Page 13 of Bodyguard By Night
Hayes folded his arms on the bar. “You guys sure know how to have fun.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Beer or whiskey?”
“Beer, thanks.” Hayes shoved his mop of hair off his forehead, leaving sweaty spikes.
I propped my elbows on the bar as I curled my hands around the cool glass to ease my abused fingers. “I didn’t do a damn thing.”
Ruby grinned as she pulled a draft. “Good thing you’re too pretty to ban.”
“Stop. I’m gonna blush.” I grinned from the rim of my glass.
“Dimples and everything.” Ruby fanned herself as she set Hayes’ glass in front of him.
Hayes grinned. “Think she likes you, Ransom.”
Ruby gave me a sly smile. “He’s afraid of me.”
I lifted my glass in salute. “I am.”
Clay threw back his head with a laugh. “Since when are you afraid of anyone?”
“I know when I’m outta my league.”
Ruby’s grin spread into a wolfish smile.
I wouldn’t even have to chase her. And while the stress relief would be awesome, I didn’t want to screw up my welcome in my favorite bar. Somehow things with me never ended well.
Finally, she went to the other end of the bar where customers were waiting.
Clay finished half his beer. “So, did you get that fitting yet?”
“Goddammit.”
“Guess that’s a no. I’m gonna keep asking ’til you do it, man. Rach has blazed past lists at this point. She’s got a whiteboard in the kitchen.” Clay twisted his glass in the condensation around the bottom of his glass.
“That’s what you get with a ring.” Hayes passed his glass from one hand to the other.
Sounded like there was a story there, but I made it a point not to ask questions. That way I didn’t have to answer any of my own.
“I don’t mind it much. She’s just very particular with her checklists. She even made me download an app on my phone. I can hear the checkmark tones in my dreams.”
Hayes snorted. “Taylor probably told her about it.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it.”
Taylor was the super organized manager at the Happy Acres gift shop. I was almost certain she and Rachel fed off each other’s need to control all the things.
Actually, I didn’t want to know these things about so many people. I kept to myself, but somehow I was always getting volunteered to help at the orchard or the tree farm.
I blamed Clay. He was blinded by the fresh insanity of love and access to sex on the regular.
Thankfully, things had quieted down once Christmas passed. We’d spent most of the winter shoveling or planning to shovel. The snow was no joke around this part of New York.
I slapped Clay’s shoulder. “Let’s go play a round now that the idiots have dispersed.”
Hayes gave us a salute and got up. “I’ll go see if I can steal a girl away from my brother. I suck at darts.”
Clay followed me through the maze of chairs and tables to the upper part of the bar where the darts area was set up away from the tables. TVs were bolted the walls showing various sports from US soccer to football in the UK since football season here was over. The other wall of screens had on various baseball games.