Page 28 of Firecracker

He shampooed his hair, scrubbed his body clean and rinsed off, then stepped out to towel dry. It wasn’t long before he was leaving his apartment, dressed in clean jeans and a T-shirt, his cell phone, keys, and wallet all accounted for.

He eyed Arden’s closed door as he shut his own. Jamie and Mila were still at work, and with the kind of hours they put in, who knew when they’d be back, despite it being a holiday tomorrow. He hated leaving Arden there alone.

But he didn’t need to make a fool of himself by being that guy—the needy, desperate guy. Nope.

He jogged downstairs and headed out, walking the few blocks to Shenanigans in the warm late afternoon. After the heat of the last few days, dark clouds were accumulating low in the sky. The air felt thick and heavy. Probably going to be a wicked storm tonight. Be good if it happened tonight and cleared the air before the Fourth of July festivities tomorrow.

He entered Shenanigans, which was getting busy with the happy hour crowd. Sure enough, Liam was behind the bar, laughing with a couple of regulars seated there. Tyler slid onto a stool next to the guys, Dave and Hashim, who ran a nearby business selling soccer jerseys. “Hey, guys.”

They all greeted one another, and Liam slid him a Goose Island Pilsner. He grinned his thanks and picked it up.

“So I hear you hired a new waitress,” he said to Liam.

Liam’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, the grapevine is astonishingly efficient. How the hell did you hear that?”

“She’s Jamie’s sister.”

“Feck clean off. Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

Liam rubbed his forehead. “She has a different name.”

“Yeah. She…was married.”

Liam’s eyebrow rose.

“He died.” Tyler grimaced.

“Well, shite.”

“It was a year ago.”

“She said she’s moved back to Chicago and is staying with her brother.”

“Yeah. She’s living in the vacant apartment.”

“Huh.” Liam shrugged. “Well, she needed a job and I needed a waitress, so…”

Tyler leaned forward. “You’ll treat her well.”

Liam’s head jerked back, and he slapped a hand to his chest. “What the hell? You think I don’t treat all my staff well?”

Tyler shook his head, smiling. “Just sayin’.” He lifted his glass. “You’ll also keep an eye out for her so players like these dudes don’t hit on her.” He jerked his head at Hashim and Dave.

“Is she hot?” Hashim grinned.

“Don’t even go there,” Tyler warned. “She’s… Her husband just died. Leave her alone.”

All three men made sympathetic and apologetic noises. “We’llallwatch out for her,” Dave said. He shrugged. “We’re here enough.”

“That you are.” Liam grinned. “And I appreciate the business. Another pilsner, Tyler?”

“No thanks. Just having one tonight.”

“If I wanted only one drink, I’d go to communion,” Dave muttered.

Tyler laughed. “I have to work tomorrow.”

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