Chapter Six
Kaleb
She
climbed into her Buick, and it rattled to life. The noise it made disturbed the
quiet evening in the square. A couple of people next to my truck turned to look
at the car.
“It must be a loose muffler,” I
said to the dark interior of my truck.
My truck idled smoothly as I waited
for her to back out of her parking space and drive away. I flashed my
headlights at her once she was clear of the parking space. The Buick rumbled
out of the parking lot and bounced on to the road.
I tapped my steering wheel and
shifted my truck into gear. It slowly rolled through the lot. I should go home.
Tomorrow was another long day on the ranch, but the feel of Erin in my arms was
tantalizing. My body felt unsettled as I fought back the urge of attraction to
the woman. I drove a few blocks and pulled in front of Gallagher’s Irish pub.
Parking, I exited the truck and entered the pub.
Small lamps high on the rough stone
walls cast dim light over congregations of dark leather sofas and low tables. I
sidled up to the polished dark wood bar.
“What will it be tonight?” The bartender
set a low-ball glass in front of me. “We have whiskey or Guinness.” He nodded
to the wall behind him where the whiskey drinks were written in
glow-in-the-dark chalk on a black board.
“Just a whiskey and Coke is fine,”
I said.
He mixed the drink and set it down
in front of me. The bar was empty as it was a Tuesday. A couple of men in suits
sat around one of the low tables murmuring. Two older men played a game of
chess in the corner. Against the wall, a woman in a black business suit
recrossed her legs, absorbed in her novel.
“Quiet night?” I leaned my elbows
on the counter
“Just the usuals.” He placed the
bottle back in the rack. “I haven’t seen you before.”
“First time. The place looked
interesting. Have you been here long?”
He nodded. “It’s my in-laws’ pub. I
work here when they are short staffed. My wife is cooking in the kitchen.” He
slid a menu toward me.
The black ink scrawled over the tan
menu with classic Irish specials.
“Everything is good if you like
Irish food.” He pulled out a cocktail glass. He poured Irish whiskey, a splash
of grapefruit, and a glob of honey into a shaker. He shook the shaker. Then, he
poured it over ice into the glass, adding a grapefruit wedge in it. He pushed
open the small divider and delivered the drink to the woman. She smiled at him
briefly. Then, her eyes flitted back to the pages of her book.
The door swung open, bringing in
the sounds of the night. It stayed open longer than expected and I turned to
look at the newcomer. It was Erin, my dance partner. Her curly black hair
rioted around her face as her green eyes darted around the room.
I tried not to notice the green of
her eyes while we were dancing. They were the green of a fresh cut field of
hay, sharp and catching every detail. They swung around the room until they
landed on me. They widened a bit. She started to take a step backward, out of the
still open door.
I felt like a jerk. I ran a hand
through my hair and climbed down from my stool to approached her.
“Hi Erin.”
Her lips twitched as she eyed me.
I ran a hand through my hair.
“Would you like to join me?”
She hesitated and her stomach
gurgled. She placed a hand across her abdomen.
“You’re hungry. Come on. We might
as well get to know each other,” I motioned to my chair at the bar.
She laughed. “That’s an
understatement. I’m starving. I think I forgot to eat lunch today.”
She settled herself on the stool
next to me and ordered without looking at the menu. “I’d like the shepherd’s
pie, if you have it.”
The bartender smiled. “A real Irish
lassie. My wife would be happy to serve it up for you.”
“I’ll take the Reuben and another
drink.” I slid the menu back across the bar.
He nodded and turned his attention
to Erin.
“I’ll just have a Guinness. I have
to drive home and work tomorrow.” She wrinkled her nose.
She was cute when she did that. I
caught myself checking her out and mentally shook myself. I did not need a
woman in my life. They brought trouble and heartache. All things I didn’t have
time for, but I did have to find a date for the wedding.
The bartender placed a cold glass of
beer in front of Erin and refilled my drink. Erin folded a napkin, sliding the
bottle on to it. A bead of condensation rolled down bottle. Erin circled the
rim of the bottle with her index finger.
“So…” Erin started.
“Um…” I rubbed the back of my neck.
We both looked at each other. Her
green eyes crinkled in the corner. She waved her hand at me. “Go ahead.” She
sipped at her bottle.
“You’ve been dancing a long time?”
I circled my fingers around my glass.
“Since I was little. There wasn’t
much else to do in my hometown.” She laughed. “It’s not as small as Sunnydale,
but not big like San Antonio.”
“You’re pretty good.”
“Thanks.” She blushed.
A silence settled between us.
“So, Katie and Levi…when are they
getting married?” Erin peeled at the label.
“I thought you were friends with
Katie.” I frowned at her words.
“I guess I am. I haven’t known her
or Levi for very long. I just moved to town.” She shrugged.
The bartender placed steaming
plates of food in front of us. He looked at Erin’s beer and she shook her head.
My drink sat untouched in front of me. He tapped on the counter before moving
on to check on the other customers.
“The wedding is set for July.” I
rubbed the back of my head. “Sometime in the middle. My other brother is
getting married in June.”
“Busy summer.” She stabbed her fork
into her food.
I chuckled. “It sure will be. Ma
and Pa are coming home for the summer.”
Her fork paused, hovering above her
plate. “Where do they live if they aren’t around here?”
“They’re missionaries overseas.”
“Where at? Anywhere exciting?” She
scooped a spoonful of mash potatoes.
“I don’t really know.” I swirled
the ice in my glass. The amber liquid bumped against the sides. “I don’t keep track.
Katie would though.”
I cleared my throat and sipped from
my drink. Levi’s words echoed in my mind. I need to bring a date. It only made
sense. I didn’t have time to find another person that could also dance. It
almost seemed too perfect like Katie and Levi planned this. I ran my hand
through my hair. Knowing them, they probably did. “Erin, I’ve a business
proposition for you.”
She looked up from her plate and
furrowed her brow.
I ran my hands through my hair. “I
know we don’t know each other well, but I need a date for their wedding.”
She stared at the food on her fork
before replacing it on her plate. “How’s that business?”
“I’d like to pay you for your
company to the wedding as my date.” I met her gaze.
She frowned at me. “No. I’m not
that kind of girl.” Her voice dropped and grew angry.
“That’s not what I meant.” I rubbed
the back of my neck. “Just a date. Come to the wedding, eat cake, and dance
with me. Then we go our separate ways.”
“Why?” She leaned away from me.
Suspicion colored her voice and her green eyes shifted around the room.
“I don’t have the time…or desire…to
find a girlfriend. I just need someone as a dance partner for the night.”
“How much for the night?” She
reached for her glass and took a sip.
“How about two grand?”
She coughed. Beer sprayed on to the
bar. “Two thousand dollars! Are you serious?” She reached for her paper napkin
and wiped up the splatter.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Wow. For that, I can be your dance
partner for the night.” She pushed the soggy napkin to the side.
We ate in silence for a while. My
mind wandered to the woman sitting next to me. Her black curly hair fought out
of her ponytail. Ringlets framed her face. Her green eyes seemed intelligent.
She talked with a midwestern accent.
“Where did you say you were from?”
I leaned my elbow on the counter, turning my body so I faced her.
“I didn’t.” She raised the beer
bottle to her lips and sipped. “But if you must know. A two-horse town in Iowa.
My dad is a crop farmer and my mom the local librarian.”
“Iowa, huh…what brought you down
here?”
She set her spoon on the side of
her plate and stared straight ahead. Her lips thinned into a line. She
swallowed before looking at me. “A job.”
I studied her. She fidgeted in her
seat and pushed her food around with her fork. “There must be jobs in Iowa. Why
Texas?”
A corner of her lips pulled up.
“Isn’t Texas the greatest place on Earth?”
“Well, yes.” She got me there. As a
bred and raised Texan, I thought the world of my state. “Where do you work?”
“Um…” Her phone sitting next to her
plate buzzed with an incoming text message. She read it before shutting it off
and sliding it into her purse. “I’ve gotta go.” She reached for her wallet and
pulled out some cash, sliding it under her bottle.
“Thanks for the conversation and the
employment.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I guess I will see you
next week.”
With that, she hurried out across
the room and out the door.
“That was odd,” I muttered to
myself, shaking my head. My curiosity was piqued. Why was this Iowa girl here
in southern Texas? How did she know Katie? And most of all, why did I want to
find out?
