by Paula Cox
“One moment, Mr. Ferguson,” Miranda kept her stiff smile affixed to her lips as she pushed away from the counter. As she waltzed back to the safe in the other room, Miranda resisted the urge to glance back. She didn't need to. She knew Tyler watched her sashay away.
Tyler's leer was broken by Jack's curiosity. “Who's the leggy brunette?”
“Old high school sweetie,” answered Tyler. He refrained from tossing an irritated glare in Jack's direction, though his tone betrayed his cool.
“Seriously?” For the second time, Jack's voice lilted with incredulity.
Tyler grunted with a slight nod. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or annoyed by Jack's tone. He decided to simply ignore it for the time being.
Jack didn't notice – or didn't care – about Tyler's pinched expression. He motioned wit his head farther down the counter. “What about blondie?”
“The one you've been ogling?” Tyler gave the woman a sidelong glance. She was pretty, that was for sure. A blonde bombshell with full lips and a knack for – what Tyler assumed – being fashionable. Her face, though, didn't register under Tyler's synapses. “Don't know her.”
Jack nodded with satisfaction. “Good, I don't like seconds.”
Tyler raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice, “We haven't been in town for five minutes and you're already looking to get your dick wet?”
Jack shrugged, his lips tilting into a cockeyed smirk. “Hey, at least I wasn't drooling over a former flame.”
Miranda returned with a stack of mixed bills in her hands before Tyler could answer Jack. She counted down from one thousand. By the time she was finished, there was one neat pile of hundred dollar bills, another for fifties, and one for twenties. From under the counter, Miranda pulled out a discreet paper bag, carefully placing the money inside. Tyler watched her throughout the whole process. The way her long fingers handled the money and her graceful movements brought memories flooding back to his forebrain.
Her crisp voice cut through his musings, “Here you go, Mr. Ferguson.”
“Thanks, Mir.” Tyler smiled as he grabbed the bag from her fingers.
Briefly, their fingertips touched and electricity ran up Miranda's arm. She pulled her hand away a little too quickly. Her mind, however, was still set to work mode. “Can I do anything else for you, sir?”
Oh, Tyler could think of a few things – especially after the tingles raced along his arm. His lips twisted into a grin and, from the way Miranda pinked, she knew what was on his mind. He leaned on the counter, nudging his sunglasses onto his head. Miranda's heart thundered in her chest. Tyler's eyes always got to her. His warm brown eyes, coupled with his freckles and the erratic red curls. Of course, he had changed. Gone were the curls, in favor of a more masculine, spiky cut. Age had broadened his shoulders and faded the freckles, but they were still there.
“Actually, Mir, want to catch up later?”
Miranda nearly flinched. She knew what 'catching up' was. She had 'caught up' with other exes in the past. A few hours later, they dropped off the face of the earth. Miranda drew her gaze away from Tyler's eyes and bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to go through another heartache after Nate. Plus, she couldn't ignore the biker gang vest Tyler was wearing. Memories flitted through her head, stabbing deep into her chest. Quietly, Miranda muttered, “No, I really shouldn't, Tyler.”
Shock pushed him away from the counter. He really hadn't expected Miranda to shoot him down. Then again, she had no reason to agree. Her family hated him and, quite frankly, he had no right to come barging back into her life. A pang of guilt shot through Tyler's thoughts. After pushing his sunglasses back in place, hiding his disappointment and surprise, he muttered, “Well, I'll just go then. Good seeing you.”
He didn't say anything else as he trudged through the lobby. Embarrassment burned up his neck, but Tyler willed the heat to stay below his collar. The last thing he wanted was Jack commenting on his reaction. Thinking about Jack, Tyler's head snapped up just as he crossed the threshold of the bank. His biker buddy wasn't tagging at his heels.
A quick glance back into the bank told Tyler all he needed to know. Casanova was schmoozing the blonde. Tyler stifled a groan and rolled his eyes. He gripped the paper sack tightly in one hand, the paper crinkling loudly, before shoving it into an inner pocket in his kutte. Taking up a position against one of the bank's brick walls, he waited irritably for Jack. His mind wouldn't let go of Miranda Groves, though.
CHAPTER TWO
Another day of work completed, Miranda almost breathed a sigh of relief as she and Naomi traversed the scant distant to their cars. The rest of the parking lot was bare. In the sky, the sun hung low, turning the world a bluish hue. The cool evening air might have been relaxing, if it wasn't for the bomb Naomi just dropped. Miranda groaned as she turned to her friend, “You did what?”
“Oh, come on, Miranda!” Naomi jutted out her bottom lip as she leaned across the hood of Miranda's car. Behind her, her sporty yellow car clashed against her navy blue outfit. “I can't go alone.”
Miranda glared and pursed her lips. “Don't you think you should check with me before scheduling a double date?”
“It's not a double date,” Naomi replied, reproachfully, pushing herself off the car hood. “It's just hanging out.”
“At the bar,” retorted Miranda with a flat tone. She was less than impressed. Nate just broke up with her and her ex-sweetheart breezed into town. Her emotional capacitors wanted a rest.
“Yeah, at the bar. What's wrong with that?” Naomi's head listed to the side. Her eyes caught the dying rays of the sun, making her baby blues nearly glow in the twilight.
“You're probably going to go knock boots with loverboy and leave me in the lurch with his creepy friend,” Miranda sighed in exasperation. Naomi had pulled the stunt more than once. The worst case seemed so promising, at first. It involved a cute, buff firefighter and his friend, an old buddy from high school with a receding hairline, beer gut, and an aversion to deodorant. She waved her hand, her car keys jingling loudly. “Yeah, no thanks.”
“You shouldn't judge people before you get to know them!” Naomi's lips twisted into a frown. She very blatantly misunderstood Miranda, whether intentionally or from sheer obliviousness. She crossed her arms over her ample bosom and pinned Miranda with a hard look.
Miranda was completely unaffected by her friend's bluff. Naomi didn't have a stern bone in her body. Soon enough, the blonde would switch tones and resort to the puppy dog eyes. “Naomi, it's been a long day.”
“So go to the bar. Let off some steam,” pleaded the blonde, “It'll be good for you!”
“I don't see how, Naomi.”
“Trust me.”
Miranda sighed, yet again. A drink sounded fabulous after everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours. Nate would be to busy with his new girlfriend and who the hell knew where Tyler was. Her stiff shoulders eased a little, “Do we have time to go home and change, first?”
“Yes!” Naomi squealed in delight as she hopped into her sporty convertible. Miranda shook her head as she climbed into her sensible sedan. Together, the two cars pulled out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of Miranda's apartment. She didn't know why she let Naomi talk her into these things.
A noisy bar scene was the absolute last thing Miranda genuinely wanted. Yet, a small voice nagged at her thoughts. Someone, in particular, hung around bars and Miranda very direly wanted to see him again – even if it was a bad idea.
* * *
Smoke clung to the ceiling in the Firebird Bar. Chatter filled the air, along with the scent of cologne and alcohol. Country music spat into the air from the old jukebox and various, tone-deaf patrons sang along. In the far corner, pool tables rumbled and pool balls clacked loudly, punctuated by whoops and hollers. Underfoot, peanut shells cracked beneath Miranda's heeled boots. She maneuvered awkwardly through the crowd, as Naomi languidly traversed the throng. The blonde smiled and gracefully stepped around
the drunken masses. Miranda felt like a bull in a china shop as she stumbled through the bodies, trying to keep an eye on Naomi.
Just as she thought she lost sight of the blonde, the crowd opened up for her like Noah and the Red Sea. Her gaze fell on Naomi, hanging all over her date. Miranda paused, eyeballing the two men. Naomi's date stood tall and broad, with a farmer's tan and long black hair. Handsome, in a rough sort of way. His friend wasn't much different. Tall, rippling muscles, a cocked smirk, but with shorter hair than Naomi's date.
Miranda swallowed her disappointment. She had thought, for a split second, it could be Tyler and his friend. Mentally, she shook the thought out of her head. It was ridiculous to even hold that hope. Plastering on a smile, she trudged through the bar.
“Miranda, this is–”
A flimsy table tumbled near the pool table. A hulking behemoth, with a beer gut to match, flung the matching chair as he snarled, “You're a damn cheat!”
“Hey, don't be a sore loser.” From the throngs surrounding the pool table, a voice laughed. Something in the tone, or, perhaps, a lilt in the voice, caught Miranda's attention. Her gaze snapped to the corner and heat clawed up her neck. “Ladies like me, including Lady Luck.”
The behemoth bristled, “Fuck you, smartass!”
The snap of wood – a broken pool cue - echoed through the air, followed by a ripple of gasps through the crowd. Someone grunted. People dove out of the way and more people started to trade obscenities. The sound of fist impacting on flesh muted the lively air of the bar. Someone skidded across a table close to Miranda. She yelped and stumbled out of the way.
Tyler groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, his sunglasses askew atop his head. As he sat up, his back groaned in protest. He caught sight of Miranda wide, green eyes. She was suddenly breathless next to him, without the counter between them. Shock and delight slammed through him. Tyler covered his surprise, and his pain, with a cheeky grin. “Oh, hey, Mir. What's up?”
Before she could answer, another man picked up yet another chair. He swung it at Tyler just as the redhead slid off the table. Miranda screamed, her heart thrumming, as the chair burst into pieces. Using his weight, Tyler managed to tip the lightweight table up and over his head against his attacker. As his opponent struggled against the stick of furniture, Tyler swept out his feet. The man gave out a yelp and dropped to the boards, the table landed atop his torso.
It seemed Behemoth didn't have too many friends, though. Within the next second, the subtle click-clack of a shotgun being cocked cut through the air. The bar's owner didn't even need to say a word. Behemoth and the man who attacked Tyler were promptly escorted – or, more appropriately, heaved – from the bar.
Tyler couldn't help the smirk that curled at his lips. He turned to Miranda, his slightly buzzed hazed painting a darker flush and bedroom eyes on her face. Adrenaline coursed through her head, freezing her thoughts in place as she tried to make sense of the destruction. Their gazes locked and she steeled herself for his smart-alack comment.
At the same time, she fought against her fluttering heart. Tyler didn't get the chance to say a word, though. Within seconds, bar floozies swarmed him, swinging their arms around him and making husky comments in his ear. They leaned their fleshy, soft bodies against him, as if mere proximity meant a better chance.
“Oh, my God,” squealed Naomi as she sidled up next to Miranda. Her arms looped through her friend's elbow and she leaned close. “You know that psycho?”
Miranda's tongue fumbled around the words. Thousands of answered swarmed her head from an affirmative, to a negative, to something pleasantly vague. She shook her head and forced an airy laugh to her lips, “Ancient history. So, you going to introduce me to my date?”
As the blonde led Miranda away, Tyler watched through his little slew of barflies. The delight that flared when he saw her faltered. She was on a date. A double date. Tyler resisted the urge to scowl and forced himself to turn away from the scene. This was for the best. Miranda deserved better than him.
He tried to take solace in that thought as he wrapped an arm around a pretty brunette who smelled of bourbon.
CHAPTER THREE
As the night wore on, Miranda recognized the signs of a date gone sour. Naomi and her loverboy butted heads over every little thing from song choice to drinks. Miranda's own forced date wasn't so hot either. His eyes kept wandering to skinny, younger ladies, with salon perfect highlights, and long manicured nails. A swell of rejection simmered in Miranda. She suddenly felt dumpy, thanks to her date's wordless distaste in her.
She sighed and fiddled with her empty beer bottle. She fought the urge to swing her gaze, hopefully, around the bar. The last time she caught sight of Tyler, he was the central figure in a dance floor humpfest. A few girls probably took him up on everything he had to offer. Miranda swallowed down her prickly emotions at the mere thought, but she knew she had no right to the feeling. Tyler was his own man.
“Look, I'm just saying this didn't work out,” Naomi's date said, hands flung up in a sign of defeat. His tone held a challenging edge, however. “Why should I blow money on a lady I won't be taking home?”
Naomi's eyebrows rose to her hairline, irritation glittering in her eyes. Her lips twisted into a scowl as she said, with an incredulous shrill, “Uh, because you invited us to this bar, you cheapskate!”
“Sweetcheeks, you got a pretty face and I'm sure you get free booze all the time.” Her date – Josh? Jonah? whatever – snorted as he shook his head. “But I ain't footing your bill tonight.”
“You're an asshole,” snarled Naomi, her face turning a ruddy red as she stood.
Miranda marveled how, even while spitting mad, Naomi seemed to exude grace and beauty. Her friend's irritation was catching, though. Miranda could feel her own temper rising, just beneath the surface. She tried to busy herself by watching the drunken masses writhing on the dance floor. If she and Naomi made a scene, there would be way too many people to relay the gossip all around town. Miranda had her job to think about. Who would want a foul-mouthed she-witch as their bank's manager?
“Hey, no reason to sink money into a profitless investment.” Naomi's date punctuated his sentence with a mirthless chuckle.
Miranda could feel her friend's ire rise. Her own anger itched beneath her skin. Usually, this wasn't such a big deal. However, when he went out of his way to order drinks for them, Miranda felt their irritation justified.
Naomi's shriek pierced through the delightful bubble of heat and chatter in the bar, “What?!”
Unable to contain her rage much longer, Miranda stepped into the conversation. As quietly as she could, Miranda pushed her chair away from the table and stood beside her friend. Catching the blonde by the shoulder, she leaned closer and murmured, “Naomi, let's just buy our drinks and leave.”
Naomi wheeled her enraged gaze on Miranda, who returned the fiery look with a stern glare. Just as Naomi opened her mouth to sputter out an exasperated reply, someone else stepped in. “Is everything all right over here?”
“Yes, it's fine,” snapped Naomi, her face reddening further as she spun on her heel. She stopped as she came face-to-face with a scruffy, leather-clad dirty blonde. Naomi gasped theatrically, her petite hand hovering next to her smile. “Oh, it's you!”
The man nodded, a polite grin on his lips, “And you, angel.”
“Are you following me?” Naomi narrowed her eyes, though her lips wouldn't curl down. She was smitten with this man, if Miranda were any judge.
Her gaze bounced between her friend and the stranger. She had the feeling she had seen his face somewhere else. Her mind itched with curiosity. Where had she seen him before?
“Oh, yes. I'd never ever be caught dead in a place like this,” he answered, his tone thick with sarcasm. A wry smile twisted at his lips and Miranda could see why Naomi was suddenly all smiles. The man wasn't hard on the eyes, that was for sure. When he smiled, his attractiveness was even more evident. His gaze flickered to Naomi and
Miranda's dates, his eyebrows quirking curiously as he brought his gaze back to the blonde. “You sure there's no problem here?”
“Now that you mention it,” Naomi's eyes sparkled with impish glee. Miranda stifled a laugh, watching their lackluster dates from the corner of her eye. Both of them tensed as they fell under the biker's scrutinizing leer. “These two gentlemen,” even Naomi's tongue writhed insincerely around the term, “offered to pay for our drinks before they realized we were incompatible. Now, because it's not a sound investment, they're backing out.”
“Oh, really?” Jack cocked an eyebrow, his grin melting into a rather displeased frown.
The sour date forced a stiff laugh as he dug into his pocket for his wallet. “She's joking! Haha, Naomi, such a kidder.”
