Page 25 of Living with Fire
“I hope you like the inside as much as you like the outside,” I mutter as I pull into the alley leading to the back of the bar.
I drove Savanna around the front to show her what it looked like, and she seemed rather enthralled. I’m curious to know what she’ll think of the inside.
My uncle styled the bar country and western. I always appreciated the rich brown mahogany floors, burnt barnwood bar, and booths and tables that match the bar, complete with black chairs and stools. The place always felt homey and comfortable to me; somewhere to come and kick back with friends to relax, or drown troubles with strangers.
“I’m almost positive I will,” Savanna says, quick to unbuckle and open her door to jump out. “I love the outside with all the wooden beams and the wooden sidewalk out front. It reminds me of an old western saloon. I’ve never been to a place like that, not even back home.”
I laugh as I meet her around the front of the truck and lead her to the back door. I let us inside where we’re quickly assaulted with laughter and shouts from the boys in the back of house.
When the door closes behind us, three of my employees turn, a hush falling over the room. I know it’s my presence. The same thing can happen at the firehouse, even though I’m friends with all the guys on my watch.
“Boss man!” Jeremy, my sous chef, says, breaking the silence after an awkward beat. “What’s up, bro?”
“Don’t let me kill the party, guys,” I say with a smile, leading Savanna further into the kitchen.
I turn towards her and make the introductions. As I suspected, Savanna is gracious and sweet, taking it all in with wide, curious eyes. After a quick update from Jeremy about the day’s events, I feel pretty good about taking it easy, though I’ll make my final decision on whether I’m leaving Savanna at the bar alone once I talk to my head waitress and bartender.
“Come on, I’ll show you the bar,” I murmur to Savanna, taking her hand. The same shock runs up my arm causing me to shiver and glance in her direction. Her round eyes are larger than before, taking me in, and I know she felt it too, but I keep my mouth shut as I lead her towards the swinging doors to the pub.
We make it a few feet when I feel resistance against my hand and turn to find her attention pulled towards my office, looking aghast.
“Nate…” she says, appalled. “That’s… that’s… this explains why your cupboards are all a mess. I think it might also explain the disaster in your dining room.”
I glance inside and cringe. It is pretty bad, with files, paper, and boxes all over the place. In the last few weeks a bunch of it has migrated from the bar to my house and has taken up residence in my dining room. Despite her assessment of my coffee cup situation, I’m a relatively organized guy. I like things neat and orderly, in their own place.
My office is the furthest thing from that. My face flushes and my hand is clammy in Savanna’s. For some reason, I don’t want her to see this side of things. Brushing the boxes and paperwork off at home had been easy given Savanna’s exhausted state earlier today, but she’s wide awake now.
“It’s not that bad,” I say, running a hand brusquely through my hair.
It is that bad, and she gives me a look that says as much.
“You know, I’m really good at organizing… if you wanted, I could help you out,” she suggests with hope.
“I know it looks like a disorganized disaster, but it’s like my kitchen. If you touched it, it would screw me up for days and I wouldn’t be able to find a mug in the morning. But I appreciate the offer,” I tell her, offering as much of a smile as I can muster. “Now c’mon. I’m starving.”
The mountain of work can wait. The responsible side of me says it can’t. I should be getting it more organized because the clock is ticking. Putting it off is stress inducing, but I shove the feeling down. Tonight is about getting to know this beautiful woman that intrigues me more than any other in years. As much as I know the work needs to be done, maybe Jordan and Liam are right—maybe I do need to have some fun. Even if the only place it can lead is learning a little more about Savanna.
Tomorrow. The work can wait until tomorrow.
Tugging Savanna towards the swinging doors, I push the right side open before coming to a dead stop in the middle of the doorway. Liam and Brody are both sitting at the bar, something I should have thought about prior to this moment. Normally I would have, but I’m distracted by a certain blonde currently running right into my back.
She bounces off me, her surprised gasp hitting my ears as I quickly turn, grabbing her by the elbows to keep her righted.
“Shit! I’m sorry!” I say at the same time she says, “What the heck, Nate?”
A second later, with both of us just inside the kitchen, the door swings open and hits me in the back. There’s a yip of alarm, and then a crash of dishes hits the floor.
“Fuck! Nate, what the hell? Why are you standing right there?” Bryn, my head server curses again as she sets down a stack of dishes on one of the counters.
The crash turns out to be one broken plate. I’m not sure how she managed it, but it’s one of the reasons I love her so much and rely on her as the glue that keeps this place together. When she finishes school in a few months and goes to work as a massage therapist I’m going to be lost without her.
Bryn is shaking her head, her chin length brown hair swaying around her face while she picks up some of the larger pieces of the broken dish. Savanna is kneeling beside her a second later, helping, and I’m torn between making an introduction and grabbing a broom for the rest of the mess. I’m a firefighter at heart, though, and getting hazards out of the way takes priority over niceties, so I go for the broom, returning a moment later to find the two women making their own introductions.
Bryn slides her eyes over to me when I return, an eyebrow cocked in question. I choose to ignore it, sweeping up the leftover bits of plate instead.
“I’ll finish that if you tell me why the hell you were standing there in the first place,” Bryn says.
“Yeah, I’d kind of like to know why you stopped so abruptly,” Savanna chimes.