Page 26 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

Well.

I had never made a scene before, but this seemed like a perfect time to start.

“Why don’t you want me to work the bar on a Friday night, Luke?” I asked, my voice softly taunting. That might have been a mistake. I could feel Ethan side-eye me. He noticed far too much.

“I’m doing you a favor, Red,” Luke said. He shot me that trademark smile of his, the one that was all charm and no substance. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or kick him. “Tending bar on a Friday night isn’t the same as Wednesday. People are on their worst behavior. They don’t just want you to smile and be pleasant. It’s all about sex appeal.”

Okay, then. Violence it was.

“Are you saying I don’t have sex appeal?” I challenged. And immediately wished I hadn’t. Because if he said no, after spending all morning kissing me? I woulddie. That was not the kind of humiliation a girl could recover from.

“I’m saying this isn’t the way you want tousesex appeal. On random guys in a dive bar,” Luke clarified.

Maybe I would have meekly agreed if his smile hadn’t changed to thatotherone. The one he reserved for grannies and babies.Intolerable.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe I do.” And enjoyed watching that stupid smile slide right off his stupidly gorgeous face.

I flipped my hair over my shoulder and tapped my chin with my index finger thoughtfully. “Ethan says the tips are better on the floor because the check is higher, but I bet I could do pretty well behind the bar. Jasmine gave me some pointers.”

A muscle ticked in Luke’s jaw. I stared at him, mesmerized by what I saw in his eyes. He wasn’t looking at me like he thought I was some little kid. It was the same look he gave me last night in the hallway, when he pressed me up against the wall and kissed me. A look that said I was asking for trouble, and he was the one who was going to give it to me.

Anticipation shivered down my spine. He didn’t like the thought of me flirting with the customers. The idea that Luke might actually be jealous filled me with unholy, un-feminist glee. Maybe that was wrong of me, but I didn’t care. I had spentyearsbeing jealous of all the girls he paid attention to, who were so much older and more experienced than me. Looking back on all that, obviously I was glad he hadn’t shown me any attention that way, because if he had…gross.

But I wasn’t a kid anymore, and there wasn’t anything wrong with enjoying the fact that my childhood crushfinallysaw me as a woman, was there?

“I’ll cover bar,” Luke said.

All those delicious feelings evaporated. I felt like I had swallowed a lead brick and now it was just sitting in my stomach, undigestible. The bar was the focal point of the restaurant, which meant I would have an unfettered view of the parade of women who would undoubtably be thrilled to compete for his attention.

Ethan shrugged. “Works for me.”

I scowled. It didnotwork for me. But Luke’s lips tilted up in a way that was much too smug for my liking, so I tossed my hair and smiled like I had won. “Whatever you want.” And then, because I needed a minute to collect myself, I added, “I’m going to take out the trash, wash my hands, and then I’ll be ready to take my tables.”

I exited into the kitchen, grabbed a garbage bag with each hand, and went out the back. I half expected, half hoped, to hear footsteps behind me, but the door clicked shut, leaving me alone outside.

A soft bleat made me whip around. Goat stepped out of the shadows. We eyeballed each other for a moment, sizing each other up. People had warned me about Goat. Everyone from the dishwashers to the customers had had a run-in with the beast. Not to mention my own experience—although I looked back on the memory with more fondness than fear.

Goat didn’t seem in any hurry to knock me on my ass, so I shrugged off the warnings. “You don’t look so scary to me.”

Goat bleated again. I took that for agreement. I heaved the garbage bags into the bear-proof dumpster, careful to latch it properly afterward. Then I turned back to Goat. Satan, more than one person had called him. He did have a devilish look to him. A mischievous glint in his eyes that reminded me of his owner. He was kind of cute, actually.

Also reminding me of his owner.

I sighed, my breath forming a white cloud that held for a minute before dissipating. It was dark now, and cold, despite only being 5:30. The sky was an inky black because the stars and moon weren’t out yet. And I was out here alone, because Luke hadn’t seen fit to follow me and soothe my admittedly childish feelings. Alone with a goat.

“Your dad is an asshole,” I informed Goat.

Goat made a sound that I could almost convince myself was a laugh. It warmed my aggravated little heart.

“Want a peppermint?” I dug into my pocket and pulled out the red-and-white striped candy. The plastic wrapper crinkled as I unwrapped it. Goat’s head tilted with interest. He sniffed the air, then took a step closer.

I squatted down so I was on his level and held out my hand, flat and open with the candy settled on my palm. I had zero experience with feeding goats, but I had given horses treats before, and this was the way to do it in order to avoid the animal mistaking a finger for a carrot. I figured Goat was probably similar.

“Here you go,” I said, encouraging him to come closer. “You can have it.” When he was close enough to touch, I leaned forward slightly and looked him dead in the eyes as I cooed, “Any funny business and I’ll turn you into pointe shoes.”

He took me at my word, scooping the candy from my palm with his soft, velvety lips, and then retreating to enjoy his treat. His teeth crunched the candy with a happybahhh.

I straightened. “You’re not so bad, are you, boy?”

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