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When I look up, I see a man who is clearly one of the Mitchell boys. Although he isn’t as muscular as the other two, he still looks like he has a lean figure.
At first, you might not see the resemblance because his hair is more brown than the dirty blonde of the other two, but there’s one unmistakable similarity.
Those crystal blue eyes.
All of them share that trait with their mother.
When Jonas looks up, his expression goes from confused to cold in less than a second. When he notices Jessie’s name tag, that expression transforms into downright pissed.
“You’re working in a bar?” Jonas asks rather loudly.
Jessie gives a nervous smile. “Uh, yeah. Been working here since I got back to town. It may not be the most glamorous job in the world, but I’m making decent money.”
Wide-eyed, Jonas looks from person to person as if waiting for someone to tell him he’s being punked. “I just don’t understand. You’re working in a bar? How easy is it going to be for you to stay sober around all this alcohol?”
Jessie smiles, “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Jonas huffs. “I do worry about that. I worry about this whole situation.” No one knows what to say. Jessie tries to change the subject. “What can I get you two to drink?”
Jonas is still shaking his head in disbelief, so I answer for both of us. “He’ll take a beer, and I’ll have a rum and Coke.”
“Sure. Forgive me; I’m so rude. I’m Jessie, by the way.” He holds his hand out for me to shake.
I stand up long enough to shake it and introduce myself.
“Nice to meet you, Andi.” He smiles. “I’ll be right back.”
I expect Jonas to explode once Jessie walks away, but he doesn’t. Instead, he just sits silently. I don’t know which scenario I dislike more.
Annie speaks first. “Jonas, he needed a job, and Al was hiring. He’s been doing great.”
Jonas cuts her off, “Just like Dad? That's what he would say every single time he came back, and look how that turned out.”
“Jessie isn’t Daddy, Joe,” Jared says.
Jonas leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Close enough.”
His hand is no longer holding my hand under the table, and I feel even more uncomfortable. There’s no way I’m opening my mouth right now.
I wonder what has happened between Jonas and Jessie to warrant this amount of animosity. It seems far greater than Jonas not liking Jessie’s addictive habits.
There’s more to it than that. I’m just not sure what. I plan on asking him when we are alone, but the vibe he’s giving off now makes me just want to back off altogether.
Jessie returns with our drinks as well as some refills for Annie and Jared and water for himself. After he’s set them down, he has a seat.
“Slacking on the job?” Jonas asks.
Jessie gives a cocky grin. “I do get breaks, you know.”
Jonas gives nothing more than a scoff.
“You want to talk about what’s bothering you?” Jessie asks.
I feel Jonas tense even more, so I squeeze his knee once again in an attempt to calm him down.
“I’m sure you don’t care about my opinion,” Jonas spits.
“If I didn’t care about your opinion, why do you think that I would want to get together tonight?” Jessie asks.
