Be Here Now: A Cedar Creek Novel (10 page)

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow. You want in on the interviews?”

I shook my head. “Nah, you can handle it. Or call my dad. You know he’s good at reading people.” Chris nodded.

“I call dibs on the bar,” I said. I pulled my keys to the office out of my pocket and unlocked the door.

“We’ll send Mark out on the floor. Give him a break from the bar,” Chris suggested. I chuckled. Apart from the waitresses who were hired to do just that, none of us bartenders liked working the floor. I would usually give in and wait a few tables or at least clear empties to help keep up, but I wasn’t in the mood today. Chris never waited tables. He hated it. And being my second in command, he had the authority to send Mark out to do the dirty work.

Mark realized that as soon as we made it back and joined him behind the bar. “Shit,” he grumbled, gave Chris and me a glare that made me chuckle again, and stomped out towards Cindy to divvy up tables. I took the far side of the bar while Chris started taking orders on his side.

“Hey Lore!” I looked down the bar and saw Macy and Larry sitting at the far end. Macy was waving at me, her face split into a grin, which made me smile as I walked towards them.

“Hey guys! What brings you to Cooper’s on a Sunday night?”

“I needed a break from the rugrats, but didn’t want to go too far just in case. I finally stopped nursing, so I begged Larry to take me out for drinks.”

I raised my eyebrows at Larry. “She begged you, huh?” Larry grinned at me. Macy was known for being a little crazy. She was sweet, but she could be quite the ballbuster if you crossed her or hurt the people she cared about. What she was not known for, was begging.

“She’ll be begging me for way more than a drink before the night is over.”

I started laughing when Macy slapped her husband’s arm. “Larry!” Larry looked at his wife.

“Am I not right?” He asked. Macy rolled her eyes.

“So, tell me what’s new in your life? The baby kept me so busy I’m completely out of the loop. It feels like we haven’t talked in ages.”

Macy was one of my newer friends. She was a townie like me but was a few years older, so we didn’t have the same circle of friends. I had always liked her. There was a lot to like: she was open and caring and loyal and crazy in a funny way. But it wasn’t until Cal hooked up with Ivey that I got to know her better. Macy was Ivey’s best friend, and since Ivey and I had become closer since last fall, I had also gotten closer to Macy. She was part of the package, so to speak. You know how when you meet some people and know almost from the second you talk to them that you’ll get along great? That’s what happened with Ivey and Macy and I.

Before I could answer her question, Rick sat down next to Larry. He looked much better than he had last night.

“Hey,” I greeted him as I walked to the cooler to get him a beer.

“Hey, Lore. How you doin’?” He asked, his voice warm.

Rick had been one of the first ones on scene when Jesse and I had been in the accident. He had been the one to hold me in his arms when Jesse was being worked on. He didn’t say anything, knowing there was nothing to say, but had just held me silently, waiting, while I sobbed and cried and screamed. He had kept holding me when Jesse was pronounced dead on scene, when I had collapsed in his arms, too overwhelmed by the pain and sorrow and loss to stay on my feet. He had held me in his strong arms until my dad and Cal and then Pete got there.

He had also been one of the ones who had tried to help me through the loss, who had phoned me regularly, stopped by the bar just to check on me. In the beginning, I hadn’t let him help me though, like I had let nobody help me back then. But he had never given up, had always made it clear that he was there for me. Just like he did now.

“Good. Okay,” I answered him, my voice just as warm. “You’re looking better.”

“I am, thank you. Do me a favor, pour the four of us a shot. Tequila.”

“I’ll pour you three. You know I don’t drink when I’m working,” I said while I reached for the Tequila bottle and grabbed three shot glasses. I flipped them expertly and poured the drinks.

“You’ll make an exception this time. We’re toasting to Jesse.” Rick told me in a quiet voice full with meaning. My head shot up from watching what I was doing to meet his. He gave me a quick and reassuring nod. I smiled a small and grateful smile, reached for another shot glass, filled it, and lifted it. Rick, Larry, and Macy followed my lead and lifted theirs.

“To Jesse,” I whispered.

“To Jesse,” they repeated. Then we all downed the shot together and slammed the glasses on the bar almost in synchronization when we were done.

That felt good.

I grinned at Rick. He grinned back at me. Then his eyes took on a teasing glint. “I’m on the top of my game tonight, so you better watch out,” he said before he put the bottle of beer to his lips and took a swig.

I laughed and shook my head at him.

“You still haven’t talked her into going out with you, Rick? You’re losing your touch,” Macy said mockingly.

“I’m working on it. I’m a patient man.”

“I’d say,” Macy mumbled. Larry chuckled. I just kept shaking my head. “Throw the man a bone, Lore. He deserves a reward for being so persistent.”

I looked from Macy to Larry and back to Rick, who was watching me intently.

Then I heard my name shouted from Chris’ end of the bar. Only Chris wasn’t there. “Hey, Loreley, you think you can stop flirting with the detective for long enough to get a paying customer another drink or what?” My good mood instantly disappeared as I saw who it was.

Brad. He was a complete and total asshole and he had tried to bring trouble to the bar on more than one occasion. I had to give it to him, he was extremely good looking— about ten years ago. Now, you could see that the glorious days of the former high school hotshot quarterback were long gone. He went to school with Cal and Rick, so I’ve seen him play back then. He could have been something great. Got a full ride to UCLA, but got kicked off the team when he was busted at a party and arrested for possession during junior year. Stupid. So very stupid. But he wasn’t only that. He was also a total douchebag.

One look at him now and I could see he was in rare form. Apparently, so could Rick. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that he was getting up from his stool. His eyes were fixed on Brad and he did not look happy. Not happy as in
seriously
not happy and ready to rip into Brad.

I put a hand on his arm to get his attention, shaking my head at him when I had it. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with a jerk.”

I could tell he didn’t like that, but he sat down nevertheless, letting me do what I needed to do in my place of business.

I strode over to Brad, making sure I put some extra swagger into it while I had my narrowed eyes fixed on his face. It was both a challenge and a warning at the same time, to let him know I wouldn’t take any of his bullshit. When I reached him, I leaned my hands on the bar and moved close to him. His eyes went to my cleavage and I had to stop myself from gagging.

“Warning, Brad. Don’t push me,” I told him in a low voice.

His eyes came back to my face and I must have not done a very good job of hiding my disgust, since his jaw clenched and his face turned into a sneer.

“Looks like our fancy big city detective is finally going to get lucky tonight.”

God, he was such an asshole.

I leaned in closer, threateningly, and hissed under my breath, “Listen, asshole, I get that you’re unhappy with your life, but don’t come to my bar and take it out on me. You want a beer? I’ll get you a beer. And it even comes with some free advice: if you hate your life so much, maybe you should try and be a little friendlier and nicer to people instead of being a complete douchebag all the time.”

At that, Brad’s right hand shot out and he grabbed my left wrist, pulling me in closer across the bar that separated us until I could smell the beer and cigarettes on his breath.

Disgusting.

“You think I should be friendlier? I’ll show you exactly how friendly I can be,” he whispered as he leered at my cleavage again.

Gross.

I didn’t deign to reply and tried to pull my wrist from his grip. “Let go,” I said when he didn’t. His grip tightened to the point of pain and he pulled me in closer. “Let go, Brad,” I told him again but stopped pulling since that would only make it hurt more.

“No,” he said and before I could react, he pressed his lips roughly to mine. I reared my head back and swung up my right arm, using the heel of my hand to hit the bottom of his nose with the upward motion. Brad let go of me and stumbled back, his hand going to his now bleeding nose.

“You fucking bitch! You broke my nose!”

I glared at him while I rubbed my left wrist with my right hand and cradled it against my chest. I was going to have a bruise there.

“Get out of my bar, Brad.”

“Fuck you!” He yelled. He made as if to advance on me but was stopped by, I was shocked to see, Jason, who was now standing in front of him with a hand on Brad’s chest, pushing him back. Chris was right there with him, glaring at Brad, his hands clenched into tight fists at his side. And so were Rick and Larry.

“Out,” Jason growled.

My initial shock at seeing Jason coming to my rescue turned into irritation at seeing him here. “Go away, Jason. I can handle it. I don’t need you to rescue me.”

He didn’t turn his eyes from Brad as he answered me. “I saw that. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna teach this asshole a lesson for putting his hands on you.” His voice was low and growly with rage.

“Thanks, but I don’t need or want your help. As you can see, I have more than enough friends who’ll do that for me. You can leave now.”

Brad stumbled backwards when Jason gave him another push in the direction of the front door, but caught himself and tried to push past the four men, showing again how very stupid he was.

“I think you’re forgetting that I’m a cop, Brad. A cop who saw you touch a woman against her will. You gotta be very careful right now,” Rick warned him.

“
I
gotta be careful? She assaulted me! That fucking bitch broke my nose!”

“Yeah, and she had every right to since you wouldn’t let her go when she asked you to. Now, let’s go outside before I have to arrest you.” Brad threw me another glare before he turned around and stalked out the door, followed by not only Rick, but Chris, Jason, and Larry as well.

Great.

I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with the police now and press charges or something like that, because Rick was involved.

“You’re covered in blood, honey,” I heard Macy say. She was standing next to me behind the bar.

I looked down at myself. There were blood splatters all over the front of my shirt.

Great. Blood was a bitch to get out.

“Shit,” I said, “thanks to that asshole, one of my favourite shirts is now ruined.”

Then I lifted my right hand, the one I’d hit Brad with, and saw that it was also covered in blood; my left hand was fine, but my wrist had red welts all around it. I flinched when I turned it. It stung.

“You need to put ice on that.” Macy walked me over to the ice chest, grabbed a towel, wrapped some ice in it and pressed it gently to my wrist. I flinched again.

“There you go. That’s a mean right hook you’ve got there. Think you can teach me that?”

I smiled at her. “Sure.”

She smiled back at me. “Who was that Jason guy? I’ve never seen him around town before,” she asked as she started to dab at the blood on my shirt.

I sighed. “That’s a long story.”

Macy studied me for a few long moments before she went back to dabbing and said, “Soon, you, me, and Ivey. Girls’ night. No arguing.” As if I would.

“Ivey is gonna hate the fact that she won’t be able to drink,” I said through a snicker. Macy shrugged, but I could see her smiling. “It’s her turn. I’ve been benched three times. It’s payback time.”

JASON

Jason was sitting in the far corner of the bar at a table. It was crowded enough that Loreley wouldn’t see him but he could watch her. It looked like she was having a good time with her friends. He watched as she laughed and smiled and shared a drink, as they toasted to something he was too far away to hear.

Seeing her smile and have fun with her friends like that made his chest burn with jealousy. He wanted to be the one who made her smile like that, happy like that, the one she would look at with her beautifully warm and sparkling eyes. It took everything in him to stay in his seat as he witnessed the familiarity between her and the guy who was sitting closest to her. He could tell by the looks they were exchanging that they were close, that they liked each other. He could also tell that the guy wanted in her pants.

“Hi, my name is Ashley. What can I get you tonight?” He heard a smooth and silky voice ask him. He turned his head and saw a waitress was standing next to him. When he didn’t answer, she leaned in closer, showing him her cleavage. Jason ignored the boobs that were practically in his face and grunted, “Beer. Heineken. Bottle. No glass.” Then his eyes went back to the bar, to Loreley, dismissing the waitress.

Less than a minute later, he felt eyes on him. Glancing down the bar, he saw the waitress leaning across the counter, both her and Chris’ eyes were on him. The waitress’ were miffed. Chris’ were furious.

Shit.

His plan had been to find a quiet moment to talk to Chris, maybe when he went in the back or after they closed. But it looked like he wasn’t going to get that. Chris said something to the waitress without taking his eyes off him then he lifted the partition, strode around the bar, and marched towards him, his eyes heated with fury, his face set in a mask of rage.

“You’ve got balls, I give you that,” he seethed as he arrived at his table.

Jason knew he had to play this a certain way if he wanted the answers from Chris he so desperately needed. He couldn’t antagonize him. He needed his help. So instead of meeting Chris’ anger with his own as he usually would, he schooled his face into a neutral mask and said, “Like I told Loreley last night, I’m not leaving until she talks to me.”