Page 32 of Love Over Easy

David

“Who’s checked out the new coffee shop owner?” Case Murphy asks.

We were able to score a table in the card room in the new Brewster’s pub. Back here, the music isn’t as loud so we don’t have to shout. We usually get together once a month to play poker, but tonight we decided to try out the pub.

Much to the town’s dismay, Rance Douglas, a single male, came to town and turned what once was a shopping mart into a pub. The town wanted to only allow single females to move here, but Kimberly put the kybosh on that. I grin, remembering the town meeting where that discussion went down.

Rance has done a great job creating the atmosphere inside the pub. Dark stained wood on the floors and walls. The ceiling is bead board and stained the same dark shade. You would think all that dark wood would make it feel like a cave, but it doesn’t. It feels cozy and intimate.

The bar itself, of course, is more dark wood with a polished-to-a-sheen top and a copper railing around the top and bottom to rest your feet on while perched on wooden bar stools.

A proper Scottish pub is how Rance describes his establishment. If that was the look he was going for, he hit it perfectly.

“Her name is Jennifer.” Rod offers up the info and lays down a card. Case deals him a single.

Bode looks up from his cards with a side grin. “Ahhh, you know her name. Are you sweet on her?”

Rod snorts. “Hardly. She’s much too young for me. She does have a sweet younger sister, Joyana. She just graduated and will be attending college in Wilmington in the fall.”

“What about Jennifer?” Case asks, pushing for more info. That’s interesting. Case doesn’t usually show an interest in newcomers.

Rod frowns at his cards; he doesn’t have a poker face. “What about her? She seemed a bit standoffish.”

Case is quick, maybe too quick, to say, “No way. I met her and she’s gorgeous and nice.”

“David, what’s up with Shyanne? She still staying with you?” Bode asks, sensing his brother wants to change the subject.

“Yeah. She is,” I reply and toss in a few chips.

Patrick folds and says, “That is one fine looking woman. Is she a fitness model or something?”

I frown, not liking the thought of Patrick, a man I’ve known my entire life, checking out Shy. All these guys are my friends so I honestly answer, “Other than getting ready to open the café, I have no idea.”

All eyes around the table are pointed at me. Bode smirks and says, “Do you mean Sheriff Caldwell hasn’t run a report on her?”

Bode knows my suspicious nature. “That’s just it. I did and I didn’t get a single hit.”

“She give you a false name?” Rod asks.

I lay my cards face down on the table and sigh. I’ve been debating that question myself. “That’s my guess. She has…trust issues.”

Case tosses his own cards down and glares my way. “Shit. You like her. I was going to toss my hat in the ring for her.”

My brow raises as I glare back. I say it slowly so he has no problem hearing or comprehending. “She’s not up for grabs.”

A much too satisfied glint appears in the asshole’s eyes. “Got it. You’ve already locked her down.”

Locking her down means relationship and that word makes me itch just thinking about it. “No. Nothing like that, we’re just… I mean how serious can I get when I don’t really know her?”

I look around the table. These are my friends. My best friends that I’ve known all my life. I know they have my back, just as I have theirs. I trust them without question. I’d like to have their opinions, but most importantly, I’d like to have their backup for any danger that may come looking for Shy. But how much to tell them? Certainly not about her knocking me out. I’d never hear the end of it.

“Her first day on the island, I found Shy trying to break into one of the vacant houses. She wouldn’t talk, so I slapped the cuffs on her and hauled her off to jail. But while uncuffing her, I found bruises. A lot of them.”

I know the grim, angry looks on my friends’ faces. We’ve all been raised the same. Nobody treats a woman that way.

“You think someone is looking for her? A husband, boyfriend?” Case asks.

I rub the back of my neck to relieve the stress from thinking about someone hurting such a kind, sweet woman. “I don’t honestly know. She says she’s not married and she doesn’t have a boyfriend. But someone did a number on her and she ran away so they wouldn’t find her.”

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