After three months in Beauville, things were looking up.

I had made a life for myself. It was a world away from my previous life, but I was proud of what I’d been able to accomplish on my own, from almost nothing.

I lived a one room apartment above the Corral where I tended the bar. It wasn’t the most glamorous life, but the job paid enough to cover my rent and keep me in groceries. This wasn’t going to be my life forever. I knew that, but I’d spent a lot of my savings getting here and setting myself up in my new little home. For once, I was totally in control and I liked that.

The bar door swung open again and a group of men came in, laughing and taking loudly. This time, with the door open, there was no stream of sunlight. It was getting later than I had realised. It was already dusk and that meant it was time to put away the accounts and focus on the customers.

As much as I had hated being an accountant in New York, it turned out to be a useful skill to have in my new life. Buddy paid me extra for helping him with the books, and I needed all the help I could get when it came to my bank account. He didn’t have a head for figures and it was easy for me to find all kinds of ways for him to save money. I’m not sure Buddy had ever even heard of a write off before I showed up. He was thrilled to have more money coming in and made sure I got a cut, under the table of course.

“Ruby! Hurry up, girl!” One of the newcomers called out as the group settled themselves around a corner table, “Can’t you see we’re thirsty!”

“Sorry!” I answered, picking up my little notepad and hurrying over to the table. “What can I do for you guys?”

“You can smile, honey!” one of the men yelled at me, leering up at me from his seat. I smiled down at him, noticing that he was missing his two front teeth. He wasn’t one of the usual patrons, I’d never seen this man before.

Despite the man’s comments, the smile came easily to me. I’d gotten used to always being cheerful with the patrons of the Corral, even when they got a little rowdy. Or a little rude. What Buddy paid me was fine, it paid my rent after all, but I still needed to earn my tips if I wanted any hope of saving up some money.

“Yeah, that’s nice,” the man said, smiling more widely so that I could see his empty gums. I felt a fat, warm hand, his hand, touch my thigh. Even through my jeans, I could feel the clamminess of his skin as his hand started to slide towards my ass.

The smile tightened on my face, as I stepped away from him and out of his reach. I wasn’t about to make a scene, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let him paw at me like that. It was usually enough to just step away from guys like him.

The man that had called me over to the table came to the bar often enough that I recognized him, although I didn’t know his name. He was scowling at me now as he snapped, “Beer for everyone. I’m buying!”

The men around the table cheered and hooted loudly, banging on the table. As all the men celebrated, chairs scraped back, a couple of the men high fived each other. In the confusion of everyone moving around, I felt a hand on me again. Before I could dodge away like I had last time, the hand pinched down, squeezing my butt hard.

I let out a yelp of surprise.

That hurt!

I looked round, already knowing who had pinched me. Sure enough, it was the same guy from before, leering at me expectantly. He had moved his chair to follow me around the table just to get a second shot at me.

“Sure,” I said, my teeth clenching instead of reacting, “I”ll be right back with your beers.”

“I’ll be waiting,” the guy that had pinched my butt yelled after me.

The thing was, the Corral was a bit of a dive. I’d always known that. I was used to patrons making the odd remark, or the occasional cat-call, but no-one had physically touched me before. I wasn’t sure what I should do next, apart from getting them their beers and avoid the man with the missing teeth.

Who did that pig think he was?! Maybe my life had been sheltered up till now, but it was just a surprise that some guy thought he could just touch me like that! I was fuming! I put my head down and went back to get their beers, rounding the bar without looking where I was going.

SMACK

I walked straight into Buddy! I was so distracted, thinking about what had just happened that I had even seen him as I walked behind the bar.

“Whoa, there Ruby,” he said, catching my arm as I stumbled backwards. Buddy had been so great to me when I’d first turned up in his bar. He’d given me a job even though I’d never tended bar before and had no experience dealing with customers.

Buddy’s brother owned the apartment above the bar and he’d let rent it for a very reasonable price, because Buddy had recommended me.

“Ruby, you’ve been here all afternoon and you haven’t taken the trash out yet? Go on, you do that now, and I’ll take them their drinks.”

Buddy’s voice was gruff. He wasn’t a sentimental man but I was pretty certain that he’d seen what had just happened and this was his way of giving me a break.

“Sure,” I said, giving him a grateful smile. “Right away!”

I had taken out the trash late last night, when I cleaned up the bar before locking up. He must have known that. Yeah, this was definitely Buddy’s way of giving me a break.

“Thanks, Buddy,” I said quietly as I walked behind him to get to the garbage.

I gathered together the small plastic bag of trash from the afternoon and started down the dark corridor that led to the alley behind the bar, where the garbage cans were kept.

As I left the bar, I turned back and saw Buddy serving the beer to the group of men. Jackson, still sitting at the bar, still hunched over his drink, suddenly spoke up.

“In my day,” he said loudly, despite speaking directly into his beer, “We treated a lady with respect.”

I looked at him in shock. Jackson was such a fixture in the bar, always alone and always concentrating on his drink that I was amazed that he was even aware of what was happening around him.

“Shut up, old man!” one of the group of guys yelled. I rolled my eyes and turned away. I didn’t need to stick around to see any more of this. As I headed out, I heard Buddy’s voice behind me, calling for everyone to calm down, that there was no need for any trouble.

I shook my head, glad to get away from the bar. I knew that Buddy would be able to talk sense into everyone. You can’t own a bar in a small town like this, for as long as he has, without learning how to calm down the occasional rowdy customer.

My hand tightened as I gripped onto the trash bag as I walked away, turning the corner so I could no longer see that was happening in the bar. The sound of yelling echoed along the corridor but it sounded wrong to me somehow. I stopped, listening for a second.

It should be quiet back here.

For a second, there was only the sound of raised voices coming from the bar and the sound of my own breathing.

There was a noise just behind me; a strange shuffling sound that was far too close.

I spun around.

The man with the missing teeth was in the corridor! He had followed me back here.

I felt my heart skip a beat in horror and then restart in a mad dash, beating way too fast.

I stared at him in dread. It was one thing to grab my butt in the middle of the bar. But following me back here where I was alone? That was not cool at all!

Why had he followed me? What did he want from me?

“Ruby, right?” he said, smiling that creepy smile of his.

“Yeah,” I nodded. It was possible that he’d just got lost on the way to the restroom. I decided to just make an excuse and get away from him. “I’ve gotta take this out. Washroom is that way.” I pointed behind him and quickly turned to continue to the alley.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re ok,” he said, his smile widening.

“Oh,” I nodded. He had just followed me back here to apologize. I relaxed, even though we were alone in the dark and lonely corridor. “That’s ok. Don’t worry about it. I’ve just got to take this out, and then I’ll be back behind the bar.”

“I’ll help,” he said, just a little too quickly. He took a step closer to me, and now I could smell him. He smelled of stale cigarette smoke and BO.

“That’s ok,” I said again, repeating myself. I tried to smile, trying to defuse the situation. I could still hear yelling coming from the bar, I could even distinguish Buddy and Jackson’s raised voices. No-one would hear me if I screamed for help.

He put his hand out, slowly reaching towards me but this time I saw it coming. I wasn’t going to wait around for him to grope at me again!

I turned and bolted down the corridor, opening the door to the alleyway and stumbling outside in one mad dash.

Instead of the deserted alley that I was expecting, there was something else. I stopped, mid-stride and dropped the trash bag in surprise.

There were two men standing there, both of them staring at me. Had this whole thing been a set-up? Were these two men friends with the guy who was following after me?

I dismissed the thought immediately. These two men were definitely not expecting to see me, and they definitely didn’t look like friends of anyone that would be drinking in the Corral.

I saw that the two men were exchanging a small parcel. One of the men, the taller of the two, was looking straight at me.

He was clearly startled, his piercing eyes wide as he looked into my eyes, riveting me to the spot. I couldn’t help making a soft whimper of surprise - this man was huge…and gorgeous!

I couldn’t even look away, I just stared, captive to his intense gaze.

He took a step towards me, handing the parcel to the smaller man, who grabbed hold of it like it was precious. I couldn't pay any attention to that though, not when the first man was getting closer to me, his eyes burning with passion.

Suddenly, the bar door behind me burst open and the man with the missing teeth stumbled out. He had followed me out here, hot on my heels.

“Now now, Ruby” he said. Just the sound of his voice made my skin crawl. It was nasally and high-pitched. Before he could finish whatever loathsome thing he was about to say, he saw the two strangers, and that I wasn’t alone anymore.