“What are you doing here? It’s almost last-call.”
He shrugged.
“Nothing. I was too restless to go home after leaving Dusty’s, so I drove around for a bit before I found myself here.”
My heart fluttered. I was too practical to go starry-eyed that he’d rather be here than relax at home. It didn’t mean anything.
“If you want to help me rearrange the chairs back to their usual pattern, that’d be great. We moved them to make a dance floor.”
Closing passed quickly, and I tried not to give too much credence to Jake’s presence. Vanessa texted to ask if I wanted to get together tomorrow, and I jumped on her suggestion. It had been too long since we’d seen each other, and I was desperate to catch up and ask for her advice.
Finally, everything was ready for the morning crew. The Tavern had a great brunch on Sundays, including half-priced mimosas and Bloody Marys. If Vanessa didn’t have any better ideas, I’d steer her in this direction because Dakota’s chimichangas and fry bread tacos were out of this world.
Drool-worthy images of delicious Navajo and Sonoran foods filled my head, but I pushed them aside to focus on end-of-shift work. Neil, Jake, and I worked efficiently and had everything cleaned, restocked, and locked up in record time.
“This has been fun, kiddies,” Neil said, “but if I don’t get nine hours of shut-eye, I will be an absolute bear tomorrow. Since tomorrow involves a command performance with the parental units, that’d be a disaster.”
“Good night.”
“‘Night, Neil.”
Neil threw me a kiss and a wink, or maybe they were for Jake. We watched him drive off, a weird silence between us.
“Guess we should head home, too,” Jake said.
Jake followed me in his truck. Once I parked and got out of my car, a form peeled itself from the shadows by the porch. My heart lodged in my throat when the outline of a man moved towards me. When the security light from Jake’s yard lit up Beau’s face, my breath caught.
“Beau.” My voice was loud. “What are you doing here? It’s late.”
“I missed you, baby.”
His wheedling tone hung in the air as Jake pulled into his driveway. Jake exited his truck with the confident, easy movements of a man who handled whatever life threw his way. His eyes bored into mine across the yard.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Why are you always here?” Beau demanded.
“I live here.”
Beau growled in annoyance, but he otherwise ignored Jake and turned up the charm for me.
“Sweetie pie, I’m dying without you.”
He reached for my hand, but I snatched it away. His smile faltered before its full glory spread across his face again. When I didn’t respond to his cajoling, he switched up the game.
“You made your point,” his voice dripped with condescension. “I took you for granted, and you showed me what I was missing. You’re right. There, I said it. I should have made a greater effort and showered you with attention. Come back, baby. I hear you. There’s no need to keep up with this charade.”
“No, Beau, I told you. I’m done. We’re over.”
Quick as lightning, his attitude shifted again. Beau’s expression hardened. Then he laughed, a cruel, nasty sound I recognized. His sneer was equally familiar.
“This tantrum has gone on long enough. Aren’t you embarrassed? Your little company has been such a failure you have to work at a bar. Now you’re dressed like a whore despite having no tits. You got my attention. I probably shouldn’t take you back, but I will. You need me, and I love you though I don’t know why.”
Contempt dripped from his voice, but he wasn’t done.
“Instead of building security, moving up the corporate ladder, or growing a family like most people your age, you’ve crawled back home to mommy and daddy so they can fix it again. You have no savings, no real job, you play at running your own business. It’s not my fault you’re a failure. Why are you punishing me?”
Each word landed like a punch. My breaths sawed in and out as I tried to breathe past the pain of his verbal attack. He knew all my insecurities, knew exactly how to twist the knife, but he still managed to make it about himself.
