“Is sound asleep in bed.”
“Oh.” I don’t know why it hurt. I’d missed putting my Munchkin to bed. Again. I only missed it three nights a week, but I hated each and every one of those three nights.
“Josie, she’s fine. Why don’t you leave her here and I’ll drop her home in the morning after breakfast?”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely. And don’t for one minute think you owe me or any of that bullshit I know is buzzing about your head right now. I know you. If anything, I owe you. Putting up with Courtney’s drama queen act. You’re more patient than I am, that’s all I can say.”
Beyond the door I heard a booming voice demanding less ice in his drink, and knew I had to wrap this call up. “Thanks, Jenna. You’re a lifesaver. Look, I’ve got to run…” I heard the smashing of glass and I wondered if by dawn there’d be a single unbroken glass in the building. “See you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Jos. And try not to take it to heart.”
I ended the call and yanked open the door. What I saw made me cringe. The angry hordes had descended. I think everyone in town was standing on the other side of the bar with a pissed off expression on their face. Two of the men who had spent the whole night perched on their bar stools at the end of the bar minding their own business were dripping. The seconds passed and the noise grew. It took me a minute to locate Courtney, who was crouched on the floor in the corner with her knees pressed up against her chest and fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Even from where I was standing I could hear her trying to suck in deep breaths between the body wracking sobs.
“Fuck me!”
This was the last thing I needed right now.
Josie: Need you ASAP. Bring Derek.
I shot the text off to Mia, slipped my phone in my pocket, took a deep breath, and marched over, full of fake confidence.
“All right! Everyone calm the fuck down!”
Silence fell instantly across the bar. Every set of eyes looked at me with a combination of shock and curiosity. I might have looked brave, but I was shitting myself, praying Mia got my message and they were already on their way.
“Right! Now, who was first?”
Ignoring Courtney cowering in the corner, I took control. I didn’t know what else to do. I had to calm this shit down and get everyone sorted, then I could deal with her and the mess. For the next ten minutes I poured drinks. Somewhere along the line I mastered pouring a beer and Coke at the same time.
“What the fuck!” Mia exclaimed as she stepped to my side.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
I was fucking shaking but I didn’t have time to panic. Now everyone was calmed down and had their drinks, the adrenaline was wearing off and I was crashing. Fast and hard.
“Josie.” Derek’s voice was full of authority, and even standing here in jeans, a t-shirt, and thongs, he dominated the space.
Silently, I flung myself at him, thankful he had the strength to catch me. For a long moment he just held me, his huge hands rubbing my back. When he pulled back, he passed me over to Mia, who took my hand.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Dude, it was fucked. That new girl lost her shit and started abusing people, then sprayed us with water for ordering. No idea what her fucking problem is,” the guy at the end of the bar explained as he dropped a handful of coins in the tip jar and stood up.
“You involved, Jake?”
“Me? Nah. It was just getting out of control when Firecracker here appeared and told everyone to calm the hell down.”
“Thanks, man.” Derek reached out and shook his hand. “Take it easy.”
“You too. Oh, and Firecracker?”
Meeting his gaze, I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. Respect was there. “You did good tonight. Don’t let it rattle you.”
Silently I nodded, and turned back to the disaster area that was the bar. When I turned, it wasn’t what I was expecting. I hadn’t seen Nate come in, nevertheless there he was, pushing a broom back and forth, sweeping up the glass.
“What’re you doing?”
My words caught his attention. “What?”
“Why are you cleaning up the mess?”
“It looks like you could use a hand.”
Nate shrugged at me as he leant on the broom with a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Damn, this guys was sex on legs. I wanted to lick him from head to toe. Damn, I so needed to get laid. And the sooner the better. I was blasting through batteries faster than I’d like to admit. If this continued, I’d be buying shares in Energizer before too long.
