Page 17 of Legends: Easton (Legends of Fire Creek #3)

The crowd was slow coming into the Fire Bar and Grille, not unusual since it was the middle of the week.

Most of the patrons were professionals winding down after a hectic workday, or couples who didn’t want to eat at home.

The kitchen had gotten several to-go orders, making Easton think that no one in Fire Creek was cooking their own meal tonight.

Easton managed to focus on his work, charming the regulars and welcoming what few newcomers came in. A smaller crowd usually made for a light work night for him, but tonight he was bored. The shift had barely begun, and he was itching to get out of there.

When the front door opened, he raised his head with a ready smile. That smile widened when he saw Reagan and Melody stroll through. The smile froze when a third person walked in behind them, obviously part of their group from the way his sisters looped her into their conversation.

Shit. I’m so screwed.

He’d only ever seen Bailee in casual attire, mostly leggings or shorts and a T-shirt. But when she walked into the bar, the casual Bailee Maxwell was gone. In her place was a stunning woman who would live rent-free in his mind for the rest of the evening.

She wore white jeans that molded against her curvy legs, and tall wedge sandals made those legs appear longer, though she only stood about medium height.

His eyes traveled up, and he lingered on her black top.

The sleeves were delicate ruffles that brushed against her shoulders, leaving toned arms exposed.

The V neckline showed off the rounded tops of her breasts, short-circuiting his brain.

His gaze rose to her face, her cheekbones contoured with subtle pink color, her lips glistening with a pale lip gloss, and her eyes shining thanks to the bronze shadow on her lids. Her hair curled softly, skimming her jaw with bouncy movement.

Reagan pointed to an empty table toward the back, where they would have privacy but remain within the eyeline of the bar.

The three turned their backs to him as they moved to claim the table, and Easton made the most of the moment by scoping out Bailee’s sweet ass showcased in the form-fitting jeans.

“Hey, E, you going to get me that beer or not?”

Easton jerked out of his reverie to stare at one of his regulars. Without a word, he filled the mug with the beer on tap and pushed it across the bar to stop in front of the guy.

He tried to resist looking in Luke’s direction, but the temptation was too great.

His brother raised a questioning brow, and realizing his brother suspected who the unknown woman was, Easton reluctantly nodded in confirmation.

Luke’s responding smirk soured Easton’s mood, but fortunately, one of the waitresses appeared with a drink order, providing a needed distraction.

A second waitress appeared after the first, this time with the drink order that brought his attention back to the woman he wanted to ignore.

“Hey, Easton, Reagan said they wanted something fun to kick off girls’ night. She’s leaving the choice up to you.”

Easton glanced at the table to find three sets of eyes watching. Reagan and Melody sported shit-eating grins while Bailee’s face was unreadable. His gaze lingered on her a moment before he looked back at his waitress.

“They order an appetizer too?”

She nodded, loose strands of hair falling from the messy bun she wore. Easton tilted his head back to indicate the kitchen behind him.

“Put the app order in while I get the drinks ready.”

Easton set to work on preparing three specialty cocktails that weren’t on the drink menu but were in his arsenal of mixed drinks he prepared upon request. The cocktail he chose would give the women a relaxed buzz, more so than a beer or a glass of wine, but wouldn’t lower their inhibitions too much.

He wanted them to have a good time, but he didn’t want an ass whipping from his brothers if Reagan and Melody left drunk.

He handed the drinks off to the waitress as she stopped by. He couldn’t resist seeing their reactions as they tried the concoctions. His sisters — he’d taken to calling them that shortly after Melody’s engagement to Luke — sent him beaming smiles, but Bailee never looked his way.

When their appetizer was ready, Jackson walked it from the kitchen. Placing the sampler platter in the middle of the table, he planted a short but possessive kiss on Reagan’s lips before joining Luke at the bar. Reagan’s face flushed at the public display, and Easton smiled.

Drink orders slowed down, so Easton knew the moment the girls rose to head to the dance floor. The regulars knew better than to mess with them, but they were hard to miss as they moved their bodies in ridiculous dances and laughed boisterously.

Their waitress came up to place their order for refills on the cocktails, but Easton waited to mix them until he saw them heading back to the table.

He knew most of the faces in the bar, a perk of living in a small town, but he didn’t want to take a chance that someone would mess with the drinks while the women were dancing.

The women went from dancing with each other to dancing with others. Jackson emerged from the kitchen to sweep Reagan into his arms. Luke took that as his sign to claim a dance with Melody. And Bailee accepted a dance invitation from a local man who had been enjoying a burger and beer after work.

Easton knew the man to be a good guy, but watching him with his hands resting on Bailee’s waist had Easton seeing red. He busied himself behind the bar but couldn’t stop his gaze from wandering back to their gyrating bodies.

The crowd started to clear out, and orders for the kitchen and bar slowed.

Easton toyed with the idea of suggesting they close the bar early.

They didn’t make a habit of that, but on slow nights when they all needed a break, they made the call.

And he could use a break, and not just from watching Bailee have a good time without him.

“Hey.”

The soft, feminine voice carried above the music, and Easton looked up to see Bailee sitting on the barstool in front of him.

He smiled, pleased that she was alone. The others were swaying to a ballad on the dance floor, and the only other people at the bar occupied seats at the end, away from where Easton and Bailee were now.

“Hey,” he returned. “Need a drink?”

“Could I get a water? I’m thirsty, but not strawberry mojito thirsty.”

Easton chuckled as he grabbed a bottle from the mini fridge behind the bar. “I’m not sure I’ve heard it put that way before, but here you go.”

“Thanks.”

His eyes were drawn to the muscles working in her throat as she drank, and he imagined pressing his lips to the same spot. He lightly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“I didn’t realize you knew Ray and Melody,” he grasped at the first topic of conversation that came to mind.

“Becky introduced us. She thought I could use some friends to hang out with while I’m in town. It was their idea to come out tonight, and it gave me an excuse to forget about things for a while.”

“Things? Has something else happened?”

Bailee sighed. “No. Nothing. I overreacted about the guy at the store that I was telling you about. I see that now.”

She looked over her shoulder toward the dance floor. Easton thought he detected a touch of wistfulness on her face as she watched her new friends with their men. But when she turned back, the look was gone.

“Let them know I decided to call it a night? And thank them for hanging out? It was fun.”

Her tone suggested she’d not had as much fun as she let on, and the fact she was leaving without them emphasized that. His heart sped up in unease at the idea of her heading back alone.

“I’m sure they won’t mind giving you a ride. Or if you can wait a few minutes, I’ll close up and give you a lift. We’re planning to close early since it’s slow tonight.” He didn’t figure his brothers would mind him making the sudden decision without asking them first.

“No need,” she said as she stepped away from the bar. “I drove my own car and met them here.”

“Let me walk you out.”

Bailee smirked. “Not necessary. I can take care of myself. I’m a cop, remember?”

She turned and headed for the door. Easton barely refrained from following her. His desire to leave grew stronger, and he couldn’t tear his eyes from the door.

“Go.”

Easton’s head snapped in front of him to see Jackson lingering at the bar. “Thought you were dancing with your wife.”

“Bathroom,” he explained. “Luke told me about your girl. Go. We’ll close up.”

“She’s not my girl. And I can help close up. I figured this could be an early night for us anyway.”

“Which means there’s no reason for you to hang around. Go. And Ray said to tell you they like her.”

“Shit, man, it’s not like that.” Easton ran a hand through his hair.

“I know.”

Easton could see in his brother’s dark eyes that he did understand the position Easton was in.

That made him relax a bit. Jackson was the unspoken head of the family, next to English, and Easton respected the hell out of him.

He was the glue that held them together.

That had been English’s job at one time — still was, in Jackson’s mind — but as adults, Jackson easily shouldered that responsibility without realizing he did it.

“You going or not?” Jackson grumbled.

Easton’s eyes floated to the door. Bailee was probably long gone by now, but he found himself nodding anyway. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

He didn’t bother to see if his family saw his retreat. They’d give him shit about it later, and he’d handle their curiosity and incessant teasing then.

Once he stepped outside, the humidity hit him square in the face, stealing the air from his lungs. The area was dark, and he waited for his eyes to adjust as he tried to catch his breath.