Page 6 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“Glad to hear it!”Tammysaid excitedly. “Wadetold me you can work pretty much any time, any day.Isthat correct?BecauseImake the schedule mostly, and thenWadejust approves it.”

“Yeah,I’mtrying to save up to go to college, soI’lltake any and all shifts you can give me, both at the bar and waiting tables.I’mnot picky,”Isaid shaking my head.

She showed me around, and then after getting a refill for the only customer currently at the bar, she wiped down the counters and informed me the lunch rush would start soon.

“Are you transferring from another school or just getting started?” she asked, with no judgment in her voice, butIstill felt a little embarrassed at how my situation had delayed me going to school.

“Umm…life got in the way a little bit the last year, soIhad to put school on the back burner for a bit, but hopefullyIcan find someplace not too far from here and apply there,”Itold her.

Her eyes softened, and she leaned over and put her hand on my hand, whereIwas restocking glasses.

“Does this delayed start have anything to do with those bruisesIsee healing on you?” she whispered to me.

My eyes widened asIstared at her.Crap.IguessIhadn’t done as good of a job asIthought on covering them with my makeup.Ididn’t know what to say.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.Youcan tell me when you’re good and ready,” she said calmly. “Butif you need me to take care of him,Ilisten to a lot of true crime podcasts, soIknow exactly how to kill a man and bury the body where no one will find it,” she said, winking at me and then turning toward the bar back area.

I half-chuckled, not really knowing whetherTammymeant that or not.

I wasn’t sureIwanted to find out.

I tried to change the subject, soIasked her to tell me about herself.

“Not much about me, girl,” she started, shrugging, andIcould tell she didn’t like sharing about herself. “Iwas anArmybrat growing up, and then kept it in the family and went into theArmymyself.Iused to come here to this pub a lot in between deployments.Gotto knowWade’suncle, and whenIretired, he offered me a job.Gotgood retirement from the military, butI’mnot the type of person to just sit around and be lazy all day.Plus,Ilike talking to people, and a bar is a great place for that.”

I could believe that.Shedefinitely seemed like a talker – and a friendly one at that – thoughIwondered if she had a boyfriend or kids or anything.

“Well, enough about my boring life.Whatare you going to school for?Haveyou decided?” she asked.

I saw what she was doing here.Flippingthe conversation so she didn’t have to talk about herself, soIlet it go.Iunderstood what that was like, not wanting to talk about certain aspects of my life, either.

“Massage therapy school,”Istarted to explain. “Ifound a few schools that offer a program starting soon, and even with me only taking classes part-time,Icould still graduate in less than two years.”

“Girl, you ever need a volunteer test dummy,I’myour girl,”Tammysaid as she stopped what she was doing with a glass in hand and turned to me. “Everythingon my body aches these days.Hell, just thinking about all my aches and pains makes my head hurt.I’llbe a great client.”

I laughed as she nodded at me and turned to go grab a menu for a guy who’d just sat down.

“I’ll give you a massage,Tammy, any time you want,” the new customer grinned like aCheshirecat.

This man sat down at the very end of the bar, and appeared to be at least fifteen years older thanTammy, but friendly.

“As tempting of an offer as that is,Eddie,Iknow where your hands have been andIdon’t want them anywhere near my body,” she said, winking at him and grinning as though this was a joke between them.

He guffawed loudly and clearly didn’t take her rejection to heart.

“I’m just happy it’s you two pretty ladies workin’ behind the bar tonight instead of the usual scruffy ones,”Eddiesaid. “I’lltake my usual,Tammy-girl.”

Tammy laughed and must have seen the confusion on my face.

“He’s talking aboutCoreyandSam, our other two main bartenders,”Tammyexplained. “Samworks here and goes to school part-time.Speakin’ of which, you may want to ask him about schools if you’re interested.”

“Oh, thanks,Imay just do that,”Itold her.

She continued while filling a beer forEddie. “Coreyworks here and also at the gym down the street as a personal trainer.Iteach a few martial arts classes there, which is how he found this job.Now, let’s get to it.Youcan start by getting that new customer down there, and thenI’llshow you the rest as we go through the day.”

If the rest of the shift was similar to how it began, this was going to be a great job.IlikedTammyalready and was looking forward to meeting everyone else.Andmaybe, just maybe, working a little more withWade.

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