Page 105 of Caught in the Axe
“Keep your hands to yourself and your tongue in your mouth.”
Whirling around, I blew a raspberry at them, then I strode for the pool tables.
I wasn’t sure what I’d say or do, but I’d die if I didn’t get closer to him. The rest I’d figure out later.
Chapter 35
Owen
Iregistered Lila’s presence the moment I walked into the bar. Keeping my eyes off her while she laughed and joked with her friends was pure torture.
For two days, I’d been out in the woods with Gus and Jude, driving between camps, taking inventory of what we had, and making plans to close out our last orders. My dad had been arrested more than a year and a half ago, and despite the fallout, Gus had kept our customers happy and the trucks on the road. I knew this was bittersweet for him.
Our new lawyers were burying us in document requests and scheduled virtual meetings almost daily to discuss projections, and Lila had handled everything with ease. God, she was going to kick ass in graduate school.
She had the makings of an incredible leader. I’d be shocked if she wasn’t running a major foundation in five years.
And she looked so pretty in the booth. Her hair was down and her eyes were sparkling as she laughed on theother side of the crowded bar. I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my cabin so I could ravage her.
But I was here for Jude tonight.
Generally, I avoided the Moose, since it was busy and loud and filled with people who didn’t like me. Plus, I should be working. But it had been years since I’d seen Jude play.
He’d always loved music. Mom had bought him his first guitar from a second-hand shop in Bangor when he was seven, and he’d quickly taught himself just about all he needed to know.
If things had been different, if there had been money or opportunity, and if he’d been interested, he could have studied music, and maybe he could have made a go of things professionally. He’d never publicly considered it, but he wasn’t the kind to ruffle feathers or push too hard against either of our parents’ wishes. Like Gus, he’d earned all his licenses and certifications quickly and had come back to work for Dad.
He never stopped playing guitar, though. Noah used to talk about the songs he wrote, but he was the only one who’d ever heard them.
A few years ago, Jude had started playing with a local band, fronted by Jasper Hawkins, a full-time lumberjack and part-time small-town rock star. My mom had pushed Jude to officially join the band, but he insisted on only filling in on occasion.
But he was slowly coming out of his shell, and tonight, he was playing lead guitar for the first time. According to Gus, Jude still wasn’t sharing any songs he’d written, but it was a start.
After years of never showing up for my brothers, I hopedI could make up for lost time. At least while I was here. So I was nursing a beer and doing my best to ignore scrutinizing looks from folks I hadn’t seen in decades. Thankfully, I was decent at pool, which was a good distraction. And it was the one activity where Gus wouldn’t mop the floor with me.
Eventually, every person in the place had gotten into the music, which was a mix of indie and country covers with a few originals mixed in. These guys were really good. And shit, my brother was talented. He barely even looked out at the crowd, instead putting every ounce of focus into what he was doing, playing with his entire body as the music flowed through him.
I was bursting with pride. I was caught up in it when Gus elbowed me and handed me another beer.
“Good, ayuh?” He lifted his chin, gesturing to our little brother.
I nodded. “How did he get this good?”
He shrugged. “Beats me. The kid works hard and spends most of his time wandering around the woods with his dog, but this is his true love. I can feel it.”
On the other side of the dance floor, a tall, willowy woman with thick bangs and a hipster vibe had her hands clasped in front of her and was focused intently on Jude.
“He’s got fans,” I said to Gus.
“Don’t know her.” He took a long pull of his beer and nodded at the redhead who’d come up to talk to my brothers. “Think she’s friends with Liv. There are a lot of them. Every time he plays here, the women line up. It’s the quiet ones, you know?”
I turned, needing another hit of Lila, but her seat was empty. A sadness far too acute for the situation hit me. Morethan anything, I wished she’d walk over here and kiss me in front of the whole bar. Claim me the way I wanted to claim her. This sneaking around shit was getting old.
Frustration had just pushed aside the sadness when there was a tap on my shoulder.
One glance back, and all those negative emotions dissipated. She was standing behind me wearing an innocent smile.
I wanted to reach out and pull her in close and press my lips to hers, but I gripped my beer bottle instead, squeezing so hard I worried it would explode in my hand.
