“I have some experience in bars, just saying. You have me at your disposal.” I couldn’t help myself. I knew things and most people deferred to me, but not her.
“I have experience too.”
I tipped my head back and let out a frustrated growl. “Christ, Mads. You can let a guy help once in a while.”
“Nothing good has ever come from that.”
I snapped my gaze to her. She’d said it so matter-of-factly. From what I remembered, her dad had been a piece of shit, running around on her mom and getting into fights. Scooter had had his issues, and while he might’ve loved his sister, he’d been selfish to a fault. Then there was her ex.
No. Men hadn’t helped her a whole lot. And here I was, swaggering around and expecting her to be grateful for my manly knowledge. All after doing nothing but put her on edge whenever we crossed paths since she’d moved home last year.
“All right,” I relented. “I’ll restore this joint back to its dive bar glory. Except the countertop won’t be sticky.” That earned me a glare, but I only grinned. There was the fire I thrived on. “I should have keys to the place.”
Her eyes flared. “Oh. Um... yeah. Hold on.”
I didn’t. I followed her all the way down the hall. I was leaving after this anyway. I needed to look up contractors and carpenters. I could demolish and install a lot myself. Time would be an issue, but I’d make it work.
She went to a room across from the office, shot me a warning glare, and slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. What was in there?
While I waited, I poked my head into the office. I smirked at the empty bag of Skittles in the trash and the open bag of Trolli on the desk. My candy stash hadn’t gotten tossed after all.
The door behind me squeaked open. She jiggled a set of keys. “I’ll tell you when my days off are, otherwise don’t come before one in the afternoon.”
“Shouldn’t I wait until four? Seems like you needed the nap.” As her eyes narrowed, I chuckled. “I’ll be here after five. I can work weekends and evenings.”
“I picked up a couple of shifts this weekend.”
She should be drooping from how much she worked. I wanted to go tuck her back in wherever she had been sleeping and tell her to rest, but she’d likely bite my head off. I snatched the keys from her and leaned in. “I need to do some research first, so give me a few days. I’ll be back Friday. With more Skittles.”
She inhaled sharply.
I grinned and pushed out the door.
It didn’t shut behind me. “It was the Jelly Bellys.”
I stopped. “Jelly Belly?”
“That day in the store, you were blocking the Jelly Belly display.”
I would’ve grabbed anything she had asked for that day, but she had refused and fled. It was amazing I was even let into the bar.
She trusted me.
Humbled, my throat grew thick. I’d been stoking her, firing her up, and still she’d turned to me only by the grace of my last name. She’d left me in the dust that day, and then she had taken a huge gamble on my ass, helping me in the process. I couldn’t let her down. “What flavors?”
“Is there a bad one?”
“Yes. Buttered popcorn.”
“You got me there. Red apple and root beer. Skittles hurt my teeth.” She disappeared inside and the door closed. The bolt flipped.
Red apple and root beer. As long as I worked on this bar, she’d never be out of them again.
Madison
I suppressed a yawn as I clocked in on the nurses’ station computer. It was my last night of work before I got four days off. My body might not function the best from seven p.m. to seven a.m., but it was nice to work without my superiors breathing down my neck. I was less likely to say something to get myself into trouble.
No one here would tolerate me talking to them the same way I spouted off to Teller. Yet Teller didn’t go away. He didn’t back down, and I thought he might even enjoy riling me up. I didn’t enjoy it. Except a little bit when his pupils dilated and the faintest flush stained his cheeks. I’d never seen him react that way to anyone else.
