniel said you lent them money last week to keep the movie people away.”
Adam wiped the bar with a towel, working the cloth across the smooth wood. “Yeah. I mean, I can’t keep loaning more money than this, but I’m covered. The bar does a pretty good business.”