Читать книгу Sleigh Bells In Crimson - Michelle Major, Michelle Major - Страница 11

Chapter Four

Caden pulled open the door of Elevation Brewery later that night, the heat and noise of a festive bar crowd spilling out into the cold. He took a deep breath, then walked in, scanning the faces of the people without making eye contact with any of them.

“Caden!”

He stifled an amused sigh and turned to the dark-haired, dark-eyed woman waving to him like mad from a seat at the bar.

“Caden, over here!” she shouted as if he hadn’t heard her the first time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy Renner glance over her shoulder. But he ignored both Lucy and Chad, who were huddled together near the pool tables at the far corner of the bar, and moved toward the woman still feverishly waving at him.

“He sees you,” David McCay, the bar’s owner, told Erin MacDonald as Caden approached. The tall brewer with the overly long blond hair and a good two weeks of beard leaned forward to plant a kiss on the mouth of his fiancée.

“I didn’t think he’d come,” Erin said against David’s lips before swiveling her chair to face Caden. “I’m so glad you finally took me up on my offer.”

Caden blinked, looking around like one of the other bar patrons might be able to shed some light on what the sweet-tempered schoolteacher was talking about. Because he sure as hell had no idea.

David gave a soft chuckle. “He’s not here for you, darlin’.”

“I texted you about meeting here to talk about the animal-adoption open house next weekend.” Erin pointed a finger at him. “You’ve ignored my invitations to hang out with David and me for weeks. I figured bringing the animals into it might motivate you to agree. That’s why you came tonight, right?”

“Um, sure.” Caden’s gaze strayed to Lucy, who was leaning over the pool table to set up a shot. Several of the men standing near her were watching her with interest, but Chad had his arm draped around the shoulder of a buxom blonde.

He started when Erin placed a hand on his arm. “I’m not going to be offended that you ignored me once again because this is even better. You’re here for a woman.”

“I’m not,” he answered, but Erin was craning her neck to get a better look at Lucy.

“She’s pretty. Not from around here, I’d guess. Tell me all about her.”

Caden shot a help-me glance toward David, who gave him a you’re-on-your-own shrug.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Caden said with a sigh.

“Come on.” Erin grinned up at him. “You never come into town, especially on a Friday night. She must be special.”

“She’s here with Chad. It’s not a big deal.”

“I don’t think she’s leaving with Chad,” David said, inclining his head toward the back of the bar.

Caden turned to see Chad and the blonde in the midst of a hot and heavy makeout session. Lucy was on the other side of the pool table, talking to a group of men, some of whom Caden recognized as locals. A moment later Chad and his new woman came up for air, then quickly headed for the bar’s entrance. His ranch hand disappeared into the night without sparing another glance at Lucy.

“Damn,” he muttered. “I tried to warn her.”

“Were they on a date?” Erin asked, sympathy lacing her voice.

“I don’t think so. Maybe. Hell, who knows with Chad? But he was definitely her ride home.”

“So now you’ll take care of her,” Erin said matter-of-factly. “And you can tell us all about how you two met.”

“It’s not important.”

Erin let out a sigh. “Fine. If you won’t share, maybe she will.” She stood on the stool’s footrest and waved Lucy over when she glanced up, presumably looking for Chad.

Caden saw confusion darken her eyes, and then something else crept in when her gaze landed on him. But she moved toward them, weaving her way through the brewery’s high-spirited patrons.

Several male heads turned as she passed, but she didn’t slow her progress.

“She’s not my responsibility,” he said quietly.

“She’s the reason you’re here,” Erin responded. “Gosh, she’s even prettier than I first thought.”

“Not nearly as pretty as you,” David whispered.

“You’re sweet,” Erin told her fiancé, but Caden barely registered their conversation.

He couldn’t take his eyes off Lucy.

Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, and she wore a burgundy-colored sweater with the fabric cut out at both shoulders, giving him the most tantalizing glimpse of bare skin. It was totally inappropriate clothing for a December night in Colorado, and Caden thanked his lucky stars that Lucy came from a warmer climate.

“So you’re not a party pooper after all,” she said as she came to stand directly in front of him.

He cocked a brow. “I told you a date with Chad was a bad idea.”

“I told you it wasn’t a date.”

“Obviously not since he just left with another woman.”

“Oh.” Her glossy lips formed the syllable and Caden’s body tightened in response.

“He ditched you, Lucy.” Caden knew he was being purposely cruel, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. It bothered him on some primal level that she’d gone out with Chad, and he certainly planned to have a serious conversation with his ranch hand about how to treat a woman.

“Was it the cute little blond-haired woman?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good for him,” she said, a slow smile lighting up her face. “Her name is Jessica and he has such a crush on her. All I heard about most of the night was how she’s been dating some guy who doesn’t treat her right. She finally broke up with him last week. Tonight was Chad’s big chance but he was so nervous. I gave him some tips and—”

“You and Chad were over there talking about how he could put the moves on another woman? The last thing that boy needs is more moves.”

“He really likes her,” she said. “I get that he seems smooth, but it’s different when the woman means something, you know?”

Caden wasn’t sure how to answer that. He thought he’d been in love once, but that experience had not only torn apart his heart, it had done some major collateral damage to his relationship with his brother.

“I know exactly what you mean,” Erin said from behind him. She nudged his shoulder and he stepped to the side so that Erin could pull Lucy closer. “Why do men act like idiots when they have real feelings for a woman?”

“I wasn’t an idiot,” David protested gently.

Erin rolled her brown eyes toward the ceiling. “You were a total idiot.” She reached for Lucy’s hand and pumped it enthusiastically. “Hi, I’m Erin MacDonald and this is my fiancé, David McCay.” She leaned in closer and added, “He’s a reformed idiot.”

“Can I get you a beer?” David asked Lucy with a chuckle.

“He also owns Elevation Brewery. We’re friends of Caden’s.”

Lucy gave Caden a funny look out of the corner of her eye, as if she found it difficult to believe he actually had friends. “Nothing more for me,” she told David. “I had a couple of pints of the wheat beer earlier—which was amazing, by the way. But I’m definitely feeling the altitude.”

“The alcohol hits you hard up here,” David confirmed.

“Caden was just about to tell us how the two of you met,” Erin said.

Lucy arched a brow in Caden’s direction. “Really?”

“It would probably be better coming from you.” Erin placed a hand on Lucy’s arm like they were old friends. “Our Caden is kind of the strong, silent type, if you know what I mean.”

“My mother is marrying his father,” Lucy said, thankfully not commenting on what she thought about his “type.”

“Maybe,” he muttered, earning a frown from both women.

David handed him a tall glass of dark beer. “You look like you could use this.”

“I’ve seen her around town,” Erin told Lucy. “She and Garrett seem so happy together. She’s really pretty. You look like her.”

Lucy’s gaze strayed to Caden once again, her eyes narrowing slightly as if she was thinking about the rude comment he’d made when they first met.

Then she smiled at Erin. “Thank you. My mom and Garrett left this morning for a prewedding trip to New York City.”

“How romantic,” Erin breathed.

Caden snorted, causing beer to slosh over the side of the pint glass. David handed him a napkin.

“Will they be back for the adoption open house?” Erin asked, turning to Caden.

“Doubtful. I’m guessing Maureen will want to stay in the city and spend as much of Garrett’s money as she can manage.”

Erin gasped. “That’s a rude thing to say, Caden. And unlike you. You know better than most people what it’s like to be judged unfairly. I’m disappointed you’d stoop to that level, especially talking about Lucy’s mom when she’s standing right in front of you.”

“Sorry,” Caden mumbled, feeling suddenly like he was a kid being reprimanded by his favorite teacher. He could only imagine how bad the kindergarteners in Erin’s class felt when they messed up. Erin might look like she was as harmless as a kitten, but she definitely had sharp claws.

David covered his mouth with one hand to hide a smile while Lucy raised a brow and moved slightly closer to Erin, as if her new friend would shield her from Caden’s wrath. He gave himself a mental head shake as guilt pinged through him. Still, he hadn’t said anything about Lucy’s mother that wasn’t the truth, and they both knew it.

He placed the glass of beer on the bar. “We should head back to the ranch.”

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s the adoption open house?” she asked Erin, ignoring Caden.

“Have you seen Caden’s pet-rescue operation?” Erin rolled her eyes. “When he’s not being Mr. Rudepants, Caden takes in unwanted animals from around the county.”

“The ones in the barn?”

Erin nodded. “They’re animals no one else wanted. He rehabilitates them, does training and then matches them with forever families.”

He saw Lucy’s mouth drop open. “Seriously?”

“Did you think I was selling them to some kind of lab for experiments?” he asked, not caring that the words came out a growl.

“No,” Lucy answered after a moment. “I thought you were a pet hoarder.”

“Are you kidding me?”

She flashed a grin that made his heart stutter. “Yes.”

She turned back to Erin, who was watching him with a gleam in her eye Caden didn’t trust in the least.

He picked up the beer again and took a long drink.

“Erin’s onto you,” David said quietly as Erin explained more about the open house to Lucy. “You need to get a better poker face, bud.”

Caden stepped closer to the bar. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You like this one.”

“She’s a pain in my—”

“Right.” David laughed. He made a show of wiping the already-gleaming wood counter when Erin shot him a questioning glance. “You should probably stop staring at her like she’s on the menu and you’re starving.”

“I’m not staring.”

“Erin has been wanting to fix you up for months. She fancies herself a matchmaker.”

Caden groaned. “I’m trying to convince my father to call off the wedding. That’s not exactly going to endear me to Lucy.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that you like her,” David said with a shrug.

Before Caden could respond, Erin turned and grabbed his arms.

“Great news,” she shouted over the din of the brewpub. “Lucy’s agreed to help with the adoption event.”

Caden shrugged off her hold and shook his head. “I didn’t ask for her help.”

Erin frowned. “Don’t be rude again.”

“I’m not—”

“You need her.”

“I don’t,” he said through clenched teeth.

Erin pointed a finger at him. “How much of the marketing plan I created have you implemented at this point?”

“I’ve been busy on the ranch.”

“Exactly. Lucy has retail experience in sales and marketing. She’s going to take over for you to make sure we have enough publicity for the event.”

Caden looked over Erin’s shoulder to Lucy. “If you don’t want my help,” she muttered, “it’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Erin insisted. “Ever since word got out that Caden would take on stray animals, people have been bringing them to him left and right. It’s too much. An adoption event right before Christmas is the perfect way to find good families for your sweet babies.”

Caden felt color rise up his throat when Lucy’s mouth kicked up at one corner. “I wouldn’t call them my sweet babies.”

Erin threw up her hands. “You have a certified therapy bunny, Caden. Play the hardened cowboy all you want, but we know you’re a big softy at heart.”

“We do,” Lucy agreed, her eyes dancing with amusement.

“I don’t even know why I agreed to open the barn. I can find homes for the animals on my own.”

“The adoption event is happening, and Lucy’s going to help,” Erin said in the same tone of voice he imagined she used to quiet a room of rowdy five-year-olds.

Caden looked at David. “You’ve got your hands full.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” David answered.

“I’m so glad we met tonight,” Erin said to Lucy as she pulled her in for a tight hug. “I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends.”

Caden’s focus sharpened as he watched Lucy go stiff. All the humor disappeared from her gaze, and instead she looked like someone had just punched her in the gut.

“It was...um...nice to meet you,” she said quickly. “But I’m kind of jet-lagged, so I should probably head back to the ranch. Have a good night.”

She turned and fled, weaving through the crowd so quickly that Caden lost sight of her within a few seconds.

“Was it something I said?” Erin asked quietly.

“Nah, honey.” David reached across the bar to smooth his fiancée’s hair away from her face. “You were brilliant. I’m just not sure Caden’s Lucy is used to having someone as sweet as you offer to be her friend.”

Caden felt his jaw clench. “She’s not mine.”

“Not if you don’t catch up to her,” David agreed.

Caden knew the smart thing to do would be bellying up to the bar and ordering another beer. Lucy Renner seemed plenty capable of taking care of herself. He sure didn’t need her infringing on his life, his friends or his animals. He needed her gone.

He took a breath and turned to find Erin and David staring at him with equally knowing looks on their faces.

“Damn,” he muttered and took off toward Elevation’s front entrance.

* * *

It had started snowing while Lucy was in the bar. Big, fluffy flakes streamed down from the sky, glowing in the light of a nearby streetlamp and lending a sense of peace to Crimson’s Main Street. Lucy would have stopped and tipped up her face to catch a snowflake on her tongue if she wasn’t in such a hurry to get away.

She felt like a fool rushing out of Elevation and away from a woman who’d been nothing but kind to her. When was the last time Lucy’d had a girlfriend?

She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Her mother had always taught her that other girls, and later women, were to be viewed as competition and not to be trusted.

As much as Lucy knew her mother’s ideas on female friendships were wrong, some part of the message had sunk in and she’d never seemed to be able to make lasting friendships. Maybe because whenever another woman made a friendly overture, she freaked out like she did with Erin.

At least Caden was probably happy she was gone.

Of course, she had no idea where she was headed. She needed to get her bearings and find a taxi or Uber to get her back to the ranch. But it was hard to slow down when it felt like running away was what she did best.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the sidewalk behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Caden approaching. She hated to admit how happy she’d been to see him at the bar.