Page 5 of Breaking Bristol

“No seriously.” I dug around for my wallet and jumped when the door slammed. He was already walking away, and I felt my lips part at the way he moved… strong, confident, sexy. “Stop it.” I chastised myself before speeding away.

Merry Christmas to me.

CHAPTER 2

Bristol

“I’m so glad you made it!” Cheyenne held her hands in the air and rushed toward me, weaving through the crowded bar when I arrived. She was being silly, but I wouldn’t deny that having a friend who was excited to see me felt good. We hugged each other, and I laughed when she rocked us back and forth. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I know, but you have been a little busy.”

Her gleeful smile softened. “Having a baby will do that, I suppose. It’s our first night out since Zoey was born.” She made a pouty face. “And I miss her already. Sutton said we can go home whenever I want, but I think he’s having fun, so I don’t want to ruin it for him.”

Over her shoulder, her husband had a watchful eye on her. He lifted his chin at me, and before he resumed conversation with a few guys, he glanced at his watch. “I would bet you that he wouldn’t be upset if you left before the ball dropped,” I hinted.

“You think?”

“I’m not married to him, but I know how much he loves you and the girls, so I’m sure he’d be happy with whatever makes you happy.”

“You’re right.” She nodded. “But you’re not on the clock, so stop counseling me.”

“I’m not,” I protested.

“You are.”

I caught myself. “Shit, I was. Sorry, occupational hazard.”

“Come on, let’s get you a drink.”

She looked down to grab my hand to lead us through the crowd. “Oh my God. What happened to your hand?”

There was still a noticeable scar. “I cut it reaching for a pizza cutter.”

“Are you okay?”

“Totally,” I assured her. “It healed perfectly.”

The Tap was the busiest I’d ever seen for the New Year’s Eve celebration, and once we wound our way to the bar, we waited several minutes before I got a glass of wine and Cheyenne a water. I didn’t go out often, but every time I did, I saw parents from the school, and tonight was no exception. Practically the whole town was here, so I made sure to be on my best behavior, not that I ever was out of control. The last thing I needed was for someone to complain about me for whatever reason and cause me to lose my job.

“Let’s go to the table,” Cheyenne suggested, and I followed her to a round bar top with Georgia and a few other women. “Y’all know Bristol, right? Bristol, Summer, Frankie, and Cricket.” She pointed at them as she said their names.

“Hi.” I smiled. “I appreciate the introduction, but I remember them.”

Georgia bumped me with her shoulder. “Did you have a good Christmas?”

I didn’t want to tell them about my trip to the ER, so I just nodded. “I did.” Once I moved here, I’d learned rather quickly that being vague was in my best interest, especially since gossip traveled at lightning speed in this town. “How was your Christmas?”

“It was wonderful.”

The women chatted about their holiday and what they’d been doing over the break, and I listened, laughing and interjecting when appropriate. “What about you? You’re quiet. Have you done anything fun over the break?” Cheyenne asked.

“I’ve had a great time,” I lied.

I’d have rather been at work. I loved working and adored being around kids. They reminded me there was still so much good in the world and gave me hope. My job was to help them, but they didn’t know it was usually the other way around.

More than that, the holiday was difficult because I wanted to celebrate with my family. I loved shopping for my nieces and nephews and couldn’t even do that anymore. I’d have sent presents if I wasn’t afraid Shane would somehow intercept them.

Sutton made his way over and placed his hand on Cheyenne’s back, nodding in our general direction. “Ladies. Honey, you doin’ good, or you ready to go?”

---