Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) (7 page)

Kellan

Jim and Gail were anxious to head home and start packing up
the U-Haul. They quickly made their rounds, wishing everyone a fond farewell.
Without making it a big affair, Jim tossed me the keys to the bar, added a
wink, and he and Gail made a mad dash for it like two teenagers sneaking out
after curfew. I could see a retirement party was out of the question.

After taking a few minutes to formally introduce myself to
my new staff members, and catch up with my former co-workers, I realized it was
nearing opening, and I had a business to run. Playtime was over, and I instructed
everyone scheduled for the day to get busy; the others I sent home. They
eagerly set to their tasks, and I wasn't sure if they were always this driven,
or if they were just trying to impress the new boss.

Things were working like a well oiled machine, but I'd been
in the bar business long enough to know that one wrong food order, or a sudden
party of eight, could back up the entire bar, and cause a trickle down effect,
fucking up the whole night. And God forbid someone has a headache or cramps, and
can't make it in for their shift.

I wouldn't exactly say we're short staffed, but there's not
much wiggle room if someone calls in sick, and we don't quite generate enough
revenue to justify hiring another worker.

But like I said, there's going to be some changes around
here, and first on my agenda is training the staff to work in multiple areas of
the bar in the event any one of them would have to fill in for another. The
exception would be Dunny- we need him at the door on weekends, and he works at
his father's hardware store during the week, so he's out. But he'd be here even
if he had just donated a kidney earlier in the day. He gets half of what we
collect at the door, paid in cash, under the table. He rarely has to break up a
fight, so in my opinion, the guy makes pretty good money for sitting on his ass
two nights a week for a few hours.

Shit, three years ago, Jordan, Hailey, Georgia, and I were
the only ones keeping this place running day after day. Jim dragged his ass in
a few hours a day to take care of paper work, and Gail was toting a watermelon
around in her stomach.

Things were a bit slower and laid back before I moved to
Reno, and since then, business at Jimbo's has nearly doubled. It was rare back
then that I ever took off work, but shit happens, and I'm wrestling with the
idea of merging one of the staff into a managerial role, at least in the event
that I have to be away from the bar. My first choice would be Hailey. In fact,
she's the only one I'd trust with the job. But I highly doubt she's in the mood
to do me any favors.
Guess I'll have to
implement my finesse strategy...
Something tells me I'll need more than
'finesse' to get Hailey on board.

Chapter Eleven

Kellan

The lunch crowd was beginning to arrive, and luckily,
Georgia had stuck around to help out, although we hadn't exchanged more than a
passing glance. I needed to address the elephant in the room, or rather the
missing elephant. Hailey was apparently AWOL. I hadn't seen her since she
walked off in a fit of rage. I knew I was being a coward for not going directly
to the source, but I needed to gauge where her mindset was at before I pursued
the matter any further.

I ambled my way towards Georgia as she wiped down a table,
and began to set it up for the next customers. Trying to maintain an aloof
demeanor, I simply asked, "How's it going?"

Continuing her work, and without looking up at me, she
stated flatly, "Fine."

I paused, gathering my thoughts on the best way to approach
her without coming off as desperate. In a friendly tone, I asked,
"So...have you seen Hailey?"

Georgia abruptly stopped tidying the table, placed her hand
on her hip, and tersely answered, "It's not my day to watch her."

Pushing the urge away to get into a verbal shoving match
with her, I sighed, saying, "Isn't that what you two do? Look out for each
other?"

Returning her focus to her task, she said, "Yeah, well,
she never was any good at taking my advice."

"What kind of advice did you give her?" I pressed
on.

Standing to face me, and pasting a saccharine smile on her
face, she replied, "I told her to ignore you."

"Well, I'm her boss now, so I think she's gonna have a
pretty hard time ignoring me," I replied with edginess.

As her smile faltered, she stared at me intently, barking
out, "You think strutting in here with your big-swinging-dick attitude is
going to intimidate me? You may have signed a piece of paper saying this place
is yours, but you've been gone a long time, Kellan."

Closing the gap between us, I lowered my voice, saying
menacingly, "You might want to check
your
attitude at the door, Georgia. I'm your boss, too."

Standing toe to toe with me, her voice rose as she bit out,
"Don't you fucking threaten me. You may have traded in your ripped Levi's
and grease stained t-shirts for the uptown boy look, but deep down inside,
you're still the same douche bag you've always been." Throwing her rag
down on the table, she promptly excused herself.

Jesus. I'm trying to play the good guy, not make any
waves...well, on my first day, anyway. But even though I hate to admit it, we
both know Georgia is right- I'm still a smug bastard. But I'm tired of
pussyfooting around the subject. Reclining back in my office chair, my knees
bouncing up and down anxiously, I sit bolt upright, pull open the bottom desk
drawer, and retrieve the unopened bottle of expensive whiskey I'd planned to
crack open at the end of the night as a private toast to the first day of the
rest of my life.

Carefully studying the dark amber liquid as I turn the
bottle over and over in my hand, I realize I need to man up and go find Hailey
myself...after a swift a drink or two, that is. Maybe I should wait until the
lunch crowd disperses. Give her some time to cool off.
Yeah, right…like that’s going to happen
anytime soon.
Maybe I’d just hide out in my office all day and
act busy. It would probably be better to approach her tomorrow. I mean, she
can’t stay mad at me forever, right?

******

Hailey

Damnit, Kellan's infuriating! He's like a reoccurring
nightmare that haunts me.

After Georgia had walked away from me, I climbed into my car
and sped off towards home. There was no way in hell I could stand to be in the
same room as him today. I would prefer to never see him another day in my life,
but Georgia was right, I needed the money, and jobs weren't exactly falling out
of the sky around here.

Reaching my driveway, I brought my car to a sudden halt,
haphazardly grabbed my things, and slammed my car door with more force than was
necessary. When I'd entered the house, my first inclination was to slam the
door behind me, as well. But I thought better of it, not wanting to rattle the
walls, as I'd taken great care to reframe and rehang the wedding picture of
Jordan and me after Kellan had shattered it. It was the only tangible item I
had left of Jordan.
Other than Kellan's
letter I had stolen.

I still haven't read the letter...maybe out of fear? Guilt,
or shame? Maybe all of the above. I'd thought about ripping it up and throwing
it in the garbage dozens of times, but I wasn't sure which was more
disrespectful to Jordan; keeping it, or pitching it. What I
did
know was that taking it was the
equivalent of robbing his grave. I've been conflicted every day since I held
that letter in my hands.

But I'm so furious right now that I have the overwhelming
urge to find out what's in it. It's probably some weak attempt by Kellan to rid
himself of his own guilty conscience, and will most likely only make me
angrier. But I need to see it with my own eyes. I need to finally put the past
behind me and get on with my life. I refuse to let Kellan get to me any longer.
For once, I plan on listening to Georgia, and thumbing my nose at the jerk.

Letting my purse and apron fall to the floor, I cautiously
walked towards the bedroom door, and gently pushed it open. My heart rate began
to speed up as I opened the drawer on the nightstand, and pulled the letter out
with shaky hands. I inhaled a deep breath, slid the letter from its envelope,
and slowly unfolded it. Nervously, I began to scan the letter. It read:

Jord,

I guess this really is good-bye, brother. I know
you probably hated me for what I did to you, and how I left you hanging. I
don't blame you...I hated myself for a long time- still do at times. But I
never hated you, brother. I wish I could have had the chance to say this to you
in person, to ask for your forgiveness, to express how I really feel. You were
always there for me, as my best friend, no matter how many times I fucked up.

When the shit hit the fan with Hailey, I bailed,
thinking only of myself, as usual. Had I been here when you needed back up with
those two fuckers, you wouldn't be gone today. I'd have put the cocksuckers in
the ground myself. I know what it feels like to need to stand up for your
woman. You did what you had to do, but unfortunately, you got the shit end of
the stick. Life can be sick and twisted...nobody knows that better than me.

Jord...your secret's safe with me. Hailey
doesn't need anymore shit on her conscience. If she knew the fight with those
scumbags was over her, she'd never forgive herself. You did what any decent
man, what any self-respecting husband would have done if some dick wads were
shooting their mouths off about his wife. I only wish I could have been here to
protect you, but life is a bitch, and we can't go back.

Just know the fuckers are gonna pay, one way or
another- I'll make sure of it, even if I have to do it myself.

Goddamn, Jord, no matter what happened between
us in the past, we could have fixed this shit!

Jesus, I've said more to you in this letter,
than I've said to you in my whole life. But for all the things you did for me,
this is the only thing I have to offer you. I'm a sorry sonofabitch and this
letter will never be enough to take back all the pain I caused. But I'll always
carry a piece of you...always. Meet you on the other side, bro.

As I sunk to the floor, reading and re-reading the letter
over and over again, with tears streaming down my hot cheeks, reality punched
me in the gut, and I felt like I was going to be sick.

******

Georgia

Why I decided to stick around today and help out Douche
Canoe is beyond me. I had cancelled my plans to have lunch with Eve today in
hopes of earning a little extra cash so that I could take her to a nice dinner
on my next night off instead. Yeah right. I'd had four measly tables the whole
afternoon, leaving me with nothing but lousy tips and aching feet. At this
rate, I wouldn't be able to wear heels for a week. Which reminds me, I
still
have to work my regular shift
tonight. Ugh. Thankfully, my last table had just cleared out and our evening
waitress, Joni, had shown up a few minutes ago, rescuing my poor feet from
further torture.

I planned to take myself, as well as my protesting feet,
outside for a welcome reprieve, and to catch some fresh air. As I placed my
hand on the door, it suddenly whooshed open, nearly causing me to fall head
first into the parking lot. Catching my balance, I glanced up to find Hailey
looking at me expectantly. "Jesus, Hailey, I almost fell on my ass,"
I said with annoyance. As she stood staring at me unsympathetically, I asked,
"Finally come to your senses?"

With a heated glare, she shoved a piece of paper against my
chest and barked out, "Did you know about this?"

After pausing to eye her speculatively, I grasped the paper
and began to scan in, realizing it was a letter. As I read through it, my pulse
accelerating with each sentence I pored over, my world suddenly began to fall
at my feet, and I knew Hailey's world must have been crumbling along with mine.

Looking to her with pleading, watery eyes, I choked out,
"It's not...we were only trying to protect you."

"
We
! Who else
knows about this?" she demanded.

 
Lowering my head
to the floor, I sheepishly answered, "Just Jim, Gail, and me."

"And Kellan," she stated emphatically. I simply
nodded my assent, as she continued, "Wow! You people are a piece of work.
You all lied to me! And what about the detectives? Whose bright idea was it to
withhold information in a formal investigation?"

"It...it wasn't like that, Hailey," I implored
her.

Ripping the letter from my grasp, she waved it wildly in the
air as she admonished me, spewing, "I know
exactly
what it's like...it's right here in black and white! What
about the witnesses? You can't possibly justify what you've done...all of
you!"

As my eyes grew wide, I frantically grasped her by the
shoulders, searching for anything to redeem myself. "Wait, Hailey, I can
explain," I huffed out. Without giving her a split second to object to my
argument, I quickly rambled, "Listen to me. The only thing the customers
witnessed was what looked like any other bar brawl, being broken up by one of
us. I was the only one within earshot of what actually went down. By the time
Dunny and Jim reached them, Jordan had already been stabbed. With Masters'
reputation coupled with no corroborating witnesses, and Grady having barely
remembered the incident, much less the specifics, Masters' defense of Jordan
starting the fight went down the tubes. The only thing they could pin on Grady
was drunk and disorderly. They both deserved what they got, and I hope Masters
rots in prison- I sure as hell wasn't about to jeopardize that asshole getting
off on a technicality. Is that really what you would've wanted?"

As I breathed heavily from my rant, Hailey's expression
deadened, as she coldly said, "I deserved to know the truth."

"Well now you know," I blurted out. "You must
feel a whole lot better, now, huh?" I said in frustration.

"I feel betrayed," she gritted out before whipping
around and swiftly exiting the building, as I stood daunted, feeling as if the
walls were closing in around me.

Defeated, I ambled my way towards the end of the bar, and
leaned limply against it, burying my face in my hands, as I scrubbed it with my
palms.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Kellan's voice cut in to my
thoughts, quickly pulling me out of my reverie.

"What's your problem? Your vibrator run out of
batteries?"

Shooting him a scathing glare, I replied flatly, "It's
Hailey. She knows."

"Knows what?" he questioned in confusion. As I
stared at him knowingly, his voice rose as he asked, "How?"

"She found your letter...to Jordan." I sighed
wearily.

"Goddamnit! Hold down the fort, will ya?" he
shouted before breaking away from my side and quickly striding out the back
door as the cold, hard metal slammed against its frame.

Calling after him, I yelled out, "I'll be here."

Turning around to find Joe staring after Kellan with his
eyebrows raised, he asked, "Where's the fire?"

Sighing, I stated with resolve, "He's going to put it
out."