Fucker.
Rolling my shoulders, I lift my drink to my lips to take a sip. “I caught her at the falls.” I leave out the part where I then sought her out and watched her take her clothes off.
“For fuck’s sake,” Silas huffs. “I’ll have someone out there to check the fences.”
“Don’t bother,” I push away that uncomfortable feeling, keeping my eye on the door she disappeared through. “She’s harmless.”
“It’s trespassing.”
“She’s swimming, not stealing.”
She finally returns, plates of food in her hands, which she delivers to a table at the other end of the bar. One of her customers says something to her, and her face breaks out into one of the most breathtaking smiles I’ve ever seen, dimples sinking into her cheeks as the corners of her eyes crease.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Silas presses.
“What?” I scoff, “No.”
But an idea is forming, one that may save me and the ranch.
“You want food?” I ask.
“Sure,” Silas answers and selects something from the menu, but he stops me before I can go up and order. “What are you thinking?”
“Not sure yet,” I admit and head up to the bar, catching her attention. She looks around, but no one is available to serve me, so she has to do it. There are blotches of color on her cheeks and trepidation in everystep she takes to close the gap between us. “What can I get you?”
“How long have you been doing it?”
Her throat bobs, “A while.”
“Define a while,” I press.
“Is that important?” There’s a slight snap to her tone now, her defenses coming up quick and sharp. I like it.
I shrug, “It could be.”
“What does it matter anyway?” She frowns across the bar at me. “You have all that land! I’m not hurting anyone.”
“Well, itistrespassing.” I remind her, “And last I checked, that is illegal.”
A muscle in her jaw ticks, “You know what, this ismybar, and I can choose who I serve. You can leave.”
“Um, Niamh?” Another server catches her attention, a small woman with black curly hair and round glasses that she pushes up her nose. “Can I talk to you?”
“The door’s there,” She tells me, flicking her eyes to the exit before she turns to the woman. “See yourself out.”
I don’t of course, instead I watch them, the black-haired woman frantically saying something to Niamh under her breath, eyes comically wide. Niamh looks over her shoulder back at me, and I can see that fire brewing, her anger at me turning her eyes a few shades darker. I lean my hip on the bar and give her a smile, but all that does is serve to piss her off even further. I wonder how I can get a dimpled smile thrown my way, but it would probably help if I didn’t try to piss her off.That fire though…it’s refreshing. There are no forced or fake encounters with her, and I like that.
It will also work for me.
With a heavy sigh that lifts her shoulders, she returns to me, “What do you want?” She speaks through gritted teeth and taps on the screen to place my order.
“How about a smile?” I try my luck.
“How about fuck you?” She glares at me.
“Niamh,” Her friend hisses, and she huffs, throwing her head back in frustration. But still, there is no smile.
She stares at me blankly while I reel off my order and doesn’t stick around to chat any further, though I can see her watching, flicking her eyes to me as I reach into my pocket and pull out a hundred to slip it into the tip jar left on the bar.
