Page 26 of Home Tears

“You think?”

Dani lifted a shoulder up, picking up a washcloth to dry out a glass. “I don’t think I’m one to give advice. Trust me.” Two men. One who left her, and one she left. And speaking of, karma wasn’t on her side.

Jake walked into the bar.

He and Robbie crossed paths, and did the whole guy head-nod thing, and kept on walking. Spotting her, he slowed, an unreadable mask falling over his face. “Mae likes an extra hand at closing time.” He nodded to Mae as she came down the counter. “Heya, Mae.”

“Jake.” Her eyes skimmed over him and Dani, then slapped the counter. “You know, thanks for coming tonight, but I think we’ll be alright. Jonah’s here, and Katie’s over there, too.”

Kate laughed at something Bubba said, slapping him on the shoulder. She looked at Robbie, who was standing by Lori, and missed the first half of Bubba’s huge shoulder. Her hand slipped off, and she fell off her bar stool.

“Yeah, Kate’s drunk. I think I’ll stick around for a bit.” He atOptions = {'key' : '841f2945b8570089c9a713d96ae623ca','format' : 'iframe','height' : 50,'width' : 320,'params' : {}};document.write(''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Got some coffee back there?”

“Help yourself!” She moved to close tabs for waiting customers.

Dani kept drying glasses, and Jake returned, holding a white Styrofoam cup. “You seem to be getting along pretty well with some folks.”

That wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. “I don’t want to talk about Julia.”

“Noted.” He glanced around, frowning. “Is that Jonah wiping tables?”

“Yeah.” Dani grabbed another washcloth and tray. “You can help him.” Then she headed to the back, and she stayed there washing dishes the rest of the night. Jonah came to help at one point. She loaded up the trays of dirty dishes, put them through the cleaning machine, and he’d pull them out. She tried to tell him he didn’t need to help, but Jonah just ignored her as he began putting the dried dishes where they belonged.

Dani said, “I’m okay, you know. If that’s what this is all about, about the storm. I’ll probably join my aunt for a nightcap and crash at her place.”

Jonah just laughed as the machine beeped it was done. He lifted up the doors and pulled out another rack of clean dishes. “You think this is all about you? Maybe this has nothing to do with you. Ever thought about that, Miss Natural Disaster?” He winked. “Maybe I’m the one using you. Maybe it has nothing to do with making sure you’re okay.”

“You’re using me?”

“It can happen. People use people all the time. Why do you think I’m any different? Like,” he paused. His eyes rolled upwards, thinking. “Ah!” He snapped his fingers at her. “Take this one: why do you think I rode with you? Huh? Hung out at the bar with you, and why I’m here right now? Maybe I’m avoiding my sister. You know, she’s always after me, wanting to set me up with a good girl. But if I’m hanging out with you, someone who probably doesn’t want to deal with any of that love stuff, then what can she say?” He whispered behind his hand. “She can’t say shit because she doesn’t know the truth about us.”

“The truth?”

“Yeah.” He went back to piling up plates before carrying them to their spot. He said, coming back, “We’re friends. No one needs to know the specifics.”

Dani didn’t feel a flutter in her chest when he winked at her.

She wasn’t noticing how sexy he looked when he was waiting for the machine to finish. He didn’t look lean or gorgeous when he crossed his arms over his chest, or when his dimple only half-showed she found herself wanting to make him laugh so she could see the whole dimple.

No.

Nothing like that was happening.

And she certainly didn’t drop a few glasses when she was trying to put them in the tray. Nothing like that at all, but Dani heaved a silent sigh of relief when Kate came to the doorway and hollered they were all leaving. Her gaze lingered on the two of them. Dani ignored Kate, and her relief was short-lived. Jonah waved Kate off, and ten minutes later the two of them walked out to find the entire bar empty except for Mae.

“Is my sister here?”

“They all took off, said you had a ride.” Mae jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Do me a favor? Shut the door tight after you go? Everything’s locked up.” She nodded toward the back. “I got some things to take care of, so I’m heading to the office. Have a good night, you two.” She kissed Dani on the cheek before repeating her good nights and disappearing to the back.

Jonah groaned as the two walked outside. “I thought Aid would come and ask me. Hell, my sister probably did this on purpose. She probably thinks that I’ll go home with you…” His eyes lit up, and he flashed her a smile. “What do you think?”

“No. I’ll just give you a ride home.”

“It’s not worth it. It’s 3:30 in the morning. I have to be on the river early. I live thirty minutes away. Come on,” he persuaded. “Loon Lake has a channel to the river. I can crash on your couch. You won’t even know I’m there. I’ll just have one of the guys shoot a boat down to pick me up in the morning. I’ve got a change of clothes at the station in my locker.”

“Falls River runs into Loon Lake?”

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