“Yep! Now shoo, girls only,” she says and practically pushes me out the front door.
Alright then.
When I get to the Wooden Cowboy, Fletcher, Tatum, Sterling, and June are already there. But Sterling and June are as far as you can get without being on opposite ends of the bar. Beer and sweat waft into my nose, and I smile weaving through the groups of people littered throughout the bar.
I do a subtle scan of the bar and don’t spot the dark curly hair, I’m actually here for. Maybe they aren’t here yet.
“There he is!” Fletcher says.
“Hi Coop,” Tatum says, leaning into Fletcher.
“Hey, y’all doin’ okay?” I ask them.
Tatum nods, her cheeks rosy and a happy, satisfied smile on her face. Fletcher is talking to Greer, the bartender, ordering drinks and water.
“June told me about Mae,” she says.
I groan, leaning my head back. “You women talk too much,” I grumble.
Tatum laughs. “How else will we know what’s going on with you guys?”
I roll my eyes, and Fletcher hands Tatum a water and me a beer. “Hey man,” Fletcher says.
I wave and take a swig. I don’t know what’s holding me back. I’m trying to slow play, and that backfired because she’s going to be here with another man.
“I think you just need to go for it, Coop,” Fletcher says.
I grimace. “You’re right … I’m nervous.”
He chuckles. “Cooper Hayes, nervous?”
Tatum slaps his chest. “It’s okay to be nervous. That means he cares.”
“How? He doesn’t even know her,” Fletcher volleys back.
“I know her,” I snap.
Fletcher squints his eyes. “Do you man? Buying flowers doesn’t count.”
“Yeah, well, knowing her since high school is a cop-out.”
Tatum snorts and drinks her water.
“I don’t want to mess it up like I have a tendency to do.”
“You can do it,” Tatum says.
I nod and look around.
“Hey, Coop,” Sterling says.
“Hey, how are you?” I ask him. I glance over his shoulder, searching for Mae.
“Good, had a close call at a fire the other day, but it gets the blood pumping,” he says with a wild grin.
“You just like to play with death, don’t you?” I ask him.
“You and Ledger keep saying that, but I don’t see it. Someone has to do it, might as well be me,” Sterling says.
