Page 15 of The Devil in Blue Jeans
“Why are you talking to him?” Charly asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
“He feels terrible,” her mother said. “You should hear him out.”
“He should feel terrible,” Charly retorted, leaning back in her chair. “He’s the reason I had to walk away from the bar I helped build and why our relationship failed.”
“I’m not saying you should forgive him—” her mom started to say.
“Mom, I love you,” Charly interrupted, the sternness in her voice leaving no room for argument, “but you didn’t see what I did. You haven’t walked in on who you thought was the love of your life having sex with someone else.”
“I know dear, but to heal you need to face this head on,” her mother replied.
Charly bit back the curse words threatening to spill out of her mouth. She didn’t blame her mom for trying to fix this problem. Charly had built a life with Marcel. He’d been a part of the family since they began dating in college. Her parents loved him. His had seen her as their own daughter. The breakup wasn’t only difficult for Charly, but for all of them. She hadn’t heard from his parents since then, but they had been trying to do damage control with her parents. They were standing by their son’s side and she could respect that. But there was no reversing the clock now.
“Mom, I love you,” Charly said, firming up her stance. “But I don’t want to talk about him anymore. I’m moving on with my life. Please stop calling and talking about him.”
Her mom’s voice grew tight. “All right honey, you’re obviously distressed and tired. We’ll discuss this later.”
No, we won’t.“Bye.” Charly ended the call. She collapsed her head onto the desk with a loud thump and sighed. She had a new life in Timber Falls she was trying to build, not fix an old one.
When her phone buzzed again, she nearly tossed her phone out of her office, but then she noticed the incoming message.
Hey, it’s Jaxon. See you in 30 minutes.
She frowned at her phone, utterly lost at his meaning. She texted back:30 minutes for what exactly? And how did you get my number?
A cowboy always has his ways. Have you forgotten our date?
Damn, she hadn’t actually thought he’d follow through. She hadn’t been overly nice to him—why would he want a date with her? Cursing the way her belly fluttered in excitement at the thought of seeing him, she wrote back:I can’t go on a date. the bar’s too busy.
You’re the boss, and there are 3 of you. I’ll see you in 30.
She leaned back in her chair and huffed at his lack of taking no for an answer. She wagered Jaxon likely relished the challenge she’d presented him. Men like him—like Marcel—always enjoyed such a pursuit. He probably assumed she was playing hard to get, though that wasn’t the case at all. She didn’t want the man every woman wanted. She had no intention of going on a date with him.
She decided that the only way to get through to him would be to shake his feathers up a little. She typed:I really don’t want to be blunt about this, but since you won’t take the hint... I’m on my period and it’s really heavy. I’ve got horrible cramps and going on a horseback riding adventure is the last thing on my mind right now.
She waited for a snappy response, however after a few minutes passed all that greeted her was a quiet phone. She smiled in relief that her plan worked, and Jaxon had finally given up on this wild idea.
With a deep sigh, she powered off her computer and made her way out to the bar, which was busier, but she still got the sense most of the people in the bar weren’t locals. Only one booth had cowboy hats hanging on the hooks. One table had a young couple, where both men wore designer clothes. The table next to them had a woman with a Chanel handbag. Farther down, all the women wore fancy sundresses with high heels. All were a telling sign that their social media marketing was working to bring in out-of-towners and tourists, but these weren’t the people Charly wanted to impress.
She sighed in frustration. She wanted Timber Falls to become their home, and right now they were so far away from becoming a part of the community.
Back in Phoenix, she had known nearly every business owner on the street. She had good relationships with everyone. Most locals in Timber Falls barely talked to them now. Their morning breakfasts had never been so quiet. When people did talk to them, the conversations were kept short.
As she stepped inside, a quiet hum of conversation filled the air, and soft rock music played in the background. She immediately noticed a few tables were full. At one of the booths, more cowboys sat. Every one of them had a sour expression on their faces.
Charly moved closer to Willow and Aubrey behind the bar and said, “I don’t understand why they’re so miserable. Jaxon asked us to bring in craft beer and we did.” Most people who walked through the bar’s doors seemed happy. Some ordered beers. Others tried the cocktails. But there were still some locals that looked less than impressed. “What more do they want?”
Pouring beer from a can into a large glass mug, Willow shrugged and sighed deeply. “I have no idea why they look so grumpy, but I can assure you, we’re not getting something right.”
“They’ve been like this since they arrived,” Aubrey chimed in, crossing her arms, eying the four men in the booth. “It’s almost like they were a little bit happy that we had the craft beer here, but after they took a sip of it, they all shot me a nasty look.”
Charly leaned against the bar, shaking her head in disbelief. “Sometimes I think the people in this town are the most complicated people in the world.”
Aubrey grinned, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Still handsome though,” she added with a light laugh.
Charly couldn’t deny that part. No matter how much she tried, Jaxon kept popping into her mind. The biggest issue was that he reminded her of Marcel. The hot guy. The charming one. The man that made her temperature rise andwantagain. But he also had major commitment issues, even if he did seem like a good guy. Ignoring those red flags before had got her cheated on. She’d never make that mistake again. The next man she dated—she was in no hurry—would only have green flags. And unfortunately, Jaxon wasn’t that guy. If only her body got on board with that realization.
“Well, well, look who it is,” Aubrey drawled.
