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Twenty-Six
“So, the usual for you today?”
Dean buried a deep sigh over Sarah’s unaffected gaze directed at him from across the bar, an unaffected gaze she kept just for his visits to her here. Two weeks. Two weeks of watching TV sports and sharing passionate nights together, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep pretending.
Her motivations for holding back made sense. She liked her privacy. Wanted to avoid judgment. Heck, she was fresh out of a major relationship and wasn’t ready for another. Problem was, everything she couldn’t commit to, he’d been waiting for his entire life.
He was more than her rebound. He knew enough about Sarah Overton to see she wasn’t a “rebounding” sort of woman, and that the way she was around him, all those open exchanges and moments of laughter and raw need, went beyond what she’d give just any man.
She liked him. Genuinely liked him. And he sure as hell liked her. Still, he couldn’t ignore the missing pieces. Couldn’t continue the public farce that he felt nothing. That he didn’t want anything more. And then there were all his unspoken words...
A distinct pulling drew inside his belly, maybe less a sensation than a physical warning.
“Yeah, the usual’s fine.” He stared into her beautiful eyes but got nothing back, so he shook his head and frowned down at the bar top, allowing her to get on with her job.
Maybe her reservations were less about anything missing in this relationship, so much as him. He wasn’t a prize catch. He had one friend in the entire world, a mountain of secrets, and a not-so-rosy future. What exactly did he have working for him?
She’s not the only one holding things back, now is she?
I’m a hypocrite.
“Fancy seeing you here.” Ally squeezed up against the bar and onto the stool next to him, her beaming grin lightening his mood some.
“You mean at Harlow’s one and only bar?” He returned the smile and tried not to hate himself when her moonstruck eyes lit up further. “Fancy that, indeed.”
His old self would have been just fine with the pact he had with Sarah. His old self wouldn’t have given a damn about the limitations. But then, his old self wouldn’t have gone missing in action the night he’d met her, either…
Even then, I liked her too much.
Ally patted his hand, her sweet perfume something akin to a freshly opened bag of candy, and in his opinion, no competition for Sarah’s scent of orange blossoms and something more floral, like lilies.
“I appreciated our chat the other week. I’ve been so busy at the store, what with Blaine still in the hospital and all…” Ally pushed her hair from her face, as if to bring attention to her glowing, pale neckline, a simple, thin gold chain sinking into the dip at her throat. “It’s nice seeing you again, Dean.”
Sarah set a bottle of beer before him, not even the gentle curve of her athletic body and her skin-tight jeans enough to distract from her straight stare on Ally. “Why not get Wayne and Jacob to take up the slack?”
“They’re doing their best, but really, I’m not much of a morning person and the longer days are killing me.” Ally’s gaze fluttered over to Dean, her blue eyes glinting in an adoring sort of way.
He focused on Sarah, her hip leaned against the bar and brow raised at him, the slightly jealous expression sparking the smallest sliver of hope.
She eyed Ally again. “I hear Emilia’s dad is in town, and he’s pulled strings to get a fill-in carpenter at Oak Tree for you.”
“As if one Blaine, with his endless list of demands, wasn’t enough?” Ally laughed. “But seriously, the new guy won’t get here for a couple of days yet, and in the meantime, we’re running out of stock and racking up more orders. Who’d have thought Blaine making national news as a crime victim could be good for business?”
“The world works in mysterious ways.” Sarah shrugged.
“Way too true, which brings me to another reason I came in tonight.” Ally patted his hand again, the soft smile she extended denoting appreciation more than affection, as though her feelings for him had mellowed some, though Sarah’s subtle pout said she didn’t see the difference. “I know you’ve been looking for some handy work. I wanted to offer you some part-time money if you’re interested. The work would just involve loading deliveries with Wayne and Jacob, and if you’re up to it, helping the fill-in carpenter with basic tasks until we’re all caught up again.”
Sarah’s gaze flicked once more down to Ally’s hand over his before her stare hit him again, her silent seething something he was willing to draw out since it might make her reevaluate her feelings for him. “Sounds like a great opportunity. You should take it.”
Her flat delivery turned her suggestion into a dare, but she peered back at Ally now, a fraction more at ease. “Are you here to see Dean, or can I get you a drink?”
“Oh, no. I’m here to stay for a bit.” Ally’s tone held an obliviously chipper edge. “Budweiser, please.”
Sarah gave a habitual-type smile and turned away, but not before raising both brows at Dean in a, you’d better watch yourself stare.
“What do yah say?” Ally leaned her shoulder into him, her voice lowered like they shared some kind of intimate secret. “Sheriff Marlin raved about your work at the station, and we’d love the extra help at the shop.”
“I can’t imagine Sheriff Marlin raving about anything.” Dean took a long swig of his beer, not sure how he felt about once again stepping into the shadows of Sarah’s ex, much less accepting his money in the wake of an injury incurred, in part, due to Dean’s negligence. Then again, Ally had used the word help, and no one knew of Dean’s connection to the home invasion. So maybe he could help keep the man’s business afloat while he recovered. “Okay, sure. I could do with some steady work for a while.”
