3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Ryan
M y eyes widened as Emily walked into the bar behind Meghan. Her auburn hair was hanging straight and shiny around her shoulders. I bet it would feel soft if I pushed my fingers through it, the thought had my fingers flexing. Her lips were painted red, and even though she was across the room, her eyes were shining bright.
She walked in and everything else disappeared, until I realized I’d been staring at her for an uncomfortably long time. Blinking, I gazed down at my hands. They gripped my pint glass a little too hard on the table.
Levi chuckled next to me, and my head turned to him. “What?”
“You stopped in the middle of your sentence when Emily walked in. We thought maybe you were having a stroke or something,” Levi answered, before taking a sip of his beer.
I scowled at him as a mischievous smile spread across his face. His dark blue eyes shined, and I could practically see him trying to decide if he should continue teasing me.
Unfortunately, he had a point. I didn’t even remember what I was talking about before she entered. Emily was a flame, and I was a moth. I wanted to be in her light - to bask in it.
And I needed to get control over myself. She didn’t even know I existed.
Remembering what I was talking about, I resumed the conversation, “Anyway, my sister hasn’t hardly left her apartment since she moved here. I’m getting concerned.”
“You could always invite her out with us,” Preston remarked before taking a sip from his beer bottle.
“I have, she tells me she doesn’t want to intrude on ‘guy time.’ Or, she says she’s got too much work to do.”
“She’ll come around. Break-ups are difficult,” Levi said.
My sister, Lacey, had a nasty break-up with her boyfriend a few months ago and immediately decided she needed to get away from the western suburbs. She came to stay with me, and shortly afterward, she had gotten her own apartment and moved to Maple Creek permanently. Like me, she wanted to be someplace small and quiet.
Lacey was ten years younger than me, and at twenty-six, she needed time to refocus on what she wanted out of life. She went to school, graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and was working from home doing data entry. She needed time to heal from everything, but I was concerned she wasn’t making friends.
Maybe I could convince Trey to have his sister, and maybe Emily, go out with all of us. We could invite a few others to make it a large group thing. Looking at Trey to bring up the idea, a scowl darkened his face as he stared at the door.
“That asshole has some nerve walking in here,” Trey muttered.
We turned our gazes toward the door. Aaron Hill stepped through and his eyes scanned the dim bar before landing on a few people in the opposite corner from us. His dirty blonde hair was perfectly placed in his normal side part sweep which made him look like the douchebags I used to work with.
As he sat in the booth, he scanned the bar again with his normal smug grin. His eyes landed on our table, and he sneered before his eyes traveled to the bar, where Emily and Meghan sat. Preston nudged Trey when he practically growled under his breath.
Aaron moved his eyes back to his buddies and joined in their conversation. Glancing at Emily and Meghan, both of them continued chatting as though they hadn’t even noticed the little twerp's existence.
“I’m going to kill him one of these days,” Trey muttered.
“One day he’ll get what’s coming to him,” I responded and gave my friend a determined expression.
Aaron was a giant douche during high school, evidently. He got away with a lot of things because of his family name. Unfortunately, Aaron never had to deal with the consequences of his own actions, and people who grew up with him held a grudge because of it.
“I heard he and Sophie Hart are engaged,” Preston whispered.
“I still don’t understand how she could fall for him,” Trey murmured before sipping his beer and relaxing slightly.
“Did she really fall for him or was it a lack of other options?” Levi questioned.
My eyebrow raised as my head tilted. The Hart family were not a part of the founding families fan club, so it was a bit of a shock all around when Sophie and Aaron started dating. According to Levi, Sophie and her sister, Rosemary, were inseparable, until Aaron weaseled his way between them.
Aaron was Pastor William’s son, and Maple Creek Christian Church, or MCCC, basically ruled this town. Well over half the residents were members who attended at least one weekly service. Some of those members liked to look down on us heathens who didn’t attend church.
Rosemary, being a part of the outcast crowd, and Sophie by association, meant the coupling between Sophie and Aaron was huge gossip for weeks in the town. As far as anyone could tell, the Hart and Hill families were mostly happy about the union, even if Rosemary wasn’t.
“So when are you going to talk to Emily?” Trey asked, obviously trying to move the conversation away from his archnemesis.
My eyes traveled over to Emily who was laughing at something Meghan said. The corner of my mouth tugged up just seeing the joy on her face.
“Probably never,” I mumbled.
“I don’t get it. You’re a good looking guy. Why are you so shy when it comes to her?” Levi asked.
“I’ve never been great with women. I’m more of a ‘let me seduce you with my awkwardness’ type of guy. Plus, I never have an opportunity to actually talk to her.”
“Isn’t she at the library five days a week?” Preston asked, the corner of his mouth ticking up.
“Yes … working. I don’t want to disturb her.”
“What does she do for a living again?” Levi asked Trey.
“Last I knew, she was a freelance writer,” Trey answered.
“What exactly does a freelance writer do?” Levi asked.
“Articles for websites, or blog posts mostly,” Trey responded.
Maybe if I researched freelance writing, I could use it to strike up a conversation with her? If I ever actually found the confidence to talk to her. Was talking about someone’s work a great way to start a conversation? What if she didn’t like what she did for a living?
My eyes drifted over to Emily, just as her head turned away from me. Had she been looking at me?
A little bubble of hope that she saw me, actually saw me, grew in me but quickly popped. She was probably scanning the bar for a second before turning her attention elsewhere.
“Why is the doctor talking to my sister?” Trey asked and my eyes moved to Dr. Benjamin Cooper as he spoke to Meghan.
As an older brother to a younger sister myself, I understood his protectiveness. Plus, after the tension Aaron’s presence created, due to the history between them, Trey was in over-protective mode. The doctor mostly kept to himself - a primary care physician who moved into town seven years ago, based on what Betsy told me. He was affiliated with a hospital the next town over, but most of his patients lived in Maple Creek.
“Why are you freaking out about the doctor?” Levi asked.
“I don’t like the guy,” Trey grunted.
“Because he told you to take a couple weeks off after you smashed your hand,” Levi grumbled and Trey glared at him.
I rolled my eyes before finishing my beer. Pulling out my wallet, I dropped cash down on the table.
“Where are you going?” Trey asked.
“Home. I’m exhausted.”
The three of them nodded at me before I turned to walk out of the bar. Between Preston and me, one of us always left early. The auto shop Preston worked at was reaching the end of their slow season, so it was going to be me leaving first for at least a couple more weeks.
Before leaving the bar, I glanced again at Emily and her hazel eyes met mine. She gave me a crooked smile, and my shoulders relaxed as I gave her a nod and a smile back.
As soon as the door closed behind me, I began cursing myself for not taking the opportunity to approach her. She was absolutely breathtaking tonight - wearing jeans and a maroon sweater - but she was always gorgeous to me.
Stupid. Why didn’t you approach her?
Because I didn’t know what to talk to her about. All I knew about her was what other people have told me. What the hell would I do, ask her about her freelance writing? She never told me about her job. How awkward would it be for us both knowing I asked about her?
One of these days I was going to have to face the risk of rejection and approach her. If I wanted to date her and get to know her, I was going to have to take a chance. Why the hell were women so intimidating?