Travis
My hands were literally sweating.
I had no business going back to The Burgundy knowing full well that Ronnie had no interest in seeing me. Somehow, I'd found myself parked out front anyway. I wasn't even sure she was still there.
That was a lie.
Earlier, I'd checked to see what cars were parked in the parking lot. There had been a familiar black SUV parked behind the bar. Vinnie had driven a car just like that years ago, which meant it could easily have been a hand-me-down from him to Ronnie. If that hadn't been enough evidence on its own, the University of Tennessee sticker on the back window had been a dead giveaway. I distinctly remembered Vinnie having that sticker from his alma mater.
The same SUV was still parked in the back, so I knew her shift hadn't ended.
The problem was that I couldn't seem to convince myself to go inside. As teenagers, I'd been so certain that Ronnie's appearance was already perfect. Nothing could have prepared me for the gut-wrenching discovery that she'd grown even more attractive, her teenage body having grown into that of a woman. Her softened curves made me imagine all the places I'd like to put my hands on her.
I'd hated the way Ronnie's face had fallen when she'd seen Laurel speak into my ear. If only she'd known what Laurel was saying.
"I have no idea what's happening right now, but you should come back later. Freaking her out like this isn't going to win you any favors."
Never in a million years had I expected Laurel to show a supportive side. It turned out the woman was quite full of surprises.
Two hard knocks alerted me from the window of my car door. Hazel stood on the other side, one hand stationed firmly on her hip. She motioned for me to roll the window down, and I obliged.
"You're scaring my customers."
I groaned and let my head fall against the steering wheel.
Hazel clicked her tongue. "Does this have something to do with that new girl I hired? Is she defective? Should I fire her?"
"Fuck, no," I grumbled. "If you fired her she'd probably hunt me down and murder me."
Hazel smiled fondly, making it clear that she'd had no intention of firing her regardless of what I'd said. "She is a bit of a fireball, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is."
There'd always been a quality about her that seemed a little untamed. It was what had drawn me to her in the first place.
"The fellas seem to like her."
"What?" I shot up in the seat. "Are they bothering her?"
Hazel snorted with laughter.
"Talk about a Romeo and Juliet story. The bartender and the alcoholic. Well, how about that." She shook her head, amusement twisted up the corners of her lips.
"How did you know?"
"That you were an alcoholic?" I nodded. "Honey, I own the only dive bar within a hundred miles. I can smell an alcoholic the second they step through the front doors. Besides, ordering a plain Coke every time you come in is sort of obvious, don't you think?"
"That sounds like one very fucked up superpower."
"Oh, absolutely."
"Am I really scaring your customers?" I asked, remembering her original statement.
She reached into the car and patted me on the head like a dog. "An Incredible Hulk wannabe is sitting in the parking lot glaring at the building like he's thinking of dismantling it with his bare hands. Yes, dear, you're really scaring the customers."
"I am not a Hulk wannabe."
Hazel's eyes looked pointedly at the bulging muscles I'd developed. The coaches had all ridden me pretty hard about my workouts after I'd been left taking Carter's starting position.
"Anywho, are you coming in, or what?" she prompted.
"I'm not so sure it's a good idea…" I eyed the front door wearily.
"Well, that's just a load of poppycock. Get in there and get your lady!"
I stared at her in bewilderment.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I get a tad bit excited for a good love story."
"Ronnie doesn't even want me to be in the same room as her."
Hazel shrugged off my words. "On second thought, go buy some flowers first."
"What?" My mouth gaped open at her.
"Flowers. They'll help de-thaw some of that ice."
"Hazel, with all due respect, I don't think flowers will do the trick."
She tapped her chin. "What about a gift for her daughter? Veronica has such a soft spot for the girl. I'll bet that would do the trick."
My heart shuddered to a stop. Not just my heart, but my lungs, too. I'd just assumed she was living alone with Vinnie. If she had a daughter, did that mean the girl's father had moved with them? Were the two of them still together? I couldn't imagine someone as strong as Veronica letting some guy get away with being a deadbeat dad. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring. It had been one of the first things I'd looked at when she'd surprised me by showing up at the table. A dozen different questions blurred my mind.
Ronnie had a daughter.
"Single mothers aren't so bad, I'll have you know." Hazel's words were indignant. I had a feeling she'd misconstrued my silence.
"Is she a single mother?"
Hazel seemed to think about it. "I don't know, actually," she admitted. "I guess I just assumed since the only man she's mentioned was her brother."
I was torn between anger—at the hypothetical man that had left Ronnie to raise a daughter alone—and the thrill that shot through me at the realization that Hazel had just given me an idea.
"I'm not coming in," I said to Hazel as I turned the key in the ignition.
"Why?" she managed to ask over the sound of the car starting.
"There's something else I need to do."
"So you're not coming in at all?" Her lips turned down.
I shook my head.
She pouted like one would expect a child to do. It was easy to forget sometimes that she was old enough to be my grandmother.
"I have a plan," I told her, winking conspiratorially.