The Bartender's Daughter

by Isabelle Flynn

  She believed every word he’d said back then and bought every dream he’d painted. Even the one where they grew old together in a little house on the beach, with their two black labs and eventual children. Her heart ached at the memory of a life no longer a possibility.

  Sam rubbed the small callous on her left ring finger and pushed the thoughts away. First up was a quick check of the kitchen faucet and a celebratory dance when the water flowed clear. She walked into the bedroom, tossed her bags on the bed and started opening up windows. The cottage could use some air, a few touches here and there and a whole lot of dusting and it would be livable, at least until winter. If she could survive the proximity to Lee for that long.

  Chapter Six

  “You’re what?”

  “Married. I’m married.” Lee finished signing the last contract before looking back up at Jake. He was more friend than work acquaintance, and that was why he called a real estate lawyer to help him out of this situation with Sam.

  “I got that, but for two years? Where have you been hiding her?”

  “New York. It was a…” he searched for the right description of his biggest mistake, “youthful indiscretion.”

  “So you knocked her up, married her and then sent her away?”

  Disgust rolled through him. “No. Do you really think that’s something I would do? It wasn’t a shotgun wedding. It was impulsive and amazing and then it wasn’t.” His voice dropped off. He shook his head and pushed the thoughts of those early days away.

  “Well, I’m not a divorce lawyer, but as long as you have a tight prenup and no surprises, I think you should be able to get it taken care of in less than six months.”

  “There’s no prenup.”

  This time Jake didn’t even attempt to keep the incredulity out of his voice. “What were you thinking, Lee? That’s just stupid.”

  “Whatever it was, it’s done and over with. Now tell me what I need to do to get out of it with as little damage as possible.”

  Jake rubbed a hand through his hair and then pulled off the glasses he’d been wearing to read the contracts. “Get a great divorce lawyer. I’ll see if I can get one of my buddies to help you out. Did she just up and leave?” At Lee’s nod, he continued, “Maybe you could use desertion as grounds for divorce. I’m assuming she hasn’t been faithful, but neither have you.”

  Lee opened his mouth and shut it closed with a snap. Faithful? He could be honest with his friend. He could lay it all out on the line but he’d look like a stooge, a complete idiot. Later, he could tell Jake the whole story but for now he’d stick to the bare facts.

  Jake stood up and put his glasses in his pocket. “I’ll go ahead and hire someone in New York to take a look into what your wife has been up to in the last two years.”

  “This situation is delicate. I want as few people to know about it as possible. Make sure this person knows that they are to handle the situation with as much discretion as possible.”

  “Of course. Lee, I’ve got to tell you. You could be in trouble. If this woman wants to, she could really take you for a ride. I mean, we’re talking half of your worth. A good lawyer can make a difference, but maybe you should think about settling.”

  “I’m not giving her a dime. She’s engaged. I’m not letting her future husband walk away with anything I’ve built in the last two years.”

  Lee agreed with the curse out of Jake’s mouth. The situation was messed up. He just needed to get out of it with as little damage as possible.

  “Jake, one more thing. I don’t want to drag her through the mud. She’s not a bad person. She just lost her father and I think it would be best if we kept things as clean as possible.”

  Jake paused abruptly in the act of nodding his head. “Her father died? Sam Pierce is your wife?” He threw up his hands. “That explains the look on your face the other day. Now things get a little clearer. She’s not what I would have expected from you. Melissa’s more your type.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You know what I mean. Ray’s daughter isn’t exactly the wife your mother would be expecting you to bring home, is she?”

  In a way, he was right. He had never brought Sam around his family, but that didn’t have anything to do with her and everything to do with the cold, severe home he grew up in. His silence must have been telling because Jake picked up the papers on the desk and slid them into his briefcase. “I’ll call the investigator I’ve used before. I’ll get him on it ASAP.”

  Lee scratched out Sam’s full name, Dylan and Serena’s name, and the general dates of her time in Manhattan. He didn’t have an address, but he assumed a good investigator could find that out with little trouble. He handed off the slip of paper, and without another word, his friend walked out.

  He looked around his home office, the one that was meant to be a place of calm, and needed to escape. He headed toward the sliding glass doors and the solace only the beach could give him when his sister’s voice stopped him.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He squeezed the door handle and dropped his forehead on the cold plate glass. He closed his eyes to the view of the water for a breath. A moment later, he straightened and turned to face his sister.

  “It’s ancient history, Joanna. We just need to get some papers signed and it’ll be over.”

  She sat on a stool by the kitchen counter, a mug of coffee in her hand and a grim look on her face. “It doesn’t look that way to me. You look…” she hesitated as she gave him a once over, “tortured.”

  “I’m not tortured. What I am is tired. I’ve got four small businesses I’m trying to keep afloat. One of which is barely above water.” He walked over to the coffee maker and poured his third cup of the day. He’d slept about four hours last night after working out some ideas for the bar.

  “For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’s doing too well either. She looks tortured, too.”

  “Don’t romanticize this. We’ve been over for years. The divorce is just a formality. If she’s having a rough time, it has more to do with having just lost her father and being away from her boyfriend.” He walked away. Instead of watching the sun glint off the surface of the water, he’d go for a run and maybe get this morning behind him.

  ****

  She saw him from a distance during her morning run. There was no mistaking the smooth, confident gait or the way his head stayed high, looking forward. She envied his approach. She always struggled to look up when she ran, fighting her natural urge to look down at the ground. She turned and ran back to the cottage, cutting her run short but saving herself from encountering Lee when she wasn’t prepared.

  They hadn’t spoken more than the bare minimum in the last two weeks and they certainly hadn’t kissed. She had avoided any situation that may have found them alone. She simply didn’t trust herself. She’d gone over the books, cleaned out a few drawers in her father’s office, and read a few books on small business she’d found at the library. She had lots of questions for him. Questions that could no longer be avoided.

  She pulled the key out from under a rock and unlocked the front door. The door was just shutting behind her when she threw off her clothes and added them to the growing pile of laundry. She’d need to hit the Laundromat today or tomorrow. While she didn’t have Serena’s cleaning lady or the luxury of a washing machine and dryer, she loved living in the cottage. It was all hers, a place that was completely her own. She’d lost that feeling of being constantly indebted.

  She got ready and started on her walk to the bar. Except for sleeping and her occasional trips to do laundry, she wasn’t spending much time at her new home. Mornings were for deliveries. Then there was the small lunch crowd after opening, the afternoon drinking crowd, the dinner push, and then the nighttime drinkers. She was getting back into the rhythm of the place.

  There were upgrades that needed to be made, marketing that had to be developed, and most of all, the loan to Lee that had to be repaid. Apparently, he hadn�
��t used the loans to purchase his share of the bar. She found a handwritten promissory note in the bottom drawer with no information on the kind of interest rate the bar was expected to pay him back. She wondered what her father was thinking when he made such a decision.

  She kicked a rock along the quiet road and watched it skitter across the black top. She shouldn’t be questioning her father’s choices. She hadn’t been there when the deep fryer broke or the walk-in went out. Obviously he’d done what he thought needed to be done at the time. Either way, she had a significant amount to pay back to Lee, even if they split the debt in half. In the future, she had every intention of being the only owner of Ray’s. She needed him out of her bar and out of her life.

  It was getting harder and harder to avoid him. If only he had begun losing his hair, gotten fat, and stopped coming around all together. Maybe then she could forget those kisses and that she had been nothing but a joke to him, a well-played bit of rebellion that he kept to himself.

  She sighed and pushed on, concentrating on the salty breeze and fresh morning air that promised the humidity only summer in New England could bring. A little of the pressure building in her chest loosened when she spotted the empty parking lot. She would have to deal with Lee soon but, at least, not until she had her morning coffee.

  She slid her key into the slot, but the door opened without any pressure. The door had been locked last night. She swore remembering the click of the lock and turning off the air conditioning just before walking out. Now it hummed loudly and cold air leaked from the open door. She was just about to shut the door and pull out her cell phone when she heard her name.

  She opened the door wider until sunlight lit up the figure striding toward her. A little of the anxiety calmed as she recognized Lee but her heart didn’t get the message as it double-timed. His gaze roamed from the top of her head, over the short halter dress down to the sandals on her feet and then back again. The door slipped from her hand, slamming shut behind her. She stood her ground when he came less than a foot away. He frowned and she stiffened when he reached his hand up. She could feel the heat from his body and had to stop herself from leaning into it.

  His hand reached behind her and flipped the switch on, illuminating the entire bar. “I thought I’d come in early so we could talk.”

  “Oh.” He needed to step back. This close and she couldn’t remember all of the reasons she wanted him far away.

  Of course, as in all things related to Lee, he did the opposite of what she wanted. He took one small step forward. She gave in to instinct and stepped back until her back hit the door. His closeness thrilled her. He reached for her face, his hand sliding over her cheek, while one thumb rubbed her cheekbone. “You’re not sleeping well.”

  “No.” She didn’t move. His fingers roamed over her face, sliding delicately over her lips and then down over her jaw. When they slipped into her hair, her eyes closed of their own volition and her knees began to shake. She could just feel the slight pressure of his lips when his hand suddenly pulled out of her hair. She kept her eyes closed as she heard his footsteps move away from her. She wanted to reach out for him when the loss of his touch left a void in her heart.

  When she opened her eyes, he stood a few feet away. His hands were gripped into fists while he looked down, his gaze focused on the wood plank floor.

  Why was it always like this between them? What turned her into this needy, wanting woman she could barely recognize every time he touched her? She needed grounding. She pulled the necklace from under her dress. Her hands were shaking and it took her a few tries to finally get it undone. When it did, she slipped the ring off the chain and held it out to him.

  “It’s real, isn’t it?”

  It took him a moment to see the small shiny ring in her hand. He picked it up with just a brush of their skin and held it up to the light. “Yes.”

  “I thought it was a nice fake, but it’s not silver and it’s not cubic zirconia. I imagined you spent all of your savings on this pretty little ring, but it was just another story I made up to fill in the blanks.” She swallowed, pushing the lump in her throat down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “That it was real?”

  She shook her head back and forth. “That you weren’t who I thought you were. That this was all a big joke, a chance for you to see how the other side lives. You made a fool out of me and now you’re like a constant reminder of the idiot I was to trust you. Thank god Dylan finally told me about you.”

  At the mention of Dylan, his hand tightened on the ring and she waited for him to throw it. Instead he took it and dropped it into the pocket of his jeans. “I’m sure Dylan explained it all to you. Don’t worry, Sam. I’ve already got things in motion. You’ll be free to live the kind of lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to.”

  ****

  Like he had all morning long, he felt the outline of Sam’s ring in his pocket. Again he let himself be pulled to her. Joanna’s words had somehow worked their way into his thoughts during his run. He had her drop him off early so Sam couldn’t avoid their conversation. Instead of talking to her about the bar’s business, he was caught in the smudges under her eyes and the sadness that resonated from her entire being.

  He was pulled in by her sweetness until he remembered that it was all an illusion. Sweet, innocent women did not have a husband and another man on the side. He even started feeling guilty when she showed him the ring and asked questions he should have had the answers to. Until she mentioned Dylan.

  The ring brought up too many memories. Memories like dipping into his trust fund for the first time in six months so he could provide her with a ring she could be proud of. It was a platinum band, diamonds winked out in a line across the middle of the entire ring. He had purchased himself the matching band, which he had promptly tossed in the bay when he saw the first picture of Sam with Dylan.

  He hadn’t come close to having that level of a relationship with anyone since. At first, it was a matter of being too busy and too involved with building up the tiny souvenir shop on Main. Then it was the larger boutique in the center of town. The hardware store had taken even more of his time as the finances were in a complete mess. It’s near impossible to even think about dating when you’re spending your time digging through old coffee cans for receipts, the former owner’s idea of filing. When his mother and sisters pressured him to go to the society events he was expected at, he was too tired to fight them. In the end, he found himself escorting Melissa because it was just easier than convincing his sisters he didn’t need a date.

  He returned his focus to his laptop. He had a few minor tweaks to make to the PowerPoint presentation in front of him, and then he could corner Sam in Ray’s office and force her to see the kind of improvements they were going to need to make.

  He pounded on the keys, the sound reverberating off the paneling in the empty bar. He turned when the clicking of heels came from behind. Sam’s sister walked toward him but she scanned each corner of the bar.

  “Do the two of you even sleep? You’re always here.”

  He didn’t like Michelle but he tolerated her. As Ray’s other daughter, he gave her a level of respect that disappeared when he discovered the role she played in ending his and Sam’s relationship. “Did you come here expecting no one to be here?”

  The lines around her mouth deepened as she attempted a thin smile. Yes, that’s exactly what she was hoping for. She stole a look at the office and then turned back to him. “I need to get into the office and look through my father’s old paperwork. I’ve gone through everything at the house and I’m still missing things.”

  “Sam’s been working on your dad’s filing. I’m sure if she found something, she’d have given it to you.”

  She bit her bottom lip in a practiced move. She leaned forward, crowding him on the stool he perched on. He leaned as far back as he could, until his back hit the wooden bar. “That’s the thing. There are some things I can’t have Sam getting into. Things that sh
e doesn’t need to know.”

  Her hand landed on Lee’s thigh, a quick squeeze had him in disbelief. Did she really think these kinds of moves would work on him?

  “Like what, Michelle?”

  “Just papers. Nothing that has to do with the bar. I need them, Lee. It’s nobody’s business but mine.”

  He pulled her hand off his leg and dropped it. “Don’t try to convince me. Be honest with me. What is it you’re looking for?”

  She took a deep breath and pulled her handbag higher up on her shoulder. She grabbed the stool beside his, letting the metal feet drag across the floor until she could perch herself on the edge. “I’m looking for adoption papers.”

  He sat up straighter. “What adoption papers?”

  Michelle looked away, her eyes roaming across the bottles in the back of the bar, before coming back to him. “Mine. Ray wasn’t my birth father and I don’t want Sam to find out this way. Can you please help me?”

  He wasn’t about to sign on to help Michelle. “Why not just tell her? She’s an adult.”

  “She’s just getting over our father’s death and there are some secrets that are best kept secret. Believe me, Lee, it would hurt her. I don’t want to do that right now.”

  He believed her. It was the first time he’d seen any kind of sisterly love from Michelle, but he wasn’t about to promise to deceive Sam.

  The door of the office opened and Sam stepped out. Michelle jumped off the stool. She couldn’t possibly look any guiltier than she did at that moment. Sam looked from her sister to him and then back again. “What happened?”

  “Nothing. I’ve got to get to work. Lee, will you think about it? I could use some help on this.”

  They both watched Michelle make her way across the empty bar and out the door.

  “What did she want you to help her with?”

  He stumbled over a reasonable explanation, something that wouldn’t exactly be a lie.