As Barry passed Cody, her boss’s eyes flashed to her from the other side of the bar. Immediately, one side of his mouth lifted, and he winked.
Her mouth went dry, and for a moment she had to remind herself to breathe. He’d been nothing but patient with her as he’d shown her the basics of the job. She’d never experienced that type of kindness before. Sure, her last boss, Ivy, had been friendly enough. But Cody was…something else.
She turned away to serve the next customer. The place was busy—certainly busier than she would have expected for a small town like Misty Peak, but it was a Saturday night, after all.
About half an hour later, while she was filling a glass with whiskey, she felt heat at her side. Then warm breath in her ear as Cody whispered, “You doing okay, Storm?”
A shudder coursed down her spine.
He’d called her that more than once, and she swore it rolled over her skin every time, feeling more intimate. But God, she needed tonotfall for the guy. She wasn’t here to stay. She was only at the bar to earn a little money before getting farther away from her family.
“Yeah, I’m doing okay. I mean, no one’s thrown their drink back at me yet, but the night’s still young.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t allow that in my bar and my customers know it. You’re safe here.”
There was something about the way he said the wordsafe, in his deep rumble of a voice, that made her breath catch in her throat. Instead of answering with words, she nodded.
He was about to walk away when she touched his arm. “Cody, before I forget…I’ve had some issues with my, uh, bank account these last few days. I was wondering if you could pay me in cash until I get the issue sorted?”
She barely held in the cringe. Damn, she sounded as shady as she felt.
His brows tugged together. “Sure.” He seemed to consider his next words for a moment. “If you need help with anything else, you can tell me.”
She swallowed, a part of her wanting to lean on someone and share all her problems. But she’d only just met Cody, and he’d already helped her so much. “I’m okay. But thank you.”
There was a flash of something that looked oddly like disappointment on his face before he nodded, bumped her shoulder, and headed off to serve the next customer.
She took a breath—a huge get-it-together breath—before grabbing a tray and moving out to the floor. You’d think clearing the tables would be her favorite part, seeing as she didn’t need to work out where each bottle was located and how to work the register. But in reality, it was a lot harder to balance a dozen glasses on a tray at once.
She’d just lowered the tray to an empty booth when a whistle sounded behind her.
“I see Walker hired some new ass.”
She tensed and straightened. When she turned, she saw four men standing around a tall bar table, all with eyes on her.
Okay, maybe Cody was wrong aboutallthe people in this town, because the way the guys looked at her definitely didn’t make her feelsafe. She’d been the one to serve them when they’darrived, and even then, she’d thought the way they looked at her was…less than friendly.
“Excuse me?”
“He’s obviously changed tack, Travis,” one of the guys said with a smirk, as if she wasn’t even there. “Didn’t get what he wanted from you or Dayne, so thinks a woman will be a better fit.”
What the hell was he talking about? She wanted to ask, but not as much as she wanted to ignore them and get back to the bar.
She turned back to the table and filled the tray. She’d just straightened and turned again when suddenly a big chest was in front of her. Travis, maybe?
“What’s your name, sweetie?”
Sweetie? This guy had to be kidding. “It’s Harper. Excuse me, I need to get these glasses to the bar.” She stepped to the side, but the guy mimicked the action, blocking her way.
“I’m Travis. Trav to my friends. I actually worked here for a while.”
Her brows rose. Cody had hired this jerk? That surprised her. He really must have been desperate.
Travis lowered his head so his mouth was close to her face. Too close. “Word of warning, Walker might seem nice at the start, but he’s an asshole, and if you’re smart, you’ll stay the hell away from him.”
“Thanks for the warning.” She wanted to add that the only person she felt the need tostay away fromwas this guy. But maybe he saw it on her face, because when she stepped to the side, he blocked her yet again, this time also grabbing her upper arm, causing a glass to tip to the side on the tray. “Hey—”
“You don’t believe me?”
