Page 121 of Hometown Halftime

Beside me, Lee’s still talking while Darren watches the TV above the bar, but their voices are blurring together beneath the sound of Bob refusing to leave Kinsey alone.

Kinsey stays professional through all of it. She gives him short answers with a tight smile, constantly redirecting the conversation. Trying to keep the peace while this asshole keeps pushing.

I’m gripping my beer hard enough my knuckles start turning white by the time Kinsey sets his tab in front of him.

“Here you go,” she says evenly.

Bob reaches out and grabs her wrist, looking straight at her chest. Kinsey’s polite smile disappears.

“Bob,” she says calmly, “let go of me right now.”

He laughs like she’s joking and anger floods my veins.

My stool scrapes hard against the floor before I realize I’m moving. Lee and Darren watch me as I stop behind Bob’s barstool.

“Take your hand off her,” I say calmly, even though every muscle in my body feels tight enough to snap. “She told you to leave her alone.”

Bob finally lets go of her wrist and looks me up and down with a condescending scowl.

“And who the hell are you?”

Before I can answer, Kinsey steps in quickly.

“I have it handled, Riley,” she says.

But adrenaline’s already burning through my system too fast to stop now.

Bob snorts. “Relax, man. Kinz and I go way back.”

The nickname alone makes me want to break something.

Then Bob smirks toward me. “Why don’t you move along before you embarrass yourself?”

That does it. I grab the back of his shirt and haul him off the stool. I hear people gasp while chairs scrape loudly across the floor behind us, but I barely hear any of it over the blood rushing in my ears.

“Riley!” Kinsey snaps as she scrambles out from behind the bar. “Oh my God, stop.”

Bob stumbles while I drag him toward the front door. Lee and Darren are standing now, ready to follow behind me.

“Maybe when a woman tells you no,” I say tightly, “you should listen to her the first fucking time.”

The fresh air hits us the second I shove open the door. Bob jerks free once we hit the sidewalk, straightening his shirt while glaring at me.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

“My problem,” I say, stepping toward him again, “is you putting your hands on someone who clearly doesn’t want you touching her.”

Behind me, the front door swings open with force.

“Riley, stop it.” Kinsey’s voice cuts through my anger.

I turn toward her while she walks forward, arms folded tightly across her chest.

Bob mutters something under his breath before backing away toward the parking lot. “You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah?” I call after him. “Stay the hell away from her.”

Bob flips me off before climbing into his truck and peeling out of the lot. The second he’s gone, silence settles heavily between me and Kinsey. She looks furious, her chest rising with deep breaths and her brow creased.