Page 4 of The Devil in Blue Jeans
But as he opened the bar’s door, which now opened easily and didn’t need a little force as it used to, he walked straight into hell.
The walls were no longer adorned with license plates. Now they were painted light gray and the wood paneling on the lower half was stained white. The moose head trophy from a hunting trip with his father and grandfather now wore a pink feather boa and sparkly sunglasses, while the tables and bar stools remained unchanged. In place of the mirror on the back wall hung a banner proclaiming She overcame everything that was meant to destroy her. The greasy aroma normally emanating from bar food had been replaced by an unexpected floral scent.
Jaxon removed his cowboy hat as he took a seat at one of the booths. The blaring country music had been replaced by a Taylor Swift song, and freshly cut flowers had taken the place of a bowl of peanuts. Two women stood behind the bar wearing pink shirts with THE NAKED MOOSE scrawled across them.
“This is something,” Eli muttered, sliding into the booth across from Jaxon.
“That’s one way to put it,” Gunner said, adjusting the waistline of his Levi’s before sitting next to Eli.
“Hmm,” Jaxon agreed.
A cute ginger-haired woman came up to greet them. Her name tag read Willow. “Welcome to The Naked Moose’s grand opening. What can I get you?”
She talked like a city girl, sounding from the Midwest. Obviously, the bar’s new owners weren’t from around here.
“A beer,” Jaxon replied.
Her cheeks flushed bright pink as she handed him a menu featuring only cocktails. He gave the menu back. “A Budweiser please.” A store-bought beer was better than nothing.
Willow shook her head apologetically, letting out a soft “um.”
The other woman standing at the bar hurried to Willow’s side. Her name tag read Aubrey.
Before Jaxon even looked over at Gunner, he knew his friend would be grinning at this woman. He always did have a thing for blondes, and she was just his type.
Aubrey smiled tightly and presented him a plate of small rainbow-colored cookies. “Macaron?”
Jaxon shook his head and gestured at the bar. “Plain old beer, if you don’t mind.” Everyone in town had anticipated the reopening of this place—especially after Jaxon had abruptly shut it down—butthis...what the hell was this?
His real estate agent, Billy Palmer, told him the bar would be restored and revived by its new owners. Not...turned into a big-city cocktail lounge, where the hardworking townsfolk would feel not only out of place but unwelcome. He and his friends were coated in layers of dust. Their hands were grimy, their faces caked in the stuff. His gaze drifted to where they’d walked in and left a path of dirt along the spotless floors. Every damn spot in this bar sparkled. He felt like he’d stepped into a place that not only didn’t cater to anyone he knew in Timber Falls, the people he respected and valued, but that did not belong in a small rustic town.
He’d built his bar with only one thought in mind: provide a fun space that got to the heart of what the town and the people needed. A place where there was always dirt on the floors for the cowboys who came, a place where sports were playing on the television screens to appease fans, music and dancing for the people looking to party, and the best craft beer out there. Nothing in this space resembled the bar he’d dreamed up, and his heart twisted in agony over watching his dream burn.
“Can I help you?”
Jaxon’s gaze jerked toward the sound of a firm yet sultry voice. The woman standing before him had flames in her light brown eyes, a color that reminded him of cognac. Her long brunette curls were twisted around her oval face, and all his focus went straight to her full lips, now pressed together in annoyance.
“That depends,” he replied, glancing at her name tag that read Charly. He uttered her name, liking how it rolled off his tongue.
She gave him a bored stare. “On?”
“Got any beers here?”
Her expression was stern. “Sorry, we don’t carry beer. We’re a cocktail lounge.”
Jaxon held her intense stare, enjoying the challenge in the depths of her eyes. Oddly, he felt drawn into it, even if she had something to do with the fact that the bar he had cherished no longer had any of the elements that made it the town’s hotspot.
He tore his gaze away and noticed a chalkboard that proclaimed Book your divorce party today!
“I’ll have scotch on the rocks,” he said, finally glancing her way again. Eli and Gunner ordered the same.
“Coming right up,” Charly said before walking away, revealing her ripped shorts that Jaxon shouldn’t be ogling.
And yet...and yet...he couldn’t look away.
After she returned and handed them their drinks, she gave a polite smile. “Thanks for coming to the grand opening. Enjoy your drinks.”
Life in Timber Falls was always the same. Every day just like the last. Butthatwoman was not like anyone he’d ever met before. “I’ll see you again soon, Charly,” he promised, calling after her.
