Page 18 of On The Rocks

These had a frosted detail that reminded me of a vintage bar Baron, the bassist in my band, had lovingly restored during oneof our off months. None of us had been good with down time—too much time to get into trouble.

Which was why we’d been on tour more than we weren’t.

I shook off the memory.

And the always smiling Baron who’d been shattered by Irene’s cruelty.

“If you squeeze that glass any harder, it’s going to break.”

I set it down, dragged back into the now by Lennon’s voice. Where I belonged. “Right. Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “Do you need anything else from the storage room?”

“No. I think I have enough to work on today.”

“Okay.” I gave her a tight smile. “I think I’m going to get out of here if you don’t need me.”

“I’m fine.”

I nodded. “Of course.” I pulled my toothpick from behind my ear and tucked it in the corner of my mouth.

Everyone wasjust finewithout me around.

Chapter 5

Lennon

Record Scratch

My muscles relaxed as he stalked out of the taproom. The mood had definitely taken a turn. Griffin had been an easygoing sort when he’d first come to the orchard. A little slick, a lot attractive, and far too watchful.

Sometimes it felt as if his entire purpose was trying to puzzle me out.

I didn’t like him in my space.

The chaos of a bar meant people were bumping and touching and even getting far too familiar sometimes, while reaching around for a bottle of liquor or into the till to cash out a patron.

That kind of thing I could handle.

Griffin made my skin tighten. Not in the creep zone-style. I was more than able to handle that, thanks to ten years of bartending, but in the way that spelled trouble. If I’d been on a temporary job, I’d have banged it out with him and moved on.

Now? Not so much.

Too many entanglements with the people here in the taproom. Not to mention, people were nosy as fuck. Especially Kain.

Things were still tense between the two men, and I didn’t need to wade into that war zone, thanks. And depending on how long Griffin stuck around, I didn’t need things to be awkward.

I didn’t do relationships. Hell, I barely did situationships. It was just easier to scratch the itch when it arose. To be truthful, it didn’t happen all that often.

When off the clock, I enjoyed the quiet to reset. There was nothing quiet or calming about Griffin St. James. He was far more like his brother than Kain would own up to.

And from the end of our conversation, he was holding onto just as much baggage. I had enough of my own. I didn’t really need to unpack anyone else’s.

Kira skipped up the steps from the patio. Her cheeks were flushed, and her top knot was a little crooked. She went right for the playpen area and looked in on the twins, who slept through damn near everything.

Oh, to sleep so soundly.

I’d been a light sleeper all my life. Mostly because not every place I slept as a kid could be called safe by any metric. A quick flash of the apartment with the paper-thin walls in Flagstaff rolled through. The pervasive scent of old cigarettes, fried food, and unwashed bodies never quite faded.

Absently, I rubbed my arm where a scar trailed along my forearm. I tugged at the cuff of my long-sleeved sweater, shoving away the past.

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