Page 69 of Hard to Handle
An hour later,I was walking into the diner.I'd taken Copenhagen over to the store to chill with Calvin for a bit.When I arrived, Wolfe and Amy were already there, sitting at our table in the back.I glanced around, taking in all the faces, offering up a couple of waves.
“Hey, Lynx.”
Turning, I saw Darrell Jameson waving me over.
I lifted my eyebrows in question.
“What can we do to help out at Reagan’s?Got a construction crew itchin’ to pitch in.You got some plans sketched out yet?”
“Workin’ on it,” I told him.In fact, I'd drawn up the plans for the new place last night while I'd been sitting on my ass wishing like hell Reagan had stayed over again.
“When you get ’em, let me take a look.I can work on some of the permits, then I’ll grab more guys if I need ’em.”
I nodded, then held out my hand.“Thanks.”
“Happy to help.”
Turning back toward the table, I couldn’t help but smile.
This was what living in a small town was all about.
Reagan
I wasn’t able to sleep at all last night.Seemed every time I closed my eyes, the memory of the explosion came rushing back.The fire, the heat, the fear … it all resounded in my head and my eyes had refused to close again.At one point, I had gotten up and rearranged the dishes in the kitchen in an order that made more sense to me.From there, I had situated the furniture in the living room on the opposite wall, opening up the space and making it feel a little less like Amy’s place.
By then, I was exhausted, but sleep still wouldn’t come.
Part of me had wished I'd agreed to stay at Lynx’s when he’d offered, but I knew that was not a good idea.
For one, I was having a difficult time not thinking about him nonstop.Right now, I needed to focus on getting my shit together, to figure out what was up, because my life had been turned upside down in the past few days.Definitely not spending all my time thinking about Lynx, wishing his hands were on me, wanting nothing more than to lose myself in him for a little while.
Which was the reason I was heading over to the bar.Or the parking lot, as it may be.I'd called the insurance company first thing, only to be told it would take some time for them to investigate, to get the police report and whatnot.Luckily, I'd taken plenty of pictures, so I shot those over to them via email, hoping they would suffice.However, what I thought would be a simple, quick process sounded anything but.And now I’ve addedfigure out how to pay the billsto my list of things to do.
I had some money put aside, but it wasn’t like I made a lot.The place had been in our family for decades, but when it came time for my father to take over, he refused, letting it rot.I could still remember the heated argument I had with him when I told him I wanted to open a bar there.He had insisted I couldn’t do it, and that had made me work harder to make it a success.
It cost plenty to keep the bar open and I refused to charge ridiculous prices for beer.When I'd originally opened, I had made a promise to myself that I'd keep it a local hangout.Most of the tourists ventured over to Marla’s Bar, where they could get liquor, dinner, and a little dancing.At mine, the highlight of the evening was when drunk fools wagered on their pool game.
But it was mine and I loved it.Now I just missed it.
Pulling into the parking lot, my jaw dropped when I saw a couple of backhoes and tractors in the process of moving the debris into a dumpster.
I slammed Lynx’s truck into park and hopped out, waving my arms to get their attention.
When the tractor stopped, I marched over, my eyes coming to rest on Ed Davis, one of the regulars at my bar.“What’re you doin’?”
The man frowned.“Cleanin’ this up.”
“Why?”
He glanced over at the other man, then back at me.“Lynx Caine asked us to help out.”
Lynx.
Of course.
I had to spin away from him as tears flooded my eyes, my heart squeezing tightly in my chest.
Lynx was taking care of me.The same way he took care of everyone in this town.Anytime something happened — whether it was a new baby, a birthday, graduation, even a funeral—it seemed Lynx was somewhere in there, making things happen for people.
