Page 26 of Reckless Chances
It took every fiber of Charlie’s being not to roll his eyes.
Stacy groaned loudly. “Hard, Pammy. Not creamy.” She held up three fingers. “Jack, straight up.”
Charlie grabbed the whiskey and poured three shots, glancing at the window to see the glow of the sunset through the grimy stained-glass headers. It was his experience that whiskey shots in daylight hours never ended well. The three clinked the glasses together and drops of the potent liquor fell to the bar as they slammed back the shots, and then all three slammed the glasses on the bar. Jason winked at Charlie at the same time that Pamela screwed up her face and pounded her fist on her chest, all while Stacy wiped at the sides of her mouth with her thumb. She stared at Jason while she sucked an errant drop from her finger.
The light from outside interrupted the trio and everyone’s eyes turned to check out who had just walked into the bar. Charlie crossed his arms and smiled, watching as Jenni looked around the bar, her giant padded folio held tightly to her chest.
“Jenni,” Charlie shouted. Jenni waved and skipped down the steps to the bar.
“Hi, Charlie. Do you know someone named...” she consulted her notes?
“Jason Jones.” Jason practically ejected himself from the barstool.
“Jason Jones,” She smiled. “I’m Jenni Angelson.” She shuffled the folio so she could shake Jason’s hand.
“Can I get you something?” Charlie asked.
“Would coffee be too much to ask? I’m on the clock,” Jenni replied and pointed to the space on her wrist where a watch would be.
“Not at all. I’ll just put on a fresh pot. Jason?”
“Coffee for me too. We have important wedding business to discuss.”
“You’re getting married?” Stacy’s voice was shrill.
“God no. Not me,” Jason laughed. “I’m the best man.”
She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Shall we?” Jason gestured to the main room of the bar and Stacy and Pamela glowered as their potential one-night stand abandoned them. Charlie looked on with disapproval as his brother directed Jenni, his hand on her lower back, to a table in the corner.
Charlie pulled his phone out of the pocket of his leather apron and clicked on the new messages, an involuntary smile gracing the corner of his lips when he saw Emma’s name in his inbox. In the past two days, the two of them had texted what he would call the perfect amount. There were no games between the two of them, he never held off on replying to her, and neither did she. He felt like he was in the first grown-up relationship he’d ever had.
Emma had sent three photos. The first was of the finished drywall in her shop, the second was of some paint chips taped to the wall, the third, she was holding a paintbrush and wearing her hair in two Heidi braids. She was wearing a tight white tank top underneath jean overalls. There was something about a woman with paint on her clothes and work gloves on her hands that gave him a bit of a stiffy.
“What do you think?” her message read. He knew that she was asking about the paint colors. He smiled and texted back, “I’ll have to see it in person.”
“I’ll be painting late, drop by after your shift.”
He was about to reply when there was a knock on the bar. “Hello, Am I going to have to hop over and make my own damn drink?”
He sent Emma a thumbs-up emoji and tucked the phone back into his pocket. The women were about two drinks away from being cut off and it couldn’t happen soon enough.
“Texting your girlfriend?” Stacy slurred. “One more cosmo,” she barked.
“Actually, yes I was.” Charlie had had enough.
“I didn’t think you had a girlfriend.” Pamela’s eyes were as wide as one’s can be after five cosmos and a shot of whiskey.
Stacy narrowed her eyes at him. “Who?”
He should have kept it to himself, but he wanted to shout it from the rooftops. “Her name is Emma. She owns the new flower shop in town.”
The two women glanced at each other as he poured the red liquid into the glasses. He knew that they were wondering if he’d overheard their gossip. He didn’t give a shit.
“Oh,” Pamela whispered.
Stacy didn’t miss a catty beat. “Is that where the weed bouquet came from?” As if to punctuate her point she plucked a daisy from the vase and tucked it behind her ear, the white getting lost amongst the crispy bleached strands. “If so, she’s never gonna last in this town.”
Charlie wanted to tell her off, but years of bartending had taught him how to deal with surly drunks and insulting them was never a good idea. “I like daisies. That looks nice on you.” Charlie adjusted the bouquet and pointed to the flower behind her ear.
Stacy’s snarl faltered and her eyes flittered with the compliment, her fingertips subconsciously reaching for the flower. “I suppose it’s got a folksy look to it.” She drained her cosmo and leaned on the bar, curling her finger for Charlie to lean in. When he didn’t, she leaned even closer, “Charlie, you be careful. I’ve heard bad things about that girl.”
“Thanks for looking out for me, Stacy,” he smiled. She settled back onto her barstool, a smug smile on her face as if she had done Charlie a huge favor. But Charlie was smiling at the irony of the town tramp warning him about the sweetest woman he had ever known.
He left the bar and the two women to check on the Search and Rescue guys. When he returned, Jason was back at the bar. He glanced around the room and saw Jenni leaving. She waved and he did the same.
“Now,” Jason said, settling onto the barstool beside Stacy, he had clearly picked his favorite out of the two of them. “Where were we?”
