Air Force Hero

by Weston Parker

  “This is why I don’t tell you things.”

  Grady laughed. “Fair enough, brother. But hey, I’m happy for you. Kids are a game changer. They can be a total pain in your ass, but there’s nothing like it. You’re gonna realize that you’ve never loved anything as much as that kid. It will mess with your head, man. Believe me.”

  “Maybe I’ll call you if I feel like I need to cry.”

  “Fuck you.” Grady chuckled. “But yeah. Call me more often.”

  “You miss me?”

  “It’s weird, I know. But yeah I do.”

  “I miss you too, brother. I have to go, but we’ll get in touch soon, okay?”

  “Soon,” Grady said, and then we both hung up.

  I put the truck in drive and set off to my apartment. The place was a rather pathetic bachelor pad, lacking any decor or sophistication, but it did the trick. I stopped there quickly to shower and change into fresh clothes, a pair of black jeans and a gray Henley. I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows and put my boots on, then headed out the door to get back in my truck and make my way to Hart’s Pub.

  * * *

  When I entered the pub, I was greeted by the new hire, Gwen, who was working as the hostess. She was a young girl, probably just legal age, with a bright smile and bubbly personality.

  “Hi, Zach,” she said cheerfully. “They’re all up at the bar waiting for you.”

  “Thanks, Gwen,” I said as I passed her podium and headed up to the bar. I heard her sing-song voice greeting more customers who came in behind me.

  Jo spotted me coming toward the bar first. She smiled a beautiful smile and stopped pouring whatever drink she was working on to rush around the bar and throw herself into my arms. When she pulled back, she planted a kiss on my lips. Then she glanced down at my shirt. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, covering her mouth with one hand. “I forgot I spilled beer on myself. You might be a little damp.”

  I was. I shrugged and kissed her forehead. “It’ll dry.”

  She turned to head back to the bar, and I gave her ass a pat before breaking off and grabbing a stool beside Ryan. He clapped me on the shoulder in greeting and called for his sister to bring me a beer. She eyed him skeptically and pointed at the beer she was already pouring. Ryan apologized and then passed me the basket of fries he and Rosie were picking at. “Hungry, man? We waited for you to order dinner, but Rosie was famished. These were holding us over.”

  I popped a few in my mouth. “Thanks,” I mumbled as I half chewed, half swallowed. “They’re cold.”

  “You’re late,” Rosie pointed out.

  “Touche,” I said, devouring more fries. I was starving, and I hadn’t noticed until I took a bite of food.

  Jo took our orders and, once the food was ready, had one of her other servers step in and cover the bar while she ate. She took the open stool beside me and wrapped her arms around my bicep. She squeezed me and rested her cheek on my shoulder before we both dug into our meals.

  As we ate, Ryan and Rosie flirted harder than I’d ever seen before. Jo seemed to notice because she leaned up to whisper in my ear, “I don’t understand why he hasn’t just asked her out yet. She’s head over heels from him. She wouldn’t say no.”

  “Maybe he just needs a push,” I suggested, keeping my voice low so our friends couldn’t overhear us.

  “I can get her away for a few minutes while you talk to him?” Jo offered.

  “Sure. Let’s finish eating first. Then you do your thing.”

  Jo nodded decisively. We finished eating first and waited for Ryan and Rosie to finish their meals. They were too busy giggling and flirting to eat fast enough. As soon as they were done, Jo hopped off her stool and grabbed Rosie’s arm. “I need to pee,” she said, and then both girls disappeared down the hall to the washrooms.

  Ryan looked over to find me resting my chin on my knuckles, grinning at him.

  “What?” he asked, sipping his beer.

  “You like her. She likes you. Why haven’t you asked her out?”

  Ryan sputtered into his beer and put it down to wipe the foam off his upper lip. “Because she’s my sister’s best friend. I don’t want to cross any lines.”

  “Uh. I’m your best friend, and I’m with your sister. I don’t think she’d care. In fact, I think it bothers her more that the two of you haven’t just gone for it.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.” I nodded. “The two of you are unbearable to watch. Just kiss her already and call it a day.”

  Ryan gave me a sheepish smile and went to say something, but the girls came back. Jo returned to her place behind the bar, and Rosie came to slip between mine and Ryan’s stool. She rested her elbows on both our shoulders and asked Jo to pour us each a shot. “Something sweet but with a kick,” she said, waggling her eyebrows at me and then Ryan. When she turned her face to him, I saw the decision happening behind his eyes. His gaze flicked to me.

  I nodded encouragingly and mouthed, “Do it.”

  Then, without delay, he cupped Rosie’s face in one hand and kissed her.

  She stood dead still for a moment and then melted into him and kissed him back.

  I threw both hands in the air and cheered. Jo burst out laughing behind the bar and then delivered our shots in a neat row in front of us. There were four. I glanced up at her. “You’re joining us?”

  She nodded. “I’m going to own the place sooner or later. I can’t see why I can’t have a bit of fun, too.”

  We all collected our glasses and raised them in the air. “To Ryan and Rosie,” I announced.

  Rosie giggled and buried her face in Ryan’s shoulder. Then we all whooped and tossed the shots back.

  The liquor burned all the way down my throat. Rosie coughed and sputtered beside me and dragged the back of her hand across her lips. A track of pink lipstick smeared her knuckles. “I said sweet!”

  “Sweet doesn’t pack enough of a punch.” Jo winked.

  “That’s my girl,” I said. “A beer for everyone on me.”

  Jo set to work pouring our beers. Ryan ordered more food. We made fun of him for being a bottomless pit as Rosie hung off his shoulder and kissed his cheek.

  The night started to wind down close to midnight. The last few customers lingered at their tables to finish their drinks as the music was turned off and the lights all came on. They looked up at Jo apologetically, and she told them to take their time.

  “Do you guys want to hang out here for a bit longer?” Jo asked.

  “Hell yeah!” Rosie exclaimed. “Can I get another drink, then?”

  “Of course,” Jo said. She mixed a rum and coke for her friend and put a drop of grenadine in. She handed it to Rosie, who sipped it daintily through the straw and nodded appreciatively. “Anything for you two?”

  Ryan and I each ordered another beer, and Jo poured herself one as well.

  The last two tables of customers cleared out about ten minutes later. Jo dismissed the rest of the staff on the floor and in the kitchens and then locked up the doors after they had all left. She came back to join us, and we had all already finished our drinks.

  “You guys drink like the Irish,” she commented as she went back behind the bar to make more drinks.

  Then we all sat along the bar together, shooting the shit and enjoying the company of friends. Sam was at his grandfather’s house for the night. Grandpa Hart had stepped up big time after he learned that Jo had kicked Brett to the curb. He’d been as elated by this news as the rest of us and told her he would watch Sam for her night shifts.

  Soon, he wouldn’t have to because I’d be in the picture.

  It was strange to think of myself spending time alone with my son while his mother worked.

  Strange, but oddly exciting.

  28

  Josephine

  “One more round of shots,” I said as I pulled a premium bottle of tequila down from the top shelf behind the bar. Ryan protested loudly, and I shot him a dark look over my shoulder. “Don’
t be a party pooper. Come on. One more. Rosie, what do you say?”

  Rosie, who had indulged enough in the alcohol that she was dancing by herself behind the barstools, nodded enthusiastically at my offer. “Everyone knows I’ll never say no to shots.”

  The music was blaring. I felt fucking great. My body was light from the booze, and I was amongst great company. Zach was laughing his ass off at Rosie as she spun in drunken circles and then threw her arms out to her sides to regain her balance before spinning again. Ryan was laughing too, but his protective side had come out, and he was trying to stop the rest of us from drinking more.

  “Zach, another shot?” I offered.

  He nodded, only half looking at me. Rosie had all of his attention. “Do your worst, Jo.”

  I poured three large shot glasses to the brim with tequila. “Come on, you guys. Gather around. Let’s do this right.”

  All three of them clustered around the bar. I asked for their hands and rubbed a lime wedge on the backs of their hands. Zach arched an eyebrow and asked why I was lathering them in lime juice.

  “Just be patient,” I said. Then I sprinkled salt on them, which stuck to the stickiness the lime left. “Tricks of the trade.” I grinned.

  I passed out a fresh lime wedge to everyone, and when we were ready, we licked the backs of our hands and took the shot. Then, grimacing and wincing as the liquor made its way to our stomachs, we sucked on our limes.

  “Holy Hell,” Ryan muttered. His lips puckered from the sourness, and his eyes squinted from the shot. “That one kicked me right in the balls.”

  Rosie giggled and stacked the shot glasses. “It’s delicious!”

  “You’re insane,” Ryan said flatly.

  Then she took his hand and pulled him up on the dance floor. “Turn the lights down and get the dance floor going, Jo!” she hollered as she started dancing to the upbeat country song blasting through the speakers.

  I did as she asked. I turned down the house lights and flicked on the dance floor lights. When I turned back to the bar, Zach was smiling at me.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  He tipped his head in Ryan and Rosie’s direction. “You were right about the little push.”

  “I’m always right,” I stated.

  “Would you like to join them up there, little Miss Humble?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” I beamed, rushing around the bar to grab his hand as he slid off his stool. We hopped up the steps to join my brother and best friend. Rosie draped her arms over our shoulders, and the four of us danced in a circle, smiling and laughing like fools, living in the moment.

  Then we broke apart, and Zach led me through a lively swing dance routine. I threw my head back and laughed when he dipped me. He yanked me back up and sent me twirling away from him. My hair fanned out all around me, and he caught me by the tip of my fingers before I spun too far. Our arms were fully extended when he pulled me back to him, curling me into his side.

  We danced that way for a little while, our hips swaying from side to side, my cheek pressed to his shoulder, as Rosie and Ryan tried to mimic us. It was pitiful, but neither Zach nor I said anything. Instead, we watched in mutual humor. Both of us were probably making a mental note to make fun of the two of them when we had a moment alone.

  Zach put his finger under my chin and lifted my face to him. I smiled at him. God, he was perfect in every sense of the word. My heart felt so warm and full as I stared into his hazel eyes. He closed the gap between us and kissed me deeply. Our hips continued to sway, and I could hear Rosie gushing over our sweet moment.

  It ended when the music picked up and Zach twirled me again. This time, he walked around me as I spun. He grabbed my lower back and dipped me again. Instinctively, I hooked my leg around his to hold myself up.

  “You’re really getting the hang of this,” Zach called over the music.

  “I’ve had a good teacher,” I yelled back.

  We danced the next hour away, all four of us acting like idiots on the dance floor. I hadn’t had so much fun in ages. I was free. I was happy.

  Rosie and Ryan looked as happy as I felt. Despite their terrible coordination on the dance floor and complete lack of rhythm, they were giving it everything they had. They were laughing constantly. The music was too loud for me to hear them, but I could see how overjoyed my brother was. I wondered how long he had been holding off from asking Rosie out.

  I knew Rosie was equally thrilled. She’d had the hots for my brother ever since the first day she met him, which was her first day at work. She didn’t know at the time that he was my brother, and she talked about him like he was an appetizing piece of steak on a plate that she wanted to lather in peppercorn sauce and devour. After I told her he was my brother, she’d been horrified and apologized profusely for being inappropriate. I’d laughed my ass off because I thought the whole thing was hilarious.

  Then I’d watched them walk on eggshells around each other for years. They would both date other people, and neither of them was ever single at the same time until about six months ago. Then they’d both stopped dating. I’d tried to push them together, but neither of them seemed willing to go all in.

  Until now. Maybe since seeing how happy Zach and I were together, they decided they wanted the same thing. They sure as hell deserved it. They were my favorite people in the world—besides Sam, Zach, and my dad.

  I could have watched the two of them dance for hours longer.

  But after two o’clock in the morning rolled around, our energy started to die down. Zach went to the bar and poured all of us a tall glass of water. He called us over and made me and Rosie finish ours. He was less insistent with Ryan, who, always the health nut, finished his glass first. Zach turned off the music and the dance floor lights before turning on the house lights. Then he called us a cab.

  “They’ll be here in twenty,” Zach said after he got off the phone.

  Rosie stumbled behind the bar to grab a bag of chips. She tore it open and popped one into her mouth, then nodded toward the front door. “You guys feel like waiting outside? I could really do with some fresh air.”

  I nodded. “Fresh air sounds amazing.”

  Zach pushed another full glass of water into my hands. “Can you drink this first? I don’t want you to be dehydrated.”

  I eyed him and smirked. “Yes, Mom.”

  He then looked at Ryan, who nodded, and poured another glass for Rosie. She didn’t need to be told to drink. She drank it quickly and slammed it on the counter. “Okay, come on. Let’s go.”

  I chugged mine and left it on the counter too. There would be a small clean up to be done in the afternoon when I came in to open, which was perfectly fine.

  I had a dream of opening early for breakfast on weekends, so nights like this would still be possible, we would just have to make sure we cleaned up after ourselves.

  I hop-skipped along beside Rosie to the front doors and unlocked them. We spilled out onto the porch that wrapped around the outside of the pub, and I fumbled to lock the doors up behind us. Zach hovered over my shoulder and chuckled at how useless I was. “Here,” he said, resting a hand on mine and taking the keys from me. “Let me help you with that.”

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, my lips feeling a little numb. Damn all that tequila. I was going to have a fat head in the morning. Maybe. Hopefully, all the water would help. I hiccupped and then giggled. I leaned back into Zach, and he put his hands on my hips after dropping my keys into his pocket. He kissed my cheek, and I rested my head on his shoulder. “I think I’m a little drunk.”

  “You think?” He laughed. His breath on the back of my neck had me feeling all kinds of ways. So, in drunken Jo fashion, I wiggled my ass against his crotch.

  “Your brother is right here,” Zach breathed in my ear.

  I giggled again. “Make me stop.”

  He tightened his grip on my hips and bit my earlobe. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to press you up against this door and ravage you right in fron
t of him. Do you want that?”

  “No,” I gasped, giving in to another fit of giggles as he patted my ass.

  “Good girl. Now come on. Let’s go sit with our friends until the cab shows up.”

  “Uh, Zach?” It was Ryan’s voice. He sounded unsure. Worried.

  Zach and I both turned around. Ryan and Rosie were standing at the top of the stairs with their backs to us. I noticed the way my brother was holding himself. He was tense. His hands were balled into fists at his sides. Rosie inched closer to him and wrapped her hands around his forearm.

  Zach moved away from me, and I followed hot on his heels. He came to a stop at the top of the stairs beside Ryan, and I bumped into his shoulder.

  I glanced up at him. His expression was hard. His jaw was tight. I followed the line of his angry stare down the steps to the parking lot where I saw the cause of all this sudden tension.

  Brett was standing about twenty feet away from the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed like he always was, in pale blue jeans, dirty work boots, and a white shirt with stains all over the front of it. He had a leather jacket on, and his hands were in the pockets.

  He was flanked on either side by four guys. My drunken mind came to a grinding halt as I tried to calculate those numbers in my head.

  Three against two without us girls.

  I swallowed. My knees were suddenly weak, and there was a ringing in my ears. Now I really loathed the tequila racing through my system.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Brett?” Ryan was the first to speak.

  Brett grinned up at us. At least, I think it was a grin. It was more of a wicked peeling of lips off teeth. “I’m here to even the score,” he growled. I’d forgotten how mean he could sound when he wanted to. He sounded like a snake—if snakes could speak.

  “Go home,” I said, taking a step forward. Zach’s arm came out in front of me, and he pushed me a step back. I glanced up at him, but he didn’t look over at me. So I stayed where I was, peering around him at Brett and his goon squad down below. “There’s no score to settle. The fight was fair. One on one.”