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She blushed a little just saying it out loud, not at all the proper Southern girl. Ellis seemed less than shocked.
"Bor-ring," he sang. "That is no substitute for a real man with a real cock, honey. Please, please, please wear this dress tonight, Kat. There will be plenty of options at Moonshiners. You know, the sexy, rugged type with a flannel shirt and beard who’ll throw you over his broad shoulder, carry you to his log cabin, and ravish you on his bearskin rug."
"Wow El, that’s awfully specific, but I think that’s probably more your fantasy than mine, sweetie. How about yes to the dress, but please, please, I beg of you, no trying to hook me up with men."
"Girl, you are going to have to fill me in on what happened with this ex of yours to make you so gun shy, but ok, I will accept your compromise."
She picked up the dress and he squealed in excitement.
True to his word, Ellis didn’t directly try to hook her up with anyone at Moonshiners, but he did point out the options. Katie could admit there were some attractive men, and they didn’t all resemble lumberjacks as Ellis had implied. Still, they all kept coming up short to the shortstop on all the televisions in the bar.
Moonshiners was a country bar, but also a sports bar—and this was Maverick territory. The game was more than half over by the time they got there, but it took only one drink and a two-run homer from Hernandez for Katie to feel right at home with her fellow fans. She cheered with a couple of lawyers and high-fived with a mechanic and his wife, who ran a local coffee shop. She got invited to a yoga class and to a gallery opening. And best of all, she not only watched Landon take his hitting streak to eleven consecutive games, she got to cheer for him like she never could at work. With fist pumps and fist bumps and whooping hugs with people who understood her.
The game flew by after that and when it was clear the Mavericks were going to win, she rejoined Ellis and Alex at their table with a sweaty sheen on her bare shoulders and a hoarse throat. They ordered a round of Moonshine Margaritas and Ellis got right back to business while they waited.
"Kat, what about that one in the blue plaid?"
"Really El? His pants are tighter than any pair in my closet."
"Oh c’mon, they’re not that bad, right babe?" Ellis directed the question at his husband.
"Honey, I love you, but those pants are tighter than anything inyourcloset, so that’s really saying something."
Alex and Ellis were both the oddest and most perfect couple Katie had ever met. Alex, a petite Hispanic man, balanced out his husband’s brashness with a quiet demeanor and sweet charm. At first glance, they looked like they wouldn’t work together, but they did. Better than any couple Katie had met before.
The waitress delivered their drinks in garnished moonshine jars, and they all took long sips, followed by cringes. Despite all the colorful froths and fruits on the rim, Moonshine Margaritas tasted more like alcohol than juice.
"Wowza!" Ellis shuddered. "Now that’ll put a pep in your step! Who wants to hit the dance floor?"
"Babe, I’ve been on the ER floor all day, I don’t have the energy," Alex said.
It was Katie’s turn to back him up. "Yeah, El, how in the world do you have any energy left? Please tell me putting up with Lori gets easier your second season in."
“It most definitely does not get any easier. The Dragon Lady is a fire breathing bitch who feeds off the anxiety of others and that will never ever change."
"Oh, well, thanks for the pep talk," Katie said. "Seriously it’s got to get easier after the banquet and the Takahashi visit. Sometimes I think Lori is certifiably insane. Or maybe she’s secretly in love with Stan Takahashi.Is selling his company season tickets or even getting them to sponsor the new Jumbotron worth all this?"
"Oh no, you’ve got it all wrong, Kitty-Kat, this fish is much bigger," Ellis explained. "This is about the poor little step-daughter trying to win Daddy Maverick’s love. Lori has Takahashi on the string for something bigger than just baseball. Bigger than pro sports even. She’s been trying to gather investments to start a media conglomerate. Apparently if she can raise half, old Johnny boy will put up the other half, but a little birdie told me that she’s looking to raise way more."
"Why?" Katie asked around her straw. "Why not just take daddy’s investment and run with it?"
"Because she’s still the stepchild. She doesn’t want to always worry she’s going to be ousted by the board of directors or cut out of the will by the blood kids. JTM Industries already has oil and real estate covered,she wants to head up the media and entertainment division. To be the head of her own board of directors with a baseball team as one of her assets, not her biggest."
"Cool," Katie said glumly. "I vote for her to go do that and leave us the hell alone."
"Amen sister," Alex said, and he and Katie clinked their glasses together.
"Ooooh," Ellis cooed, whipping his phone up. "Do that again so I can get a photo. The light makes you both look fab-u-lous!"
"Take one with mine too then," Katie said, unlocking her phone and sliding it across to him.
Ellis took a photo of them from across the table, repositioned things until they were just so, and took two more shots. "Just one more…." he said, adjusting the pineapple slice on Alex’s drink.
Ding.
Ellis’ eyes tripled in size as Moonshine Margarita gurgled up in Katie’s esophagus.Oh fuck.Why hadn’t she stored Landon in her contacts by a code name or at least his initials? Why in the world had she ever put him in her phone at all? She could only pray the message said something she could pass off as work-related.
Ellis didn’t hesitate to read it out loud. "Don’t go whoring around the city? Have a little more respect for yourself than that?"
