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I wait on him to answer, but he doesn’t, so I turn and fill a glass with ice and Coke, then I pull two shot glasses from under the bar and pour whiskey in each. I throw one back, not grimacing at all as the smooth liquid slides down my throat with a burn. Then I slide the Coke and remaining whiskey shot to Hawk.
Before walking away, I lean down in his space again. “That one’s on me,tesoro.” I stand tall and wink at him, then calmly walk away to see if Zander needs help before I get on stage tonight, even if inside I’m trembling.
Zander catches a glimpse of me and pushes me into the kitchen. “Are you okay, babe? I can ask him to leave if you want.”
Danny pulls his gaze up from the grill to study us. “Is someone bothering our little songbird?” he asks.
I squint my eyes at Zander before turning to Danny. “No, Zander’s overreacting.”
I stare back up at Zander. “I’m not letting you do that, because it would be letting him win. He’ll know he rattled me, and I refuse to let him see anything of the sort. Let me handle him, okay? I’m not some baby deer who needs protecting from the big bad wolf.”
His lips press in on themselves before he speaks. “I’m sorry, Britt. I’m only watching out for you.”
I nudge him in the arm. “I know, and I appreciate it, I do. But this is my demon to wrestle with, not yours. If I need backup, you’ll be the first to know.”
He chuckles and then says, “All right. Go get ’em, tiger.”
The band starts warming up and calling me to join them on the mic as we push back through the kitchen doors to the bar. I grin as I make my way on stage, purposefully avoiding where I know Hawk still sits. I feel his stare on me like hot flames licking my skin, but I refuse to acknowledge anything but the music and the microphone in my hand.
We perform a few songs together, one may or may not have been for Hawk’s benefit. When the first set ends, I thank the crowd and the guys like I normally do and head for the bar to get back to work. The thrill of the music has me feeling much better as I slide back behind the bar. I check on all the customers I can, saving Hawk for last.
“Can I get you something else?” I ask in a chipper tone, not allowing him to bring me down for another minute.
He smiles, this time; there’s a hint of the Hawk I used to know even if it’s still cold. “Forgot you could sound like that,” is all he says.
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot you forgot,” I fire back.
He stands and pulls out a ten-dollar bill and leaves it on the bar. His drink is half gone, but his shot of whiskey is untouched. He pins me under his stare. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. There are some things I won’t forget…like how you told lies about me and then I found you in the arms of another guy you said I shouldn’t worry about.”
For once,I’mstunned into silence.He found me in the arms of another guy? Caleb?What in the hell is he talking about? I didn’t betray him by lying or running to some other guy. It was him who earned that badge of horror.
He grabs the coat he’d slung over his chair and puts it on, stares at me for another moment before rapping his knuckles on the bar. “See you around.”
I regain the ability to speak as he turns to leave. “Not if I can help it.”
He flashes a practiced smile before disappearing through the exit.
I stare at the door he left through a moment longer before throwing back his untouched shot and pretending the burn of whiskey can mask the sting of his words.
It’s been almost a week since my encounter with Brittney. I’m still a little stunned by her saying she saw me with her sister, but I don’t care to examine it too much. It’s Thursday and my sister and I have dinner with Mamma on Thursdays. I exit my black pickup and slowly stroll toward the front door of the house I lived in growing up.
The sky is in twilight. Colors are fading from orange to pink to purple. I cast a glance in the direction of Brittney’s childhood home. None of her family live there now, but I think her mom still owns it. It’s being rented out again. It’s always been a pretty house…well taken care of and loved. The opposite of the family who used to reside there.
It’s almost as if my memory has its own camera. As my gaze sweeps over the yard and house, snapshots in time appear like a slideshow. First, a lanky girl with blonde hair, a dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose, and a smile that felt like sunshine. Then the vision of their car loaded down with their belongings as she searched for me while I hid like a coward and refused to say goodbye.
The porch light flips on and the memory of sneaking past the front door and into her bedroom window plays next. I remember the way she felt in my arms. When they moved back, we picked up like no time passed. Except it had, and suddenly she was more than my friend—she was a girl I was falling for.We promised…it was us against the world.
A dog barks in the distance, shaking me out of my reverie. Angry at myself for my trip down memory lane, I knock on Mamma’s front door a little to eagerly, a fact she doesn’t miss when she greets me. “Hawk? What’s wrong?”
Her eyebrows are drawn in concern. I clench my jaw slightly before lowering my defenses. “Nothing to worry about, Mamma. I was distracted.”
She doesn’t relax, but she pulls me down to kiss my cheek before hugging me. My mother is short, standing five foot three to my six-foot-two height. She waves me further into the house so she can finish prepping dinner.
“Can I help with anything?” I ask before placing my keys on the counter and shedding my coat.
“It’s almost done, but thank you for offering,” she says with her back to me as she retrieves plates from the cabinet.
“How are you, Mamma?” The recent anniversary of one of the worst nights of my life happens to be her wedding anniversary with my dad. How’s that for cruel and unusual punishment?
