“You,” Forrester said, pointing to Phil. “I think the lady told you to get the fuck away from her.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Phil said, puffing out his chest.
Forrester had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. It wasn’t polite to roll your eyes before you beat the shit out of a guy. “I’m her friend.”
“Well, friend, I’m going to give you five seconds to get your ass out of here, before we put it in the emergency room for you.”
Forrester walked right toward him. Phil took a step back before regaining his courage. As Forrester passed the other boys, one of them swung a punch at him. Forrester grabbed the fist in mid-flight, without even turning to face the guy who’d thrown it, and began to squeeze. The boy cried out in pain and fell to his knees before Forrester released his hand.
“I think it’s time you four cocksuckers got out of here,” Forrester said, “before someone gets hurt.”
“Before someone gets hurt?” the ringleader said. “Come on, buddy. There are four of us.”
Forrester looked down at the guy whose fist he’d just crushed. “I count three,” he said.
“Three of us then,” Phil said, his voice faltering.
At that moment, one of the other boys leapt forward at Forrester. Forrester took a step back so that the boy’s lunge missed him. Then he brought his arm down on the boy’s back as he stumbled past. He fell, crashing into the stools at the bar.
“Two,” Forrester said.
“Who the fuck are you?” Phil said.
Forrester grinned at him. “I’m Forrester Snow,” he said. “I’m from these parts. You might have heard of me.”
Phil was silent for a moment while he thought about it. The name was obviously familiar to him. Then he made the connection. “The pit bulls. The funeral. You’re back.”
“I’m back,” Forrester said. “And if any of you dipshits so much as look at this bar again, or at the diner, or at either of these girls, they’ll never find your bodies. Do you hear me?”
Phil looked at his friends and motioned for them to back off. “Come on fellas,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Forrester stood where he was, in the middle of the dance floor, until the boys had gathered up their things, settled their bill, and left the bar.
“I apologize again for the mess,” he said to Harry.
Harry just shook his head. He wasn’t sure what to make of what had just happened. He was worried that the repercussions of this were going to fall back on him, but Forrester would make sure they didn’t. If he was anything, he was thorough. He wouldn’t have started a fight like that in a town like this if he wasn’t willing to stick around and see it to its conclusion.
Everyone was silent. Forrester gave a little nod to Kelly. “Sorry for ruining your night, miss,” he said.
Kelly just shook her head. She didn’t know how to respond. “That guy was my ex,” she stammered.
Forrester nodded.
“He was a shitty boyfriend,” Kelly added.
Elle was looking at him but he said nothing to her. He turned and began walking to the door. Elle watched with her jaw wide open. When he got to the door he turned to her. She was still looking at him, her big eyes full of admiration. She was his. He knew it.
He smiled at her. “Aren’t you coming?”
Chapter 13
Elle
ELLE WAS IN SHOCK. She looked at the scene in front of her, the broken stool, the smashed bottles, the looks on the faces of Kelly and Harry.
When Forrester called back to her, her heart flipped. She thought he was going to leave without a word to her. Now she was torn. Did she even want to be anywhere near a guy like that?
Forrester didn’t wait. He just kept walking, right out the door. Elle looked at Kelly for help. She only had a moment to make up her mind, she knew that much.
“What are you waiting for?” Kelly said.
“You think?” Elle said, looking deeply at her friend.
“You’re crazy about that guy. It’s so obvious. If anything, I’d say you’re as crazy as he is. You’re perfect for each other.”
“What about you?” Elle said.
“I’ve got to get back to my brother. He’s the only man in my life.”
Elle laughed, and then, hardly even able to believe what she was doing, she found herself running out of the bar after Forrester. Outside, she saw his truck. He was sitting in the driver seat waiting for her. She ran around and hopped in.
Forrester turned and smiled at her.
“You’re here,” he said.
“Does that surprise you?”
He laughed. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know if anything would surprise me about you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged. “You’re something, you know that?”
“I’ve heard it,” Elle said, a little unsure of what he meant.
“Your name’s Elle, isn’t it?”
Elle nodded. “And yours is Forrester.”