One Last Call

by Susan Behon

  “For right now, it’s all good. Anythin’ happens, I’ll deal with it then.” He nodded toward Sarah’s Mini Cooper. “I’m more worried about someone tryin’ somethin’ else to hurt her.”

  “We finally got a sheriff who knows his ass from a hole in the ground, so I’m thinkin’ Seth will do all he can to catch whoever messed with Sarah’s car.” Kenny leaned over the ruined power steering pump, loosening the mount bolts. “Think you can keep an eye out for her without pissin’ her off?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be keepin’ an eye on her. That I can promise.” Josh couldn’t help grinning. “I can’t guarantee not pissin’ her off.”

  His dad gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah, you’ll have that.”

  Kenny’s cell phone rumbled against the lid on his tool chest. It vibrated in jittery little bursts of movement while his dad stared at it. He peeked over at Josh.

  Josh gave a playful groan. “Go on and answer it. Never keep a lady waitin’.”

  “I s’pose you finally smartened up and learned that yourself?” Kenny wiped his hand on a rag and snatched up his phone. He looked like a kid at Christmas when he saw who was texting him. Had to be Lucy.

  “I guess that blow to the head knocked some sense into me.”

  “Glad somethin’ did. You knew she wasn’t gonna wait around forever, Josh.”

  “She wasn’t waitin’ for me.”

  “Sarah was waitin’ for you, boy. She just didn’t know it.”

  “So, are you sayin’ it was fate?”

  “Couldn’t say. Maybe. Who the hell knows? Listen, I’m gonna offer you some advice.”

  Josh waited for some fatherly words of wisdom. All he got was, “For the love of God, son, don’t screw it up.”

  Chapter 11

  SARAH was trying to remember why she’d ever hired that waitress, Kelly. Sure, she was beautiful, with a model-perfect body and long, wavy blonde hair. She also had big boobs which helped her get big tips. Sarah was betting those big boobs of hers were going to tip her over soon if she didn’t get them out of Josh’s face. The music wasn’t that loud. Kelly didn’t need to lean over and get cleavage to chin with him. There was also not a damn thing wrong with the woman’s hearing.

  “That chick’s had some work done. If you look closely you can see her dark roots too.” Her sister, Sophie, was sitting on a padded stool across the shellacked oak bar from Sarah and providing commentary. She tore her gaze from boobapalooza to talk to Sophie.

  “She’s a good waitress.” That’s right. That was why she’d hired her. It was hard to remember through the green fog of jealousy taking over her brain. It was sweet of her sister to downplay Kelly’s looks for her sake. They both knew better.

  “She’s good at flirting.” Sophie took a sip of her amaretto sour and watched the exchange with Sarah.

  Josh, looking yummy in a black T-shirt and well-worn jeans, was slouched back in his chair with that good ol’ boy grin on his face. Kelly leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He lost his smile for a second before laughing.

  What the hell is so damned funny?

  “She probably told him she was a natural blonde.” Sophie had a secret snarky side that she only showed to Sarah and her best friend, Tracy. Usually, it was when she felt someone had done something wrong or mean to someone else.

  Sarah laughed at her sister’s jab. “Personally, I don’t care to find out.”

  “Neither does Josh by the look on his face. If you ask me, he’s trying to be polite. If he leans back any farther, he’s going to be on the floor.” Sophie nodded, agreeing with herself. “He’s not attracted to her. Besides, you do have the natural blonde thing going for you.”

  “So do you. Does Reed care?”

  Sophie blushed a rosy shade of red. “Um, it’s never come up. I mean, he knows I am, because well…you know.” She cleared her throat. “Reed’s never said anything about it.”

  Sarah had seen enough of Kelly hitting on Josh. She shifted her full attention to her sister. “You know, Soph, I should charge you full price for those potato skins.”

  Sophie held her appetizer aloft, halfway to her mouth. “What? Why?”

  Sarah made sure her other bartender, Ally, was on the far side of the bar before she answered. “When were you going to tell me Josh lived above the bakery?”

  “Oh!” Sophie took a delicate sip of her drink. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m sure I did. Come to think of it, I’m positive I did.”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Sis, you’re a terrible liar.”

  Sophie’s grin was unrepentant. “I know.”

  “So, spill it.” Sarah tugged the plate of food away from her sister.

  Sophie pulled it back toward herself and took an enormous bite of her crispy bacon and melted cheddar cheese laden potato for extra measure. Once she took her time chewing and taking another sip of her cocktail, she stopped procrastinating. “Okay, so he moved in a few months ago. The place has been empty for a while so it’s a good thing someone rented it, considering that brand-new ceiling and the beautiful carpet Ben installed, it would be a shame…”

  “Sophie, I already know about the apartment. More about the renter.”

  “Like I said, Josh moved in a few months ago. He’s hardly home during the day. When he is, he doesn’t play his music too loud or stomp around where we can hear it.”

  “That’s it? He’s a considerate tenant? That’s all you’ve got for me?”

  Sophie pulled her plate a little closer. “I wasn’t finished. He comes down to our shops once a day to get a chocolate chip cookie. That’s all he gets, one cookie. I guess I’m used to Keith inhaling all the inventory. Only one cookie for a guy Josh’s size seems strange, don’t you think?”

  “I have no idea. What does he say when he comes in?”

  “You mean, does he ask about you?” Sophie said the “you” in a drawn-out singsong voice.

  “No!” Sarah wiped down the bar with distracted swipes of her bar towel. “Okay, yes. Maybe I want to know that.”

  “Do you want to know the truth?”

  “No, Sophie, lie to me.” Sarah couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “You suck at it, so just tell me anyway.” She mixed another cocktail, threw in some extra maraschino cherries, and set it in front of her sister. “You know it’s on the house, Sis.” Sarah felt bad getting bitchy with her.

  Sophie leaned in so she wouldn’t be heard by the other customers. She radiated excitement, knowing she was about to dish the good stuff. “Sarah, he asks about you every day. Every day, he buys a cookie, makes idle chitchat, then asks, ‘How’s Sarah?’”

  “What do you tell him?”

  “I tell him that things are looking up since your Internet porn career took off.”

  “Sophie!”

  “I’m joking, but really, he hints about the state of your love life. He mostly wants to know if you’re dating anyone.”

  “I’m sure Mom probably told him all about it.”

  “I think that Josh double-checks with me. It’s kind of sweet. After he asks, it seems like he braces himself for bad news, then he relaxes when he hears there’s no one. I mean, no one right now.” Sophie bit her lip at her slip up.

  “It’s okay, Sophie. It’s not a secret that I’m single.” Lately she didn’t have the energy to put any effort into dating.

  “Josh has been single too. As far as I know, there haven’t been any women. Tracy and I haven’t seen him bring anyone home with him. I think he’s waiting for you.”

  “I think he’s done waiting.” Sarah had taken care of that.

  Sophie didn’t hide her disappointment. “You mean he’s giving up on you?”

  Sarah motioned for Sophie to come closer. “I mean he kissed me today.”

  “He kissed you?” Her sister raised her voice in her excitement.

  “Shhh! Geez. Yes. Don’t broadcast it.” She looked around to make sure the patrons were caught
up in their own conversations. “Actually, I kissed him first.”

  “And?” Sophie practically bounced on her barstool, waiting for an answer.

  “And what?”

  “And, what’s the verdict on Josh Logan?”

  “Jury’s still out.” The jury’s still out talking about what a hot kisser Josh is.

  Sophie shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think by the way you’ve been glaring at Server Barbie, you’ve already claimed him.”

  “Maybe.” Hell, yes.

  “Whatevs.”

  “Whatevs? Have you been listening to Meg Malone and her friends again?”

  “Maybe.” Which clearly meant, yes.

  Meg Malone was Sophie and Tracy’s teenage bakery assistant. Sophie tried to keep up to date by trying out the latest slang.

  Kelly slithered up to the bar in a cloud of heavy floral perfume with her tray and order pad. “Sarah, I need a Bud Light.”

  “Is that it?” Kelly normally rattled off the drink orders and propped herself against the bar in an alluring pose while she waited for them to be filled.

  “No, that one’s for the yummy guy with that sexy southern thing going on. I wanted to make sure he got his first.” Sarah just bet Kelly wanted to make sure Josh got his. The waitress listed the other drinks while scanning the crowd, probably for backup prospects.

  Sarah poured the beer and placed the last of the drinks, a vodka cranberry, on the tray. She set the bottle of Bud Light to the side.

  Kelly reached over the bar to grab the bottle. “Hey, I need that one for the cowboy.”

  Good luck with that. Sarah nudged it a tad farther away. “Go on. I’ve got this one. He’s an old friend of mine.”

  “An old dear friend of hers,” Sophie chimed in.

  Sarah leveled a “cool it” look at her sister, though she appreciated the backup.

  Kelly’s face went blank until the lightbulb lit. “Ohhhh! I get it, boss. You like him like him?” She raked Sarah with a bored once-over. “That’s cute. Let me know how that goes.”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Customers are waiting, Kelly. Get to it.”

  Server Barbie hefted her tray and set off for Josh’s table. Sarah managed to keep herself from checking the mirror behind the bar to make sure her hair hadn’t slipped out of her ponytail or that her clothes were stained from work. She wouldn’t give Kelly the satisfaction.

  “That’s cute? Did you notice that she has lipstick on her teeth?” Sophie glared at Kelly’s perfect, condescending ass. “When’s that new waitress supposed to start?”

  They watched her deliver the drinks with a flirty flash of teeth and a wink. Kelly pouted when she got to Josh. She pointed to the bar and murmured something Sarah and Sophie couldn’t lip-read. Josh sidestepped Kelly with an absent nod and made his way to the bar. He slid onto the stool next to Sophie and took his beer from Sarah. “Thanks for savin’ me, sunshine. I thought I was gonna go blind.” He blew out an exaggerated sigh of relief, then smiled at her sister. “Hey there, Miss Sophie. Where’s Reed?”

  Sophie checked her phone. “He’s meeting me in a little while. We couldn’t get a hold of Mom to see if she would babysit Brandon, so Reed’s seeing if his mom is available.”

  That was mildly alarming. “You couldn’t get a hold of Mom? Why didn’t you say something? I thought she said she’d watch him tonight?”

  “She did. Now she isn’t answering her phone.” Sophie scrolled through her texts.

  Sarah had never known Lucy not to answer a call. “Do you think she’s okay?”

  Josh took a swig of his beer. “If I had to guess, I’d say she’s fine.” He pulled out his cell phone and typed out a text to someone. A few seconds later, Sarah and Sophie’s phones went off at the same time.

  Sarah let out her own sigh of relief. “It’s from Mom. She said that she made other plans and sorry she forgot.”

  Sophie took a peek at Josh’s cell screen. “Is she with your dad, Josh?”

  “Hold on, Sis, you knew?” Did everyone except Sarah know about Lucy and Kenny?

  Sophie straightened in surprise. “You didn’t?”

  “I just found out about it.” Sarah’s phone went off again. Thinking it was a follow-up text from her mom, she was taken off guard when she saw it was from Richard.

  ~ Call me

  Nope. Sarah deleted the text and was about to slip her phone in the pocket of her shorts when it went off again. She glanced at the screen.

  ~ I miss you. Please call me. I want to hear your voice.

  Um, no. Hell, no.

  She deleted that text and instantly got another with a link to a YouTube video of their wedding song. Is this guy for real? Not only was he inappropriate, he’d already forgotten that she hated that song.

  “Is it Dick?” Josh was watching her with his eyes narrowed, and that gorgeous jawline clenched.

  “Richard, and yes.”

  “What’s he sayin’ to put that puckered look on your face?” He set his elbows on the bar and canted forward with interest. His tattoo played peek-a-boo with his short shirt sleeve. Hints of black and gold flirted with exposure. Tattoos normally didn’t do anything for her, but on Josh, it was a massive turn-on. She’d already spun a fantasy or two about it. Sarah was beginning to get a weird fascination with finding out what it was. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time.

  “He misses me and wants to hear my voice.” Sarah whispered it, hoping the world wouldn’t find out that her ex-husband was trying to woo her, creeper style.

  “Tell him to go get bent.”

  “Sophie!”

  “She’s right. Tell the dick to go get bent.” Josh was on board with her sister.

  “If I respond, that will only encourage him.” Like feeding a stray tom cat.

  “Let me respond. I never liked that guy.” Sophie made a grab for Sarah’s cell.

  Sarah held it away from her. “Now everyone is telling me they didn’t like Richard? It would have been more helpful to know that before I married the creep.”

  “You seemed content with him.” Sophie sat on the stool again and swirled the ice around in her drink.

  Content. There was that word again. Content, meaning bland and boring. Satisfied with just enough without any greater expectations. Sarah wasn’t going to settle for content ever again. Her heart kicked in her chest when her gaze met Josh’s cobalt blue eyes. They were intent on Sarah, clearly relaying his attraction to her. Nothing with Josh had ever been bland or boring. She’d never been merely content with him. No, she’d been alive.

  Another text came through.

  ~ I need you

  Sarah shut her phone off. She had to get karaoke started anyway. She didn’t need the hassle of a demented ex-husband with reality issues.

  * * * *

  Josh wanted to have a long and painful talk with Richard Alan. He was upsetting Sarah, which in turn, pissed Josh off.

  “You keep watching her like you’re afraid she’ll disappear.” Sophie nudged him with her shoulder. Sarah was behind the DJ table, talking to Grant. The kid normally washed dishes and bussed tables, but once a month, he made extra cash taking charge of karaoke. He couldn’t be more than eighteen, with a large frame that hadn’t quite filled out yet. His white T-shirt hung off the knobs of his shoulders. With his floppy mop of black hair and his soulful eyes, he reminded Josh of an overgrown puppy.

  Josh and Sophie had moved back to the table when her husband, Reed showed up with an apology and a scorching kiss. Guess married life isn’t boring for them.

  Josh gave a quick sideways glance at Sarah’s sister. They had the same sunny blonde hair and emerald green eye color, except where Sophie was petite and pixie-like, Sarah was taller and looked deceptively like the innocent girl next door. Josh was glad that he was privileged enough to know better.

  Chris King was there, strategically sitting far away from Fiona. Josh wanted to shake him or smack him upside the skull
so he could have some sense knocked into him too.

  Chris narrowed his eyes. “That’s not how he’s looking at her. Josh’s looking at her like she’s a juicy steak and he wants to chow down.” Chris nailed it. Josh was smart enough not to agree with him.

  Keith Sutton rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, glancing from Sarah to him. “I gotta say it, Josh. Man, I like you, but Sarah is like a sister to me. If you’re planning on a one-and-done, forget it. You break her heart again, and I’ll break…you.”

  “Same,” was a chorus given by Reed, Chris, and even Ben Carrington, who normally didn’t say much. Josh wasn’t surprised when Sophie, Tracy, Sabrina, and Fiona agreed with them. Hell hath no fury and all that.

  What could he say? If he had a sister or an honorary sister, he would have dispensed the same warning. Sarah was special to them. She sure as hell was special to Josh too. “Understood. I’d kick my own ass before hurtin’ her again.”

  Keith leaned back in a careless sprawl against his chair. “Hey, just saying. Tell you what, if it comes down to it, I’ll be a good sport and let you get the first punch in.”

  Why, so I can break my freakin’ hand on him? Josh wasn’t used to someone being bigger than him, but hell, Keith was bigger than everyone.

  “Keith Sutton, don’t you go being a bully!” Sabrina was next to him, managing to look cute and feisty while plowing through an appetizer platter. She stopped long enough to yell at him. “At least let him have a chance with Sarah before you start planning ways to hurt him.”

  Keith sat back, clearly amused. “You know. I have a better idea. You hurt Sarah and I’ll sic my wife on you. Don’t let her size fool you. When she gets her Irish up, it’s best to run and hide.”

  Chris took interest in that and taunted him. “You afraid of your wife, Keith?”

  Keith retaliated. “You bet. Never piss off a redhead with an Irish temper. Never mind, I guess you already know that.”

  Fiona, Sabrina’s twin and equally redheaded sister, shot up, excused herself, and left for the bathroom.

  “Keith?” Sabrina had a smile for her husband.