Page 81 of The Fall Back Plan
Sophie is standing on it talking to her husband, Joe. Every table is set for four with a sheet of paper and a pencil.
I recruited Slocum and Becky to my team, and they wave me over to their table. Jace Janssen, a firefighter, gives me a chin jerk and a smirk as I pass. I look at the placard with his team name.
“Hot Shots, Janssen? That’s not even original.”
He smirks. “Get your licks in now, Sheriff, because we’re going to wipe the floor with you.”
I grin at the trash-talking. There’s already a good energy running through the Mockingbird, and the door has opened twice behind me to admit more laughing, chattering people.
All the tables have at least some of their members, and some—like Roberta Herring’s—have them all. Of course, the librarians would be here and ready early.
Ry is at the bar, and Tina and a couple of other servers are circulating, taking food and drink orders. I sit with my teammates and watch it all, the whole time keeping an eye out for Jolie.
“Looking for someone?” Becky asks. She asks it in her very smart-aleck way that says she knows exactly who I’m looking for.
“Mind your business,” I tell her.
Slocum snorts. “When has she ever?”
Becky only grins. “Jolie is in her office. I’m sure she’ll be out soon.”
By 7:00, the Mockingbird is packed with players and spectators in the booths, and Sophie takes the stage.
“Welcome to our first-ever Trivia Night at the Tequila Mockingbird!” she calls into the mic, and everyone cheers.
“Tonight is general trivia, and to thank you for coming out, we’re offering some very generous prizes. Would my lovely assistant please tell the people about them?”
That’s when I spot Jolie heading for the stage. She’s in jeans but also black heels that are high and sexy enough to make my mouth go dry. She’s wearing a black Tequila Mockingbird T-shirt with the bar’s name in glittery gold letters, and her hair is down and loose. Still more polished than any other woman in the bar, but with a softness I’ve only seen in her when she’s with Brooklyn.
“Welcome,” she says. “We will not be giving out any dolls tonight, so sorry if you came for that.” This elicits cheers and catcalls, and she smiles as she waits for them to subside. “What we do have are cash prizes and free beer for the winners!”
More cheers.
“A hundred dollars and a drink on us for first. Forty dollars and a drink on us for second. And third place gets a drink on us. We’ve got a full kitchen tonight, so let our service staff know if you get hungry, and we’ll get you the best pub food in the city. Without further ado, let’s play!”
She hands off the mic to Sophie and steps down from the stage to applause. As Sophie explains the rules of the night, Jolie heads toward Ry, her eyes stopping at my table and resting on me. She gives me a smile. An uncomplicated, happy smile. No, that’s not exactly right. There’s something about it, maybe a tinge of . . . something. A secret?
All I know for sure is that relief warms my chest as I confirm Jolie isn’t upset with me. That’s good. I can work with that.
There are twenty teams total playing, and the four lowest-scoring teams will be eliminated after each round. That means the final round will be a four-way face-off.
Sophie is funny but sharp, and twice when players challenge her answers, she gives them the source and shuts them down. There’s a lot of laughter and more good-natured smack talk, and the atmosphere gets looser by the question.
It’s been a long time since I had this much fun, and the only thing that would make it better would be having Jolie with me, sharing the jokes. But she keeps circulating among the teams, checking in with the kitchen, and generally playing a good host.
The Hot Shots go out in the second round, and I send over a round of beers with orders to Precious to tell them the sheriff sends his condolences. Jace shakes his head but toasts me, and then repays the favor when the Tin Stars go out in the next round.
I doubt anyone is surprised when the Lady Librarians and the Hazy Codgers are in the finals, along with a team of middle school teachers. The only surprise is that the fourth team is . . . the hockey players? But Alec, the Appies team captain, knows a metric ton of trivial things.
The final round plays out with the rest of us shouting our encouragement and shushing anyone we think is guessing the answers too loudly. As the time on the final question runs out, I look around for Jolie, hoping she’s enjoying every part of tonight. Trivia night at the Mockingbird is going to be legendary, and I allow myself a small smile of satisfaction as I look at the teams I personally recruited.
As Sophie orders the teams to trade papers and begins revealing the answers, I still haven’t spotted Jolie. She must be in the kitchen. Or maybe her office?
Five minutes later, still no Jolie, and Sophie is calling for the team captains to write the final score on the papers and return them to the teams they belong to.
“Captains, hands up if your team got at least fifteen.” Four captains’ hands go up. “Sixteen?” Still four. “Seventeen?” The teacher captain drops his hand. “Eighteen?” Now the hockey players are out with some grumbling.
It turns out that the Lady Librarians and the Hazy Codgers have tied with a perfect score in the final round.
