Page 43 of Tattered (Lark Cove 1)

“I’m okay.” I winked at him. “Thanks, though.”

Wayne and Ronny were as opposite as they came, other than both being single. Wayne was in his fifties, had been divorced for years and worked at the school doing maintenance. Anything and everything you might want to know about his life, he’d share without hesitation.

Ronny was closer to my age, and though he wasn’t as chatty as Wayne, he was just as much of a sweetheart. He worked from home, so he came into the bar often to socialize. Mostly he listened, but on the dead nights, he and Wayne would talk to me about nothing and everything until I closed down the bar. Ronny always made sure I was okay.

“Here you go, guys.” I set down their beers. “Holler if you need anything.” I smiled and turned to leave but stopped to look over my shoulder. “I take that back. Don’t holler. My headache can’t take yelling. Maybe just wave me over silently.”

They each laughed, sipping their drinks as the back door opened and Jackson walked in, ready to take over for the night.

“You look like shit,” he teased. “Rough night?”

“Don’t make fun of me.” I whipped his side with my bar rag. “I’m still not sure I’m going to live.”

“If you were going to tie one on last night, you could have at least come in here and kept me company.”

“Was it slow?” I’d been so miserable this morning, every task had taken me twice as long, so I hadn’t finished reconciling the deposits from last night.

“Yeah. I had a couple of folks come in for a few hours but by eleven it was dead, so I closed down early.”

“Maybe tonight will be busier.”

“Hopefully.” He opened the dishwasher and let the steam escape. “Are you coming in after Charlie’s game?”

“Yeah.” It was our tradition to have pizza after soccer. “I invited Logan to come too.”

Jackson slammed the dishwasher closed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You need to be careful. I don’t trust that guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t trust anyone.”

“And neither should you.”

“Well, I don’t really have a choice this time, do I? Charlie deserves a chance to get to know her father. Logan is asking for some time with her, so I’m letting him have it.”

“I hope that’s all you’re letting him have,” he muttered.

“What are you talking about?”

“He might want to spend time with Charlie, but he’s also here to get laid. I didn’t miss the way he looked at you.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Logan probably had ample opportunities for sex in New York. He might even have a girlfriend. Goddamn it. What if he had a girlfriend? I’d almost kissed him last night.

My head started pounding again. I’d been so focused on sharing details about my life and Charlie’s that I hadn’t bothered to ask Logan about his.

“Whatever.” Jackson went back to the dishwasher. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Instead of being a prick, you could be supportive. You know, act like my best friend? And it would help Charlie too if you didn’t bust his ass when we come in here tonight.”

Jackson frowned as he lifted out the warm pint glasses. “Tell you what. For Charlie’s sake, I won’t say anything tonight. But I’m not going to be supportive until after he leaves and comes back.”

I had faith that Logan would come back and be true to his word, so I smiled. “Good.”

“For a year.”

My smile fell. “What?”

“He comes back here, makes it a point to visit Charlie throughout the entire year, then I’ll be supportive. And by visit Charlie, I mean he’s not coming here so he can fuck you. Has he made a move on you yet?”