Page 7 of Chasing Callie

A blush warms my cheeks. “Hi, Maura.” I stop in front of a barstool and grip the back rest. “Long time no see.”

Emmit knocks through the door to the back, heading to drop the order off. A woman with blonde hair and a skittish look about her is restocking the ketchup bottles at the far end of the bar. I catch her watching me and wave, but she quickly looks away.

Scoffing, Maura drops a hand on her hip. “It’s been a long time, Callie.”

“I know,” I say with a sigh, glancing around. The Bar hasn’t really changed, though. The interior looks like the inside of a log cabin, and the furniture is very mountain retreat. Old, neon beer signs that need replacing are still strewn about the room. “I’m back for a while.”

She releases a breath and joins me at the front of the bar. “Shit, Cal. Do your parents know you’re home?”

“Not yet,” I murmur. “Are you hiring? I’m a good bartender. I have the drinks memorized and I can keep up with a crowd.” Aside from art, bartending is the only other job I’ve had.

Maura chuckles. “Well, actually. Rachel quit right before you walked in, something about the job interfering with her ability to be an influencer.” The blonde scoffs. Maura’s lips twitch too. “She left me in a bind, but it appears my guardian angel sent you to me.”

“Larry would say otherwise,” I point out. Pretty sure there’s a bullet with my name on it. Maybe a few.

“Don’t listen to that grumpy bastard. He’s still an asshole. He was disinvited from book club.”

My mouth drops open. Big Ridge book club is a big deal. Larry being disinvited is like the pope saying you aren’t welcome in church anymore. Maybe karma is real.

Reaching over the bar, Maura watches me as she grabs a bottle of cheap whiskey. “Bree, be a sweetheart and get me some water.”

Bree, the blonde, quickly fills up a cup and slides it to me.

“Ever heard of a hurricane shot?” Maura asks.

My eyebrows pinch together. “Uh, no. I don’t think so.” Here I thought that uppity mixology bar taught me everything I needed to know.

She chuckles. “Buckle up, sweetheart. You’re in for a ride. Hey, Linc?”

Lincoln’s head pops out of the food window. “Yeah, boss?”

“Callie is interviewing for the bartending job. She’s going to try a hurricane.”

He makes a noise. “Why me?”

“You know why,” Maura tells him with narrowed eyes. She turns to me and fills me in. “I caught him hooking up with Otto, my newest server, last week in the walk-in. Speaking of, if I hire you, try not to sleep with the lead bartender.”

I’m about to ask who the lead bartender is, but Linc comes out of the kitchen grumbling as he plops down in one of the stools.

He looks me over. “She’s small.”

I glare at him and flip him off before I can think better of it. My eyes widen when I realize how easily I’ve fallen into old habits I spent years trying to break. Something about being home brings it out of me, and honestly, I’m not upset. Trying to soften myself only ended up with me suffering through a terrible relationship. I can’t help wondering if Theo would have looked at me twice if I had been myself.

Maura shakes her head. “Never underestimate Callie.” Bree slides her a shot glass, and she snatches it, tipping her head at me. “You. Up on the bar.”

Lifting isn’t the right word for what my eyebrows do, leaping is probably more accurate. “What?”

“You heard me. Hop up on the bar and sit in front of Lincoln.” She gestures between me and him.

“Ooookay,” I say, face scrunched in confusion. Once I’m seated, Maura tells me how to execute the shot.

My mouth drops open. What in the fresh hell? “People pay for this?”

“Yup,” Maura tells me with a wicked smile, pushing the glass of water into my free hand. “Go easy on Linc, though. He’s just practice.”

I really don’t want to slap the guy, but I’ve done crazier things. I hand the shot glass to Linc, who takes it, huffs, and throws the whiskey back. As soon as the shot glass hits the bar, I splash the cup full of water in his face and smack him. The snap of my palm cracking against his cheek is loud.

His head whips to the side. He blinks in shock, shaking his head a little.