Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Nick pulled open the door to the Eagle’s Nest and stepped inside the tavern. “Hey, Cole.”
Cole spun on his barstool. “Thanks for meeting me here, Nick. I know you prefer not to meet at the bar, but I didn’t want to cook, and I had to get away from work.”
“Not a problem.”
Spencer, the owner and bartender of the Eagle’s Nest, slid a cardboard coaster in front of Nick, along with a menu. “What can I get you, Sheriff?”
“Seltzer with lime. Thanks, Spencer.”
Nick picked up the menu. “Have you ordered yet?”
“Nope. Waiting for you.”
Two county snowplow drivers walked in and greeted them. “Sheriff. Cole.”
“Hey, Charlie. How are things looking out there?” Nick asked.
“In good shape. Just finished cleaning up the shoulders and back roads.”
“Thanks, guys, for keeping us safe on the roads,” Cole said.
The men nodded and took a seat at the opposite end of the bar.
Cole took a swig of his beer. “So, when are you going to take Dad’s advice?”
“Advice?”
“You know. Tell Kate how you feel. Ask her to the wedding.”
As far as Nick could tell, and regardless of his growing feelings toward her, Kate had showed little interest in him other than as friends. When she kissed him in her drunken state, she could have been thinking of her ex for all he knew.
Spencer returned, interrupting his thoughts. “You two want to order food?”
“Yeah, I’ll take the rodeo burger,” Nick said. “Put Cole’s on my tab.”
“Avoiding my question, Nick?” Cole said.
Spencer, with pen poised, looked between them. “Order, Cole,” Nick demanded.
Cole’s lips turned upward in a knowing smirk, and he ordered. “Bacon blue basket with onion rings.”
“Anything else?”
Cole held up his empty glass. “Another one. Someone must have drunk it while I wasn’t looking.”
Spencer grinned, and Nick suppressed an eye roll.
“Well?” Cole said to his brother.
“We made a pact,” Nick said.
He looked his brother in the face. “A what?”
Spencer placed another pint in front of Cole and refilled Nick’s water.
Nick had told no one about the friendship pact, and he felt stupid saying it out loud. He waited until Spencer was out of earshot. “Neither of us wanted a relationship, so we formed a friendship pact.”
“Why on earth would you do that? Kate’s gorgeous and sweet. I don’t think you could do better.”
Nick shrugged and lifted his glass to his lips. “Kate had just ended a long-term relationship, and I didn’t want to get involved.”
“But now?”
“Now . . . I’m thinking it’s time to end the pact.”
“Good. Scoop her up before someone else does.”
“What about you? You’re giving me advice, yet your love life isn’t exactly noteworthy.”
Cole shrugged. “No one I’m interested in. Besides, you snatched up the new girl in town before anyone else could.”
Nick couldn’t help but smile. He had, hadn’t he. At least he still had it.
The brisk air from the opened door made Nick and Cole turn to see Kate and Mayor Benson walk in together. Kate laughed at something the mayor said. When the mayor caught Nick’s eye, he placed a hand on Kate’s lower back and whispered in her ear, causing her to laugh again.
Nick turned back to the bar and focused on the football game. He couldn’t stomach the idea of Kate and Morty. Maybe he didn’t have “it” after all.
“Maybe hold off,” Cole said, staring straight ahead.
When their burgers arrived, despite having lost his appetite, Nick forced himself to eat.
Cole kept peering over him to catch a glimpse of Kate. “They’re not on a date. Morty is standing at her table. Oh, wait . . .”
“Cole. Just stop. It’s fine.”
Lily and Chloe walked in and stopped at the bar. Immediately, Chloe locked eyes with Kate and waved. Nick didn’t dare glance in Kate’s direction.
“What are you two doing here?” Cole asked Chloe and Lily. “I would have thought you’d be helping Paige with wedding prep.”
“That’s more of a Maggie and Alexis thing,” Chloe said.
“We decided to spend some time with Kate. Get to know her better,” Lily said.
“I told you,” Cole said to Nick under his breath.
“Leave it, Cole,” Nick growled.
“Wait. What did we miss?” Chloe asked as she swiped a fry from Nick’s plate.
“Kate walked in with the mayor. It looked like they were chummy,” Cole said.
“Kate and the mayor? No way,” Chloe said.
“She only has eyes for you, Nick,” Lily said, and smiled.
Nick pushed the rest of his fries toward Cole. “Go ahead and finish.” He threw cash on the bar. “See you all later.”
Cole stood up. “Not so fast. Kate’s on her way over.”
“Hey, everyone. I saved us a table. Do you guys want to join us?” Kate asked. “We can slide two tables together.”
“I have to go,” Nick said, slipping on his jacket.
“Okay.” Kate eyed him and tried to figure out his surliness. “Cole, how about you?”
“Sure. I’m not ready to go home yet.”
Nick waved to Spencer and with a quick “Have fun” to their small group, he walked out the door.
Something was bugging him, but Kate didn’t know what.
Maybe he was mad because she hadn’t stopped by the bar to say hi.
But in all fairness, she hadn’t noticed him and Cole until she sat down.
By that time Hannah, her waitress and newest friend, had come with a menu, taken her drink order, and begun chatting about the trail ride.
“What’s up with Nick? Did he have a bad day?” Kate asked Cole.
Cole threw his arm over her shoulder and glanced at the mayor. “I could be mistaken, but his mood changed when you walked in with the mayor.”
“Seriously? We’re just friends.”
Cole shrugged. “You and Nick or you and Morty?”
“The mayor did ask me out, but I told him I’m taking a hiatus on dating. As for your brother, the same applies. We’re just friends.”
Was Nick jealous? If that was how he felt, wouldn’t he have mentioned her indiscretion?
And if he had, would she have admitted she remembered and wanted to continue where they’d left off?
With startling intensity, an overwhelming surge of desire came over her.
She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted him, period.
“Earth to Kate,” Chloe said with a grin.
“Huh?”
“Are you two really just friends?” Lily asked. “Because I thought with the smoldering looks and the spark between you two, you must’ve kissed, at least.”
Kate finished her margarita in one large gulp and set her glass on the table.
“Eeee, I knew it!” Lily clapped and stomped her feet as if dancing in place.
Obviously, Kate couldn’t hide her feelings well.
Cole crossed his arms, grinning from ear to ear. He was a worse gossip than most women she knew, and she didn’t want this conversation retold to Nick, so she clamped her mouth shut.
“Maybe I don’t need to hear this. You girls talk. I’m heading home,” Cole said and threw a twenty on their table. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks, bro,” Chloe said.
Cole nodded and left.
Lily and Chloe leaned forward. “Now. It’s only us. We want to know everything, so leave nothing out,” Lily said.
“Well, maybe leave out some details, since we’re talking about my brother.” Chloe said.
Could Kate admit to her new friends how she’d fallen in love with the sexy sheriff?