“I get him to Carnal, I’ll bring him by the bar so you can meet him.”
“Oh no,” I stated quickly. “You two be together. I’ll see you when I get home. Or, do you want more time? Maybe I should –”
“I’ll bring him by the bar to meet you. We’ll pick you up after shift and go out to dinner.”
“Really, I can –”
“Babe.”
“What?”
He didn’t speak and neither did I. It was a standoff.
Finally, I gave in, “Okay.”
“He’s gonna like you.”
“Okay.”
“Lauren, honey, swear to God, he’s gonna love you.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
He watched my teeth bite my lip then his eyes came to mine.
“You wanna know why I know?” he asked.
I nodded again.
“Because you want him to like you and you’re worried he won’t and you care about me. Jonas spends a lot of time with people who don’t give a shit about anything but themselves. He’ll respond to someone who isn’t like that.”
I relaxed against him again and repeated a hopeful, “Okay.”
“Get off me, baby, gotta shower.”
I rolled off but he rolled right on top of me.
“I thought you had to shower,” I asked when I caught his eyes.
He held my gaze for a moment and I couldn’t read his face before his head dipped and I felt his nose tweak my ear.
“I’m sorry I was a dick,” he whispered there.
There it was. That was all he had to do and I knew at that moment there would be times when he’d be a jerk and that was all he’d ever have to do.
My arms slid around him. “Honey,” I whispered back.
He gave my shoulder a bristly kiss and then he was gone.
I rolled into the unmade bed so the covers were over me and listened to the shower.
Then Buster came up on the bed and gave me a look that communicated, “Where were you last night?”
I cooed to her, she moved to me and flopped gracefully into the crook of my bent hips. I petted and she purred.
Tate left me after getting dressed and leaning into the bed to give me a kiss and Buster a stroke. Then I took a shower, got ready and went to work, calling Betty after I got there to tell her that I wasn’t moving back to the hotel.
“Didn’t think so, hon.”
“I’m sorry,” I said and I heard a surprised burst of laughter.
“Why?” she asked.
“Well, I told you I was coming home and I miss you guys, I didn’t…”
“Laurie, honey, you and Tate are right up the way. You didn’t move to Fiji.”
“Yes, but…”
“You’re still home. You’re just sleepin’ in a different place.”
That shut my mouth.
“Tell Tatum Jackson to let you loose every once in awhile. I miss my coffee time with Laurie,” she finished.
“Okay,” I replied. “I should get back to work.”
“See you later, hon.”
“Bye, Betty.”
We hung up and I stared at my phone thinking dang, but I liked Betty.
I went back to work and did my job for hours jumpy as a cat.
“Laurie, I asked, you okay?” Jim-Billy repeated.
My eyes had glazed over so I focused on him.
“Tate’s bringing Jonas to the bar,” I told him.
“I know,” he told me.
“I’m not good with kids,” I shared and he blinked.
“You ain’t good with kids?”
I shook my head as Krystal wandered to our end of the bar.
“You ain’t good with kids?” she repeated Jim-Billy’s question.
“No, they freak me out,” I answered.
“They freak you out,” Jim-Billy said.
“Laurie,” Krystal called me. “Two nights ago two boys were drunk and lookin’ for a fight. A beer bottle was thrown which means broken furniture is about two seconds away. You waded into that and, with a smile and a flip of your hair, you talked them down and had them laughin’. You can handle drunk, angry bikers bent on blood with a flip of your hair, how can kids freak you out?”
“I didn’t flip my hair,” I told her.
“Darlin’,” Jim-Billy put in, “you did.”
I looked at him. “I did?”
“Who cares?” Krystal asked impatiently. “I asked, you can deal with that, wadin’ in without thought, how can kids freak you out?”
“Those are adults,” I explained.
“Yeah. So?”
“Adults aren’t kids,” I finished.
“No, darlin’, they aren’t,” Jim-Billy agreed and I looked at him again to see he was smiling at Krystal.