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“Brennan! Where’s my refill?”
Brennan jerked his chin at Karl, a regular. Come rain or shine, Karl sat on the other side of the bar. When things were slow in the pub, Brennan couldn’t avoid the idiot. Like now.
His father had a high tolerance and kept pouring the arsehole drinks even though he’d bitten more than he could chew. But opposite his father, Brennan wasn’t your go with the flow kind of guy, and especially not with Karl.
It took some persuading his grandfather and father, but after looking over the stats and figures with them, Lucky is now closed on Mondays. It had been his second decision in his taking over Lucky in a few weeks.
The first decision had been hiring his cousin Emmy, and that worked out extremely well. But closing lucky on Mondays left Karl without a place to hang out and get his fix.
Brennan had thrown the middle-aged man out of the bar before, and his guess was this Tuesday would be one of these days.
The lady sitting next to Karl spilled her drink after Karl sagged against her elbow. “Karl, I told ye already. Ye had yer last one. No more tonight,” Brennan said, mopping the bar with a wet towel.
It wasn’t unusual to come across unhappy, angry or even depressed costumers on the other side of his bar. Often people tried to drown their sorrows with the help of the bottle, but they only made matters worse by doing so. He hated this side of his job.
“Never in the twenty years of coming here, I’ve been treated like this. You think you’re better than me?” Karl spit.
Brennan glanced over his shoulder, just to check if Errin was out of reach of Karl. He wouldn’t hurt her on purpose, but just like the woman sitting next to him, Karl sure had his casualties along the way while being this obnoxiously drunk.
“Karl…”
Ed, one of the other regulars sitting a few barstools over, tried to calm the arsehole down. But as usual, he wouldn’t listen to reason.
“No, Ed. The minute this boy takes over, the place’ll go downhill,” Karl slurred, trying to retake his seat on the barstool, but failing miserably. He stood a little taller after finding his balance and said, “I give it two months before Sean Jr. will be back to save what’s left of our Lucky.”
And that was Karl’s problem right there. Sean Jr. would no longer step in to pour his ugly mug another drink, even though Brennan had cut him off.
Brennan was officially taking over Lucky from his dad right after the renovation of their family’s pub, starting next week. Well, if Karl had a problem with it, he could fuck right off.
“Karl. Ye better go sleep it off. If ye don’t go right now, I might remember all this tomorrow and ye’ll be drinkin’ nothin’ but water in Lucky from now on.” Brennan kept both palms flat on the dark wooden bar, leaning over to make his point come across.
“Screw you. I’m out of here. I’m going next door. Where theydoknow how to treat their loyal costumers.” He turned his tall but disturbingly fragile frame to stumble toward the exit. He bumped into several people before he finally found the doorway.
Brennan jerked his head to the sound of Errin’s laughter. She stood in the middle of the pub in Ed’s arms. The bald man had a soft spot for the latest Lucky recruit and Errin didn’t mind wrapping Ed around her little finger.
“Okay, let’s do this!” Errin said.
Errin motioned to Jessica behind the bar to start the music. Jessica gave a thumbs up behind the stereo and the first horns and violins entered the pub. Ed shook with laughter while Errin tried to keep a straight face.
“Ed. No, be serious,” she said. “You wanted me to teach you how to dance. So come on!”
Her eyes sparkled as she kept her arms strong and pulled on Ed’s lumpy arms so his elbows lifted. “Okay. Ed, that’s good. Now don’t droop your shoulders. Keep your upper body grand and beautiful.”
Some of the old guys at the bar busted out in laughter and one of them shouted, “Yeah, that’s Ed for you; grand and beautiful.”
Errin was undeterred and stepped around Ed’s belly pooch.
“That’s right. See.” Errin’s hands on his shoulders caused his normally hunched frame to straighten. Ed’s tall top stood parallel to the ground, and he smiled at Maureen, Errin’s neighbor and Pops’ dear friend who’d shuffled over to get a closer look.
“I love this song, Errin. It’s so royal,” Maureen said as she tucked a gray hair back into her bun.
“I know, right? I love how it makes me feel. Like a flower in spring. Ready to blossom.” Errin spread her arms over her head and swirled her supple frame like a ballerina. Brennan smiled at her enthusiasm.
And he wasn’t the only one being struck by the Errin lightning bolt. Even the old guys at the bar who often resembled the heckling Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show, were all engrossed.
Her lithe body was stuck in a black Lucky shirt, sensible light blue jeans, and botched black sneakers. Her work attire wasn’t spectacular in any way. But she oozed sensuality without even trying. He pictured her in her ballerina leotard from Halloween and had to shift his stance. The image alone got him hard.
He turned to shoot a glance at the music installation.
