They stared at him, shocked. Jay left them and headed into the Rollaway with Brody and Sawyer’s eyes on his back. They caught up with him inside.
“Why didn’t you share these insights with us? We’ve all been trying to evade her for years,” Brody demanded.
Jay just smiled and headed to the bar. Big enough to have a TV for game night, and two pool tables, the Rollaway always drew locals.
There was a large blue cowboy hat over the dance floor and not a single person under it. Boys’ night dancing didn’t really happen until the beers had been flowing for a while. Unlike girls’ night, which he’d witnessed a time or two when he’d been designated taxi driver and hadn’t walked away unscathed.
Those women could be wild when they lost control. It was like when the restraints of everyday life were gone, they were free to be crazy.
The place was full of locals and some tourists tonight, all soaking up the ambience of the eclectic decor. Loud and bright, one wall was painted emerald and another cherry. The roof was full of lights strung from one side to the other that kept Phil the electrician in a job. Another wall had socks. Other towns had things like postcards and photos of celebrities or coasters, but not Lyntacky. Nope, they had socks.
His eyes went to the bar, and he swept his gaze along the stools, where he found the two other Duke brothers and their brother-in-law.
His step didn’t falter as he looked at the woman talking to JD.
Blue was here and serving in a white shirt that was unbuttoned revealing a red tank top. He’d touched those curves. Run his hands and mouth over them.
Fuck.Turning right, he headed for the pool tables. Raising a hand when Sawyer said he’d get him a beer, he kept walking.
“I thought I smelled a Duke.”
“Not a Duke, but they’re my family, so watch your mouth, Keller,” Jay snarled.
Beau Keller and his family were public enemy number one to anyone close to Dukes and, of course, the Dukes themselves. His and Sawyer’s feud was the stuff legends were made of.
Jay didn’t think the guy was a bad one, and in fact, the day Beau had found him broken down outside the borders of Lyntacky, he’d been almost human when he’d stopped to help him. Jay had a theory that, yes, while the Kellers hated the Dukes, they played to the crowd when they were near. To his knowledge, Sawyer and Beau had never outright gone at each other—at least not in the past ten years.
Beau took his shot, then straightened to look at Jay. “What’s crawled up your ass, Haddon?”
“You. Now play the game so you can lose. Then I can play and win.”
“Don’t think I’ve ever heard you be mean. Must be those asshole Dukes rubbing off on you.”
He ignored the man and shot a look at the bar. Blue was leaning over it, giving Lucas Hyland an eyeful of her curves. It took everything inside him not to stalk over there and punch the man.
JD Hopper approached with a beer, which he held out to Jay.
“Thanks.” He took it and drank deep.
“Problem?”
“Nope.”
JD was all class. Raised in a wealthy family, he’d been destined to step into Daddy’s shoes, except that Daddy was a fraudulent asshole, so he’d followed Sawyer here and stayed.
He wore designer clothes and expensive cologne and was usually groomed perfectly, which was at odds with his best friend, who never groomed himself.
“Nice to see Blue back,” JD said.
Jay replied with a hum of agreement. No way was he touching this subject.
“Always thought that girl a good one. You should ask her out, Jay. She’d be good for an uptight man like you.”
Well, fuck.
Chapter 9
It couldn’t actually be true—because no one could change the atmosphere just by stepping into a room, but the air felt different when Jay Haddon entered the Rollaway.
