Chapter 11
JAKE
The rest of the work day passed with agonizing slowness.
I was unsure if it was because I’d see Dani at the end of her shift, or if it was because I was tired of the excuses the women of Sierra Rose Ridge made to get my attention.
If only they knew I wasn’t worth their time, they’d save us both some trouble.
For now, the shop was crowded with women claiming they needed ‘personalized maintenance.’ Dusty and Calvin gave me shit about it all day.
Dusty needed help with a few rush jobs, so I worked late. The money would be nice, but I wasn’t eager to be alone with my thoughts. We finished around eight and went our separate ways.
After I clocked out, I headed home and tried to work on my floors. Every few minutes, though, I checked my phone to see if Dani was ready to go. Time crawled.
Around nine, I gave up and headed to the Firelight Tavern early. I’d hang out inside until close or wait in my truck, but I wasn’t going to get anything else done tonight. I grabbed the sci-fi novel I was reading and headed inside.
When I looked around, Dani was nowhere in sight. I checked my phone again. No missed messages, so I settled at the bar.
The bartender was a young blond guy with weirdly perfect hair. He leaned on his forearms across from me.
“Hello, handsome. New in town?”
“Yes and no,” I said.
“Mysterious and broody. My favorite combination.”
His grin widened. The tension in my shoulders relaxed at his harmless flirting.
“Not trying for either. I recently moved back, but I lived here a while ago.”
“I know who you are.” He extended his hand to shake. “I’m Neil, Dani’s bar buddy. And you’re her Old Friend.”
His tone implied some significance I didn’t understand, but I was too distracted to figure it out. Where was Dani?
“Jacob.”
“Dani’s working in the back for a few minutes to get away from an annoyance.”
With a jolt, I searched for the troublemaker.
“Settle down, soldier boy. It’s over. Beau’s gone now, but the Boss Man had her work in the back so he’d leave.”
“What did he do?” I demanded.
“I didn’t hear, but she was not happy. Ugh, I wish she’d dump him. She could do so much better.”
He eyed me meaningfully. I didn’t know if he wanted me to break up with Beau for her or run him off, but Dani had her own plan. As much as I wanted to swoop in and fix everything, she needed to reclaim her agency. I didn’t like it, but my job was to support whatever decision she made.
Out of nowhere, my body went on high alert. My skin itched like it was too small, a feeling I knew better than to ignore, both from my time at home and in the army. Something was wrong.
“Where’s Dani working?”
“She’s in the back.” He noted my alarm. “Want me to go check on her?”
“Is she alone?”
“Yeah, the boss went home ten minutes ago. Wednesday nights are slow, so it’s usually us and a few stragglers once the kitchen closes. Why? What’s wrong?”
“A feeling. Is there a back door?”
“Of course. Fire code.”
I stood up.
“Is it kept locked?”
“If she’s doing trash, she might have propped it open.”
I wasted no time heading for the front door. Something was going on. If I was wrong, we could laugh about it together.
“What should I do?” Neil called after me.
“Hold down the fort. I’ve got this.”
As I neared the back of the building, Dani’s strained voice reached my ears.
“Go away, Beau. I’m at work. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Aw, baby, don’t be like that. You’ve been avoiding me. Where else am I supposed to see you if you if I don’t come here? I want to help you.”
“I told you earlier I’d call the bank myself.”
I waited in the shadow of the building. Maybe I should feel bad about eavesdropping, but I don’t.
“Baby, you’re no good at money stuff. Calling the bank is going to be time consuming. Let me do it for you. Phone calls stress you out.”
“I’m not a child. My design work requires me to make phone calls all the time. I’m perfectly capable of calling the bank about my own account to resolve the problem. Did you bring the letter?”
Beau shifted gears, and his conciliatory tone grated.
“Of course you can do it,” he soothed. “But you’re so busy already, baby, and now you’re taking care of your dad, too. All I want to do is help you, make things easier. Customer service always takes forever. Let me take this off your plate.”
Please don’t give in to his bullshit, Dani. See through his lies.
“You need to leave, Beau. I’m at work, and I don’t have time for this. I already said I’d handle it myself.”
Like a switch was flipped, Beau dropped all pretense at generosity.
“Why are you being such a selfish, stupid bitch?”
In seconds, he grabbed her by the forearms and shook her, more vigorously than he had in her parents’ driveway. Dani’s eyes widened with trepidation. She was so tiny and fragile-looking as he jostled her around like a rag doll.
“Do what I fucking said,” he raged. “I’m the man. Quit arguing with me.”
“It’s time for you to go, Beau,” I said with a calm I didn’t possess.
Beau whipped his head around to glare at me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Looking out for my friend. Dani asked you to leave. She was polite about it, but I won’t be.”
“Mind your own fucking business.”
Spittle flew from his mouth as he snarled at me. Then he shifted his attention back to Dani, and the expression on his face turned uglier.
“Are you fucking him? Is that why you won’t let me help you? You’ve got your little lap-dog, so now you don’t need me? I always knew you were a whore.”
Dani ripped herself away from his arms and took several steps back. In the dim glow of the security light, her expression glittered with anger.
“For the last time,” she grated, “I’m not a cheater.”
Not like you, Beau.
Beau’s eyes widened in surprise at the vehemence in her tone. He pushed her too far, and he back-pedaled in an almost comical manner.
“Baby, I’m sorry. You know how jealous I get. I don’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s late, Beau,” she said in a shaky voice, “and I still have to finish up here. Please go quietly, and we can talk in a few days when I’ve calmed down.”
“A few days!”
A glance at her face had him smooth his expression into a smile so fake politicians would shy away.
“What about him?” he asked in a petulant voice.
“He’s my friend,” she said on a sigh.
Someday those words wouldn’t hurt, but I didn’t flinch when Beau stared me down. With a grunt of displeasure, he stormed off.
Once he was out of sight, I turned to Dani.
“Are you okay?”
I barely held myself back from wrapping her in my arms.
She needs a friend right now, asshole, not another guy slavering over her.
“Yeah,” she said slowly, “but I’m glad you were there. I’ve never seen him like that. Yesterday was the first time he ever grabbed me. Today, it was worse. I’ve never been scared of Beau before, but I am now.”
“Do you want to report it?”
“And say what?” Her mouth twisted into a sardonic smile made to look sinister by the security light. “‘My boyfriend got upset when I wouldn’t let him help me?’ That’ll go over well.”
“That’s not what he’s doing.”
Her shoulders slumped, and the fight drained out of her.
“I know.”
“Come on, let’s get you back inside so you can finish up and go home. I bet a hot bath will make you feel like a million bucks.”
“That’s a good idea. There’s no tub at Beau’s house, and it’s been so long since I’ve had a good soak.”
I firmly kept my mind on refinishing my floors and out of the gutter—or the tub—as I led her towards the back door of the Tavern.
“Anything else you need to do out here, or can Neil do it?” I asked as she stepped over the threshold.
“We’ve got one more trash run, but I’ll ask Neil to take care of it this time.”
She glanced over her shoulder with a shudder.
“Good plan. I’ll wait for you in my truck out front.”
“You’re not coming in?”
“The threat has passed. It’s after closing, and I don’t want to cause you any problems. I’ll be out front when you’re ready, but don’t rush on my account.”
Dani was stuck in the frozen zone between fear and reality. She needed a push.
“Hey, can you have Neil grab my book and run it out to me?”
A subdued Dani went inside. I was all keyed up, and I wanted to fight or fuck to burn of the excess energy. Instead, I’d have to settle for revising my house reno plans or pretending to read while I kept an eye on the parking lot.
I circled the building to use up some adrenaline. Then, I settled in to wait. A few minutes later, Neil made a beeline for my truck.
His somber expression didn’t fit the devil-may-care attitude he projected earlier, but I was glad Dani had someone else to keep an eye out.
“Dani told me what happened,” he said. “That you protected her from Beau.”
“All I did was announce my presence at an opportune time. I don’t know if he would have escalated, or if he only wanted to scare her.”
“Here’s your book.”
He thrust it at me, and I traded it for the paper where I’d written my number.
“Thanks. Here’s my number in case you guys have any more trouble from Beau when I’m not here.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he took the paper.
“Do you think there will be trouble?”
“No, Beau’s a cowardly piece of shit, but I like having backup plans.”
“What are your plans for our girl?”
“She was my best friend during some of the worst times of my life. Dani’s family kept me sane and gave me a reason to keep going. I’d do anything for them.”
“Hmm.”
I was grateful for the darkness of the parking lot as he stared into my soul. He probably guessed I was crazy about her. Who wouldn’t be? But I wouldn’t make things harder for her, and I’d never jeopardize my relationship with her parents. They were the closest thing I had to family.
After he left, I tossed my book on the dashboard. I wouldn’t get distracted right now. Maybe Beau was a hot-head who got carried away but wouldn’t go further, and maybe he wasn’t. Today wasn’t the day to find out.