Page 73 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell

Her thoughts were interrupted by Buck and Connie opening up the glass double doors and stepping inside.

Gracie smiled warmly at them. “Hey, Buck. Hey, Connie. Where you off to today?”

Buck gave her a grin that stretched his whole face and exposed his gapped teeth. “Gracie Lou, I’m taking my sweet Connie up to Stanley for a little romantic trip. We need two of those really good caramel mochas you talked us into last time.”

“You got it.” Gracie finished their transaction quickly. “All right, I’ll have those drinks right up for you.”

Buck moved over to look at a couple of travel mugs, and Connie lingered, watching Gracie with a stern expression that made her uneasy.

“Something on your mind, Connie?” Gracie asked.

The older woman hesitated before finally speaking bluntly. “You know I like you a lot, Gracie.”

Gracie had a feeling there was a large “but” just waiting to attach itself to that sentence. Connie Henderson had total “but” face. “Thank you, Connie. You know I’ve always liked you too.”

Connie leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “I know it’s not my place, God knows my sons are both grown men, but Eric mentioned he hasn’t seen you recently.”

Gracie swallowed, cursing Eric for talking to his mother about her avoidance. “Really?”

Connie’s mouth dipped down into a frown. “Which I find strange, since the two of you seemed really good the last time I saw you together.”

“I’ve just been really busy here and with my parents in town. I shot him a text this morning and planned to call him when I got off.”

Connie’s frown didn’t fade. “I always thought you were a girl who spoke her mind and didn’t play with others. I’d be disappointed if I was wrong.”

Gracie’s face flushed with humiliation. There was one thing she’d always hated to hear from people, and that was their disappointment in her.

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Connie, and I assure you, everything is fine with us.”

Connie finally gifted her with a small smile. “I’m glad, because I have to say, I’m not the only one who noticed something was wrong.”

“Oh? Who else said something?” Gracie asked.

“You haven’t seen Miss Know-It-All’s column this morning? It said you two were already on the rocks. Something about you having the hardest time committing and you get scared off easily.”

Gracie’s blood boiled under her skin to the point that she wanted to scratch it. That manipulative son of a bitch! It wasn’t enough that he’d dragged his mom into their business, but now he was using his column to get the whole town involved?

Forcing a smile and hoping that Connie couldn’t tell how upset she was, she handed them their drinks. “There you go. You folks have a safe trip, okay?”

After the Henderson’s left, she turned to Tanya, slipping her apron off. “Tanya, I’m heading out for a bit. Can you and Renee handle things?”

Tanya’s grin split her chubby face. “Sure, Gracie, we’ve got it.”

“Great. I’ll see you in a few.” She grabbed her purse and jacket from the office and walked out the back door, ready for war.

* * *

Eric pulled out another crate of Haskin’s Pumpkin Beer, stepping over a sleeping Dog, who’d decided sprawling in the middle of the floor was just about the best spot he could find. The bar wasn’t open, and he’d wanted to come in early to restock everything. He’d left early last night to be with Dog, and his parents had been slammed hard if the angry texts from his mom had been any indication. He figured at least this way, they’d be ready later for when shit hit the fan.

His brother, Grant, had seemed to make a miraculous recovery and was busy wiping down tables. Eric went back into the storeroom for another case of Bear Island beer. He’d convinced his dad that spreading out and bringing in local vendors of spirits would help boost the economy of Rock Canyon and surrounding cities, and it definitely had. And with Hank’s sucking up some of their business with karaoke contests and shit like that, the local beers and wines that Rock Canyon locals couldn’t get anywhere else but Bucks kept them coming back.

Eric couldn’t figure out why anyone found a bunch of drunk people butchering classic songs entertaining. He’d been thinking about going by to scope the place out but hadn’t gotten around to it. It wasn’t as though the two bars couldn’t coexist together. Although if one more place opened up, he might get a little uncomfortable with all the competition.

“Hey, Eric!” Grant hollered from the barroom.

Eric came out of the stockroom with the case of beer, still walking down the hallway. “What?”

When he finally came into view, Grant gave him a sly grin and pointed. “Someone here to see you.”

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