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“That’s the wrong drink,” Walker says, standing in front of me.
“It’s Jäger,” I manage on a cough. “That stuff nearly killed me in high school.”
“We don’t condone underage drinking at the Hairy Frog,” Walker says, his tone rote and emotionless.
I get my coughing under control and glare at him.
“You’re the one who gave it to us,” Adalynn reminds him.
“We are more than the mistakes we’ve made in the past,” he says, his lip twitching as he tries not to grin.
The man is full of shit. I don’t doubt that he’s serious about the underage drinking. Owning the bar now is much different from when he used to work here when we were all younger. The guy is as fun loving as he always has been. He’s proof that someone can be a little older and still get along with everyone. He spent several years in the military before coming back and buying the bar after he got out.
“I’m not paying for this,” I tell him, as I pick the glass back up and bring it to my lips.
“It nearly killed you a second ago,” he says, watching as I pull the tiny straw out and upend the contents of the drink.
“Only because it took me by surprise,” I tell him with a grin after swallowing.
“I’ll get you the correct drink,” he says, knocking his knuckles twice on our table before stepping away.
“On the house,” I yell at him, laughing when he raises his hand in a wave of agreement over his head as he makes his way back to the bar.
Adalynn and I jerk our heads in the direction of a loud crash, just in time to see poor Hailey crouching low to gather up the glass from the dishes she just dropped on the floor.
Claire Kennedy looks down at what looks like chili staining her sandals, but instead of being angry, she just looks resigned, like bad things happen to her all the time.
“Bless her heart,” Adalynn whispers. “That poor woman.”
“How’s she doing?” I ask, knowing that she lost her husband a few years ago in combat.
“I don’t see her out much. I imagine her daughter keeps her busy. I think she’s been working at Raise the Woof.”
Claire smiles at Hailey as the waitress hands her a bar rag.
“I bet the Kennedys have Larken tonight, and that new girl ruined her limited time out.”
“It was an accident,” I remind her.
There was a time, not long ago, that Claire was also considered an outsider. She showed up in Lindell pregnant after Hux died. The town surrounded her and took care of her because while she may have been an outsider, the baby she was carrying was not. They’d never betray Hux’s memory by shunning his pregnant wife, no matter how upset his parents were that they got married without running it by them first.
“Well, well, well,” I say, watching the handsome uniformed officer squat to help Hailey pick up some of the broken fragments.
“I swear, some people would do just about anything to get attention,” Ad grumbles, watching as Cash places the bits and pieces of the chili bowl on Hailey’s tray.
He gives her a quick smile before standing, his eyes darting in our direction a second later.
Adalynn can’t see it, but the man forgot about the waitress the second he looked her way.
Ad straightens her spine, the fake smile she’s had plastered on her face more times than I can count in place as he approaches.
He presses a quick kiss to her cheek, lingering a little longer than decent before taking a step back and offering me a quick hug.
“Fancy seeing you two here,” he says, that twangy Southern drawl of his a little more pronounced than I remember from the last time I saw him.
“I’m surprised she didn’t slip you her phone number,” Adalynn says, her voice sweeter than the sugar water my mom puts in her hummingbird feeders.
Cash shrugs. “She gave it to me last week.”
