Page 2 of Reckless and Rooted
“No. You’re not allowed. I think you’re grounded.”
My sweet niece grins at me, making that ache in my chest grow more rapidly. Dammit. I hate being home.
She juts her thumb over her shoulder. “I have to get back to work.”
“Can you even work here? There’s alcohol.”
She nods and says, “I can. I just can’t serve it myself, so if someone orders it, Juniper or Annmarie delivers it for me.”
I nod and reluctantly let her go. We both work our way through the crowd, and I perch myself on the bar, ordering a drink from one of the legal bartenders and keeping an eye on my niece while she works.
It’s not a bad town, and rarely do I find a need to interfere with any fights since I’ve frequented this bar after being back, but there is always a bad apple roaming around, and I don’t want anyone to get any ideas.
“Jax.” A voice makes my head turn, and I glance over to find my older brother, Mitch, standing behind me. Stealthy motherfucker.
He’s too big to be able to be so damn quiet. “Mitch. How’s it going?”
A month or so ago, my brother here made me question everything I once knew about him. See, before he came home, he was on the rodeo circuit with me. We didn’t always run in the same circles, him doing more bull and bronc riding and myself being what was lovingly dubbed as a rodeo clown, but we were together.
Then, one day, he just disappeared, and I saw him again when my brother, Logan, called to invite me to his wedding.
Mitch never told me why he left, and I didn’t push.
Then, a month or so ago, he helped Stetson and his girl out of a bind and showed me a side of him that I never knew existed. Now, I guess he is part of the local motorcycle club and works security here at the bar.
He still feels like a stranger.
“How goes security?” I ask to keep any topics about the MC he joined out of the discussion. I don’t know what to say about it, so instead, I say nothing.
“Nothing too strenuous tonight.” He nods to where Luella is serving a family, her smile bright and welcoming. She definitely got that from her father. “Keeping an eye on that one.”
I nod. “Good. Did you know Logan allowed her to get this job?”
Mitch nods, just once, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before stopping on the stage. I guess that’s all I’m going to get out of him.
I follow his line of sight and see Thea’s sister, Juniper, up on stage. She’s got a guitar strapped to her chest, and her long chestnut hair falls over the front of it as she bends to fiddle with something.
“Huh, I’ve never seen her perform before,” I comment, wondering why I bother when Mitch just grunts in return. Not a man of many words, this one.
Strumming from the guitar makes me curious, and when Mitch moves away to gravitate toward the stage, I follow, wanting to hear her play.
I hold my drink in my hand and weave my way through the crowd, grinning at the patrons I pass and winking at a girl with bright blonde hair. She’s cute.
Too bad going back to strangers’ apartments isn’t my thing…anymore, anyway.
I turn to weave through the crowd when someone with dark-brown hair turns to face me, and the sight of her eyes freezes my lungs in my chest.
Schooling my expression into something of indifference, I pass by her, but I feel her gaze on me as I leave her behind. My heart hammers loudly in my chest, making my ears hear nothing but a white noise as memories flash before my mind.
Her on the back of my horse, making love under the stars, camping, and hiking to the waterfall to swim, telling her that I loved her…and watching her leave for good.
My heart aches as the memories pour through my mind. I fight to keep my hand still as I lift the glass to my lips and close my eyes, taking a breath and letting it go.
When I look back, trying to get a glimpse of her, she’s already gone.
Maybe that’s for the best, because the person I once knew, the girl I loved, isn’t that person anymore.
I would never let Felicity Vogel take hold of me again.
