Good news for Tate and Krystal. Not so good for me. If Tate was there I didn’t want him to be busy and if I got an opening to do what I needed to do, I didn’t want anyone to hear.
I walked through the door to Bubba’s for the first time seeing immediately it was a biker bar. I knew this not because I was intimately acquainted with biker bars, in fact, this was the first one I’d ever been in. I knew this was because there were a bevy of biker-looking dudes in it. There were also wood floors, a long bar at the back surrounded by stools, tables and chairs in front and two big rooms off either side with two pool tables each. And I was correct, it was relatively busy.
Krystal was behind the bar, down at one end, gabbing with some patrons. Tate was also behind the bar, down at the other end, leaned into his hands on the bar and talking to Jim-Billy who looked surgically attached to his stool and was sitting at a corner and Deke who was standing at the opposite corner to Jim-Billy.
All eyes came to me when I came in.
“Hey, y’all,” I called and got a bunch of greetings back.
I moved to Tate’s side of the bar and slid on the stool next to Jim-Billy, putting my purse on the stool beside me.
“Good to see you, Lexie,” Tate said and I smiled at him.
“Yeah, you too,” I replied then slid my eyes around taking in Deke and Jim-Billy. “You guys been good?”
“Can’t complain,” Jim-Billy answered.
“Yeah, babe, things are good,” Tate answered.
Deke just stared at me. Deke was a communicator of the Taciturn Ty variety so I didn’t take offense.
“You drinkin’?” Tate asked.
“Yeah, though I’ll be doing it tonight at the celebration dinner Ty and I are having at The Rooster. I got a job at Carnal Spa today.”
“Good news, darlin’,” Jim-Billy grinned at me.
“Thanks,” I said to him then looked at Tate. “So, how about a celebratory Diet Coke with cherries in and I’ll buy the boys a round?”
“How about you let me cover your diet as a congratulatory gesture?” Tate returned.
“How about you let me buy a round considering you’ve already made a big gesture?” I suggested then pointed out, “It’s my turn.”
“’Preciate that, Lexie, but I got a bar that does a fuckload of turnover and this is a world where idiots jump bond frequently. You and Ty are gettin’ your feet under you so I’ll cover the round,” Tate rejected my suggestion and I knew this could go on and on and in the end one person was going to get their way and that would not be me.
“Do you guys take nice pills in the morning or is this natural?” I asked at the same time giving in.
He knew I was giving in so he grabbed a glass, dunked it in the ice, put it on the bar, aimed the soda gun at it and let fly while saying, “It’s a pop, babe, not givin’ you the deed to my house.”
“And a beer,” Jim-Billy put in.
“And a whiskey,” Deke added.
Tate’s eyes went to them in turn as they spoke then came to me when he said, “And a beer and a whiskey.”
I grinned at him.
He tossed three cherries in my drink, shoved in a thin, red straw, threw a bar mat in front of me and set the drink on it. Then he opened a bottle of brew for Jim-Billy and poured a measure of bourbon for Deke and himself.
When Deke got his drink, I lifted my glass and toasted, “To me, the new receptionist at Carnal Spa.”
I got grins, a couple of glasses and a bottle pointed my way then we all sucked back some beverage.
I put my glass down.
And, pleasantries and bullshit excuses for showing at his bar over, fortunately, Tate took me off the hook and went straight to it.
“How’re you settlin’ in?”
This had two meanings and I knew it. He and Ty were tight and he was concerned about his friend. And he had beautiful eyes but they were also intelligent. He knew I didn’t mosey into his bar to share good news when I hadn’t seen any of them since the party. He knew I had a reason to be there.
I took another sip and tried to suck up courage.
Then my eyes locked with his and I told him, “I love it here.”
“Good,” he muttered, his gaze not leaving mine and him not missing I talked about me but didn’t mention my husband then, “Ty?”
“He’s good,” I said slowly, took another sip of drink to suck up more courage then went on, “Adjusting.”
“How’s that goin’?” Jim-Billy asked quietly and I looked to him.
“He’s a very strong man,” I said softly. “If he wasn’t…” I let that hang and looked to my glass. Then I tipped my head back, looked right into Tate’s eyes and asked straight out, “You know how I can get in touch with a guy named Tambo?”
The air around me went wired.
Tate leaned in. Jim-Billy leaned in. Deke’s body went alert. And Krystal, maybe feeling the vibe, started to drift down the bar.
But it was Tate who spoke. “Lexie –”
I cut him off by whispering, “I’m worried about him.”
“Why?” Tate asked quietly, sharply and swiftly.
“I can’t say.” And I couldn’t.