Authors: Dawn Pendleton
Two
Baker
Owning a bar was a pain in the ass.
Aside from the fact that I had to figure out the payroll and QuickBooks and all sorts of clerical crap like that, I had to work at least fifty hours a week, usually more. Until Memorial Day, we were only open Thursday and Friday nights and all day Saturday and Sunday. But it wasn’t like those were the only days I worked.
Payroll went through on Mondays and then on Tuesdays we got our liquor shipments, with any beer and keg order coming in on Wednesday. And for the first six months, I tried to do it all myself. I don’t remember sleeping at all during those first six months.
But the summer season was coming and I decided to bite the bullet and hire a bar manager. It was an expense I didn’t really have the money for, but I was also running myself ragged trying to do everything alone. Hiring Jimmy had been a smart choice, but a difficult one. His salary raised my payroll and I wasn’t sure we would make it. I needed to make more money.
I could always pick up more shifts with JP Construction, the company Luke worked for. Luke was my best friend and he was always throwing my name at JP for extra work. I appreciated it, but sometimes it felt like charity. So I tried not to work for JP too much. Once or twice a week helped keep me afloat. It also meant I didn’t have to cut a paycheck for myself yet.
Summer was just around the corner, though, which meant The Landing would be busy as hell. After the renovations I made last fall, I expected a much larger crowd this season. The bar and restaurant literally sat on a dock in the water. It wasn’t the ocean, but an inlet that led to the ocean and so the water was brackish but the tides came and went like they did at the coast. The deck had been completely redone and expanded so our capacity limit had increased. There was also an outside bar for those hot summer nights when being cooped up inside a bar wasn’t as much fun as dancing the night away under the stars.
Inside, I made the bar bigger and the band area now boasted a step-down dance floor and area seating. The band area was also somewhat separate from the bar so that patrons who wanted to hear the music but not necessarily dance could sit at the bar top or choose from several pub tables. It all looked very different and so far, no one had complained.
The renovations tied up a lot of money, though. So I kept a skeleton crew through the winter and now I had to hire more employees, before we really got busy to make sure everyone was trained. More payroll.
Fuck
.
I don’t know what made me think I was qualified to run a bar, other than the fact that I loved to drink. Beer, whiskey, rum, tequila; I loved them all. And now that I owned the place, I hardly ever drank. So much for a frivolous youth. No denying it now; I was an adult. It sucked to grow up.
Not drinking had its perks, though. I was continuously amused by patrons who went overboard and then tried to dance. Or sing. Or speak at all. Regardless of whether they were seasoned veterans or the just-turned-twenty-one partiers, drunk people were freaking hilarious. On Friday nights, the drunk girls would shake their asses for the drunk guys, and I couldn’t help but notice that they couldn’t dance. I never noticed that when I was the drunken one. Their bodies all convulsed, not even in unison with the beat. It was comical.
I hooked up two kegs to the bar tap and then went to unload the bottles in crates from this morning’s delivery. Even though we didn’t have stellar sales last weekend, I hoped this weekend would be better. I hired a band for Friday and Saturday night, spending more money I didn’t really have, but I didn’t have much choice, either. Bands drew in larger crowds. Larger crowds meant more money in my pocket. Or, well, in the pockets of the bar. Either way, it was win-win.
Once all my inventory was recorded and put away, I went into the beyond-tiny office behind the bar. My desk took up most of the space, with a small shelf in the corner filling up the rest. Papers flooded my desk and I groaned in anticipation. It would be a long afternoon.
Several hours later, I looked up and realized Jimmy would be arriving for his shift anytime now. I stretched and yawned.
“Tired, boss?” Jimmy said from the doorway.
“Not a chance. You ready for work tonight?”
“Mostly. I just have to cut up some fruit and make sure the kegs are all full,” he replied.
“I took care of the kegs. Your coolers are all fully stocked, too. You work on fruit,” I said with a grin. Jimmy
hated
cutting fruit, which was exactly why I left it for him.
“Great,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “Are you going to take care of the next schedule, or do you want me to?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. “You want to do the schedule?”
“Well, yeah. I figured it’s part of my job as bar manager now.”
“Yes. Take care of it.” I all but threw the scheduling paperwork at him. He caught it with a grimace and then shook his head.
“What sort of schedule do you work?” He wasn’t being insubordinate; most local owners hardly worked any hours in their establishments at all.
“I’ll bounce on Friday and Saturday nights, but other than that, keep me open and I’ll fill in where necessary.” I stood and stretched again, avoiding another yawn.
“Got it. Will you be here tonight?”
“I’ll be here around six. For now, I’m going to take care of a few things,” I said. “Feel free to use my office for doing the schedule. Open up at four,” I instructed.
He nodded and we looked ridiculous as we moved around each other in the small space as I made my way out. I nodded to him and then took off. I jumped in my truck and rolled my shoulders. I needed to relax. I pulled out my cell as I turned the ignition. My truck roared to life, as did the stereo. I muted the volume and dialed Luke.
“Hey, Baker, what’s up?” he answered.
“I’ve got a few hours to kill before I go back to the bar. You done with work?”
“Yeah, just got done. If we’re going out, I need to shower. What did you have in mind?” he asked.
“I was thinking about playing some basketball,” I told him.
“Sounds good. I’ll meet you at the court in fifteen?”
“Sure.”
I pressed the red button on my phone and tossed it in the cup holder. Basketball would be the perfect detox for this already hellish week. I knew Luke could use the time, too.
I drove to the basketball courts and parked in the parking lot of The Wharf. It was the nearest parking lot. The Wharf was a fresh seafood takeout place on the peninsula. It was right on the water with scenic views of the coast. Everyone loved it. The food was great, but most of the tourists went there for the view. Locals ate there because you could eat a lobster that had been caught that day.
I grabbed my ball and shoes out of the backseat and walked across the street to the courts. Luke wasn’t there yet, so I sat on a bench and changed my shoes. My work shoes were the black, slip-resistant, uncomfortable, crappy shoes the state required, but my basketball sneakers were made to fit my feet. Sleek black-and-white Nikes with the signature checkmark on the side. I pulled the laces tight and tied them. I was proud of my shoes. They were one of the few things I had that were new.
My truck was a ’94 and most of my clothes were old or cheap. I lived on a limited salary, though. So when I spent a hundred bucks on basketball shoes, I made sure they got the respect they deserved. Luke walked up as I finished tying. He sat on the bench beside me and changed his shoes.
“How’s Mallory?” I asked. Her father died a few weeks ago and I knew she wasn’t quite back to normal.
“Surprisingly good. She’s been going to a therapist in Portland, and she’s excited for Rainey to come back,” he replied. He gave me a look and lifted an eyebrow at me suggestively.
I laughed. “Rainey has made it clear that anything we have is only for the summer. She’s not moving back permanently. And that’s perfect for me. A summer fling is just what the doctor ordered.”
Luke shook his head, then stood and grabbed the ball off the bench. He dribbled down the court and I chased after him, determined to win this game. But my heart wasn’t in it.
I thought about Rainey and all she’d been through in the past, even recently. She was a tough woman, I had to give her that. When she showed up for Joe, Mallory’s dad, to say I was surprised was an understatement.
The bar was filling up; business was going to be good. It was Friday night and the band was blaring. I was checking IDs at the door. Nothing safer than being in charge of who got in my bar. It was my insurance so there were no underage kids inside.
A group of women approached and I stamped each of their hands after checking their ages. They wandered inside, giggling and whispering as they passed me. I laughed at their antics but kept my mind on the job. When a blonde woman approached by herself, I straightened up. She gave me a shy smile as a she walked up and looked at me expectantly.
I couldn’t shake the feeling I knew her, but I couldn’t place her. She was familiar but gorgeous; I was certain if I actually knew her, I wouldn’t have forgotten her. Then I looked into her bright green eyes. They were striking and the realization of who she was hit me like a punch in the gut.
“Rainey?” I asked.
“Hey, Baker,” she said. Her smile widened.
“You – wow, you look… Damn, girl! You sure have changed,” I said. And as if I hadn’t made enough of a fool of myself, I kept speaking. “You used to be so big!”
My eyes widened as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that. Yes, she lost a lot of weight, but her weight never bothered me before. In fact, she looked too skinny now. She wasn’t the same curvy girl I remembered.
“Nice, Baker. Way to welcome me back,” she laughed and shrugged past me into the bar.
I turned to watch her make her way to the table Mallory and Gabby were already seated at. I felt like such a douche.
That night had been one to remember. Luke broke up with his girlfriend for Mallory that night, and I’d driven Rainey home. Since then, we’d kind of been together, but it wasn’t until she left to settle her affairs in LA for the summer that I realized how much fun we were going to have in the coming weeks. I planned to treat her right, not only because I liked her, but also to make up for being an ass that first night.
We’d texted back and forth nearly the whole time she was back in LA. She was witty and sarcastic, just like I remembered. The only thing that had changed about her, it seemed, was her weight. I’d never believed she was fat, but I knew she’d been picked on a lot during high school for her size. It pissed me off but Rainey took it with class and usually delivered a reply to her tormentors that cut them down in a way that led them to leave her alone.
It was amazing to watch her in action. She never raised her voice or got emotional, either. She kept a calm demeanor, which I think made her more frightening. She was a force to be reckoned with.
I smiled as I stole the ball away from Luke. Best friend or not, I could still whoop his ass at basketball. He chased after me down the court but never had a chance. I tossed the ball and it swished into the net. I cheered my success and Luke grumbled something about me being a cheater. I let it go and grinned wider.
“Jealousy will get you nowhere, my friend,” I said. It was so much fun to taunt him. He gave me the evil eye.
We played for nearly an hour before he gave up the fight.
“Let’s call it a day,” he suggested. He looked forlorn and depressed. I laughed at his lack of enthusiasm.
“Sure thing, Luke. What’s on the agenda tonight?” I asked, wondering if he and Mallory would come to the bar.
Luke had sworn off drinking a while, afraid he was going to turn into his alcoholic father. I knew he would be fine, especially with Mallory to keep him in check. But he was still a little gun shy about drinking these days.
“Mal and I will probably come have dinner at the bar. If it stays nice like this, she said she wanted to eat outside on the deck.”
“Great. I’ve got to head home and shower. I’ll see you guys there,” I said as I changed out of my basketball shoes and back into my work shoes. I bumped his knuckles with mine and made my way to my truck. As I tossed my bag in the passenger seat, I looked back at the court where Luke was dribbling down the court. He did it every time we played.
Luke wasn’t out of shape by any means, but he was several inches shorter than me, so he could never quite catch up to my pace when we played.
I hopped into the truck and started it up. My cell phone was still in the cup holder and I noticed it was blinking. I waited for the screen to brighten and clicked into my text messages. I had two waiting from Rainey.
Just got back. Remind me to never let my mother pick me up at the airport.
I laughed as I typed out a reply.
I would have been happy to pick you up ;)
I knew that would rile her up. My phone beeped almost immediately.
Not funny. You home?
I sighed. A booty call already and she’d only been back in town for less than an hour. It worked for me.
I will be in about ten minutes. Meet me?
Damn straight.
I set my phone back in the cup holder and made my way through town to my apartment. She was sitting in her mother’s mini-van in the driveway when I pulled in. I smiled and threw the truck in park.
Three
Rainey
He was hot and sweaty and I loved taking advantage of him as soon as we got into his apartment.
I was on his bed, alone, after our romp while he took a shower. I was still a little out of breath after our activities. Baker was wild in bed and wasn’t afraid to take sex to the next level. It was one of the things I enjoyed about him. I didn’t want the emotional cuddling and pillow-talk after sex. If anything, I just wanted more sex.
So when we were finished, I wasn’t the least bit offended when he headed straight for the bathroom and never said a word to me. I just yanked a sheet across my body and laid there, perfectly content. Then I realized we were going to the bar and he’d mentioned Mallory and Luke would be there, which meant Gabby and Wolfe would probably be there, too, but not together. Never together.
I needed to shower. I got up off his bed and walked across his room and into the bathroom. I pulled the shower curtain back and just stared at him.
Baker was blonde with insanely deep gray eyes. He kept his hair cropped short, but he kept a goatee around his lips, which drove me crazy. He was always giving me whisker burn, but he refused to shave it off whenever I complained. His stubbornness was sexy, even when it pissed me off. It was part of the reason I allowed myself to get entangled with him this summer. He was real and not lovey-dovey or needy. He liked to do his own thing and didn’t want a commitment or to be tied down.
And since my plan was to only stay for the summer, I definitely didn’t want a messy relationship to deal with. I had enough on my plate. Baker was a perfect fling for me. Our history made it almost easier, too, since we’d seen each other naked before. Of course, seeing him naked for the first time since I’d been back in Casper had been a shock.
He wasn’t taller than he’d been the last time I saw him, but he had definitely filled out. His skinny arms and thighs had matured into thickly muscled limbs of steel. His abs were well-defined and hot as hell. His normally pale skin was tan and he looked rugged. I liked it.
But as I looked at him in the shower, I admired the more subtle changes in him. His face was older, more refined. He was going to be twenty-four in August and he didn’t look like the kid he’d been a few years ago when we went to prom. His eyes turned a dark charcoal color as he admire my nakedness in front of him.
He didn’t invite me into the shower. Instead, he lifted me into the hot spray of water and brought his lips to mine. He leaned me against the back shower wall and devoured me, his lips hot and searching. He sucked my bottom lip in between his teeth and I hissed, enjoying the slight pain as my fingers curled behind his neck.
My fingernails dug into his skin when his skilled kisses went lower, to my breasts, pulling a taut nipple into his mouth. I threw my head back in surrender and his mouth claimed my neck while his fingers tweaked my nipple. He sucked on the tender skin of my throat and I moaned, certain no one had ever made me feel like this before.
It was several minutes later that he finally stepped out of the shower so I could wash my hair. We didn’t do more than make-out, since we were both still sated, but what a make-out session it had been. I used his body wash and inhaled the masculine scent, closing my eyes in appreciation. I cleaned myself thoroughly, lingering on the parts he’d lavished with kisses and touches. My skin was red and somewhat raw from his goatee. I didn’t mind, though.
I spent a little extra time in the shower, relishing the hot water until a pounding on the door made me hurry.
“Rain, pick it up! I have to be at the bar in twenty minutes!” Baker shouted over the roar of the nozzle.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, certain he wouldn’t hear me.
I rinsed all the soap from my skin and turned off the water, then grabbed a clean towel off the shelf and flipped my head upside-down to wrap the fabric around my hair and then twist it. I straightened up, tossing the towel up over my head so it held securely, and then tucked a second towel around my body. I walked into Baker’s bedroom and found him standing just a few feet from the door with his hands on his hips.
“What was that you said?”
“Uhh…” I tried to remember what smart-ass comment I’d made.
“I heard you,” he said. He stalked closer to me, his towering height making me small. I backed up a step, but he grabbed my arms and pulled me forward. His lips lingered against mine. “Sometimes, you just need to do what you’re told.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” I smirked.
He narrowed his eyes at the exposed skin of my shoulder. “Did I do that to you?” He released my arms and traced the fleshy curve of my shoulder where a bruise was already forming.
I panicked. “No, it’s not from you,” I lied. “I bumped into an open cabinet at my mom’s today.” Baker didn’t know about the leukemia and I wasn’t about to tell him. Too many people knew already.
But the bruise worried me. I was in remission; the bruising had stopped. Baker’s rough lovemaking shouldn’t turn me black and blue. I bit my lip and noticed Baker watching me carefully.
“I’m a klutz, what can I say?” I laughed it off.
He nodded but didn’t look convinced. “Get dressed. I’ll drive you to the bar.” He turned away from me and left his bedroom.
I raced to the bathroom and used a hand towel to clear the fog that settled on the mirror. I examined the discolored patch of skin, remembering how Baker’s thumb pressed into my shoulder when he held me still for his kiss. It hadn’t hurt, but the proof was there in black and blue. I needed to get to the doctor’s office first thing next week or Baker would be even more suspicious than he already was.
I dried off quickly and threw my clothes on. I’d worn one of my favorite tank tops, but with the bruise getting darker by the minute, I didn’t want to deal with questions. Especially since it was in the precise shape of a thumb. I didn’t want people thinking I was abused. So I grabbed a hoodie out of Baker’s closet and carried it into the living room where he sat, waiting for me.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” I played dumb.
“I know that bruise is from me, Rain. What I don’t know is how the hell it showed up so fast and dark when I know I didn’t hurt you.”
“I just have sensitive skin,” I said, not bothering to argue about how I’d gotten the bruise. He wasn’t an idiot.
“No one bruises that fast,” he said.
“I do. Look, it’s no big deal. Don’t we need to leave? I don’t want you to be late.” I grabbed my purse off his dining table and slung it over my shoulder. I lifted my arm and held up his hoodie. “I borrowed one of your sweatshirts.”
“Of course. Gotta cover up that bruise,” he mumbled sarcastically. I chose to ignore him.
He followed me out of his apartment and then opened the door for me to get into his truck. I was surprised by his gentlemanly behavior but didn’t say anything. Once I was seated in the passenger seat, he came to stand next to me.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, Rainey, but I don’t like it. And one of these days, you’re going to tell me what it is that has you bruising like a peach and getting sick at odd hours of the night.” He closed the door and then hopped in the driver’s seat.
I was speechless.
Baker never said a word about what was wrong with me. He didn’t know exactly what it was, of course, but I thought I’d been hiding my sickness pretty well. Apparently not.
We got to the bar at six and Baker kissed me chastely and then sent me to sit with Mallory and Luke while he checked on the bar. They were cuddled up together in a corner booth. It was obvious how in love with each other they were. My heart clenched a little in jealousy. No matter how much Baker and I ever cared about each other, we weren’t going to be able to have that kind of relationship.
“Hey, guys,” I said as I approached the table. Just as I was about to sit down in the booth, a flurry of wild dark hair slipped past me and slid across the vinyl. “Gabby, nice to see you,” I laughed as I scooted in next to her.
“What’s your hurry?” Luke asked her.
“Wolfe was in the parking lot. Did you invite him?” She looked suspiciously at Luke.
“Actually, I invited him,” Mallory admitted with a raised hand and a guilty look. “He’s part of our little group, Gab, whether you like it or not. Besides, I thought you didn’t care about what he does?” Mallory eyed Gabby.
Gabby sighed. “I don’t care. I just wish he would find his own friends,” she muttered. We all laughed and she gave us a little smile. When Wolfe walked up to the table, her smile faded. “We’re full up,” she explained, gesturing to the full booth.
“That’s why I brought these,” Baker said as he set two bar stools at the end of the table. “It’s a little busy, guys, so I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hang out. Can I get everyone a drink?”
Mallory and Luke ordered beer while Gabby gave him some fruity, girly drink order. When Baker’s eyes fell to mine, I asked for a cola. His eyes bore into mine for a full ten seconds before he turned his attention to Wolfe, who ordered a beer. Baker left the table and Wolfe sat down.
“So, what’s new, Wolfe?” Luke asked. Mallory looked at Gabby and then at me.
“What are you wearing?” she asked me in shock. I was usually the best-dressed woman at the table, so wearing a hoodie was not normal.
“We had a quickie before we came over,” I whispered honestly. Both sets of blue eyes widened at my bluntness and burst into giggles. Luke and Wolfe looked at us expectantly.
“Mind your p’s and q’s,” I suggested with an evil eye and moved closer to Gabby. “We need a girls’ night soon,” I begged.
“Agreed.” Mallory eyed Luke. “He’s been keeping me on lockdown since we came back from Boston,” she whispered.
Their relationship confused me immensely. Luke was mellow and laid back and Mallory was pushy but a loner. She’d wanted to deal with the death of her father alone, but Luke had finally grown a pair and backed her into a corner. She came around, though. Eventually. Plus, now that the mourning stage was finished, she was actually pretty fun to be around. She kept all the emotional crap under control until she was alone with Luke, which I appreciated. I wanted to be there for her, of course, but it wasn’t like I didn’t have my own shit to deal with.
She stopped complaining about her loss to me once I told her.
After the doctor’s appointment in downtown Boston, I met Mallory for lunch. We shopped at Faneuil Hall for an hour and then went to the Hard Rock for a meal. I wasn’t hungry, not after my treatment, but I ordered food and mentally prepared myself to tell her.
“So, I had good reason not to tell you about what was wrong with me,” I started. She looked at me expectantly but didn’t say anything. She knew I needed to get this all out.
“I have leukemia.”
I didn’t mean to blurt it out, but Mallory still didn’t say anything.
“I was worried telling you so close to your dad’s death would put you over the edge,” I confessed. “I didn’t want to add to your stress. I love you like a sister, Mallory, but I don’t want to be anyone’s burden. We’re best friends, but I wanted to make sure you were recovering from Joe’s death before I told you.”
“Rainey…” She stood and walked around the table, pulling me out of my chair and hugging me. “You are one of my closest friends and I will always be there for you. I’m glad you told me,” she said.
And once we sat back down, it all came spilling out… My own father’s death, finding out about my leukemia, my aunt’s pleas to stay away from my mother for a while. It all bubbled out and I couldn’t seem to stop.
In the end, Mallory hugged me again, apologized for being too caught up in her own life to notice what was going on with me, and then promised we wouldn’t keep anything from each other again.
And since then, we were closer than ever. Now that Mallory knew, we could talk about it pretty openly (except around the guys) and Gabby felt like less of a sneak, too, since she’d known for years. Mallory didn’t hold it against, her, either, which I appreciated. I swore Gabby to secrecy years ago.
When Baker returned to our table with drinks on a tray, we all thanked him. He set a beer down next to me and slid his barstool close to edge of the booth on my side, then put an arm around my waist and dragged me across to seat, closer to him. I smiled up at him. He stared at me for a moment, taking in the dark circles under my eyes and his gray eyes turned cloudy as he thought about the implications.
The bar filled up fast and Baker only stayed at the table for another few minutes before he had to help out. We all ordered dinner and he brought us our meals.
“Things are good between you two, huh?” Gabby asked me once he brought us our meals and kissed me.
“Yes, they are. It’s nice not to have to worry about the relationship stuff. We’re just having fun and enjoying ourselves,” I admitted, picking at what was left of my dinner.
“It won’t work,” Wolfe said from the end of the table. We all looked at him, though Gabby just rolled her eyes. “I’m not trying to ruin it for you, Rainey, but you two are eventually going to fall in love, and then you’ll both run away from it, because it’s not what you want. Do yourself a favor and get out now.” He lifted his beer to his mouth and I watched him make eye contact with Gabby for a second before he swallowed the rest of it. He set his beer down and stood up. “Sorry to be a downer. I’ll just head home,” he said.
“Let us call you a cab,” Luke suggested. He got out of the booth and the two of them walked over to the end of the bar and talked to Baker for a few minutes.
“What the hell was that about?” I asked Mallory and Gabby.
“Who knows?” Gabby grit her teeth. “Our marriage didn’t work out, so now he wants to ruin everyone else’s relationship, I guess.”
“He’s heartbroken, Gab. He wants you back and he can’t stand seeing you happy without him,” Mallory sighed.
“And who says I’m happy?” Gabby spun her fruity drink on the table. “I miss him, too. But we’re too different, too set in our ways to make it work.” She sniffed to hold back tears.