Page 16 of Brooke's Bliss
“Just Brooke.”His stare practically singed her.“I shouldgo inside.I’m meeting some friends.Thanks for the chivalry.”
She turned and walked inside and felt their eyes on herevery step of the way.
It was going to be a long night.
* * * *
Bay watched her from across the bar.She was in theback by the new pool table where they now had what the barkeep called a partyroom.
He’d been coming to Hell on Wheels off and on for years.Itwas a place he felt comfortable in because it was an old-school, no-frills barwhere at any moment a fight could break out.Not that he wanted to fight.If hebroke a few fingers he wouldn’t be able to draw or sculpt, and then where wouldhe be?
Still, he’d been surprised at the changes Sawyer taking on agirlfriend and a partner had wrought.The fire hadn’t helped.
There were blinds now instead of the threadbare shades thatcovered the windows, and where once there had been three kinds of glasses—beer,wine, and rocks—there were martini glasses and different kinds of wine glasses.And apparently now there were wines beyond red, white, and pink.He should knowbecause Brooke had commented on being able to order a Sauvignon Blanc.
Damn, she looked good, but Shane was right.There wassomething dark in that girl’s eyes.
“She’s in some kind of trouble.”He took a long sip of beer.
“Told you.”Shane sat beside him.“I’m wondering why shedecided to order a ride.I can’t imagine her brothers wouldn’t let her borrow acar.They have several.Unless she didn’t want them to know where she wasgoing.”
“Why would… You think she’s looking for someone?”Bay asked,not taking his eyes off her.Brooke Harper was made of delicate lines andgenerous curves.She was a study in contrasts.She was solid, with hips andbreasts and a healthy figure, but there was a fragility to the woman, too.Hetried so hard to capture it in drawings, and more importantly, the sculptureshe felt the desperate need to make.Like an impulse he couldn’t control.
Stef Talbot supplying him with materials, letting himexperiment with things like marble that he would never be able to afford, was agodsend.If the man hadn’t been so good-hearted, he could have pulled someseriously Mephistophelean shit with him.
He wondered if Brooke would be impressed with his proper useof a literary figure.He wondered if she would be surprised by how much he andShane read.Not that they were well educated.They’d barely made it throughhigh school, but part of that had been the chaos after their parents had died.
They’d never had a real chance at college.The rodeo hadbeen their salvation.
The question now was how long they kept doing what they weredoing.How long until they put down roots and tried to build something thatmight have a chance at lasting?
“I think she’s looking at us,” Shane said, his voice goinglow.
There weren’t a ton of customers on a Thursday night.Therewere a few people in the booths, but the majority of patrons this eveningseemed to be at the private party.“I wonder how they know each other.”
“Cleo and Brooke went to school together.”Sawyer Hathawaywas polishing glasses at the end of the bar.He was a huge, kind ofbrutal-looking man who only softened up with his girl and partner andtight-knit group of friends.
Bay wished they had a group like Sawyer seemed to have inLucy and Ty and River.The four had gone to school together and grown upalongside one another, and still held those ties through adulthood.
Shane was his only tie to anyone, really.
“Where did they go?”Shane seemed way more comfortable withthe big guy.“I know they recently built a school here.Was there another one?”
Sawyer huffed out a laugh and replaced the glass.“Oh, wedidn’t have a school here in Bliss when I was growing up.We got our asses on abus and drove forty-five minutes to Del Norte to go to school.Rain or shine orblizzard, we all went.”
“You went to school with Brooke?”Bay wasn’t much of atalker, but he couldn’t help but ask.
Sawyer’s dark eyes narrowed.“You two interested in Brooke?”
“Yes.”They said it at the same time.
Neither of them liked to prevaricate.
Would she be impressed that he knew how to properly use theword prevaricate?She’d seemed interested in Bobby Farley’s education.Hedidn’t think a real limo would be so easy to listen in on, but he wasn’t goingto complain.
For a moment he thought they’d made a mistake.Sawyerstudied them like he was planning to throw them out on their asses.“Aren’t youtwo the little assholes who hit on Rachel Harper before she married the twinsin an attempt to force them to buy her at Stef’s auction?”
Not their proudest moment.“We were doing it as a favor fora friend.That friend being Stef.”
