“We don’t know they aren’t legal,” he said, shrugging. “Think they take students through twenty-two up there. Online classes and shit—just depends on how desperate they are to avoid doing time. I’d take boarding school over a jail cell, too.”
“Are you going to card them?”
“Hell no. They have lots of money to spend and nowhere else to spend it. If we ever get questioned, we’ll just say we thought we checked them all. At least a few of them must have fakes. That’ll cover our asses. Remember, those little shits are rolling in it—tuition is a fuckload. We’ll make good tips and pretend we never saw them. Everyone wins.”
I nodded slowly, watching as they scoped out the dim interior, pointing out tables made from polished, split logs and the old mine safety signs ranging along the walls. Danielle seemed comfortable dealing with them, so I decided to watch my tables and mind my business.
Around ten thirty Joe showed up.
He sat his ass down by the bar, smiling at me as he exchanged greetings with Blake. Danielle threw me a knowing wink. Great, that’s just what I needed—my best friend in matchmaking mode.
Of course, if I ever wanted to be normal, I’d have to get over this weird obsession with Puck somehow. Maybe I could fake it with Joe, fake it until it turned real. Couldn’t hurt to try.
When I took my break at eleven, Joe caught my eye. I smiled, and he took my hand, leading me outside. We walked across the parking lot to the same unruly patch of grass overlooking the river I’d visited earlier. He climbed up onto the picnic table, then patted the spot next to him. We sat like that for a while, looking out across the darkened water, surrounded by the sound of crickets and frogs. It should’ve felt awkward but it didn’t. Being with Joe was relaxing. Comfortable. Pleasantly normal.
“You seem to be doing okay,” Joe said finally. “Like the new job?”
“Better than I thought I would. The tips are okay and the people are nice. I guess I expected it to be a lot crazier.” I considered my next words carefully, then decided it wouldn’t kill me to try opening up a little. “I grew up in a rough situation—lots of fighting and such. I thought it would be more like that, but so far it’s nowhere close.”
“The Moose can get ugly sometimes, but the bartenders keep an eye on things and Teresa’s got a shotgun she’s not afraid to pull out as needed. Mostly just the occasional dumbass getting stupid. I guess things turned ugly a few years back, during the contract disputes down at the Evans mine. They asked the Silver Bastards to come out and control things. Settled everyone down. The Moose is the heart of the community in some ways. It was before our time, but when they had the big fire at the Laughing Tess this was where everyone gathered to wait for news. Whole families slept right in the bar.”
I shuddered, thinking of the men who’d lost their lives deep underground.
“I could never do that—work in a mine,” I said softly. “Hate the idea of being trapped under all that dirt and rock. Does it ever scare you?”
“It’s not as bad as you’d think,” he replied. “Good money, enough to support a family. But I want out—no future underground, not with the way the business has been going. God knows how long the Tess will stay open.”
More silence, then he reached over and pulled me into his side.
“You have plans tomorrow?”
“School in the morning,” I replied. “Blake is giving me a ride.”
“Want to do something for dinner?”
I thought about my conversation with Puck earlier and shivered. Joe was obviously interested in me, and he was sexy, in a wholesome, mountain kind of way. Puck is sexier, my traitorous thoughts whispered.
Yeah, but Joe is normal, I reminded myself firmly.
“Why don’t you come over to my place,” I said abruptly. “I’ll cook for us. Maybe I can bum a ride to the grocery store if my car isn’t fixed yet.”
“Sure,” he said. “What happened to your car?”
“Broke down this morning on the way to school. Earl is fixing it for me.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you miss class?”
Pausing, I listened to the rustle of the water over the rocks and considered how to answer. “No, Puck Redhouse gave me a ride.”
Joe didn’t respond, and I stole a peek at him. He seemed pensive. “Thought you said there wasn’t anything between you.”
“There isn’t,” I insisted, wishing it was true. Why couldn’t I get Puck out of my head?
Like mother, like daughter.
No. I wouldn’t be that woman. I refused.
“Once upon a time there was something between us,” I said slowly, wishing I could just lie. Mom lied all the time. “It wasn’t anything real, though. Not many people know this, but before I came up here I lived down in California. My stepdad was a biker—a hangaround with a club down there. They weren’t particularly nice people. That’s where I met Puck.”
Joe had stiffened next to me. “So you followed him up here?”
“I guess you could say he rescued me. My situation wasn’t so good. He saw that and helped me get out.”
“Wouldn’t peg him as the knight-in-shining-armor type.”
A snort of surprised, startled laughter escaped me.
“No, that’s not really him,” I said. “He still saved me, though.”
“So that’s the past. What’s between you now?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I mean, he keeps an eye on me, I guess. In a weird way, I feel safer because he’s around. But he makes me uncomfortable, too—when we first met I got hurt, and he was part of that.”