“You can work a bar?”
I nod eagerly. “Yeah, have for years.”
He lifts his chin. “There’s a furnished place upstairs. It stays empty for the most part, but it’s got everything you need if you’re willing to help out here for a few days, maybe a week, or until I can get some more help.”
I suck in an excited breath, but try to play it off and pretend as if I’m not completely desperate. “So you want me to trade my hard labor dealing with guys like this,” I say, pointing to annoying bar guy. “For a roof?”
“Take it or leave it,” he answers with a shrug.
This time, I can’t fight the smile tugging at my mouth.
“Meals are included for free, and I get to keep my tips.”
He clenches his jaw and the muscle twitches before he finally gives a single, deliberate nod. “Done.”
I hold my hand out with a wide grin. “I’m Brynn.”
He takes it, his large hand wrapping around mine.
“Grizz,” he says, giving a firm squeeze that forces my heart to leap up into my throat for a second, making it hard to breathe and impossible to move until he finally speaks up again. “That your kid?”
My hand slips from his grasp, and I mentally slap myself before moving over to Jovie, plucking my phone from her hands. “This is Jovie,” I say, sliding my arm around her shoulders.
The hardness in his eyes softens just a shade as he meets her gaze. “Like Bon Jovi?”
Jovie raises a brow at him. “Who?”
I swear I see the corner of his mouth twitch, but I blink and it’s suddenly gone. “You don’t know who Bon Jovi is?”
“I’m eight,” she deadpans with a shrug.
Grizz huffs a breath out his nose, probably the closest thing to a laugh he ever gives. “We’re gonna fix that,” he says, pointing at Jovie before turning his attention back to the busy bar I had managed to block out momentarily. “But first, we need help getting this running a little smoother before I lose my fucking mind.”
My eyes wander across the crowd of impatient and irritated faces waiting for food and drinks. “Crap, okay,” I say, rubbing my hands together and pushing my shoulders back. “You got an apron?”
Grizz nods, but before I can move, he points toward the kitchen.
“Get some food for Bon Jovi first,” he orders, and something warm and unexpected flickers in my chest. “I’ll get what you need from out back.”
And just like that, Jovie and I have our first place together.
Just ours.
And whether it’s for a couple of nights, a week, or who the hell knows…there’s already a feeling stirring inside me. Joy, maybe. Excitement? Anticipation?
I’m not sure.
But what I do know is that maybe there is something kind of magical and mysterious about Hallowed Springs after all.
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5 - GRIZZ
Pushing open the staff door to the loading dock, I beeline for the stairwell partially hidden in the shadows. Each step feels heavy, one after the other, as the tension starts to ease from my limbs. The mask I wear when other people are around, slipping away as I enter one of two doors at the top of the landing. The office is dark, the only light coming from the streetlamp below. We don’t really use this space, preferring to sort any and all paperwork back at the clubhouse, but it's a useful place for me to escape to when I need to reset.
That oversized, slimy, fuck knuckle was about three seconds from a broken nose and a concussion. The only thing that saved him was the kid sitting next to him. I will never be aggressive in front of women or children, but I'm willing to make excuses if the situation calls for it, and that guy was seconds away from having his jaw wired shut.
Taking a deep breath in, I can still smell the sweet, woodsy scent of lavender that surrounded her. I had to clench my fists, plastering them to my sides to stop from reaching out, and skimming the length of her blonde hair. A strand had fallenacross her face, and I desperately wanted to be the one to move it. God, she's a stunner, and the confidence in telling that guy where to stick it is not something I see much of these days. The way she positioned herself in front of Sarah told me everything I needed to know about her, causing something to stir in my chest that I thought was long buried. I've been with a few women since getting released from prison, but that was early on. Something I did because it's what I thought I wanted, but I soon realized that empty feeling never left, so I stopped. I’d rather fuck my hand than have to deal with a shitty lay, especially one who thinks they’re special.
