Chapter 17
Bryson
“A friend’s eye is a good mirror.”
~ Rowan O’Sullivan
“Holy shit!” I said under my breath as I blinked, not trusting what my eyes were seeing.
I couldn’t believe who’d just walked into my bar.
“Hayden Reed!” I raised my arms in the air as I called out my oldest friend’s name. “Damn man, is that really you?!”
“’Fraid so.” He smiled as he walked over and took a seat at the bar.
I pulled a beer out of the cooler and popped the top before sliding it across the bar to him. “When did you get home?”
“Just got in a couple hours ago.” He took a swig.
“I just saw Hud yesterday.” I lifted my arm to acknowledge a customer at the end of the bar trying to get my attention. “He didn’t say anything.”
Hayden enlisted in the Army before we graduated high school. While I was moving into my dorm room in college, he was finishing basic training. He’d completed Ranger School before I started my junior year. Over the past ten years, I’d only seen him a handful of times.
“It was…spur of the moment.” His tone was flat, and the look in his eyes was distant. Hollow.
“Damn, well it’s good to see you.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that there were several patrons sitting in booths that were looking around like they needed something. “Let me go take care of them and I’ll be right back.”
“Sure, man.”
As I greeted customers and filled drink orders, my mind drifted to the same place it did every few seconds. Kelsi Robbins. Last night was more than what I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams. And I’d done a lot of dreaming, and it had been wild. Especially after that kiss at the pond.
I’d imagined doing things to her body that were illegal in some states. Dirty, dirty things. I’d pictured, in graphic detail, all the ways I would pleasure her. All the ways she would pleasure me. I’d never expected the real thing to surpass my erotic fantasies, but it had. This girl wasn’t just everything I’d ever wanted; she was more.
There was just one problem. All she’d wanted was one night and all I wanted was forever. It wasn’t that we weren’t on the same page, we weren’t even reading the same book. I’d wanted to talk to her about it more but I’d had to leave before she’d woken up because I had concrete going in today at my parents’ house. So I’d left her a note.
I know I’m the first thing you’re thinking of when you wake up this morning, and you must be devastated that I’m gone. But, don’t cry for me Argentina, the truth is I’ll never leave you.
P.S. I saw the copy of Evita on your dresser.
P.S.S. Is it the story you love or Madonna’s performance?
P.S.S.S. I think she was better in Desperately Seeking Susan.
P.S.S.S.S. Yes, I watched Desperately Seeking Susan. Jade loves Madonna.
P.S.S.S.S.S. That’s not an excuse, it’s a reason.
Bryson AKA The Sexy Guy Who Made You Come 4 Times
We’d had sex two more times after round one last night, and it still wasn’t enough. If Kelsi hadn’t fallen asleep, I would have gone another. But she was exhausted, and as much as I’d have enjoyed making love to her again, I had to admit that holding her as she slept might have been just as satisfying. Seeing her so peaceful and relaxed in my arms felt more right than anything else I’d ever known.
By the time I finished making my rounds, Kenna was starting her shift so I headed back to Hayden.
“Another one?” I asked as I was already opening the cooler.
He dipped his head, indicating a yes.
“So how long are you going to be in town?” Between my parents’ house, the bar, and stalking Kelsi, my time was limited. But I would make time for Hayden.
“Not really sure.” His eyes dropped down and when he lifted them again the pain behind them was evident.
“Hey, man.” I motioned over my shoulder. “You want to go out back? We can talk. Kenna can watch the—”
“No. I’m good.” He shut the idea down firmly and shifted the conversation off of himself. “So, what’s been goin’ on with you? How you been?”
“Busy. I’m renovating my parents’ place, adding about a thousand square feet.”
“Damn, is that right?”
“Yeah, and since dad retired, I’ve taken over things here.” I spread my arms out.
He smirked as he let out a forced laugh. “I can’t imagine a world where your dad would let go of the reins of this place.”
“Yeah,” I said dryly. “Neither can he.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “You doin’ all the work at your folks’ house yourself?”
“I was, but it got to the point where I had to bring in reinforcements. Sawyer’s been on the job with me for the last couple weeks.”
Hayden sat up straighter. “I was actually going to hit him up tomorrow and see if he’s got any work.”
I wasn’t sure why he was home or why he was looking for work, but it wasn’t surprising that since that was the case, he’d call Sawyer first. Growing up Hayden had always built things. That was what he was doing the first day we met when we were eight. The day after my family moved in next door to the Reeds, my mom sent Jade and I outside to play. Hayden was in his garage building a boxcar. By himself. At eight. At ten he designed and built a two-story treehouse that was still standing today. And when we were fifteen he’d rebuilt his parents’ barn.
It was obvious there was a story behind what was going on with him, but it was also clear that he didn’t want, or wasn’t ready, to talk about it yet.
“Last week Sawyer mentioned that he was looking for a new foreman and asked if I knew anyone.”
He nodded and took another drink.
My dad always maintained that a bartender was a therapist that served alcohol and there was definitely some truth in that. The more time I’d spent behind this bar, the better I’d become at reading people. Even strangers. It was all about tells. Body language. Listening to not only what they said, but also what they didn’t say. I’d become an expert at knowing when to ask questions so they could talk and when to change the subject so they didn’t have to. This was a change subject time.
“I also have a kid that’s helping me out. Milo.”
Milo continued to impress me with his work ethic and ingenuity. His problem-solving skills were incredible. He’d left me speechless a few times with out-of-the-box solutions he’d come up with when we’d run into issues. Sawyer was speechless too, but I wasn’t sure if that was because of the kid or just his natural state of being.
“A kid?”
“Yeah. A couple weeks ago, I got a call from the security company that there was a break-in. I thought it was this damn raccoon that has become my nemesis over the past few months. When Goliath and I came down to run it off, I found the kid instead. He was getting plastered behind the bar.”
“By himself?” Hayden asked.
“Yep.”
“How old is this kid?”
“Twelve.” I heard Milo’s voice in my head and corrected my answer. “He’s about to be thirteen.”
“Damn.” Hayden looked almost as impressed by that as I was over the kids’ problem-solving. “That takes some serious balls to break into a bar at twelve.”
I had to agree. “Yeah.”
“Wait, that’s the kid that’s working with you?”
I nodded. “It’s a long story, but he’s a good kid. He’s actually up at your brother’s camp now.”
“Yeah, I gotta get up there and see it.” The sadness was back in his eyes.
“It’s nice. I was up there last summer for the grand opening. He’s got horses and cows and a ton of acreage.”
A chorus of laughter sounded from the front of the bar and before I even turned my head, I knew she was here. I’d recognize Kelsi’s sweet, melodic laugh anywhere. It didn’t matter that the bar was packed. People were talking. Music was playing. It was like she laughed at a frequency that I was tuned into.
Both Hayden and I turned our heads in the direction of the laughing, and sure enough, Kelsi was standing in the doorway with Bella on one side and Delilah on the other.
Kelsi’s laugh wasn’t the only thing that stood out to me in a crowd. She could be surrounded by a thousand women but my gaze narrowed in on her like she was in color and the rest of the world was black and white.
The first time I’d met her, she’d been wearing sweats, and I thought she looked sexier than a Sports Illustrated model. The next time I’d seen her, she’d been in blue jeans, my blue jean goddess. And then last night…well, last night I’d seen her in her birthday suit, and she was the definition of perfection. Tonight she was wearing a simple blue dress that was form fitting but not skin tight. It fell all the way down to her ankles, and though the scoop neck only hinted at cleavage, she managed to look so sexy that if she walked down the street I was sure she’d cause an accident.
“Is that…Bella?”
“Yeah.” Hayden’s voice pulled me out of my trance.
“Wow. I never thought I’d see Isabella Connor in Wishing Well again.”
“It’s McCord now. She and Colton got married a few weeks ago.”
“Seriously?” He looked equally as shocked at that news.
“Yep,” I confirmed.
“Damn. I guess it’s true what they say, if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be, huh?” he said as Jade walked in behind the girls.
When my sister joined them and led them to a booth, Kelsi turned her head, and our eyes met. A small, private smile pulled at her lips, and I knew. I knew that there was at least a chance that we might have one more one night.