Page 13 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

“Ellie, you listen to me,” she said in her mothering tone. “Weall make mistakes in life, but we learn from those mistakes and come out better on the other side.Youalso can’t let those mistakes keep you from living.”

“Amen,Tammy!”Ruthiechimed in.

I knew she was right, but once you’ve been burned, it’s hard to re-program your brain into trying again.

“Tell ya what.”Shesnapped her fingers, and her face lit up like she had the greatest idea in the world. “Whenyou find a man, you think might fit the bill, we’ll haveWadeand his boys run a quick background check on him and make sure he doesn’t have any outstanding warrants, or a second family in another state or something!”

“Or one of those guys who posts cringey dance videos onTikTok,”Ruthieadded, her face twisted like she’d just bitten into a sour lemon.

Yeah,I’mnever going to askWadeto run a background check on a guy.

Reason number one, he would tellJack, andIdidn’t need my brother knowing all the details of my love life.

Reason number two, background checks didn’t tell you everything.Iwas pretty sureRandall’sjob at the bank required a background check, and it probably hadn’t told them the monster he could be behind closed doors.

Reason number three, my interest inWadewould make that all kinds of awkward.

“Speaking of which, maybe having a fun night with one of the boys upstairs would be good,Lordknows they are all super handsome, and single,”Tammysaid, fanning her face with her hand asRuthielaughed behind me. “They’reall too young for me, but the minute he brings one in that’s closer to my age,I’mgonna take my chance, hop on that horse and ride him into the sunset.”

Ruthie andIchuckled at her bold declaration, butTammywasn’t done.

She sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her chest. “Imean, it’s been a while, ladies.Atthis point,I’dsettle for a man who knows how to use power tools and doesn’t breathe like a dying walrus when he sleeps.”

I snorted. “Tammy, your standards are both oddly specific and concerning.”

Tammy shrugged. “Listen,I’ma woman of simple needs.Astrong back, decent stamina, and the ability to kill a spider without screaming.That’sallIask.”

Ruthie shook her head, laughing. “I’llmake sure to tellWadeto start recruiting accordingly.”

Tammy pointed a finger atRuthie. “Youdo that.Andif he finds one with salt-and-pepper hair and forearms that look like they could split firewood?Givehim my number immediately.”

“What are y’all talking about over here?”Bethsaid as she came over to the bar to pick up some drinks.

“Men,”Tammysaid, then turned to me. “Thisone here said she doesn’t want a man right now, butIthink that’s exactly what she needs.”

“I just got out of a relationship,”ItoldBeth. “Ijust want to focus on myself right now and school.”

“You do you, girl, and don’t letTammypersuade you otherwise,”Bethsaid, then walked back to her table.

“You want me to talk toWade,”Tammystarted to say, butIjumped in.

“No!”Isaid, probably a little too quickly. “He’smy boss, which would be all kinds of weird.Plus, that would be awkward with him being friends with my brother.”

“Honey...”Shegrinned at me conspiratorially. “ImeantIwas gonna talk toWadeabout any of his single friends, but interesting that your brain went in that direction,”Tammysaid, smirking, andIknewIhad said too much.

“Yes, very interesting,”Ruthiechimed in.

Ruthie stared at me, suspicion written all over her face.Idecided to get back to my customers and ignoreTammy,Beth, andRuthiebeforeIsaid anything else stupid.

I also tried not to think aboutWade, butIkept finding my thoughts going back to him.Howkind he had been to me, how ruggedly handsome he was, howIseemed drawn to him whenever he was near.Yeah, definitely not thinking about him.JustasIfeltIwas getting a handle on not thinking aboutWade, the universe had other plans.

I was in the middle of pouring a beer whenTammy’svoice caught my attention.

“Hey, boss-man,Ichanged a few things on the schedule.Takea look and tell me what you think,”Tammysaid asWadewalked by the bar.

“Just here to drop off a few things off, butI’lltake a look real quick,” he replied, briefly looking at me, giving me a chin lift but saying nothing, then he walked back through the employee door—likely headed to his office.

He wore a charcoal gray polo shirt with dark jeans and looked so good.Hisbeard appeared freshly trimmed, but his hair could’ve used a cut.Hewas more dressed up than usual, andIwondered if he had an important meeting for the security business today.Tryingto bring my thoughts back to something else,Iturned to one of my customers and took their order.

---