Page 41 of In For a Penny
The new man had become a legend in his day, running one of the most successful bars in town. He had decided to retire, took an offer for the bar, and soon found himself going mad from boredom. When he showed up at Donnelly’s asking if he could work a couple of days a week for tips only, Parker jumped at the chance.
True, he could use the tips for those days, but he was desperate for an occasional night off. Joseph was also training an apprentice cook. Soon he would be able to stay open seven days a week. The extra income would go a long way to help him catch up on the debts. Maybe he could even install the elevator to the apartment.
He parked the Ramcharger in the back of the bar. He walked inside, waved at the new guy who seemed to have everything under control, then slipped into the office. Dropping into the desk chair, he looked at the wall across from him covered in photos.
The earliest one was of his grandfather. He was not too long off the boat from Ireland. He stood proudly underneath the new Donnelly’s sign. The photos covered the long wall and showed the growth of the Donnelly family in America.
He squinted at a new one he hadn’t noticed before. It featured Astrid and him behind the bar together. She was laughing at something one of the customers had said while he was pointing at someone farther off with a smile. He had his other hand casually touching her shoulder.
That had to be the work of his brothers. He wasn’t about to take it down. Instead, he took a picture of it to add to his ever-growing album of Astrid on his phone.
He studied the photos again. With a heavy sigh, he turned back to the desk. He could do this. He could bring the bar back. He just needed a little more time. The customers they had lost after his dad’s stroke had eventually returned and they were starting to turn a small profit. All he had to do was crawl his way out of the hole he had dug and they would be fine.
He bent his head over the paperwork scattered across his desk. He was soon lost in the liquor order he needed to turn in.
He had been working for several hours when the alarm went off on his phone. It was time to pick up Astrid. He stood stretching the kinks out of his back.
Stepping into the hallway, he was surprised at how the bar had filled up. He slipped through the crowd standing around the big screen. There was a baseball game on. It answered why there were so many people in here on a weekday night.
“You need anything?” he shouted over the group at the bar.
“We got this, boss. Enjoy your evening,” Andrea shouted back as she picked up her orders. With a wave, he headed for the back door. In half an hour he would have Astrid back in his arms. That was all he was concerned about tonight.
* * *
She was exhausted. After a wild weekend with her extended family celebrating the crap out of Independence Day, all she could think about was crawling under her blankets for the rest of the week.
Everyone had shown up. They all ate too much, stayed in the sun too long, watched fireworks until the early hours, and repeated it all over again the next day.
That didn’t even come close to the fact that their house looked like Betsy Ross had thrown up all over it. She loved that her family was proud of being Americans, but holy crap.
The bus ride home seemed to stop in every tiny burg from her house to her apartment. The only thing that kept her going was the thought that Parker was at the end of the road.
She had argued that she could just catch a rideshare from the bus station. Secretly, she was relieved when he wouldn’t even consider it. She grinned remembering how he had told her that he would be the one to pick his girlfriend up at the station, not some random stranger with a Prius.
She grabbed up her things when the bus finally pulled to a stop. She finally made it off, her eyes settling on the gorgeous man leaning against the wall. His hair was getting a little too long, he had a week’s worth of scruff on his face, and tattoos snaked out from under the T-shirt he wore. Astrid felt her heart skip when he looked up at her. Was he really hers? Could she be that lucky?
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, walking over to take the box out of her hands. He brushed a light kiss across her lips.
“Nope,” she responded when he stepped back. Grabbing the front of his shirt, she jerked him down. She planted a kiss on his mouth that lit them both up. He moaned when she thrust her tongue between his full lips. The driver cleared his throat. They broke apart with mumbled apologies.
“Is that a plant?” Parker asked, shifting the box so he could grab her suitcase.
“Yes, because that’s what everyone wants to hold for eight hours on a bus. A stupid plant,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I guess at least she didn’t send me with a ficus tree.” Parker let out a belly laugh as they walked toward the Ramcharger. Sliding her suitcase and box into the back, he settled her in the passenger seat before walking around to the driver’s door.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, pulling away from the curb.
“Not really. Besides the plant, Mom also thought I needed enough food with me to accommodate the entire bus. Can we go to my apartment though? I’m not sure I’m up for the noise at the bar.”
“That’s fine. The new guy’s working tonight and tomorrow night for me. The twins are hanging out at a friend's house.” Astrid’s apartment was only fifteen minutes from the bus terminal. Parker carried her things upstairs.
“What’s in the box anyway?” he asked, setting it on her dresser.
“You’ll love this,” she answered. She opened the windows in the bedroom and living room to get a cross breeze. “They’re the old curtains out of my bedroom. Mom decided to get new ones. She thought I might want to use the ones I picked out in middle school during my ‘but all of my friends have a pony’ stage. I rode the bus with a plant, a paper sack full of food, and a box with curtains covered in ponies.”
“I think I like your mom,” he said, pulling out the curtains. She just shook her head, walking past him into her bedroom.
“Whatever. I’m jumping in the shower to see if I can wash the stinky bus smell off. Kick your boots off and see what you can find on TV. I’ll be back in a minute.”
