Page 47 of Return of the Bad Girl (Rock Canyon, Idaho 4)

“I heard Eric and Hank are fighting over your services,” Mike said, reaching over to steal some of Gracie’s nachos while she was onstage singing the Judds’ “Mama He’s Crazy.”

It was karaoke night at Hank’s, and Caroline had wanted to stake out the little bar in action. She could see why this night was taking away business from Buck’s. The karaoke alone was a great draw, but Hank’s had a “1-2-3” promotion, too: one-dollar longnecks, two-dollar nachos, and three-dollar margaritas.

“I said I’d give them an assessment and upon retainer, I’d draw up a recommended business plan. First come, first served,” Caroline said, sitting back in her chair. “I’ve got to say, though, Hank’s doesn’t seem to be hurting on karaoke night.”

“The only problem Hank’s has is when Hank starts drinking,” Gemma said, making a face.

Caroline sat forward. “He drinks in his own bar?”

“More like gets shit-faced in it,” Mike said. “I feel bad for the guy because he’s on his own, but he can get downright unpleasant.”

“Then he’s a waste of my time,” Caroline said with a sigh.

“How do you mean?” Travis asked.

“Well, for starters, if he gets drunk in his own bar, he runs the risk of his employees and customers not only taking advantage of him but getting out of control. This drink,” Caroline said, holding up her Jack and Coke, “is too strong, which tells me the bartender’s not measuring shots correctly—wasting alcohol and eating into profits.”

They stared at her until, as a group, they each took a sip of their drinks, except Travis, who had the only longneck. A few of them nodded their heads in agreement.

Caroline checked the time on her phone again, and Mike asked, “You got somewhere to be?”

Before she could answer, Gracie finished her song, and their table broke into thunderous applause and obnoxious whoops of encouragement. Gracie sashayed back to the table, demonstrating a courtly bow as she said, “Thank you. Thank you.”

She sat down next to Caroline and wrapped her thin arms around her shoulders before giving Caroline a smacking kiss on the cheek. “And how are you enjoying Hank’s?” Her smile was slightly silly, and Caroline guessed she had started the party early, especially when she moved on before Caroline could answer. “Did you know that this woman is an honest-to-God hero? She freaking crawled into a Dumpster to save a gaggle of kittens—”

“I don’t think kittens come in gaggles,” Mike said, earning a scowl from Gracie.

“Whatever. The point is that she is amazeballs, and if anyone messes with her”—Gracie thumped her chest and almost fell off her chair—“they are messing with me.”

“Lucky you,” Gemma said from across the table.

Caroline wasn’t sure how she felt about Gracie’s admiration but decided it was better than Gracie’s hating her guts.

“So are you one of those crazy animal lovers, then?” Travis asked, yelping when Gemma pinched him. “What? I didn’t say anything about you.”

“Actually, I like animals but have never had any desire to own one. I moved around too much. But now, the reason I keep checking the clock on my phone is because the kittens have to eat every two hours.”

“Wait, you aren’t an animal lover, but you’re keeping kittens that you found in the trash?” Mike asked. “How many are there?”

“Two, and I’m not keeping them. I’m just fostering them until they can be put up for adoption,” Caroline said, trying to picture handing over her babies to someone else. In just the few days she’d had them, they had already started to gain weight, and the minute she picked them up, they started that clicking purr she’d come to love. Last night, as she’d watched “The Big Bang Theory, she’d let them cuddle against her chest. It was hard not to love the little squirts.

“Uh-huh, and how does your roommate feel about that?” Travis asked, a smirk on his face. “When I showed him the apartment, he didn’t exactly seem like the warm and fuzzy type.”

Travis’s opinion irked her. It was true that Gabe wasn’t Mr. Sunshine and Roses, but he had saved the gray kitten. He had his moments of actually being a human being.

Too bad they were few and far between.

“Actually, he helped me save them.”

“It’s true. I was there,” Gracie said.

“How?” Callie asked.

“He stimulated the little grey one’s heartbeat by rubbing him and even breathed into his nose and mouth.”

“Huh. I guess people do have layers,” Mike said, mimicking Shrek.

How had the conversation turned toward the very man she was trying to forget?

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