Page 36 of Christmas with the Cowboy
She, on the other hand, hadn’t drunk enough to have a hard buzz on, but she wasn’t on her A game either, which was why she’d decided to address the issue head-on. “I did no such thing.”
“So it’s coincidence that you reported me to your dad and then I got the boot?”
She started to say she hadn’t done anything close to reporting him, but instead said, “Maybe you’re a bad employee.”
The look that crossed Jay’s face had her instantly backtracking. There was a time to stand up to a guy, and there was a time to back off. No wonder Henry had charged the man with a tractor. The short hallway they were in did not allow a view of the bar or the dance floor, so she raised her voice to concert level as she said, “I didn’t tell my dad to fire you, and if you don’t leave me—”
Jay’s friend Evan appeared at the end of the hall, and Trenna was wondering how loud she was going to have to scream to get help when she saw that the burly bartender was on the man’s heels.
“That’s it,” he said to Jay. “You’re fucking out of here.”
As Jay’s chin rose and his chest swelled, Trenna noted that Evan remained a step or two behind the bartender.
“Come on,” he said to Jay. “I left my truck running.”
Jay let out a low growl, then started for the door. He was next to the crowded booths when he whirled back around to face Trenna, who’d just emerged from the short hallway, staying safely behind the bartender.
“First you get me fired,” Jay bellowed. “Then you get me kicked out.”
Trenna opened her mouth, then closed it again when the bartender sent her a look.
“Get out of here,” the bartender said again. “The sheriff is on his way.”
Jay screwed his face into a I’ll-do-what-I-want scowl, but when Evan gestured to the door, he kicked the chair closest to him and stormed out, shoving aside a guy who’d been too slow to get out of his way.
“That’s battery,” the bartender called. The man who’d been shoved lifted a hand to indicate he was fine, then the door swung shut behind Jay.
The bartender turned to Trenna. “Are you okay?”
“I am.” Shaken, but okay. All she wanted to do was to grab her coat and get out of there herself—as soon as she talked someone into walking her to her car.
“He’s been stirring up shit all night. I called Evan to come get him. If that hadn’t worked, the sheriff’s office was next on the list.”
“Trenna.” Jill and Brandon took advantage of the open floor that Jay had left in his wake to hurry to her side. Jill ran a hand down her arm while Brandon nodded at the bartender, indicating that they had this, before turning to Trenna. “What the hell?”
“He thinks I got him fired.”
“Did you?” Jill asked quietly as they started back to their table.
“I would have liked to, but no.” As her heart rate slowed, her knees began to feel oddly rubbery. Reaction, no doubt. “I want to go home.”
“Maybe you should come home with us?” Jill asked.
Trenna shook her head. “I’ll go to my apartment. I don’t think Jay’s going to get by Bruno.” The guy who rented the bottom story of the Victorian had a wonderfully ferocious-looking dog who loved Trenna’s belly rubs.
“Probably not,” Jill agreed. “But we’re going to at least see you home.”
“Thank—” Trenna slid her hand into her back pocket and realized her phone was missing. “Damn. My phone.”
Fifteen minutes later, it seemed that her phone had found its way to another dimension, but at least she was certain that Jay didn’t have it. He hadn’t had the chance. “I’m going home,” she said in a defeated voice.
“We’ll walk you to your car and follow you home.”
Joannie and Dean agreed that it was time to call it a night, and ten minutes later, Bruno was greeting Trenna at the gate while eyeing Jill and Brandon suspiciously.
“Okay then,” Brandon said as the hair on Bruno’s neck rose a fraction of an inch. “I see you’re in good hands.”
“I am.” Trenna let herself into the yard and closed the gate behind her. “Thanks guys. It was fun right up until Jay time.”
