She propped a hip on a bar stool in between Blake and Deke. “Not what I expected.”
“Me, either, first time I came here. I thought Frankie would be ten feet tall and bulletproof. I expect he’s still bulletproof even if he isn’t that tall. The place will come to life in about thirty minutes. That’ll give us time to eat and then we can party. I’m taking home a woman tonight. How about you, Blake?”
“How?” Allie asked. “Y’all going to throw them in the back of the truck?”
“I’m just here for some beer and maybe a little dancing, not to take someone home,” Blake answered.
“Why?” Allie asked.
“Lord, you sound like a newspaper reporter.” Deke laughed.
Frankie carried three red plastic baskets to the bar, filled to the brim with ribs and steaming hot fries, and lined them up. “Y’all’s the first customers tonight. Now what weight do you want that special brew, Deke?”
“Peach pie.” Deke smiled.
“You got it.” Frankie chuckled.
“Frankie has several famous brews, but I want you to taste his peach pie first. He manages to make moonshine taste like fresh peach pie right out of the oven. But don’t let it fool you. It’s got a hell of a lot more kick than pie,” Deke explained.
Frankie reached under the counter and brought out a quart mason jar filled with an amber-colored liquid. Then he set three glasses on the bar and put a double shot in each. “Sip it. Don’t throw it back. It’s made to enjoy.”
The door opened and a couple of women wearing short skintight skirts, high heels, and crop tops plopped up on bar stools. One of them winked at Deke and he smiled at her.
“How you doin’, Prissy?” he asked.
“Right fine, darlin’. You?”
“Real good. You workin’ or playin’?”
“Workin’ tonight. You want to book some time?”
He held up his glass. “Naw, I’m just here for supper and some peach pie.”
“Good stuff.” She smiled, showing off a gold eyetooth. “How about your buddy?”
Deke shook his head.
“Y’all change your mind, I got room three booked and Lacy here has paid for room four.”
It wasn’t the bite of the peach moonshine that made Allie gasp but the fact that Deke had brought her to a whorehouse as well as an illegal bar. Lord, if the gossip hounds ever got a hold of that bit of news, she and Blake both would be ruined for life. And Blake didn’t act like any of it fazed him one bit!
Lacy’s butt looked like it was going to pop out of that skirt when she went from the bar to the jukebox and plugged several quarters into it. Then she and Prissy started doing a seductive dance as Etta James’s soulful voice singing “At Last” filled the whole room.
Allie’s eyes must’ve been the size of saucers because Deke poked her on the arm.
“I told you that it ain’t a country bar,” he said softly.
“I kind of gathered that,” Allie said.
Blake held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”
“What about our food?” she asked.
“Deke won’t let anyone get it.”
Deke nudged her with his shoulder. “Go on. Have some fun.”
She slid off the stool and Blake picked up her hands and wrapped them around his neck. His arms rested loosely around her waist as he began to move slowly and smoothly around the dance floor. The lyrics of the song said that he smiled and the spell was cast. God help her, but truer words had never been spoken.
Instead of taking her back to the bar he kept dancing when the first chords of guitar music started an old blues song, “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
“Do you listen to this music?” she asked.
“No, but my grandpa loves rhythm and blues so I’m no stranger to it,” he answered.
The third song was something fast and furious with lots of horn music in the background. Blake mixed swing dancing with something that she’d never seen or done before. It took all her concentration to keep up with him, and when the song ended she was breathless.
“Time for a sip of peach pie?” Blake asked.
This whole business of settling down might not be so tough after all. He could withstand the temptations of the local women if he could have some time at Frankie’s occasionally. Allie had said she wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship, so they could have good times with no strings attached. By spring he might be completely weaned away from his wild cowboy ways.
When they’d finished their ribs and shots, the bar was full of people. They moved from their stools to dance in the corner where Deke ordered a round of beers. Prissy hugged up to a cowboy and pretty soon they disappeared back behind a beaded curtain as “When a Man Loves a Woman,” played on the jukebox.
“You like this place?” Allie asked.
Blake leaned close to her ear so she could hear him. “It’s different for sure and beats unpacking boxes. What about you?”
“I’m glad I’m not here alone.” She smiled. “Is that Etta James again?”
Blake nodded. “She’s singing ‘Damn Your Eyes.’ Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got gorgeous eyes?”