Chapter 11
Later that evening Callie pushed open the door to the Lucky Strike, eager to escape the cold rain beating down outside. Fall was in full swing in Portland, which meant cold and wet days, but also beautiful colors on the trees. Callie had always loved this season but, she thought wryly to herself, she certainly preferred the dry and sunny autumn days. She brushed the rain from her jacket as she removed it, and then looked around the bar. It was still early, so while the pub was busy it wasn’t as packed as she knew it would be later when Chase and his band took to the stage.
Callie easily made her way to the bar, settled herself in at one end and called out to Ryan who was working down at the other end, “Hey! What’s a girl got to do to get a beer and some fries around here?”
Ryan looked up and grinned, before finishing with a customer and making his way down to Callie.
“Well hey there, good to see you again. Peach ale?”
Callie nodded, “Yes please,” and watched as he poured a perfect sleeve of beer and pushed it towards her before she asked, “Where’s Jake?”
“Hiding in his office, making sure our food order for tomorrow is all correct. I’ll go and let him know you’re here. Can I get you something to eat while you wait?”
“Some fries and gravy would be awesome.”
“You got it.”
Callie was munching on a fry when Jake came out of his office running his hand through his already mussed hair. She could tell he was stressed out about something from the expression on his face and the tension in his body when he wrapped his arms around Callie’s shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
“Hey, Gorgeous, I’m sorry to leave you here alone but I have to finish up some work. I had hoped to get it done before you arrived, but there was a mistake with our food order, and I need to get it fixed tonight.”
Callie looked at Jake with concern. “Of course. Don’t worry about me, Ryan can keep me company until you are free.”
Jake smiled distractedly and pressed another kiss to the top of her head before he disappeared back down the hall towards his office. Callie dipped another fry in some gravy, glancing up at Ryan who was standing in front of her, with a smile spread across his face.
“You make him happy, you know that right?”
Ryan’s unexpected comment took Callie by surprise.
“I’ve been Jake’s best friend for years, and he’s dated lots of women in that time, but I’ve never seen him excited to talk about them, or to spend as much time with them as he does with you,” Ryan frowned slightly, “I just hope you are as serious about your relationship as I suspect he is. Because underneath the tattoos and muscles, that man has a big heart and really wants to find someone to share his life. If you don’t think that someone could be you, please don’t mess around with him.”
The seriousness of Ryan’s statement was not lost on Callie, and she paused a moment to gather her thoughts before she replied, “Ryan, I’m glad he has a friend like you. I know Jake is a good guy. He’s pretty much the best man I’ve ever had in my life. I do care about him, a lot. So much that it scares me sometimes.” Callie hesitated, uncertain about how much she could disclose to Ryan about her conflicted feelings about the direction of her future. “Right now, I don’t know exactly where our relationship is going, but I do know I want to spend as much time with Jake as I can. I am serious about him, I promise.”
Ryan’s answering smile was filled with support. “That’s good to hear. I love him like a brother, hell, I love him more than my real brother most of the time. It would kill me to see him get hurt. Now if you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will deny I ever got so sentimental and you will never get another beer from me again.”
Callie laughed at his empty threats. “Your secret is safe with me you big softy.”
Ryan laughed and stole one of Callie’s fries. As she swatted his hand away, Ryan paused and looked at her with a smile. “You’re a good woman, Doctor Scott. Jake deserves someone like you.”
With a wink, Ryan turned and headed to serve another customer, leaving Callie to think about what he had said. She couldn’t deny it was a little scary to think of how strong her feelings were, and clearly how serious Jake’s feelings were also. She could easily imagine wanting to spend her life with Jake, she just couldn’t see how to overcome her parents expectations for her to marry someone in a position to advance her father’s political ambitions. Even as she cringed inwardly at the thought of being a pawn in their game, Callie knew that it would be very hard for her to walk away.
* * *
Jake stretched in his chair as he finally shut down his computer an hour later. He was frustrated that the problems with the food order had taken so long to fix and vowed to spend time tomorrow researching new suppliers. In Jake’s mind, to miss more than half the items from a standard weekly order was unacceptable. This was not the first time his kitchen had suffered from their current supplier forgetting things they desperately needed. Fortunately, this time Jake had caught the errors and shortages early enough to correct them.
With a wry grin to himself, Jake thought back to his college days, when the Lucky Strike was no more than a project for business school. Jake had imagined he would spend his days sleeping and his nights pouring drinks and partying with his customers. He certainly hadn’t ever figured his days would actually be spent pouring over orders and inventory, or in one of the many meetings with accountants and suppliers to make sure they were on track. And while he did get to enjoy the company of his customers, every shift was also filled with the setup before opening and cleanup after closing.
Pushing away from his desk, Jake chose to leave the stress of food orders and staffing shortages for a while. He stood up, eager to get out to Callie and spend some time with her before the bar closed. He knew it was a little crazy how much he looked forward to seeing her again, when he had just spent most of the day with her, but he couldn’t help it. Jake could easily see his future with Callie, and he knew the day was coming soon when he would have to see if she wanted that future as well.
Thankful for the soundproofing he had installed during renovations Jake opened the door of his office to be faced with a wall of noise. Sometime in the last hour the bar had become packed full of people, all drinking, eating, and clearly having a great time. Jake felt a deep sense of satisfaction as he looked around. Happy customers, enjoying a fun night out. That was what it was all about for him. And somehow, he knew, Pop was smiling down as well.
As he made his way to the bar, he stopped to greet some of the regulars he was starting to recognize. There were the lawyers who came in after work once a week, or more if they were working on a tough case that kept them at work late; the local beer league hockey team who had started to come in every week after their game. Their faces were familiar, and Jake was quickly learning many of their names. He prided himself on working hard to give that personal touch to his interactions with his customers.
Callie was texting on her phone when Jake walked behind the bar but she looked up as he came to stand in front of her. “Hey, mister hot bartender, you look way less stressed now. Did you fix the problem?” She grinned at Jake as he leaned forward over the bar top to kiss her deeply, “I take that as a yes.”
“Yeah, it’s all settled now. Sorry I can’t sit with you tonight, but Ryan needs some help. With Chase playing again tonight, it’s only going to get busier. I’ll hang out with you when I can,” Jake gestured to the crowd, and to the lineup waiting to be served at the bar, “I’m just not sure how much I’ll be able to talk to you.”
Callie smiled softly, “Don’t worry about me. Reagan is going to come and join me for a drink. I’ll be here whenever you get a free minute.”
