A Life With No Regrets (Fairhope #5) Page 5

  She sucks in a breath and tears her eyes away from the guy standing on the other side of the bar. She shakes her head as if she didn’t even hear me. “What?”

  “You know, that thing you were going to check for in the back?” I ask. I lean close to her ear. “Let me handle this.”

  “I can handle myself,” she says through clenched teeth.

  I have no idea what’s going on, but I’ve never seen her this upset. Who the hell is this guy? And what kind of history do they have together?

  “Bryan, what are you doing here?” she asks. “I told you never to step foot in this bar again, and I meant it.”

  “What are you going to do? Throw me out?” He laughs and slaps the shoulder of the guy standing next to him. They both laugh like it’s the funniest thing anyone’s ever said.

  Yeah, they’ve both had way too much to drink, and I’m losing my patience with this whole situation.

  “You heard the lady,” I say, unable to just stand back and watch this go down. “Why don’t you guys find another place to get yourself a drink? We were just about to close things down for the night.”

  “Bullshit,” Bryan says. “Rob’s doesn’t close until Eleven on Monday nights.”

  “Our schedule just changed,” I say.

  “What’s your problem, man? Who the hell are you, anyway?”

  “I’m the guy who’s giving you one last chance to get the hell out of here before you regret ever walking through that door,” I say. My muscles are tensed, ready to throw the first punch if that’s what it comes to. I’ve been through my fair share of bar fights over the years, and no matter how big they are, drunk guys are always slow.

  Bryan stares at me and a slow smile spreads across his face. There’s something about the look in his eyes that turns my stomach to knots. I know guys like this. They live for causing trouble.

  I may have underestimated him. Shit.

  “You got another thing coming if you think you could lay a hand on me and not regret it for months to come,” he says. “Now go back to minding your own business so I can talk to an old friend.”

  He sits down at the bar stool across from Jo and leans forward. “Come on, Joey. Let’s put the past behind us, what do you say?” He reaches for her hand, but she pulls back. “After all, I’m going to be hanging around town for a while.”

  “What happened? You get kicked out of whatever hole you crawled into last time?” she says. “I told you, Bryan, you’re not welcome here. Get the hell out of my bar.”

  There’s an edge to her voice that scares me. I’m afraid she’s going to reach across the counter and try to beat the crap out of him before I have the chance to do it for her.

  Bryan stares her down, but just when I think something’s about to come to a head, he laughs and lifts his hands up in surrender.

  “I was just teasing you, Joey,” he says. “I missed you, that’s all. But if you want me to go, we’ll go.”

  “I want you to go,” she says through clenched teeth.

  “Okay, but you know where to find me if you change your mind,” he says. “Come on, Jeff, let’s get the hell out of this dump. It’s dead in here, anyway.”

  The two guys get up and stagger to the door. I practically hold my breath until they are out of sight and the door is safely closed behind them.

  I touch Jo’s hand, but she pulls away so fast it makes my stomach hurt.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, although it’s obvious she’s not.

  “I’m fine,” she says. She swallows hard and takes a deep breath that hitches in her chest. “I just need a minute.”

  She heads toward the other end of the bar, and as much as I want to follow her, I decide to leave it alone. She’s obviously upset, and I don’t want to make it worse. Besides, I need to make sure those assholes don’t try to come back in and start something. I’m tempted to lock the door for a while and just tell people we’re closing early.

  Jo disappears into the storeroom, and I lean against the top of the bar, finally letting go of the tense breath I’ve been holding onto since those guys walked through the door.

  What the hell was that all about? Was that guy one of her ex-boyfriends?

  I’ve never once heard her talk about an ex or any other guy that she’s dated, but there surely have been some along the way. And apparently this guy is a memory she was hoping to forget.

  I wish he’d never walked through those doors. And I wish I could go find her and comfort her and make sure she’s okay.

  “Colton, can we get another round over here?” One of our regular couples is sitting at a table in the center of the room, and I give them a nod.

  I pour two more glasses of Jack and Coke for the couple and bring them out to the table, but my mind isn’t on the bar right now. It’s on the woman in the back room going through something I can’t even imagine, and how I wish more than anything that, whatever it is, she would let me help her through it.

  Chapter Eight

  I let the door to the cooler close behind me and lean against it, my hands shaking violently.

  The cold air rushes over my skin as tears pour down my cheeks. I swipe at them, hating that I let that asshole get to me the way he did.

  What is he doing back in town? The day he left I prayed he would run as far away from here as possible and never come back. I honestly thought he’d never be stupid enough to come home. At least not for any prolonged period of time.

  But from what he said, it sounds like he’s back for good.

  What am I going to do?

  I can’t deal with him coming into the bar and giving me hell every night. I don’t think I could survive it.

  And I hate that Colton had to see me so worked up.

  I’ve gotten really good at not letting that kind of emotion show through in front of anyone. I spent a lot of time back then learning how to shove those feelings into a tiny little box in the pit of my stomach and throw away the key.

  Of course there are times when I think about what happened all those years ago, but I was not prepared to see Bryan again. Why did he even come here?

  I shake my head and wipe more tears off my face. He and his brother had obviously been drinking, so somewhere in his hardhead, he must have conjured the idea that it would be fun to come and mess with me a little bit.

  Thank God he left when he did. I was seriously about to smash a bottle of beer on the counter and send the jagged edge of it through his eye. And, even if I had somehow managed to hold onto my cool, I’m pretty sure Colton would have done it for me if things had progressed any further.

  I slide down the door until my butt hits the floor. I wrap my arms around my body and lay my head against them.

  Of course this is when he’d choose to come back to Fairhope. Just when things have been going so well for us here at the bar. Life is good, so of course something has to go terribly wrong. Story of my life, it seems like.

  He looks terrible, too. Worn out, somehow, even for twenty-eight. I have no idea what he’s been up to all these years, and frankly I don’t really care. I just wish he’d stayed there.

  I’m glad my dad wasn’t here tonight, at least. I may have had a hard time keeping it together, but there’s no way Daddy would have been as calm. He’s going to freak out when he hears about this.

  I take deep breaths and wait for my hands to stop trembling. I wait for my heart to stop racing and the tears to stop flowing.

  Everything is going to be okay. He was just drunk and being stupid. I told him I don’t want him coming into the bar, so that’s the last time I’m going to see him in here.

  I tell myself these lies to try to feel better, but deep down I know this isn’t the end of it. Suddenly I’m fifteen-years-old again and scared out of my mind.

  I’m going to have to get an alarm installed at the house. Maybe even one here at the bar. It’s the only way I’ll be able to sleep at night with that guy back in town. He nearly destroyed my life once, and I’ll be damned if I let him do
it again.

  I slowly stand up and take a few more deep breaths before I open the door to the cooler and step back into the hallway. I take a few minutes in the bathroom to make sure my eyes don’t look too red from crying, and I head back into the bar.

  Colton looks up from the book he’s reading, and I can tell he wants to talk about it. But this is one secret I’d rather take to the grave. Daddy and I worked so hard to make sure no one knew about my stupid mistake all those years ago, and I’d rather not start talking about it now.

  I’d much rather go on pretending it never happened.

  He starts to walk over, but I shake my head. He stops short and frowns. I know he just wants to help, but I’m beyond help right now. I need time to clear my head and come up with a plan. I need to talk to my dad and figure out how we’re going to handle this.

  Bryan-Freaking-Thompson is back in town to stay.

  I suddenly realize that pretending it never happened is no longer going to be an option.

  Chapter Nine

  I have been looking forward to Sunday all week, and as I pull up to the lake house, I feel every muscle in my body relax. Last night was another killer night for the bar, and I’m looking forward to a day of rest and fun at the lake.

  Daddy thinks I’ve been working too hard, but I don’t want anything to mess up this streak of good business we’ve been having lately. He suggested I hire a few more people to work the bar, but ever since he gave me more responsibility in running the place, it’s been hard to let go of my control and let someone else run it for the night. Even when Knox is there on my night off, I still stress out that something will go wrong. I usually end up making the short walk from our house to check on things, anyway.

  We don’t usually open up until six on Saturdays, which is nice, but we’re open at five on the weekdays. On my evenings off, I often have some kind of catering event planned, so it’s never really a night off. I cherish my Sundays more than anything these days.

  The weather has been brutal this summer with temperatures in the hundreds, so the fact that the forecast said to expect a high of seventy-eight today makes me almost giddy with excitement.

  Knox and Leigh Anne are setting things up in the kitchen when I arrive, my hands full of groceries.

  “Am I the first one here?” I ask. I’m surprised because Daddy left the house at least half an hour before I did. He said he needed to get gas and pick up a few things, but I still thought he’d beat me out here.

  Knox gives me a brief hug and helps me unpack the bags of food. “I cannot wait to taste your new recipe,” he says.

  “I spent most of the summer perfecting it, so I really think you’ll like it,” I say.

  “What is it?” Leigh Anne asks.

  “A new coleslaw recipe,” I say. “I made a huge batch yesterday morning. If you like it, I’ll leave some here for you.”

  “Mmmm. This is freaking amazing.” I turn and see that Knox has already located the coleslaw and dipped his spoon into it.

  “Hey, that’s supposed to be for lunch,” I say. “Get your grubby hands out of my slaw.”

  I grab the container from him and cover it back up, sticking it in the fridge.

  “I was eating that,” he protests.

  “Which is why I took it from you.” I grab the spoon from his hand and wave it at him. “No sampling the food before everyone is here and the whole meal is ready to go.”

  I set a pan on the stove, and when I turn around again, I see that Knox has opened another container and is sniffing the contents.

  “Knox!” I sigh. “Leigh Anne, can you control your boyfriend for me, please? He’s going to ruin his appetite.”

  Leigh Anne laughs and throws her hands up. “I can never control him around your food,” she says. “It’s your own fault for making everything so delicious.”

  “Is this the sauce for the ribs?” he asks. “I’ve been dying for this recipe. When are you going to share it with me?”

  “No way.” I pull the container out of his hands and he frowns. “Secret family recipe.”

  “I am your family,” he says. He quickly dips his spoon into the sauce and sneaks a taste before I can pull it away. “Is that cinnamon? I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  Leigh Anne swats him with the back of her hand. “Leave Joey’s food alone,” she says. “Be good.”

  “I absolutely will not,” he says, his eyes narrowed, but playful. “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

  I shake my head. “You’re completely hopeless.”

  He smiles. “I just love good food. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Come on, help me get the ribs in the oven,” I say. “They’re going to need a good hour in here and then we’ll take them out to the grill.”

  “Sounds good,” he says.

  I look out the window and frown. “You haven’t heard anything from Dad yet?”

  “No. Want me to call him?” Knox asks as he loads the ribs into the oven.

  “I guess not,” I say. “I don’t want to call when he’s driving. I’m sure he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

  “He probably just saw someone he knows in town and is talking their ear off,” Knox says.

  “What else can we do to help?” Leigh Anne asks.

  I put her to work chopping vegetables while Knox goes out to load some beer into his cooler. We talk about how things have been going with school and how she’s feeling now that her trial is finally over.

  If someone had told me two years ago that I’d be hanging out here at the abandoned lake house with Leigh Anne Davis. I never would have believed them. We’d been friends for a while back in elementary and middle school, but we drifted off once high school started and all the little cliques separated into rich and not rich. Popular and not popular. I was definitely in the not popular crowd, and Leigh Anne was queen of the richies.

  I thought she was such a stuck-up snob back then, but she had either changed or I had completely misjudged her. These days, I wasn’t sure I had a closer friend.

  “Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you guys. I’ll be right back,” I say, remembering the belated birthday present I’d bought for Leigh Anne.

  I run out the back door to retrieve it from my car and see the familiar sideways smile of Colton Tucker as he pulls up in his truck, country music blasting. He parks next to me and leans his arm out the window.

  “Hello, gorgeous,” he says. “I hope I’m not too early.”

  “Not at all. Leigh Anne and Knox are inside,” I say. “I just came out to grab a gift I brought for Leigh Anne.”

  “Were we supposed to bring something?” he asks. He smiles and holds up his left hand. “All I brought was a six pack of beer.”

  I shake my head. “No, I’ve had this for a while and just haven’t had a chance to get out here and give it to her,” I say. “Come on, let’s get inside. I’ll put you to work in the kitchen.”

  I glance down the red clay drive that leads out to the main road.

  “You didn’t happen to see my daddy anywhere did you? He left before me and he’s not here yet.”

  “No, I didn’t see him,” he says. “Did you try calling him?”

  I shrug. “I’m sure he’s fine,” I say, and reach in the car to grab the wrapped gift on the passenger seat. When I straighten, I notice Colton’s been studying my backside. I give him a look to let him know I’ve caught him ogling, but he just tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow. He gives me that half-smile of his that gets my heart racing every time.

  Why does my body insist on betraying me every time he’s around? Most of the time, he aggravates the mess out of me, but for some reason, when he gives me that certain look, my insides catch fire.

  I spin on my heel and head toward the house, determined to give him absolutely no encouragement.

  Inside, the smell of ribs and baked beans fills the house, and I inhale deeply.

  “It smells amazing in here,” Colton says, com
ing in right behind me.

  He’s uncomfortably close, so I move deeper into the kitchen and place my gift on the table.

  “Hey, Leigh Anne,” he says, pulling her into a hug. “What are you guys cooking?”

  “Not us,” Leigh Anne says, hugging him back. “Joey. She’s the cook around here. Trust me when I say that no one wants to eat my cooking. Not until I can convince Joey to give me a few lessons.”

  “Wow, Joey, I had no idea,” Colton says, my high school nickname rolling off his tongue with a sly smile.

  “Jo, okay? Leigh Anne gets a pass because she actually knew me as Joey growing up,” I say, putting a finger against his chest. “But to you, I’m Jo.”

  “Okay, Boss, whatever you say.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, and press my hand harder into his chest, backing him up toward the counter until he hits it and stops abruptly.

  He’s laughing so hard, I’m having a hard time holding onto my serious I-mean-business face.

  “I am not going to let you get under my skin today, do you hear me?”

  His lips stretch up into that familiar smile. “I get under your skin?” he asks.

  Crap. I did not just admit that out loud.

  I groan. “No, that’s not what I meant,” I say, fumbling my words and walking away. “I just mean you’re not going to start today.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” he says, grabbing a carrot from the cutting board.

  I turn back to stir the sauce, hoping he can’t tell that I’m blushing. My entire face is flushed and warm.

  “Why don’t you head out back with Knox and do manly things together?” I say. “Make him take you out to his shop and show you what he’s working on or something.”

  “You’re the boss,” he says.

  I turn around, my eyes widening. He just isn’t going to let up, is he?

  He meets my eyes and winks, and I swear I just want to jump over the island and wring his neck.

  Which of course brings to mind an image of us jumping on the island together and making out. What the heck is wrong with my brain?

  I shake my head and try to push these images from my head. I don’t know what is wrong with me lately. After my run-in with Bryan the other night, I made a specific effort to avoid Colton most of the week. I just didn’t want to deal with all the questions I know he wanted to ask. I switched a couple shifts with Knox and didn’t really have to spend much time with Colton until last night.