That meant the rest of us got to know her better over time, too. And I knew her well enough to be concerned when we walked in and I saw her looking angry. I wasn’t even aware Lindsey had the ability to look like that. She certainly never had in as long as I knew her. Usually happy and smiling, at that moment her eyes could have burned through the brick wall.
The tightness of her jaw and angry posture made something twist in my stomach, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I had the compulsion to storm through the other people crowding around the bar and find out what was going on. Before I could start over to her, my brothers called to me from our usual table. I sent one more look in Lindsey’s direction, then headed over to sit with them.
“What’s up?” Quentin asked when I sat down.
I shook my head. “Nothing. Hey, Nick, is something going on with Lindsey? She doesn’t look like herself.”
Nick gave a thoughtful frown and shook his head, then looked over at the bar. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to her today. But she hasn’t mentioned anything. I’m sure she’s fine. Probably just dealing with an obnoxious customer.”
He had to be right. Being the owner of a bar and spending every night working behind it would fray anybody’s nerves. But it had to be particularly difficult for a woman in her early thirties. Not that everybody around town was stuck in the past. Most people loved Lindsey and thought she was doing a fantastic job. But there were still the occasional misogynistic jackasses who couldn’t stand the idea of a young woman in her position.
They generally came in one of two versions. Either they were offended by her taking on the role and that offense turned to rage with a bit of alcohol, or they thought she needed a man by her side. There were a few occasions when I’d heard slimy men, usually visitors to the area, suggest she was just too cute and they could tell she was overwhelmed, but they would happily step up and be the man to guide her. After all, if she was going to be truly successful, she couldn’t expect to do it on her own.
Needless to say, they were wrong every single time. Not a single one of them walked out of the bar having earned any affection from Lindsey. I made myself focus on spending time with my brothers and not thinking about the strange surge of feeling that came over me when I saw Lindsey’s downturned face.
The feeling didn’t really go away for the rest of the night. It settled onto the back of my neck and just kind of stayed there through the beer, the cheeseburger, and the tumbling tower of curly fries. I couldn’t shake it, and far too often throughout the night, I found myself looking over at the bar, trying to check on her. I was driving myself home that night, which meant I stuck to one beer and perhaps far too many of the fries. They were still sitting heavy in my belly when I got home to my cabin sometime around midnight.
I let myself in and didn’t bother to turn on the lights in the front hallway. The lamp glowing in the corner of the living room was enough to get me there without running into anything. I went into the room and flopped down onto my couch. A few seconds later, just like clockwork, Frankie jumped onto my back. It was the way of the enormous cat. When I got home, the amount of time I got to myself was exactly how long it took for him to get from wherever he was to me.
That was fine with me. He was a good buddy and always put a smile on my face. I carefully rolled over so the giant ball of fluff could settle onto my stomach. Around the size of a small dog, the Maine Coon was massive but thought he was delicate and petite. Which was why he had absolutely no qualms sitting right on my belly and prodding me with his huge paws. I ran my hand over his soft fur, making his purr feel like an engine.
“You want to hear something really strange that happened tonight?” I asked.
The fact that I carried on long, in-depth conversations with my cat wasn’t something I’d readily share with many people. But in addition to being a good buddy and a fantastic masseuse, Frankie was a great listener. He never judged me. Well, sometimes he judged me. But at least when he did, it was just a matter of him jumping down and walking away with his bushy tail up in the air. That night, I just wanted to talk through the strange feeling from the bar and try to figure out what it might be.