Page 35 of Christmas with the Cowboy
The original planwas for Trenna to meet Jill and company at FlintWorks, the local microbrewery and general fun place to be, but she received a text while driving saying that the meetup had been moved to Grey’s Saloon due to an engagement party having taken over FlintWorks.
Trenna actually preferred Grey’s Saloon, located in the oldest building in Marietta. The Greys weren’t big on redecorating or renovating, so the scarred-up floors and antique bar were the real deal. The place got a bit raucous at times—especially when the taciturn owner wasn’t on shift. Jason Grey was a no-nonsense guy who didn’t put up with a lot of crap. Kind of like Daniel Keller, only Daniel was a touch more approachable.
Trenna sucked in a breath as she searched for a parking spot on the street. No luck, but there was a spot in the bank parking lot, and since it was after hours, she took advantage, glad that she only had a short walk to her car after she survived the group blind date.
Attitude.
She pulled the zipper of her jacket a little higher, told herself that even though she would have preferred an evening in her apartment with a cup of cinnamon tea, it was good to socialize—for no other reason than it might just stop her from thinking about Reed.
He wasn’t always in the forefront of her thoughts, but instead hovered on the periphery, ready to swoop in and disrupt small moments of peaceful contemplation. It was borderline exhausting, but she understood that the more she tried not to think about the guy, the more she would, so she was doing her best to practice a Zen-like approach and allow the thoughts to roll over her.
It would be better is she didn’t feel edgy/hot and bothered when they did, but she was a work in progress.
The saloon was bustling with patrons when she pushed the door open, due no doubt to FlintWorks having the party, but she spotted Jill’s bright auburn hair at the far end of the room where two tables had been pushed together. She pulled her scarf off as she made her way past the booths and then wove her way to the group. Two chairs sat empty, and she gave Jill a questioning look. She was late, so was her date later?
“Mark can’t come, and don’t you dare look relieved.” Jill gave Trenna a stern look.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Trenna said, taking one of the empty seats next to Joannie, who worked at the western store next door. This sense of everything being better than it was only a few seconds ago wasn’t relief. It was…acceptance. Yes.
“Stop smiling,” Jill said.
“I wanted to meet Mark. I really did. Is there a reason he didn’t show? Did he see my picture?”
Joannie pushed her shoulder into Trenna. “He decided that he needed to dive into the books. He’s studying for the LSAT.”
“He didn’t know you were coming,” Jill explained. “So it’s not personal.”
“You were going to ambush him with me?”
“I was simply evening out numbers for a pleasant evening.”
“Now I get to be the third wheel,” Trenna said, reaching for the pitcher to pour herself a beer.
“There are five of us,” Brandon, Jill’s boyfriend, pointed out.
“Ah. Yes,” Trenna said. “I’m the fifth wheel.”
“That’s a camp trailer,” Joannie’s boyfriend, Dean, said as he raised his beer, earning himself a sharp look from his girlfriend. He lowered the beer without drinking. “Not to liken you to a…recreational vehicle or anything.” He took a big swallow. “And with all the guys here tonight, I don’t think you’ll be the odd woman out for long.”
“I’m okay with that,” Trenna said, lifting her beer in a small salute. “I’ve become boring.”
“Mark would have been perfect for you then,” Dean said before moving sideways with a laugh to avoid his wife’s elbow. “Kidding. Mark is a nice guy. He’s just…serious.”
“He’s an academic,” Jill said. “Who wants to be a lawyer for some unknown reason.”
“I like serious and academic,” Trenna said. Serious and academic were the opposite of wild cowboy, and she’d been doing opposite for a long time. Like for fifteen years.
She lifted her beer to her lips as she wondered if she was choosing serious academic men for safety or for penance? That was a question worth debating—at some other time. Right now, she was all about showing that she was good being the fifth wheel and then going home early.
Early didn’t happen.
Dean had been correct in that Trenna was not the odd woman out for long. Once the band started, Jill and Brandon excused themselves to hit the small dance floor, and a moment later, one of Trenna’s former classmates asked her to dance. After that, she spent more time out of her chair than in it, and at some point, her chair disappeared from the table, but frankly, she didn’t need a chair. Dancing, meeting up with people she hadn’t seen in months or years, kept her on her feet. It was only the call of nature that pried her off the floor, and when she looked in the mirror of the ladies’ room before heading out again, she had to laugh. Her hair had done the too much humidity thing, creating a blonde halo around her flushed face. But she was happy and having fun, and she hadn’t thought of Reed for almost ten minutes. And even when she did, she was able to push the thought aside and focus on the company of her dance partner.
She was still smiling when she exited the room and ran smack into a solid wall of man. She automatically stumbled backward, only to find herself against a real wall. It was preferable to Jay McClain.
“You got me fired.”
“What?” Trenna pressed her hand to her chest. Jay had obviously been drinking for a while. The scent of alcohol wafted off his big body, and his face was a belligerent mask.
