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Matt got in the car. “Where they going? To the Red Barn?” Matt asked. The Red Barn was a local bar, but a very rowdy place. Noah was getting fed up with having his officers break up fights every weekend.
“No. After what that jerk did to Alicia, none of us go there,” Drake answered. “We have been going to that new pool hall, the Blue Diamond. It’s a little more low-key. I like the place. It is run by a couple from Red Hook.”
“What did John do? I haven’t heard anything.” He felt uniformed.
“Last summer, John made a play for Alicia and she fell for it. She thought he was serious, but he was playing games. He ended up hurting her. She is okay now, but she got really depressed for a long time. Ray was furious and told John off. Now none of us go there,” Drake explained, sounding a little angry.
“He is in his thirties and Alicia is, like, twenty.”
“Twenty-four, but it’s really not the age number. Alicia was super innocent. It was obvious, but he still played his games with her, and that is what pisses us off,” Drake said with anger. Matt knew Drake and Ray grew up together and were more like brothers.
“That is wrong,” Matt agreed. He felt his heart clench in pain. He’d hurt Holly last summer, too, but he didn’t do it intentionally. He really liked her, but he thought they had nothing in common. At least he hadn’t had sex with her. He’d wanted to, but he would never do that to her. He regretted what he had done. He should have let things develop between them instead of taking the easy way out. If he had, he’d have the right to be protecting her.
“They will be safe.” Drake assumed Matt’s quietness was due to concern over Holly and that incident with Gerald. “Gerald hasn’t bothered her since you and Tony put the fear into him.”
That made Matt smile. “It was fun.”
* * * *
Holly sat with Jasmine and Alicia in a booth at the local pool hall sipping on a glass of wine. She really needed this night out with her friends. It had been a long, stressful week. The soft music playing was calming and the wine was making her feel so much better.
She had no more scares, and she hoped all the drama was finally over with Gerald. Adam told her Matt and Tony had scared Gerald off, and she was glad about that. She wanted to believe it was because Matt had feelings for her, but she knew it was just all part of his job. He was good at his job. She’d heard the admiring way his coworkers spoke of him.
Work had been busy and crazy, and in between, she tried to help Faith out with Hope so she could rest. She needed this night out to unwind.
“Is that Tony Smith sitting in the corner all alone?” Alicia asked. Holly looked and nodded. Matt’s brother was scary. He never smiled and hardly spoke. Holly wanted to be polite and greet him, but she didn’t want him giving her any mean looks.
“I’m surprised he is here. Matt says he doesn’t go out,” Holly remarked in a low voice.
“He doesn’t like it, but Matt pushes him to try. He is afraid Tony will be a hermit. He suffers from PTSD,” Jasmine explained. She waved to him and he nodded politely. “Matt has it, too, but not as severe as Tony.”
“That is sad.” Alicia sipped on her wine and glanced his way one more time. “I haven’t been out in a while myself. I had a hard time getting over being played by John. I thought I was in love, but now I think it was lust. Still, he had no reason to lie to me to get me into bed. He could have been honest.”
“He is a rat bastard, and he will never have my business again.” Jasmine snorted.
“Ray had words with him and punched him out. It is safe to say we never go there, either.” Alicia nodded, looking a little upset. “Oh well, lesson l
earned the hard way.”
“Let’s play some pool,” Holly suggested. She didn’t want to sit around and talk about such depressing subjects as heartaches. She had a lot to contribute to the conversation, but if she started crying, she might not stop. “I’m not that good at it, but it is fun.”
“Okay, let’s team up. No more sad talk about men.” Alicia stood up. She looked nice in dark jeans and a white, silky blouse unbuttoned to show off her cleavage, and she had big silver hoops in her ears. She walked over to an empty pool table and placed some quarters on it, and they moved their drinks closer to the pool tables.
“We need another person to make it even.” Jasmine went up to Tony and spoke to him. He shook his head no, but she put her hand on her hip and he finally gave in. Holly smiled. Jasmine was relentless.
Tony stood up with his beer in his hand. He didn’t look thrilled to play, but he didn’t say much, either.
“Tony and Alicia on team one, and me and Holly are on team two,” Jasmine announced. Alicia had a pool stick in her hand. She looked at Tony and winked. “Hope you’re good. I have been told I have talent.”
“By who?” he asked, looking at the sticks until he found one he liked.
Alicia grinned. “My papa. He thinks I’m great at all I do.”
Tony almost smiled and Holly was amazed. She pretended not to notice and chalked up her own stick. “I am an average pool player, so no fancy moves. I just want to unwind.”
“Me too.” Jasmine set the balls up on the table. “You break,” she told Tony.
The game ended up being a lot of fun. There was a lot of laughing and Holly was able to relax, even though Tony and Alicia kept winning. Alicia kept making Tony give her high-fives. He looked a little more relaxed, too. Alicia was so upbeat that Tony couldn’t be his grouchy self with her. She just ignored him and acted like they had been friends forever. Holly loved the girl’s upbeat personality. She sensed a certain connection between the two, but Holly stayed silent. She was the wrong person to hand out advice on love and romance.
