He approached me and took my hand to shake it. “I’m so glad you decided to come tonight, Abigail. I wasn’t sure you’d show up.”
Surprised by the tightness of his handshake, I hurriedly tore my hand from his hold and forced a smile. “I live up to my word, Mr. Jennings. I know you do too. Thank you for that.”
“Please, no more Mr. Jennings. Call me Mason. We’re going to be spending time together working here, so I think informality is called for.”
“Oh, we are? Where’s your brother?”
“Jethro is still on the mend, so until he’s back up on his feet, I’m taking care of the bar.”
A sense of relief washed over me. The news of no Jethro to deal with made me feel much better. Mason might look cheap, but as a public official, he’d know that attacking young women would endanger his political career.
“I’m glad to hear he’s doing well. Just tell me what you need me to do and we can get started.”
“I think for tonight just getting used to the bar will be good enough. It will get busier in a couple hours, so that should give you enough time to get your bearings.”
Nodding, I smiled for real this time and turned to make my way to the bar, but Mason’s hand caught my arm. “Oh, and Abigail, while what you’re wearing is nice, you’re going to have to wear something more revealing from now on.”
Just the way he said those words, as if I was just a body to be leered at and nothing more, made my stomach drop. Mason stared at me, waiting for my answer, so I quickly said, “Sure. No problem.”
I just hoped it wasn’t a sign that everything I feared about working at The Greyhound was beginning to come true.
Mason left me alone for the rest of the night, and surprisingly, the patrons of Jethro’s bar acted like perfect gentlemen. That they were all nearly three times my age might have been why, but whatever the reason was, they made my first night on the job painless and quite easy. A crowd did come in around ten, so I kept busy for a few hours, but I was always on the lookout for where Mason might be. I saw him speaking to a few men at one of the tables in a dark corner at one point, but when those men left, he returned to the back room.
The few patrons left by two o’clock quietly finished their drinks and pushed their glasses toward the inside of the bar before leaving. I cleaned up my area and wiped down the bar, thinking Mason would come out to say goodbye or something, but he never showed his face again. Even when I called his name, I got no response. As much as I dreaded going into the back room to find him, I couldn’t just leave without telling him.
Opening the door, I poked my head in and saw him sitting at a table working on his laptop. I’d been so worried about what I’d find that I let out an audible sigh, and he turned to look at me with an expression that instantly made any relief I’d felt disappear.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to intrude. I just wanted to tell you that I cleaned up and it’s after two, so I’m going to leave now.”
His dark eyes scanned my body from head to toe and back up again before he spoke. “Very nice. I’ll see you again on Sunday, right?”
“But state law doesn’t let you serve alcohol on Sundays.”
“We don’t, but the bar is open on Sundays, Abigail, so I expect to see you here at nine sharp. Are we clear?”
I was anything but clear on what I’d be doing at a bar on a Sunday, but as I hesitated to give my answer, Mason stood and walked over to stand in front of me, glowering down at me. “That was our agreement, Abigail. You work here and I make sure Kane stays out of jail. I’d hate to see such a pretty girl heartbroken because her boyfriend had to spend time in prison for his violent tendencies.”
This man frightened me, but what choice did I have? “No, no. I understand. I’ll be here at nine Sunday. Since I’m not bartending, do I still need to wear different clothes?”
Mason gave me a sinister smile. “Yes, definitely. Let’s try something more feminine next time.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be here.”
I ran out of The Greyhound, desperate to get away from Mason and that look on his face that told me he was who I should be afraid of, not Jethro.
I ROLLED over and stretched the sleep from my limbs, loving the feel of Abbi’s warm skin touching mine. Of all the days of the week, I loved Sundays the most because we could stay in bed all day if we wanted to, and nobody and nothing interrupted us. Half-asleep, she curled up against my chest, nuzzling her face in the space between my shoulder and ear.
“What time is it?” she mumbled.
“Shhh. Go back to sleep,” I whispered, touching my lips to the top of her head. Shimmying against me to find the perfect spot, she moaned softly as I slid my fingertips over the ends of her hair.
Even now that the evidence of that asshole ex’s attack on her had faded and her hair had grown in, I still liked to feel the strands so soft against my fingertips. I knew she loved it too. That I had to fight the urge to rip the guy’s fucking head off every time I thought about what he’d done didn’t matter. All that mattered was when I played with her hair it made Abbi happy.
Only once before in my life had any person brought me such joy as she did. When she was near me, nothing could diminish my happiness. When she wasn’t, she was all I thought of. I willingly admitted I was obsessed with her and making her the happiest woman on earth.
I’d lived alone for over a decade, and I’d planned on spending the rest of my life that way. Some people shouldn’t be around others. They only end up hurting them. I believed that until Abbi showed up in front of me in Cash’s office that night. I’d convinced myself that I’d never want to be close to anyone ever again, but all it took was one look from those gentle blue eyes and I was lost.
I didn’t realize how lost until I saw her standing on that stage at The Carousel Club surrounded by all those men ogling her. I felt their eyes on her body and couldn’t leave her standing up there for them. She was too gentle, too sweet. Suddenly, all those years alone evaporated and the need to protect her like I should have protected Holly became my only thought.
Abbi stirred in my arms and cooed next to my ear, “I could stay here forever, you know that?”
“Me too. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Can we?” she asked.
“Can we what?”
She kissed my neck and squeezed me to her. “Stay here forever.”