Page 162 of Mountain Men Heroes

I sighed. Damn.

I kept my back to Birdie while I repeated my mantra in my head. The last thing I ever wanted to do was end up working for Birdie Holt part-time at Sawyer’s Rusty Nail, yet here I stood in my tight uniformed t-shirt and jeans. At least I got to pick my footwear. Tonight I opted for a red pair of dressy sandals with a spiked heel and lacy ties that went up the side of my jeans. It was my one guilty pleasure and damn it I enjoyed it.

I was so close to having enough money to move to Syn City and go to college full-time. If that meant picking up extra shifts at the Rusty Nail any chance I got, I would suck it up.

And working here had nothing to do with being closer to one Sawyer Becker. Even if the bastard was never around. I swear it.

I pasted on a grin before I turned around. “Sorry. I didn’t think I started until six tonight.”

Birdie huffed out a breath, but I knew I had her. My shift did indeed start at six. A glance at the clock hanging on the dark paneled wall told me I had another five minutes before I was due out on the floor.

I snatched up an apron and tied it around my waist, tucking a pad and pen in a pocket. “Has it been busy tonight?”

Birdie pursed her hot pink lips, looking for all the world like she was sucking a lemon. I held back a laugh.

“It’s always busy on Fridays. Make sure you get out on that floor now or I dock pay. And get rid of those ridiculous heels. You look like a hooker.” She marched out the door and I saluted her retreating back.

Hooker or not, me and my heels ducked into the small powder room and I checked myself in the mirror. I smoothed down a few strands of the hair that had escaped from my sloppy ponytail and rubbed a finger under my eye to get rid of a spot of smeared eyeliner. I applied some peachy lip-gloss and stared at myself for a second. Guess that’s as good as I was going to get.

With a sigh, I headed out to the barroom, snatching up a tray as I went.

As soon as I hit the busy floor, Carlos, our bartender and single father, called out to me. “Hola, chica. Lookin’ good tonight, señorita. Can you pick up table four, por favor?”

“Si, Carlos. Y ¡gracias!”

I threw him a smile and got one back for my practiced line of Spanish. In our seldom off hours, he helped me learn his native language while I taught him how to braid his daughter’s hair.

I headed over to the table under one of the new ginormous flatscreens. Four of my regulars sat at the battered round table.

“Hey, guys. How were the tourists today?” I offered the Wilder brothers and one of their crew members a warm smile knowing they’d dealt with some crazy people on the best of days. The men owned an outdoor adventures company and were always good for a few hilarious stories about their customers. It didn’t hurt that they were great tippers, too.

“Surprisingly quiet,” Asher, the crew member who graduated high school a few years ahead of me, shared. “Not one of them tried to get up close and personal with the local wildlife. Kind of a bummer. Could have used a good laugh.”

I laughed. “You sound disappointed.”

A wide grin took up residence across the bottom half of his face. “It keeps things interesting when I have to pull one of them out of the bay or rescue one who thought it was a good idea to take pictures with a cute baby bear.”

“Ya know, Ash, I think you just might have a mean streak.” I shook my head and laughed along with the guys before slipping my pad and pen from my apron. “You guys up for your usual?”

I got their orders and headed toward the bar. A glance over the room told me Birdie hadn’t lied. The place was jammed with a mixture of locals and tourists all enjoying the warm interior and good company.

Bits and pieces of conversation drifted my way as I skirted tables, chairs, and patrons. Most of it filtered out, but then I heard the dreaded words that made my heart stop cold.

“…I heard Sawyer is coming back for good this time. I’m so happy to hear it…”

I froze in place for a long moment until someone jostled me from behind. I shook off the stupor and hustled to the bar with my orders. Usually I’d pick up another order while Carlos filled this one, but right now my mind glitched.

I kept my back to the crowd and stared off into space as I fought to get my breathing under control. I quickly found something that helped me—mental math.

I stood there and started to add up the numbers in my bank account, plus the partial scholarship money I’d been offered, and compared it to the cost of living I’d come up with for Syn City.

I had planned to stick it out in Wild Ridge until late fall before I finally, finally headed to the city to start school in the spring semester. That would give me plenty of time to find a place to live, find a job and get settled. What I really wanted time to do was pass around my portfolio with the jewelers and get my handcrafted pieces in their hands. That way they could see the quality work first hand. If I could only get that far. Up until now it’s all been a fantasy. The best way to move forward and forget about him—sexy and mysterious Sawyer Becker.

But the mention of Sawyer’s return blew all those plans right out of the water. My heart raced at the prospect of coming face-to-face with the hard, gorgeous man I’d done my best to avoid since my mother walked us through his doors while looking for a job three years ago.

With her gone, I took her place and I’ve worked here ever since.

Sawyer was the one man who could tempt me to throw away all my plans with just the crook of his finger.

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