SWNOVELS Chance: Chapter 36
It wasfive o’clock and the Salty Dawg Tavern was officially open for business. Rory filled glasses and mixed drinks while Amber, Nikki, Perry, Susan, and Jen waited tables. Yes, they’d had to call everyone in, even the part-timers, but everyone had answered the call.
In the kitchen, Theo was as happy as a pig in mud, fixing dinner plates, frying burgers and wings, and directing his kitchen staff to chop, dice, plate, garnish, and watch timers.
It was chaos, but it was the kind of chaos Rory loved.
Mostly, since she was still more tired than usual. She was also a little bit sore in areas that hadn’t been used in a couple of months, but she liked the feel. Every time she moved, she was reminded of Chance thrusting into her body and taking her to nirvana.
When the One Shot Tactical team strolled into the restaurant around seven, Rory’s heart thumped and her mouth went dry. Amber was waiting for the last drink on the tray when it happened. She turned to look at Chance and then fixed her gaze on Rory again. Her mouth was a flat line.
“I can tell by that look there’s more going on with you and Chance than you let on. I wish you’d told me that from the beginning. I’m not the kind of person who’d poach on another woman’s territory.”
Rory flushed as she set the last beer on the tray. “You’re right and I’m sorry. I thought it was over, intended it to be, but apparently we aren’t done.”
Amber’s smile was back as if it’d never been gone. “Honey, I don’t see how you could be done with a man that fine. Ride him for all he’s worth, girl. If you decide to throw him back, I won’t go there. You’re my boss and my friend and you mean too much to me. In case you didn’t know.”
Rory blinked in shock. Her heart revved a little higher and heat prickled her skin. “I… Thank you, Amber. I appreciate it more than you know.”
Amber hefted the tray. “Do you think I’d ever forget what that lying bitch Tammy did with your fiancé? Now she’s over there in Decatur, thinking she’s better than all of us when she used to wait tables here every night. She’s not, though. You can dress up dog shit with glitter and douse it with perfume, but everybody knows it’s still dog shit.”
Rory watched Amber stride away, her eyes stinging with tears. Chance broke away from the group and strode over to her like a man on a mission. The concern in his eyes nearly undid her, but she sniffed her tears back and pasted on a semi-watery smile.
“Babe, you okay?”
He reached across the bar and cupped her cheek, a blatant act of possession that ought to be stomped back down, but she liked it too much. Who cared what people thought anyway? They already thought Chance was a warrior monk who’d taken a vow of chastity, but had broken it for her. The latest rumor she’d been asked about that’d left her slack-jawed.
She’d literally gaped at Miriam McClinton for nearly a full minute when the woman had told her that one. Then she’d laughed and said that Chance was definitely not a monk and never had been. Nor was he ninja or a SEAL. He was just Chance, a man with a military background who didn’t take kindly to strangers threatening her and Theo.
“Yes, I’m fine. How about you?”
Blue eyes searched her face. Her heart ached at the concern she saw there. “So long as you’re okay, I’m good.”
“I am.”
He tugged her toward him, leaned across the bar, and planted his lips on hers. She vaguely thought she shouldn’t let this happen in front of God and everybody. But again, she liked it too much. Her mouth parted, his tongue slipped inside, and she shivered with delight and anticipation as Chance Hughes kissed the fire out of her in front of the entire Salty Dawg Tavern.
“Damn,” he said against her mouth when he broke the kiss. “I have a new fantasy about laying you out on this bar and feasting on you while you writhe beneath my tongue.”
“Don’t say stuff like that,” she begged. “It’s too long until quitting time.”
He stepped back with a grin. That was when she noticed all the eyes on them. Heat rushed to her cheeks, but really, did she give a crap? Let the fine women of Sutton’s Creek envy the stuffing out of her for bagging a hot, protective alpha male who really oughta be on romance novel covers with those smoldering good looks.
“Guess so, but the minute we walk through that door tonight, I’m taking what’s mine.”
“Not if Gus gets there first,” she teased, thankful they were still close enough she could say it without anyone hearing her.
He laughed. “Think I’m gonna dropkick that thing into the Tennessee River one of these days soon.”
“Don’t you dare.”
“We’ll see. Glad the inspection went well, baby. Kane’s been jonesing for fried chicken and threatening to put a hurting on the Davises if he didn’t get it.”
“The inspector was late. In fact, the first inspector didn’t make it at all. I called to ask for an update and found out he was out sick. So they sent somebody else. I thought he was going to deny us at first, because he was super picky, but he signed off and here we are. Thank God.”
Chance nodded. “You got this, babe. You and Theo will make up the ground you lost. You’ve got enough for the staff, right?”
“Yes, but it woulda been close if we’d been closed any longer.”
He leaned over and kissed her again. “You aren’t, though. Care to tell me what you and Amber were talking about that made you teary?”
“You noticed that?”
“I notice everything about you, Rory.”
Warmth flooded her. “I was apologizing for not being honest about you and me being a thing, and she was telling me that even if I break up with you tomorrow, she won’t go there. You’re persona non grata to her now.”
“Thank God. I’ve never wanted Amber. I’ve only wanted you.”
“Amber’s pretty sexy with those tight shirts and shorts.”
“She is, but she doesn’t do it for me. You do.”
Happiness filled her though she tried to temper it. She had to be sensible about this. Not let her head stay in the clouds. But when he said things like that, it made her feel lighter than air.
Jen strolled up to the bar with a tray and an order. Rory nodded at her. “Gotta get to work, Chancey Pants. Stop distracting me.”
He winked and grinned and her insides lit up like fireworks on a summer night. “I’ll distract you later. With my tongue.”
“No doubt you will. Get lost, warrior monk.”
His eyes widened a fraction. “That’s the rumor now?”
“Yep, and I’d say you just confirmed for the entire bar that you broke your vow of chastity for little ol’ me.”
“Good grief, this town.”
“Maybe next time you’ll think twice about telling off the Texans in public, huh?”
“Not if they’re harassing you. I don’t care what people say so long as those assholes leave my woman alone.”
There it was again, that shiver of excitement whenever he called her his woman. “Caveman,” she said, but she couldn’t hide the affection in her voice.
He took a step back. “Pretty sure you like cavemen, kitten. Or minotaurs.”
“Beat it, Conan.”
“Gone, babe. But not too far.”
He turned and strolled into the crowd, Rory watching his fine ass in those jeans as he walked. Jen was grinning when Rory finally dragged her attention over to her.
“I mean I get why you’d stare,” Jen said. “I stared too, just so you know.”
“Who wouldn’t?” Rory said. “That is one amazing ass in jeans.”
“And out of them?”
“None of your business,” Rory said with a smile. “Now what do you need?”
The crowd lighteneda bit as the evening went on. Everyone came over to chat with Rory about the closure, to sympathize over the mold scare, and to offer help if she and Theo needed it.
It was the offers of help that affected her most of all. These people she’d known her whole life were willing to step up if she needed them to. She felt a little like George Bailey on Christmas Eve when the whole town turned out to dump money onto the table in front of him. If she and Theo needed any cash to get them through a rough spot, the town would be there. If they needed labor or favors or grace, the town would be there.
She would never ask them for it. Theo wouldn’t either. But knowing that so many people were willing to pitch in with cash or services was enough to make her want to cry.
Chance came over to talk to her from time to time, and Emma Grace did too until she and Blaze left to go spend the evening together with Sassy. Rory envied Emma Grace her easy relationship with Blaze, but the envy wasn’t as strong as it’d once been.
Sure, she didn’t know what to make of Chance’s declaration of love, not really, and she wasn’t ready to believe it was a real thing that wouldn’t change whenever he got tired of dealing with her medical issues, but she was enjoying the attention he lavished on her for now. It was nice.
A few minutes after nine, Jimmy Turton slid onto a barstool and made eye contact. Rory smiled. “Hey, Jimmy, what’ll you have?”
“Bud Light. Bottle, please.”
Rory retrieved the bottle and set it in front of him. Jimmy looked tired. More than that, he looked pensive.
“You doing okay, Jimmy?”
“Yeah, yeah, just fine.” He took a swig of the beer and rolled the bottle between his hands. “Nice to see you open again.”
“Happy to be open.”
“Heard it might not happen what with the mold and all.”
Rory stiffened. Of course people would have speculated. “There is no mold. We had the building thoroughly inspected and the flooded areas treated.”
Jimmy nodded. “You were lucky. Old buildings like this don’t always behave so well. Might not the next time.”
“The next time?”
He shrugged. “Don’t mean nothing by it. Just observing that y’all were lucky and the building is old.”
“It is and we were. Any other observations?”
“Yeah.” He rolled the bottle again as if gathering his courage. “Don’t know how to say it so I’m just gonna. Mama’s willing to sell if you do. Billy and I need this, Rory. We need Mama to sell up and get that house in town, and we need to get out from under the land. Mr. Davis is offering a lot of money. Money that could change our lives. Yours and Theo’s too. If we don’t do it now, we might never get another chance.”
Rory’s stomach bottomed out. “Jimmy. I’m really sorry, but I don’t think that’s fair. You can’t lay that on me. If y’all want to sell, then do it. But don’t make me selling a condition of you doing so.”
Jimmy’s eyes flashed as he glared at her. She nearly took a step back. He’d never looked at her like that before. Not ever. It was anger and frustration and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of hate all rolled into one.
“You don’t get it, do you?” he growled. “They won’t buy the land unless all three of us sell. It’s five-hundred acres and your puny farm is in the middle. You can’t build the kind of development they want to build with two parcels separated by forty acres. If we don’t all sell—all of us—they’ll take their money somewhere else. You can’t want to see the rest of us suffer because you’re stubborn. It’s not fair and it’s not right. Take the money. Hell, use some of it to buy a smaller plot and move your grandparents’ house, but for God’s sake, don’t make us all suffer for your selfishness.”
Shock froze her to the spot. She would normally have a comeback for that kind of accusation, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say to Jimmy that would make it better. The Davises wanted all the land and wouldn’t buy any of it if they couldn’t get it all. But how was that her fault?
It wasn’t, but they were damned sure making it hers. First the garden, then the pipe and the hay, none of which she could prove they’d done. And now this. If they couldn’t push her out financially, were they planning to try and guilt her out?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll sell the goddamn farm, Rory. Sign on the dotted line and think about more than just you and your brother for a change. Christ, you two take the cake. You don’t even want to farm, but you keep it anyway when you have this.”
He waved his hand around above his head before slapping it on the bar again. Rory jumped at the violence of the sound. She opened her mouth to say something, though she didn’t know what, but Chance was suddenly there, looming large and angry next to Jimmy.
“You’d better not be threatening Rory,” he growled.
Jimmy glared at Chance. “Or what, big man? You gonna beat me up and leave me for dead like you threatened to do to the Davises?”
“Something like that,” Chance said, his voice milder than was safe for anyone. Not that Jimmy seemed to realize it with the way he got off the bar stool and faced off with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Like he had a shot in hell of besting Chance at anything resembling a fight.
“You’re no better than she is,” Jimmy spat. “Aurora Harper, always too good for everyone, seeking attention back in middle and high school with her episodes—” He used finger quotes on the word episodes. “—lording it over the rest of us with her land and her thriving business. And now she has a guard dog to threaten decent folk who only want to improve this town? How does she pay you, Fido? With cash or pussy? Or maybe it’s both.”
Rory squeaked as Chance moved. She thought for sure Jimmy was a dead man but Chance did something that had Jimmy facing the door, marching toward it with Chance behind him, holding his arms and pushing him forward until the two of them disappeared outside.
Customers ran for the door, spilling out onto the street to watch the fight. But there was no fight because Chance was back moments later, followed by grumbling people as they returned to the Dawg and went back to their tables. It was worth noting that the One Shot guys who were still there—Kane, Ethan, and Seth—hadn’t even gotten up from their table.
“What did you do?” Rory whispered, her throat tight as Chance stalked over, looking angrier than a cat that’d been given a bath.
“Nothing except deposit him on the street and tell him what would happen if he bothered you again.”
“You can’t threaten everyone who gets angry with me, Chance.”
“I fucking can, Aurora. And I will. Nobody gets to cuss you in public and say the things he said. Nobody disrespects you that way. Nobody accuses you of seeking attention, for fuck’s sake, with a disease you didn’t ask to have and don’t deserve—”
She held up a hand, effectively stopping his tirade in its tracks. Anger simmered beneath the surface, but she worked to keep it under control. “Nobody deserves any disease, Chance. But it happens, and by God I won’t be made to feel like I’m somehow less than because I have it. Not by you or anyone else. No I don’t deserve it, but nobody does. Doesn’t change the fact I have it. You are not allowed to feel sorry for me. That’s the one thing I can’t abide. I’m still me and I’m perfectly fine just the way I am. It’d be easier without diabetes, sure. But having it doesn’t make me pitiable, you hear me?”
He was staring at her with wide eyes. They were already close because the conversation was private, but he leaned across the bar to bring them closer. “Jesus, Ror, I don’t pity you. I’ve never met a less pitiable person in my life. The things that you deal with on a regular basis would take down anyone with less guts than you have. You have my admiration, not my pity. But I can’t let anyone talk to you that way. It fucking hurts me when someone hurts you. I won’t stand by and say nothing. I know you can fight your own battles, and do it all the time, but some battles I’m gonna armor up and take out the trash for you. Same as you’d do for me if the situation warranted it. You feel me?”
“I think so. And I’m not mad at you for throwing Jimmy out. He was out of line and deserved it, though yeah, I feel bad that I’m the one standing between him and the new life he wants, but I also suspect that’s Ronnie Davis being a manipulative prick. He can build his massive development on four-hundred-and-sixty acres just as well as five-hundred. If he says he can’t, then he’s either lying or stupid.”
“He’s a rich man used to getting his way. It pisses him off that one small woman is going to stand between him and his vision. I don’t think he’s lying or stupid. He just wants his way, and he’s willing to do anything to get it. Some people are shit like that, babe.”
Rory dragged in a breath. Amber was walking over with an order. “I need to fill orders. We’ve still got an hour and a half ’til close.”
“How you holding up? Glucose okay?”
She wasn’t even mad that he asked. “I’m tired, but I’m fine. Glucose is fine. I ate earlier. If you’re hanging around because you’re worried about me, then don’t. I’m good.”
“I’m hanging around because I want to be near you. Put up the new cameras after work with the guys, locked up the chickens, and checked everything over. No reason for me to be there when I want to be here with you.”
He leaned across the bar and pressed a kiss to her mouth. Second time tonight, though this one was less sizzling than before because tongues didn’t get involved.
Probably a good thing since the fire between them had barely been contained the last time.
“Let me know if you need anything, baby,” he growled in her ear. “I’ll make sure it happens. Be thinking about what you need when we get home, because I’m gonna give you that, too. Until you can’t walk or form a coherent sentence.”