Page 3 of The Irish Rogue

Or maybe she was just fantasizing about a handsome man! It would be a first, she thought as she headed to her office. She had a few more things to check before she could head to the bar to help out. And hopefully, the guy would be gone by then and have headed out.

What had the man and Tom been talking about earlier? Tom hadn’t seemed too happy about the stranger’s presence. She could ask Tom, but for some reason, Kennedi got the sense that Tom wouldn’t want to discuss the formidable stranger.

So, why was he here? The man definitely wasn’t a local. Nor was he from one of the neighboring towns. She knew the locals and he wasn’t one of them!

As one of the best breweries in five counties, “The Old Goat” would be packed tonight. Friday and Saturday nights were always busy. Local bands came in to play cover songs, the beer flowed freely, and the barbeque here was second to none! Before she’d started working here, Kennedi hadn’t been a fan of barbeque. Five years ago, Tom had expanded the menu, hired a new chef, and as a result of the food, plus the constantly rotating craft beer options, pulled in crowds every night of the week. Summers were especially wild since they could expand to the outside picnic tables and open up the five outdoor bars. Those had been her idea, she thought with pride as she pressed enter on her computer to submit the newest supply orders.

With a sigh, she glanced at the time. It was six o’clock. Plenty of time for Mr. Stranger to have finished his meal, tasted all of the flights of beer samples, and left.

In other words, the coast would be clear!

She locked down her computer and hurried out of her office. When she reached the kitchen, she grabbed an apron, smiled at the kitchen staff and called out greetings as she headed to the bar area.

“Thank goodness!” Bobby exclaimed as soon as she stepped out, tying the apron around her waist.

“Already crazy?” Kennedi asked, surveying the bar. It was only six o’clock and already the bar was packed. Excellent! It was going to be a busy night!

For the next four hours, she poured beers and put in food orders. The tips were great that night and she was relieved that the stranger was long gone.

When it finally started to slow down, she, Bobby, and the two other bartenders breathed a sigh of relief. The outdoor bars were shut down, but the two inside bars would stay open until midnight.

Unfortunately, the thinner crowds meant that she could see out to the tables that were still filled with patrons. Every chair in the place was filled and many people were standing along the wall, listening to the band.

And HE was still there. He’d moved to a corner area, giving up the table. But the beer by his elbow was full and the man was watching her.

“Hey, Kennedi!” a male voice called out.

Kennedi dragged her eyes away from Mr. Tall, Dark, and Dangerous, glancing over at Brody Benson. With a not-so-silent groan, she turned away. “Not tonight, Brody!” she called back, releasing the knot on her apron. She tossed it into the laundry bin as she moved down to the end of the bar.

“Hey, why you doing me like that?” Brody called back, picking up his beer and following her. It was easier to do that now that the crowd had thinned out. “Why don’t you give me another chance? I could take you to that seafood place over in Canyon Run.”

Kennedi shuddered. “You mean the place that was shut down last month because a dozen people were rushed to the hospital with food poisoning?”

Brody stopped, stunned by that news. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” she confirmed, as she kept walking. “Not interested,” she told him. She’d gotten into work early to check over the deliveries, ensuring that everything she’d ordered had arrived in time for the weekend rush. It was now after ten o’clock and all she wanted to do was head back to her tiny apartment and sleep for the next twelve hours.

She’d reached the end of the bar, then remembered that her purse, with her car keys, was still in her office.

Turning, she…ran right into Brody.

“See? You love me!” the obnoxious jerk crowed with a laugh, playfully wrapping his arms around her.

Kennedi froze momentarily, then pulled back, wanting to smack the man. “Brody, let me go!”

He tightened his grip around her and added a chuckle as she tried to push away from him. “Ah, darling, you know you love me. Why are you playing hard to get?”

Kennedi glared up at him, gritting her teeth. “Brody, I have told you no at least four times. Now you are touching me without permission and I am explicitly telling you to get your hands off me,” she said loudly. “If you don’t let go of me right now, Iwillreport you for assault!”

Brody, the annoying gnat, merely snickered. “Your words tell me no, but your body is telling me yes.”

“Oh really?” she whispered, tilting her head slightly. She shifted her weight, preparing to ram her knee into his groin. But before she could, the man’s arms were ripped away from her. Suddenly, she was free and a tall, dark shadow loomed over them both.

“The lady said no,” the tall stranger growled, then lightly shoved Brody out of the way.

Brody’s eyes darted from Kennedi to the stranger, then back again. “Is this the man you’ve been screwing behind my back?”

Kennedi’s mouth fell open. “Brody, what in the world are you talking about? We never dated, so there’s no way that I could be cheating on you!”

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