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"Hi." Star gave me a limp hand and a disgruntled once-over.
"She's using Eric's room while he's away," inserted Joe.
"How nice. Give you two a real chance to catch up." My cheeks hurt from smiling. "That's great. Just ... great."
"How was your day, baby?" The winsome smile she gave Joe as she felt up his cast almost makes me puke. Let's not even go near her calling him baby.
"Ah, fine. Thanks." Joe cleared his throat. "Better get in the shower. They'll be needing me in at the bar."
"You have to go out again?" Pouting, Star followed him into the living room. "But, I made dinner for us."
"I told you I'd be busy. Alex, make yourself at home. I won't be long." With all due haste, he grabbed some clean clothes and then locked himself in the bathroom. Goddamn coward.
I plonked myself down on the couch, quietly steaming. Men. Had any species ever sucked quite so badly? Meanwhile, Star fussed around, giving me looks out of the corner of her eyes.
"You're a friend of Joe's, Alex?" she asked.
"That's right."
"How nice."
"Isn't it?" I worked the kinks out of my sore neck.
"I forgot, you were in the crash too." She leaned her hip against the edge of a table. "You poor thing, no wonder you're such a mess."
I huffed out a laugh. "I spent the day helping Joe. Building tends to make you messy."
"You're a carpenter?"
"No, I'm a graphic designer," I said. "I helped them with the layout for the apartments at the Bird Building."
Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah, he told me a little about those. So you're a business friend and you're helping him with the construction work now?"
"He's injured. He shouldn't be working at all. Someone has to."
"And that someone is you? Surely his father--"
"Stan's arthritis makes it difficult to do much these days."
Her head tilted to the side. "How close are you and Joe?"
"That's none of your business."
Brows knitted, she stared me down.
"Your turn, Alex." Joe reappeared, beard wet, hurriedly pulling on his shirt. Then he stopped, sensing the crappy mood in the room. "Everything all right?"
"Absolutely," I said, rising to my feet. "I won't be long."
One cold shower later, I was ready. By gently patting my face clean with a damp cloth, I'd managed to save some of the makeup Val had skillfully applied. Enough for me to not look too Frankenstein's bride.
Star was holed up in Eric's room when we left.
We didn't speak much on the ride back to the Bird Building. But then, Joe hadn't spoken much all day outside of giving me orders. I caught him lost in thought often, however, frowning into space. Wincing, grimacing, he displayed all sorts of unhappy. I'd have suggested he talk to someone about it, but the man could barely handle me helping out. Plus there was the fact I'd never been a big believer in therapy. Also, there was Star. His long-lost one true love, apparently. No, hiding from all of these problems and letting myself die a little on the inside made much more sense.
I'd said I'd stick by him, and that's what I was going to do.
I guess Pat had already been by to pick up Nell's things, because Joe's bedroom was all man. No sign of any incursion by Star whatsoever, thankfully. There'd been a big king bed with a dark green bedspread. An assortment of jeans, boots, and shirts filling a small built-in wardrobe. A couple of photos on the wall of the local area that I guess he'd taken. They were beautiful.
I pulled into the first open space within walking distance of the bar. The continued absence of noise seemed too loud. Guess my nerves were just really on edge.
"There's nothing going on between me and Star," Joe said, startling me slightly.
"No?"
"No." He exhaled loudly. "I just, I wanted you to know that."
I nodded. "Okay."
"She didn't have money for a room anywhere, so..."
"Right."
He scratched his head. "Alex, I meant it when I said I can't deal with this, you and me, right now."
"I know you did." And God, did that hurt. "I'm not going to put any pressure on you. I just want to help."
Another heavy sigh. "I hate that you were in the accident too. I don't want you getting hurt anymore."
"I know. But I care about you, Joe, and for now, I'm staying." I pushed open the truck door. "Let's go do this."
The strangest sight met us when we walked into the restaurant: Valerie pouring drinks behind the bar. Someone had even thought to slap a Dive Bar T-shirt on her. As usual, the woman wore it well.
"Isn't that your friend?" asked Joe, scratching at his chin.
"Yeah." I tilted my head; the scene made no more sense. It did, however, explain what she'd been up to all day. "I recall she briefly did a stint bartending when she was putting herself through the cosmetics course."
"How brief?"
And that'd be best not said. "Let's go say hi."
We wound our way through the tables, heading toward the bar.
"Oh my God," I said, with all necessary exaggeration. "They'll let anyone work here. This is fantastic, I'm asking for a job."
"Yes-s-s." Val grinned. "Do it. Then we can be bartending besties."
"Christ," mumbled the grumpy bear behind me.
"Has he been that happy all day?" asked Val.
I shrugged. "Pretty much. Thought you were going to come upstairs and help?"
She got busy filling glasses with ice and lime again, pouring in nips of vodka before finishing them off with soda water. "I got talking to Lydia and found out that her fiance, Vaughan, has gigs in Seattle and Portland for the next week that he can't cancel. He was just waiting on Joe to come take over the bar so he could hit the road."
"So you volunteered."
"Yep. But I have to head back tomorrow." She raised a brow at Joe
, though she kept talking to me. "I take it you're going to insist on helping him with the bartending duties as well?"
"Yes, I am."
A heavy sigh. "You're seriously going to run yourself ragged looking after this jerk that just dumped you?"
"Okay. When the jerk is standing right next to me, probably not the time to have this conversation, Val." I got my ass behind the bar. Not checking out whatever look was on Joe's face, because I didn't want to know. "But Joe and I are friends. Friends help friends."
"Mmhmm." Both brows high this time, Valerie remained skeptical. "Vaughan's away for a week, this Eric dude is MIA, and your friend not only needs to be here every night, but he's apparently determined to carpenter all day, every day too. Let's not even go near the topic of this ex-girlfriend coming back to town."
Joe said nothing. A whole lot of it.
"I can handle it." And the less I said about Star the better.
"You also have your own business to see to," said Val.
"I can delay taking on new jobs for a while."
"Three jobs. Three." She even held up three fingers just to emphasize her point. Either that, or to help me out with the counting. Sweet of her. "While still paying for that hotel room."
"His hand is broken." I pointed at Joe, then gestured to the room at large. "Half of their staff are missing."
Joe opened his mouth to speak, but Val got there first.
"And these are your problems how?" Hands on hips, Val stared me down.
"Because if I let him go on his merry way he'll spend twice as long with a cast on. That's if he doesn't screw up his hand somehow permanently. It's my problem because I decided it was and I need to respect that decision."
"You're stupid about him." Val took to pointing at Joe too. Her bloodred fingernail looked downright dangerous. "Aren't you?"
Head hanging low, Joe muttered obscenities.
"Val, stop," I said, hands shaking with anger and other emotions I didn't care to define. "You're embarrassing me."
"No, I'm staging an intervention. Your experience when it comes to relationships of this nature is somewhere between none and sort of fucked up. It makes me worry." Taking a step closer, she lowered her voice. "Does he even appreciate you?"
"He does. Very much." A muscle jumped in Joe's jaw as he spoke. Oh dear, the tension coming from the man was not good. "But you can both get out from behind there. I'm here now, I've got it."
