Page 1 of Crossroads of Innocence
1
Afamiliar streak of long, blond hair caught Wade McKenzie’s attention from across the dimly lit bar. He swallowed a groan and forced his wide smile to stay in place. Summer Clark was the last person he wanted to tangle with when the Chill N’ Grill was packed and he was the only person manning the bar.
But he couldn’t let his emotions show. Not when he needed to keep his costumers happy and the annoyingly persistent woman from badmouthing him all over town. Something she was known to do, and neither his reputation nor his bar could afford the bad publicity.
Not to mention she was one of his mother’s caretakers. He wanted their relationship to stay in one lane, and one lane only. Something she was hellbent on changing.
Luckily, he was used to hiding behind a façade. It was easier for people to see the happy-go-lucky flirt who always had a quick comeback and smooth lines than the man who carried more burdens than he should ever have to handle.
“Can I get a whiskey on the rocks?” Chet Black, his long-time pal, settled on an empty stool and dipped his chin in greeting.
“Sure thing.” Wade pivoted to the clear shelves lining the back wall and grabbed a bottle of Chet’s favorite liquor. He gave a generous pour over a few cubes of ice in a short glass then slid the drink to Chet’s waiting palm.
Chet took a long sip. “Place is packed.”
A waitress rushed over with a drink order from a nearby table. Wade grabbed three bottles of beer and poured another whiskey before refilling an empty glass from the tap for a woman waiting at the bar. “We’re slammed and I’m shorthanded tonight. Not a great combination.”
A delicate clearing of a throat turned his gaze to Summer’s wide, blue eyes. “Sounds like you’re in a pickle. Anything I can do to help?”
Wade refused to let his gaze dip to Summer’s plunging neckline. He kept his focus on the customers waiting on their orders. “Appreciate the offer, darlin’, but I’ll rope Chet into lending a hand if I need one.”
Chet snorted and tried to hide his amused smile behind his glass of whiskey. “I’m here to relax. Not work.”
Wade tightened his jaw then flashed Summer a wide grin. “What can I get ya?”
She shrugged out of her jacket then lifted a slim shoulder. “How about a seat? There’s not an empty one in the house.”
Chet shifted on his stool.
Wade cut his gaze to the giant of a man and prayed to God he understood the meaning behind his stare. If Chet offered his seat to Summer, he’d pay one way or the other.
Chet took another sip then hunched over the bar.
A tiny thread of relief wove through the bunched muscles in Wade’s neck. “Not much I can do about that. How ’bout a drink?”
Sighing, she jutted out her bottom lip and glanced around the bar before her eyes lit. “Looks like Izzy’s here. I’ll take a beer and join her. Beau’s a gentleman. He’ll offer me a chair.”
Chet made a face while Wade poured Summer’s favorite ale then waited on his next costumer.
“Thanks, man,” Chet grumbled over the increasing noise. “Made me look like a dick.”
Wade laughed and wiped the wisp of dirty blond hair from his forehead with the back of his wrist. “Better you than me.”
A broad-shouldered man with close-cropped dark hair and deep frown lines took Summer’s place beside Chet. “Hopefully you can be of a little more assistance to me.”
Amused by the stranger’s statement, Wade leaned against the bar and cocked his head to the side. “What can I do ya for?”
Chet lifted his brows and scowled, clearly not as amused as Wade.
The man swiped his phone to life and brought up a photo. “I’m a detective from Michigan. Searching for this woman.”
“You’re a long way from home, Detective,” Wade said.
Grim-faced, the man nodded. “Call me Toby.”
Chet leaned to the side and glanced at the screen. Something in the way his eyes widened for a briefest of moments made the muscles in Wade’s stomach clench. “Doesn’t look familiar.”
Toby turned the phone toward Wade. The bright screen showcased a blond-haired beauty with big brown eyes and the face of an angel—an angel who’d brought him more pain than he’d ever imagined possible.
