She was wearing khaki shorts with a green silky looking blouse. Her strawberry hair was braided into one long braid that hung down her back. She was sitting on the barstool waving her legs back and forth, grinning like a little kid. I could see glimpses of the red puckered scar on her calf, and a sick helpless feeling rolled over me. I knew what guilt felt like. More than that, I was all too aware of how it could fuck up your life… if you let it. Piper may be Gage’s girl, but in a way, she’s mine, too.
“Gage loves you. Give him a break, he almost lost you. He has a right to worry,” I told her.
She let out a frustrated sigh. “I know and I get it. Really, I do. I’m here, though, D. I didn’t die. Everyone keeps tiptoeing around me and it’s driving me nuts. It’s over. Dooley, Selina, Zeke, and Lester are all dead. They can’t hurt me anymore. I want to celebrate this great life I have been given, not sit around thinking about how I almost kicked the bucket. You know?”
Piper’s words reminded me of Isabella. Her sexy-hot voice rolled through my head. “Ummmm, maybe tonight we could do something moving, but not necessarily sad. Maybe something more or less to celebrate the great life your aunt has lived and the love you have for such an incredible woman.” Isabella Fisher. That lying bitch . Every time I think of her, which is way more than I want, I end up getting angry. Every now and then, though, her boner-inducing voice rolls through my head and, no matter what I do, I can’t shut it out.
“Hey, are you okay?” Piper asked.
For a second I wanted to tell her no. No, I was not okay and hadn’t been for a long time. But instead, I gave her a smile and said, “Couldn’t be better. Give Gage time and he will let up. Just remember, it is all because he loves you. Now, give me five minutes to throw on decent clothes and I’ll be ready to go.” Right as I stepped into the hall, my phone rang. I looked down and saw Gage’s name on the screen.
“See! Told you!” Piper shouted from the kitchen.
Hitting talk, I put the phone to my ear and answered, “Hey Gage. Yes, she’s with me.”
“Can you hang with her for most of the day?” he asked.
I slipped into my room and closed the door. “You know you’re going to have to let up.”
“Yep, but that day is not going to be today. You good or not?” he clipped.
“I told you I was.”
Quietly, he said, “I got the house. I’m telling her tonight or tomorrow morning. I’ll let up once I get us moved in and settled. I just need to know she’s safe.”
“I hear you, man. Go work on your bike and know she’s safe here with me.”
“Thanks, D. I owe you.”
I hung up, got dressed and headed to Dragonfly with Piper to meet with Kurt.
Kurt Greenfield is my partner at Dragonfly. I met him while working for Zane at Whisky’s. He stole me right out from under Zane and made me a manager at his new bar, Dragonfly. To this day, Zane is still pissed about it. At the time, Kurt was dating Joss. Now they are married and expecting their first child.
Kurt, Piper and I spent an hour going over schedules and talking about staff changes. Piper was planning her wedding, so she wasn’t working as much and Reyn was moving. We needed more help behind the bar. Evidently pregnancy and Joss weren’t agreeing. They weren’t telling people about the baby yet, but Kurt told me so I’d understand why he wasn’t around as much. Piper suggested letting Lena and Polly do more bar shifts, which meant we would need to hire more waitresses. No matter how we spun it, we were short staffed. This meant I would have to take on more bar shifts and put performing on the back burner, once again. I needed to either find a regular weekend gig or find someone to take my place in the bar every Saturday night so I could play. My scheduling issues would have to wait though. For the next hour, we worked out the details for Reyn’s going away party.
Once we had everything
“Gage loves you. Give him a break, he almost lost you. He has a right to worry,” I told her.
She let out a frustrated sigh. “I know and I get it. Really, I do. I’m here, though, D. I didn’t die. Everyone keeps tiptoeing around me and it’s driving me nuts. It’s over. Dooley, Selina, Zeke, and Lester are all dead. They can’t hurt me anymore. I want to celebrate this great life I have been given, not sit around thinking about how I almost kicked the bucket. You know?”
Piper’s words reminded me of Isabella. Her sexy-hot voice rolled through my head. “Ummmm, maybe tonight we could do something moving, but not necessarily sad. Maybe something more or less to celebrate the great life your aunt has lived and the love you have for such an incredible woman.” Isabella Fisher. That lying bitch . Every time I think of her, which is way more than I want, I end up getting angry. Every now and then, though, her boner-inducing voice rolls through my head and, no matter what I do, I can’t shut it out.
“Hey, are you okay?” Piper asked.
For a second I wanted to tell her no. No, I was not okay and hadn’t been for a long time. But instead, I gave her a smile and said, “Couldn’t be better. Give Gage time and he will let up. Just remember, it is all because he loves you. Now, give me five minutes to throw on decent clothes and I’ll be ready to go.” Right as I stepped into the hall, my phone rang. I looked down and saw Gage’s name on the screen.
“See! Told you!” Piper shouted from the kitchen.
Hitting talk, I put the phone to my ear and answered, “Hey Gage. Yes, she’s with me.”
“Can you hang with her for most of the day?” he asked.
I slipped into my room and closed the door. “You know you’re going to have to let up.”
“Yep, but that day is not going to be today. You good or not?” he clipped.
“I told you I was.”
Quietly, he said, “I got the house. I’m telling her tonight or tomorrow morning. I’ll let up once I get us moved in and settled. I just need to know she’s safe.”
“I hear you, man. Go work on your bike and know she’s safe here with me.”
“Thanks, D. I owe you.”
I hung up, got dressed and headed to Dragonfly with Piper to meet with Kurt.
Kurt Greenfield is my partner at Dragonfly. I met him while working for Zane at Whisky’s. He stole me right out from under Zane and made me a manager at his new bar, Dragonfly. To this day, Zane is still pissed about it. At the time, Kurt was dating Joss. Now they are married and expecting their first child.
Kurt, Piper and I spent an hour going over schedules and talking about staff changes. Piper was planning her wedding, so she wasn’t working as much and Reyn was moving. We needed more help behind the bar. Evidently pregnancy and Joss weren’t agreeing. They weren’t telling people about the baby yet, but Kurt told me so I’d understand why he wasn’t around as much. Piper suggested letting Lena and Polly do more bar shifts, which meant we would need to hire more waitresses. No matter how we spun it, we were short staffed. This meant I would have to take on more bar shifts and put performing on the back burner, once again. I needed to either find a regular weekend gig or find someone to take my place in the bar every Saturday night so I could play. My scheduling issues would have to wait though. For the next hour, we worked out the details for Reyn’s going away party.
Once we had everything
Similar Books
