“Are you still mad at me?” Nico asks as we change in the locker room a little while later. Our shift has just ended, and I had yet to see Jenkins, so at least I count that as a win. “You have to admit it was funny.”
“Do I look amused?” I narrow my eyes at him as I slide my backpack over my shoulder and go for the door, expecting him to let it go, but he closes his locker and falls in step with me.
“Trust me, getting a call from Mrs. Willow is like a rite of passage in this town. We’ve all been through it at one point or another. That woman is relentless, and there is no stopping her.”
“I don’t fucking care; you should have told me.”
I turn the corner, ready to get the hell out of here, only to almost slam into somebody. “I’m so so?—”
“In a hurry to leave, Williams?” the bane of my existence asks dryly.
I look up to find Jenkins scowling at me. His bushy brows are pulled together, making the lines between them stand out even more than usual.
“No, Sheriff,” I drawl.
So much for taking at least one win home tonight.
It’s my own damn fault for jinxing myself.
“We just wrapped up the shift, Sheriff,” Nico says as he comes to a stop next to us. “We left our reports on your desk.”
Jenkins glares at me for a second longer before turning around and grumbling something under his breath as he marches into the break room.
Nico nudges me in the back, so I move, ready to get the hell out of here before Jenkins changes his mind and forces me to stay for one reason or another. Like, seriously, one would think he’d be glad to have me out of his hair as soon as he can considering he can’t stand the sight of me.
The moment the doors behind us close, my lungs expand, and it’s like I can finally breathe again.
“C’mon, Rookie. Let’s go.” Nico slaps me on the shoulder and pushes me toward the street. “I’m treating you to a drink. You earned it.”
“Damn right I did. After running intoSheriff,” I mutter mockingly, still annoyed with my boss, “I have this sudden need to get blackout drunk.”
Nico chuckles as we make our way to The Hut on foot. “I seriously don’t understand why he hates you so much. You’re not the first or the last teen who has gotten into some mischief.”
“Maybe you should ask him that.”
I’m no saint by any means, but it always seemed that Jenkins’s grudge was personal. I just never quite figured out why.
“Oh, I’m not getting in the middle ofthat.”
I snort. “Didn’t think so.”
Nico looks over his shoulder and gives me a once-over. “You’re old enough to enter the bar, right?”
I shoot him a glare. “You know I am.”
“Just checking; can’t be breaking the law when we’re the ones supposed to uphold it.” He pulls open the door and motions me inside. “Besides, the last thing you need is for Jenkins to catch you doing shit you’re not supposed to be doing at places you’re not supposed to be at.”
“Well, then maybe he shouldn’t have annoyed me in the first place.”
Nico shakes his head but doesn’t comment further as he walks into the bar.
Apparently, we aren’t the only ones who thought they needed a drink or two, because even though it’s mid-week, the place is packed. Loud country music blasts from the speakers, doing little to hide the excited chatter of the people.
Since I was eighteen when I left Bluebonnet Creek, I’ve never gotten the chance to come here. Not for my lack of trying, that’s for damn sure. But Mick, the owner, always had a knack for spotting teens trying to sneak in, and the burly man had no issue showing us the door. Even after all these years, the bar is exactly as I remember it from the few glimpses I got of it in the past. Dark, moody, with wood accents, high-top tables, and a handful of booths. There’s an old jukebox in the corner of the room, along with the pool tables peeking from the dark hallway leading to the back room.
“Come this way.” Nico nudges me, breaking me out of my thoughts as he motions toward the bar. I follow after him, watching as he waves and nods at people we pass by. He has an easygoing attitude and is clearly well-loved in the community. Unlike the wary glances they shoot my way.
That’s because he isn’t the town’s troublemaker and he hasn’t left.
