“You are not a pair of socks, Renleigh Blackwood. You are my non-negotiable.” I back away slowly, leaving her with a sure grin that, for the first time tonight, seems to etch one on her own face.
“You rack,” Adler says, thrusting the triangle at me when I step up to the pool table.
I hold his gaze, and I can tell he’s already beyond buzzed. I have a feeling he played that way, and I’m starting to think he does that quite often.
“Yeah, okay,” I say, keeping my eyes on him as I round the table. I plunk the rack down and sort the balls inside, setting up the game.
Adler chalks the end of his cue, dropping his attention to the table, biting the tip of his tongue as he bends down and lines up his shot to break. He sends the balls spinning around the table with a clatter, and I scan every pocket, pleased when he doesn’t sink a single ball.
I round the table, eyeing the best strategy to get this table cleared and be on my way. As I bend over one of the corner pockets, though, a slender hand lands on my shoulder.
“Hunter,” Lindsey says.
I spin to face her, relieved it’s not a stranger, but a little disappointed it isn’t her sister stepping up behind me. My eyes dart over her head at that thought, in time to see Renleigh rushing out the exit, and my gaze drops back to Lindsey’s worried-looking face.
“Mom called. Dad fell. He probably broke his leg. We gotta . . .” She’s breathless with panic as she points over her shoulder with her thumb.
“Yeah. Absolutely. I’ll be right there,” I say, dropping the pool stick on the table behind me, flicking a few of the balls when I do.
“Hey, what the hell?” Adler slurs. I hold up a palm, cutting him off and giving my attention to Lindsey as she pushes up on her toes and cups her mouth to talk to me over the band.
“Ren’s got the Jeep parked here from earlier, so we’re going to take off. But come to the house after you’re done here. I’ll tell Ren to text you updates.” She backs away as I nod.
“I’ll be right behind you,” I say. I have zero intention of leaving them to handle this alone. I might not be able to do much, but if there’s something I can do to lift their dad or run errands so they can stay where their needed, then that’s what I’m going to do.
“Okay,” Lindsey says with a nod before turning and sprinting out the door in her sister’s wake.
I pull three twenties from my wallet and toss them on the table, keeping most of my promise for the bet.
“Sorry, dude. We’ll have to have a rematch sometime. I gotta go,” I say.
Adler grabs the cash off the table, bunching it in his fist as he laughs.
“Dude, what the fuck? Are you seriously running off on the biggest night of your life because of some chick? Didn’t I let another woman into your room in Nashville for you? I mean hell, dude. This one’s just our fucking bartender.”
Less than a second passes before I lunge at Adler and send a fist into his face. He spins and braces his fall on the table, his nose bleeding into his hand as he stumbles back a few steps and calls me amotherfucker.
“Hey, no. We aren’t doing this,” Roddy says seconds later, his hand on my chest. He points a finger at Adler as he pushes me back toward the bar.
“You need to sober up. Then, you need to apologize. Clean yourself up, you worthless piece of shit.” Roddy’s vitriol feels personal, but my heart is racing so fast with my own fury right now that I don’t have time to dig into it.
“Come on. You need ice,” Roddy says, dragging me to the bar where Daisy is already waiting with a bag full.
“I was never this bad,” Roddy says to her. She chuckles, and there’s a fondness to her expression as she gives him a crooked smile.
“You were so much worse,” she says, reaching for my left hand. At least I was smart enough to swing with my glove hand.
I flinch as Daisy presses the ice to my knuckles. She pulls it back, then dabs my skin with the cold compress a few times untilmy skin adjust to it. My knuckles are bruised for sure, but I don’t think anything’s broken. I wouldn’t tell a soul if it were.
“Now, why are you starting fights in my bar, hon?” She bats long lashes at me as her smirk settles in. I’m sure she’s seen lots of swings thrown at Earl’s, and I sense Roddy’s thrown his fair share of them.
“Adler opened his big mouth and said some shit about Renleigh,” Roddy says for me.
I purse my lips and nod.
“Pretty much,” I confirm.
“Ah. Well, then . . .” She pulls the ice back again and blows on my tender knuckles before flitting her gaze over my shoulder. “That was a good reason. I think the real doctor is here now, so I’m gonna let her take over.”
