Chapter 5 #3
The bar and saddle stools were along the right-hand wall. Tables stood in the middle, and the billiard area was to the left. Booth seating lined the walls all the way to the back.
It wasn’t the best place for kids, but there weren’t any alternatives, especially for those who couldn’t afford Dragonfly’s. Kids liked coming here in the daytime to buy sodas and play pool or darts. Families dropped in during lunch hour, so Calvin and Mercy kept an eye on everyone.
Mercy’s grey eyes twinkled when she spotted Cleo easing up to the bar. “Hey, girl! Did y’all come straight from the store?”
Cleo leaned against a saddle stool. “Yep.”
“Are you hungry?”
She tugged on her earlobe, a nervous habit. “Krys said we could order a burger or something.”
“That we can do.” Mercy turned her back to Krys. “Can you get this thing off me? It’s stuck.”
He picked at the tight knot on her black waist apron before loosening it.
Mercy tied it loosely over her casual white capris. Her short stature and silver hair set her apart, especially since she looked too young for hair that color. After she got with Bear, he wound up with a silver streak. Maybe relationships were more stressful than people let on.
Despite Mercy’s sparkling personality, she didn’t take shit from anyone, and Krys loved that about her. While she earned more than enough as pack accountant, she took pride in both jobs. Not only did she keep customers happy, but she was always coming up with fresh ideas to make Calvin more money.
Mercy smiled at Cleo. “Is that a new outfit? It looks cute on you.”
“Thanks!”
Krys took off his shades and gave her a peevish glance.
Mercy faced Krys and picked a loose hair off his shirt. “Do you want a burger too?”
“You don’t think her pants are too tight?” he asked quietly.
She peered over her shoulder at Cleo, who was climbing onto a stool. “Those pockets are adorable. Now she looks like every other teen girl.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”
“If you’re worried about boys, ain’t no one gonna mess with her. She hasn’t gone through her first change yet.”
“Assuming she’s a Shifter.”
“Stop your hollering. She looks purty, and the last thing a young girl wants to hear is negative comments about her looks. Trust me, if she ever put on something inappropriate for her age, I’d be the first one to sit down and have a talk with her.
Bear’s in the kitchen. What’ll it be? Burger and fries, or leftover meat loaf from yesterday? ”
What he really wanted was a beer but not while driving with Cleo. “Cheeseburger and fries. If he has any onion rings, put one of those inside. If he doesn’t want to fry one up, diced onions are fine.”
“No pickles?”
He narrowed his eyes.
Mercy gave a mischievous smile. “I bet if I slipped a pickle in there, you’d never know it.” Mercy sauntered off to the kitchen.
Everyone knew Krys couldn’t stand pickles, especially Mercy. Bear once put them on his burger by accident. Even though Mercy took them off, the sour juice had tainted the meat.
Calvin appeared from the back hall and winked at Cleo from behind the bar. “Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
“Krys let me ride his bike. I got to steer it and everything.”
“Is that so?”
Krys dipped his chin and gave her a scolding look.
She shrugged. “What? You said not to tell anyone in the pack, and Mr. Lachance isn’t pack.”
Calvin smiled and threaded his long grey hair away from his eyes before resting his arms on the bar. “Well? How was it?”
“So cool. Krys screamed the whole way.”
Calvin chuckled and tapped his hand against the bar. “I would’ve paid money to see that.”
Krys didn’t bother correcting her, since everyone deserved to have fun embellishing their own story. That was half the fun of chatting with people in a bar. He hooked his sunglasses onto his collar, and when he spotted Montana and Archer in a booth, they waved him over.
“We’re eating in the back,” he informed Cleo.
“Can’t you see we’re busy having a chat?” Calvin growled. “Once I hear all about her ride and she gets her ginger ale, I’ll send her over.”
Calvin could be a bastard, but he was good with kids, especially the troubled ones. Some people had a sixth sense about that kind of thing.
Krys headed toward the recessed area with dartboards and standing tables. A drunk Mage with his feet on a table was staring at the light dripping from his fingertips. Yeah, this was shaping up to be a rowdy night.
He approached their booth against the back wall. “What’s up?”
Archer slid out of the bench seat and rubbed at the thorny tattoo encircling his neck. His serious expression made Krys uneasy. “I’ll hang out with Cleo and let you guys talk.”
“Why are you being weird?”
Archer shook his head and walked off.
Krys watched his blond-haired cousin cut through the bar with all the swagger the man possessed. It wasn’t that long ago that Archer couldn’t go into a bar without his leather jacket. He used the sleeve to conceal his disability, especially when they wanted to pick up women.
All that changed when Cecilia entered the picture.
While his insecurity didn’t magically vanish, she looked at him as if he hung the moon, and that love changed him.
After starting up a business as a personal trainer for disabled Shifters, he realized he couldn’t build anyone’s confidence when he lacked it in himself, so he quit hiding his arm.
He didn’t go around in sleeveless shirts, but Archer no longer cared what people thought, and that was something.
Everyone in town knew about him, but out-of-towners always popped in from nearby cities, so he never fully escaped stares and criticism. He just handled it better now.
Krys sat in front of Montana and rested his arms on the table. “You two look like you’re conspiring.”
Montana held a grim expression while staring at his half-empty glass of beer. “I got a lead on Cleo’s family. There’s a chance she might be leaving us.”