Dale
“Ready for the New Year’s Eve party?” Audrey is wiping down tables. She looks over her shoulder at me.
“About as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“You know, for a guy who owns a bar, you sure hate being busy. Don’t you know most businesses would kill to have the problems you have?”
I shrug. “Being around people has never really been my thing,” I admit.
“Why’s that?” Oriana asks softly. Audrey and I glance over her. “If I can ask, I mean.” She blushes slightly. “I’m not trying to be rude or nosy.”
“I was in the Army,” I explain.
She holds up her hand. “Say no more,” she tells me. “My brother was in the Navy and was the same way. If it got too busy or noisy or crowded, he needed to peace out. I get it.”
“Was he overseas?”
“For awhile,” she says, but then she stops talking and quietly gets back to work. For a minute, Audrey and I are silent.
“She’s a hard worker,” Audrey points out the obvious.
“I know.”
“Better than Heather.”
“I know.”
“Don’t fuck her.”
“Excuse me?” I look over at Audrey, but there’s no malice on her face.
“I’m just saying that if you fuck her, you’re going to screw up the best employee you have.”
“I thought you were my best employee.”
“There’s a new girl in town, Dale, and she’s fucking incredible. Don’t mess it up. I’m serious.” Audrey tosses a washcloth in my direction. I catch it easily and look back up, but she’s already walking away.
She’s right.
Oriana is great.
She’s only been here for two days, but being around her is just fucking comfortable. She’s a hard worker. She’s determined, she’s strong, and she’s interesting.
And I can’t understand why, out of all the places in the world, she chose to move to Greenville, Kansas. There are other cities with larger populations, more job opportunities, better housing, and more entertainment. There are other, better, more interesting cities she could have chosen, but she didn’t.
Why?
When I catch her alone a few hours later, I ask her. It’s near the end of the night and Audrey is already gone. Kyle is still hanging out, ready to kick out anyone who causes trouble, but at this point, there are just a few stragglers left.
“So can I ask you something?” I look at Oriana. She looks up from where she’s tidying up the bottles of liquor behind the bar. She’s methodical in her work, and I like that. It’s difficult to find good people to hire. It’s even more difficult to find people who are interesting and that I actually want to talk to.
Maybe I really am just turning into a Grinch in my old age.
“I suppose that depends on what it is,” she tells me, looking back at the liquor.
“Why Greenville?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re from Minnesota. I’m guessing you didn’t come here for college. You’re past that at this point in your life. There’s a military base nearby, but you aren’t enlisted. So why Greenville?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she says with a chuckle.
“Try me.”
“Okay,” she turns around and leans back against the counter. “I read The Darkness in Greenville when I was a kid.”
“The book about the vampires?”
“Yeah.”
“The book about vampires in Greenville, Kansas?”
It’s the one thing this damn town is known for, but I haven’t heard anyone mention that book in years. Hell, I don’t even think anyone’s thought about that book in years. It follows the story of one woman’s journey to Kansas and how she hunts the vampires lurking in the Greenville Cemetery.
Someone wrote it years ago while on a road trip through Kansas, and somehow, it became really popular for like, one summer. I’m surprised there are still copies in existence.
“That’s the one,” she says. “Funny, right? I don’t know, Dale. It just stuck with me: having an adventure in Kansas. Of all fucking places, right? Some shit went down back home. Stuff happened. I decided to leave. I don’t have a house to go back to or a family to go back to or anything. So I guess I just thought, why not Kansas? Why not see what Greenville really has?”
“So that’s it?” I ask. “You just packed up your stuff and drove here?”
“Yep.”
“Do you have an apartment?” I ask her, suddenly concerned, and Oriana’s face softens.
“I’m renting a room from Mrs. Bot.”
“She’s a weird old lady,” I warn her.
“She’s cheap,” Oriana says. “And there’s a private entrance, so I know I’m not bothering her when I come or go at all hours of the night.”
“I’m glad you found somewhere safe.
“I’m glad I found you,” she says with a shrug.
“That almost sounds like a compliment,” I warn her. “Don’t get too crazy, now.”
Oriana laughs. The sound fills the whole bar, and for a second, I just want to wrap my damn arms around her. How did this magical woman end up here in Chasing Whiskey? How did she end up in my bar of all bars?
“Don’t worry,” she jokes. “I’ll do my best not to fall in love with you.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that line before,” I wink, but then I reach around behind her. For a second, I want to kiss her. It’s right at the edge of my consciousness to just grab her and kiss her and show her how pretty she is because I don’t think Oriana knows. I don’t think she realizes that she’s a goddess. She’s gorgeous and pretty and sweet.
More than that, she’s kind.
She’s genuinely, honestly kind.
But I don’t kiss her.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
I don’t know if that’s in the cards for the two of us.
I reach behind her and I flip on the lights. She doesn’t move, and for a second, we’re so close that our chests are pressed together. With each breath, I feel her breasts pushing against me.
“Closing time,” I whisper.
“Closing time,” she agrees.