Page 7 of Small Town Firsts
But I was tired of hiding everything beneath baggy shirts and khakis or the black-on-black uniform of being a bartender. I had a closet full of gorgeous clothes that I had lovingly curated. I wasn’t going to be afraid to wear them, dammit. Since I was only working a few hours, I’d spent extra time in the shower, scrubbing every-damn-thing with a sugar exfoliant, leaving my skin super smooth and tanned with a light shimmer.
It was too blasted hot to leave my thick hair down so I’d just gone with a messy knot that TikTok taught me how to create. Damn videos always held me in a stranglehold, which was a good thing since I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends to teach me how to be a freaking girl.
Spending all my days with men definitely didn’t help in that regard. There was something to be said for a bit of girl armor when it came to this new phase of my life.
I slipped behind the bar and tied a short apron around my waist as I gave the room a quick perusal to see what I’d be dealing with tonight.
Summer meant long days and short nights with an extra layer of vacation vibes. Turnbull was primarily blue-collar men and women, many who worked the orchards and farms in the area.
July was the sweet spot, where people could still play a little harder before the harvest season really took over. Our version of a seasonal break.
Kids were out of school and schedules were much more relaxed. A rather large group of women were ruling the upper section of the bar. It looked like it was a moms’ night out, andbased on the decibel of their rowdy laughter, I’d bet they were a few pitchers and shot glasses into their evening.
Time to boot the kids off to summer camp for a few weeks and let the adults play. I’d overheard a few people at the orchard doing a countdown for freedom. Being a parent was hard work and I was pretty sure in their place, I’d be doing the same.
The music was a mix of rock and country with a raucous feel to it. Ruby, the owner of Lucky’s, was good at knowing how to read the room and change the music up accordingly.
A pack of guys was holding court on the lower level near the huge television showing Wimbledon. Even the most seasoned of sports fans had to have something to watch, but tennis wasn’t exactly the draw for this crowd, even if it was the finals. They were looking for a way into the crush of women on the upper level. It didn’t matter if it was a high school dance, or a bar—there was always a line in the sand between the boys and girls. Someone needed to break the ice.
“Aren’t you dolled up tonight.”
I grinned over at Ruby. “Special occasion.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.” She glanced out at the lower level to point out the ever-klutzy Shayna currently bumping her way around tables. “I really need to fire that girl.”
“Nah. She’s getting the hang of it. She just needs to find a little confidence. When she’s not being self-conscious, she does an awesome job.”
Ruby grunted and shuffled three pint glasses under a trio of taps and pulled the levers down to fill them all at once. The sweet hops followed by the sharp tang of citrus rose off the summer beer.
“Then why don’t you give her a dash of confidence so I don’t kill her?”
I laughed and grabbed a bucket and filled it with crushed ice and dumped a bunch of quartered limes inside and a bottle of tequila along with a sleeve of plastic shot glasses. As I stepped around the bar, I grabbed a salt shaker off one of the tables and tucked it in the pocket of my romper. “I’ll go get the moms juiced up and do the rounds.”
“Not sure they need any more,” she called after me.
Tequila shots were always a good way to help people mingle.
I waded into the crowd and slapped a smile on my face as I enjoyed a few startled glances. My usual uniform of a T-shirt and jeans was little different than the orchard.
I’d worked at Lucky’s since I was old enough to bus a table and had advanced my way up to bartending. There had never seemed to be enough money, even before I’d become the pariah of Turnbull. Cleaning up after my family always seemed to include losing whatever savings I’d managed to squirrel away. Because of that I’d never made time to do anything other than work and try not to get noticed.
Needless to say, people weren’t used to seeing me dressed up. Tonight I had big gold hoops at my ears, and stacked necklaces in a few different layers filled the deep open collar of the button-down romper. A heavier linked chain hugged the top of my neck with a tiny lock, making me feel sexy.
A hushed murmur followed me as I climbed the stairs, my paisley heels clicking on each step. The bucket was starting to sweat in my hands, or was that nerves?
I lifted my chin as I got to the top of the stairs and set the bucket down with a snap. “Hi, ladies. Thought a little tequila might bring the boys up to play. What do you say?”
A busty blond stepped forward. “What if we don’t want to invite them?”
I grinned wider and snapped the salt shaker on the table. “Guess I’ll just have to do the shots with you.”
“Is that you, Kira?”
I heard a voice from the back that I vaguely recognized. I was used to knowing everyone, but maybe I was forgetting a name. I started lining up the cups, ready to get in and get out.
As the crowd of women parted, I swallowed down a quick bubble of panic.
Dammit, not her.
