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“I’ll be right back.”
On my way to the bar, I take a few more orders. Usually the waitstaff handles the booths, but Nate had two of them call in sick with a stomach bug this morning. The tips will be nice though, since I might be shacking up at the Glacier Point after all. I refuse to drive Brinley out of her own apartment.
When I return to the booth, the one grandma with red hair, Alice, is chatting with Calista and Rylan about baby stuff. I guess she must be pregnant, but she doesn’t look it at all.
“Alice, they do not need a baby shower. Do you know how much Rylan makes?” Easton says.
Alice turns to him and must give him some look because his eyes widen. “The point of a shower is to welcome the baby. It’s not just about the gifts. I swear, Easton Bailey, you’ll be single forever.”
“What do a baby shower and me being single forever have to do with one another?” His forehead wrinkles.
“Why do you antagonize everyone?” Calista asks him. “Alice was being nice, offering to knit something and maybe host the shower at Northern Lights.” She shakes her head.
“And will you please stop telling people how much I fucking make? You don’t even actually know.”
I set down the beers, and Easton raises his and tips it at Rylan before taking a swig. “Us professional athletes know these things.”
“Neither one of you has the money Lance does anyway,” Calista chimes in with a grin.
Lance says nothing, but his cheeks turn a slight shade of pink that reminds me of Brinley. Rylan blows out a breath as it clicks in my head who these guys are. Rylan is a professional soccer player, and Easton is a professional baseball player.
“And we’re so fortunate our off seasons align,” Easton says, clinking his bottle against Rylan’s, who doesn’t really reciprocate.
When all their eyes turn in my direction, I realize I’ve been standing here listening, and since I’m literally staring at them all like a dumbass, I figure I’ll ask the burning question in my throat. “Have you guys talked with Brinley lately?”
Calista gets fidgety, sipping her water. Easton and Lance look at one another and shrug, shaking their heads.
“Why?” Lance asks.
“Well.” I clear my throat.
“I did.” Calista quickly raises her hand.
“Why are you raising your hand?” Easton asks.
I can tell he’s the kind of guy you either love or hate and not much in between.
Calista lowers it. “She had a big project and has been at her parents’, working with her mom. She said she left you a note.”
She’s the worst liar I’ve ever met. Seriously, her fingers are twisting in her lap, and her eyes look in every direction but mine.
“Yeah, she did. It just didn’t say when she’d be back.”
“Tonight,” a voice from the booth next to us says. Alice stands. “I saw her this afternoon, and she’ll be back tonight.”
Calista’s eyebrows furrow. “Really? I thought it was going to take longer?”
“Nope, Jean and I had to make a visit over where she’s staying this afternoon, and she told us as much.”
I’m way too new in this town to understand all the dynamics, but if Alice wants to throw a baby shower for Calista and knit something for her baby, I’d say she must be a good friend of the family. So I have no reason not to believe her, even if Calista seems skeptical.
“Great. Thanks. Although I probably won’t be home until she’s asleep.” I walk away from the table and fill my orders.
An hour later, my break comes. Instead of staying in the bar, I go out and walk along the back of the building to clear my head.
After we’re closed and have cleaned up the bar, Sabrina, another bartender, and I walk out. She locks the door since I’m still waiting for Nate to get me a key.
“What a killer night, huh?” Sabrina has short, dark hair and thick bangs with makeup on the heavier side, but she’s attractive, especially in her short skirt and too-small T-shirt. If she worked at a bar by the base, I probably would’ve already hit on her. But I know better than to fuck a coworker.
