Page 66 of Snow in Texas

She grinned. “I know.”

~*~

Jenny

Like she needed something else to worry about? Jenny left her brother to his Scotch and ball game and headed down the hall toward the common room, flip-flops slapping against the floorboards. She was tired; her walk always turned into a sleepy shuffle when she was worn out. The din of voices swelled as she reached the doorway, and the common room greeted her with a weeknight social spread of members, groupies, and murmuring TVs.

Usually she liked her quiet, but sometimes it was easier to fade into her own thoughts in the middle of a crowd. Without alcohol as an option – a hard shudder passed through her – she’d settle for a little mindless company, at least.

She got halfway to the bar, and froze.

Colin was bartending tonight. And he wasn’t alone. One of the groupies, the blonde who called herself “Teagan,” sat across from him, giving him a look down her cleavage, throat exposed as she tipped her head back and laughed too loud at whatever he’d said.

And Colin, the bastard, was grinning ear-to-ear, tan face darkened with a happy flush.

And why shouldn’t he be enjoying himself with one of the girls? It wasn’t like she’d paid him any attention the last two weeks.

Because she was having his baby, damn it! And because she loved the big jerk.

She had two choices, she realized. Walk up to him, or retreat. Except, the way her hands had balled into fists…there was no choice, was there?

She took a deep breath and walked up to the bar, climbed onto the stool beside “Teagan.”

Colin started. Hard. Like she was a ghost or something.

Teagan choked a little on her swallow of G&T but covered it well.

Colin, on the other hand, looked like he’d been hit in the face and was having trouble getting his vision back online.

“It’s a good thing you don’t work in a real bar,” Jenny deadpanned. “You’d freak all your customers out looking at them like that.”

“Uh…” She could see him scrambling, the mental gymnastics visible in his eyes. “You want something to drink?”

She started to say “red,” but that was no longer an option. “Just some water.” Her voice was tight, and she didn’t much care.

“Lemon?”

“Sure.”

The groupie watched them, lips parted, eyes bouncing madly back and forth between them as she tried to get a read on the situation. She had to know that Jenny and Colin were together – everyone knew. But she was wondering if that was still present tense.

Jenny didn’t hate or resent the club girls, didn’t hold herself superior. Look at what she had endured herself, at the hands of club members. But for some reason, right now, she hated the idea of the Lean Bitches. Men like Colin could get all the ass they wanted, whenever, wherever. Wasn’t it easy enough? Did they need groupies at their disposal too?

She turned to the other blonde, gave her a chilly smile, and said, “Go see if anybody needs a refill.”

Teagan’s eyes widened. “I wasn’t…” she started.

“Refills.”

“Right.” The girl slid off her stool and hurried away from the bar.

Colin huffed out an annoyed breath that sent angry chills crawling across her skin. “We were just talking. Is that what it takes to get you to look at me again? Get you jealous?” He snorted. “Bit of a hypocrite, aren’t you?”

She turned to him slowly, trying to gather her patience, wanting to look controlled and cool. “You got angry and put marks on me over something that happened six years ago. Meanwhile you’re trying to pick up a slut in my own house. Trust me, you don’t want to make that comparison.”

He frowned. “It’s a man’s world, the MC, right? I can fuck whoever I want to.”

The anger boiled up to something hotter, nastier in her belly, curled her lip off her teeth. “Her name’s not even Teagan. It’s Sally. She just thought the other sounded more exotic.”

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