Page 12 of Cosmo

When he wouldn’t make direct eye contact, Goldie finally turned his attention back to their boss. “I’ll get this new keg set up, then do the books for you.”

“Mims is busy?”

“He’s got a new daddy,” Goldie said dryly. “One date and he’s already hooked.”

“Great. Good thing we have a new worker to take up the slack this week.”

“Eh, I don’t give it an entire week.”

Murphy started walking and called for Liam to follow, so he did, and they went through a set of thick black curtains.

All the walls were old brick, some with plaster over them, but the brick showed through the plaster in places which looked strategic.

There was conduit and piping on the ceiling, vents showing, but that only added to the industrial feel of the place. All the wood tables and booths were dark, thick, and what leather there was over cushions was deep red.

Old bar signs and neon lights covered the walls, shamrocks anywhere there weren’t bar signs, and once they passed by a set of double doors that had signage for patrons to keep out, he looked to the left to see walls of windows that showed a nice outdoor area for the patrons to sit on nicer evenings.

“This place is big.”

“It is. We don’t open these back areas except on weekends, when we get crowds, though. We like to keep all the patronswhere we can see them easily, and our nighttime cleaning crew doesn’t have to look all over for messes.”

After heading across the patio outside, there was a door next to the bathroom. It was metal and locked, with another sign that readEmployees Only. After Murphy looked through what must have been twenty keys on his ring, he found the right one and unlocked the door. “I’ll get my husband to get you a set of the one’s you’ll need.”

There were concrete stairs heading down, and metal stairs that rose to the upper floors. They went one flight up the metal stairs to reach a landing with another metal door. “The stairs across from the patio at the end by the kitchens and other bathrooms lead to my place. I have two floors for my family and me. This one, one floor up from the other set of bathrooms, is where Goldie, Hippy, and Mims live. You don’t live on this floor.”

“Hippy?”

“Hypnotic, but as you’ve heard already, they all have nicknames for each other that have stuck. Hippy is…well, he’s into blues music. Like very much into it.”

“Okay, so no going on this floor.”

“Didn’t say that. Once you get to know the guys, you’ll feel comfortable on this floor or yours. But both floors have a common living room and kitchen for you guys, and two big bathrooms.”

They traveled up again and came to another landing. “Okay, the top floor is yours, Haze’s, and Absinthe’s.”

As Murphy opened the door, he right away saw a long, wide hall with three doors in front of him. “Starting on the left is Abs, then Haze, and that end door is your bedroom. Across here are the two bathrooms for you guys, and through the hallway there is the living room and kitchen. Yours is pretty comfortable, done like the rest of the place, industrial, masculine. The others’ common area is done in mid-century modern style. I only knowany of that because my husband designed all the areas. Let’s get you settled into your room, and I’ll leave you be for now to get used to the place on your own for a while. Then later, I can introduce you to everyone.”

Not that he was looking forward to that, but he was happy to get to his room.

Murphy led him to his door and opened it for him, waving an arm over the opening. “Done in red and white. The room colors go with the color of your nickname. You can change whatever you like if you decide to stay.”

“Thanks. I know I haven’t seemed…really grateful, but I am.”

Murphy smiled warmly. “It’s a lot to get used to after jail, I’m told. Oh, and if you need anything, there is a door off the kitchen and living room that leads to our place. Hit the buzzer if it’s locked. Also, there is another door down in the other bartender's apartment. That leads to our place too, and that is what you’ll take tonight. We’re all having dinner together to welcome you. I promise, you can eat and book it out of there if it’s too much, but at least you’ll put names to faces, and you’ll also meet my kids, my dad, everyone.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to stay the entire dinner,” he said with a slight chuckle.

“Good. I’ll call you when it’s time. Go in the room, get comfortable, and we’ll see you at dinner.”

After Murphy left, he went into the room, closing the door behind him. It was a beautiful room, big and spacious.

The walls, curtains, and big area rug was a bright, cheerful red, and the wood floors painted a dull white. There was a small television mounted on the long wall and a loveseat across from it.

A queen size bed with a bright white duvet and a ton of pillows took up the center of the room, but he moved past it as he set his bag on the duvet. There were two long windows at the endof the room, and from there, he saw downtown that was only a few blocks away, and to the right, he saw the Rocky Mountains stretching from north to south.

Gorgeous view, beautiful building, and nice people. And Liam MacManus didn’t trust it a bit.

He’d had a nice home once. A loving family, or so he thought. In front of the kids, there were smiles, there were cheerful voices, and singing hymns each night as their mother played the piano.

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