Lincoln seethed silently, wondering if he should have another talk with her. “It’s not funny. The other night she had a flat tire around three a.m. She ran over a branch, but if she had been driving slower she would have seen it and avoided it. Any stranger could have come upon her and bothered her. Half those men leaving the bar are way too drunk.”
“So you helped her?” Abel asked, leaning back in his chair and staring at Lincoln. Lincoln groaned. He saw the curious look in his brother’s eyes now. Abel was like a bulldog when it came to sticking his nose in his siblings’ lives. He took his role as oldest way too seriously. He would not let it go now.
Lincoln didn’t understand why he couldn’t get over his obsession with Jessy when he had no intention of ever getting involved with her, but she stayed on his mind constantly. Especially after the other night when she had been wearing that skimpy uniform. Damn her for driving him crazy.
“It’s my job,” he answered emotionless.
“You were asking questions about her not too long ago,” Abel remembered. “Have a personal interest in her? Should I be looking into her background? She’s from New York, right?”
“What? No,” Lincoln denied hotly. “It’s my job to help out citizens in trouble.”
Abel didn’t look convinced. “Hmm. Maybe I will have a chat with Miss Simmons myself. Try to see if she is a hardened criminal and here with bad intentions.”
Lincoln looked at his brother. Abel was three years older than him and a handsome man. Plenty of women liked his power and his dark looks, but Abel never noticed. Jessy was sexy and despite her mouthy demeanor, just the type Abel would be attracted to. He squished down the jealousy that rose inside of him. This unrest in his mind was all Jessy’s fault. His life had been calm and peaceful before she came into town. “Um…I know her already so I’ll do it. She can be kind of snarly.”
“Nice of you to protect me.” Abel rolled his eyes.
Lincoln smiled and patted his own shoulder. “What are brothers for?”
Abel laughed and went back to checking the pile of reports. Lincoln couldn’t get his mind off of Jessy. She was messing with his mind, and he was afraid to admit it but also his heart. Sooner or later he was going to have to do something about it.
Chapter Three
“Hey, gorgeous.”
Jessy looked up from her position behind the long wooden bar and smiled at her customer. He was in his late twenties and not bad looking. His blond hair was shaggy and reminded her of a surfer. He was wearing a white buttoned up shirt and jeans. She knew he owned a farm on the outskirts of town with his family. He often bragged that he was a successful ladies man.
“Hello, Gary. Beer?” Gary was a regular on the weekends. He often came in with his buddies and flirted with Jessy or any woman around him. He was a handsome man, but who needed the headache of his roaming ways?
“It was a hot day out there today. Beer sounds good,” he told, her putting a few bills down as she handed him a cold bottle of beer. He took a sip before setting it down. “Ready to go out with me yet? I will make sure you have a good time, doll.”
“And break the hearts of your harem? No thanks,” she answered him with a laugh. He was harmless. He often went home with a woman, so she didn’t take his flirting seriously. With her troubled life she had never had time to date back home. How would Gary react if she told him she was still a virgin at her age? She wasn’t going to waste it on a Casanova-like Gary.
Jessy turned to her right and saw the other bartender she worked with trying to unpack a box of liquor bottles. She excused herself from Gary.
“Hey, Mike. Let me help you,” she offered with a genuine smile. She really liked working with Mike. He worked hard and kept to himself. A lot of the other bartenders liked to slack off and flirt. Jessy unpacked a few of the whiskey bottles and put them underneath the counter while Mike filled the upper cabinets.
“How’s your mom?” she asked.
Mike smiled and pushed his wire-framed glasses up his nose. His brown hair was neat and trim. “Good. She is on a new medicine and feeling much better.”
Jessy loo
ked at him and patted his thin shoulder. His mother had cancer and she felt sympathetic for Mike. He was tall but very thin. He took care of his mom and worked full time. Jessy suspected he often forgot to take care of himself. He hardly spoke so some of the others thought he was stuck up. Jessy figured he was just shy and pre-occupied with his home life. That had been her life once. She felt compassion because she knew how hard it was to watch your loved one slowly die, knowing you could do nothing to stop it.
“That’s good news. Remember if you ever want me to sit with her so you can have a break, just call me,” she reminded him while working to unpack the box.
“You’re a good friend, Jessy. Thanks.”
Nancy, one of the waitresses, came running up to the bar. “Pete and Jenkins are fighting again. Mario said to call it in. He broke them up and they moved to a different section and started up again. They’re throwing chairs now.”
Mike rolled his eyes and picked up the phone to call it in. The two men often fought, breaking glasses and chairs that they paid for later.
“I don’t know why Kramer doesn’t just ban their asses for a while.” Jessy shook her head, filling Nancy’s ticket for her customers. “I swear they go at it every other weekend, and we have to clean up their mess.”
Nancy sighed loudly. “I know. They’re idiots and by tomorrow they will be buddies again. And they say we women are moody.”
Jessy laughed as Nancy walked away with her tray.