A Rock Canyon Short Story Collection
© 2016 Codi Gary
Ever wonder what happened to Gracie and Eric in that storage room?
Enjoy the following excerpt for their upcoming companion collection, The Trouble with Attraction:
February
Gracie McAllister heard the commotion coming from the center of Buck’s Shot Bar and pushed through the crowd to see what was up. She’d come to the bar with her new friend, Ryan Ashton, wanting to show off her creation. Was it wrong to call her that? Okay, well, she wouldn’t do it to her face.
Gracie made it to the edge to find Ryan standing over a prone Wayne Coulter, staring at Gregg Stevens in horror.
Glee ripped through Gracie as she caught the look of heat Gregg sent Ryan. The man had needed a serious wake up call, especially since it was obvious to everyone but Ryan and Gregg that they were both totally gone on the other.
Gracie was pretty sure that Ryan’s feelings for Gregg were what triggered the little make over Gracie had helped her with this afternoon. Gracie understood, sometimes men could be dense when it came to things staring them in the face.
Smirking, Gracie sidled up next to Ryan. “Are you causing bar fights now?”
She could tell she’d caught Ryan by surprise by the widening of her big, vibrant blue eyes, but then it faded into a twinkle of amusement. Ryan laughed softly, that sweet, shy sound only a girl who is used to being invisible can make.
“Apparently,” Ryan said.
Gracie slipped her arm through Ryan’s and squeezed it reassuringly. “That just means you’ve definitely achieved your goal.”
Ryan blushed, but Gracie could tell she was happy. The poor girl had been sheltered, afraid to take a chance or make some noise. Gracie hoped she’d continue on the course she’d started, because she liked this Ryan. Before, she’d always thought Ryan was a prim little priss who was always watching people and judging, but she’d learned a lot about Ryan over the last several hours. Ryan wasn’t disapproving or judging, she was envious because she wanted to be noticed.
Well, mission accomplished, girl.
Gracie’s best friend, Mike Stevens, came through the crowd behind her and she was just about to make a crack about him missing the action when a silent chill went through the crowd.
And then Eric Henderson pushed his way into the open circle, his tall, wide shouldered frame towering above them like an angry giant. His dark eyes snapped around the room, assessing the situation swiftly, and Gracie’s heart beat kicked into high gear, the way it always did when Eric came into the room.
The bastard.
Of course, it really wasn’t his fault that she’d always had a bit of a crush on him, although that had definitely shifted to disdain with a touch of lust after the events of Halloween ten years ago. She’d snuck into Buck’s with her fake ID and a killer cat costume that had hugged every part of her body. She’d been all ready to make the twenty-three-year-old Eric sweat as she’d approached him, flirting outrageously and teasing him mercilessly.
Until he’d called her a child and kicked her out.
Was it immature to still be holding a grudge? Absolutely, but Gracie had never been accused of being reasonable. People didn’t call her a “drama queen” for nothing.
Yet despite her deep seeded loathing for the man, it didn’t prevent her from admiring how damn good he looked in a gray v necked t-shirt that formed over his pecks like someone had painted it on him, only to loosen up around what she was sure hid some killer abs.
“Who brought Wayne?” Eric shouted, his deep voice booming through the silence of the bar.
Walt Coulter, Wayne’s little weasel of a brother, stepped forward. “We cam together, Eric.”
“Get him up and out of my bar. And when he wakes up, let him know that this is the last time. He causes anymore problems and he’ll have to get shit-faced somewhere else.” Eric stepped into Walt, and everyone held their breath, waiting for whatever Eric would do next on pins and needles. “This isn’t the first time I’d had to throw him out. If your brother can’t handle his liquor, then he should stop drinking.”
Walt’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, nodding his head like a big chicken. “Sure, Eric.”
Mike pushed past Gracie to help Walt get Wayne up off the ground, but the drama wasn’t over yet as Eric squared off with Gregg. “I’m assuming you had a reason to lay out Wayne?”
“He was getting grabby with Ryan,” Gregg said. His hazel eyes hooked on Ryan, and Gracie heard her little sigh. Gracie grinned, totally getting her friend’s reaction. Having a guy fight for you was freaking hot.
And then Eric’s penetrating eyes swung her way, silently accusing her of something, and her smile slipped away.
“I’m surprised you didn’t start this. It seems like anytime there’s trouble in my bar, you’re behind it.”
What the hell? That wasn’t even true, but before she could open her mouth, he’d already disappeared back towards the bar, the crowd blocking him from her view except for those shoulders and his closely shaved head.
Who did he think he was, talking to her like that? With her mouth pinched in a grim line, she said, “I really hate that guy.”
* * *
Eric Henderson was getting a little sick and tired of avoiding Gracie McAllister, that was for damn sure. Especially when she was everywhere. In his bar, at church…he had to drive five miles to Buhl to get his coffee just so he didn’t have to go into The Local Bean, the coffee shop she owned in the heart of Rock Canyon, Idaho.
And it was just getting to be too much. Especially when she always looked so fucking sexy he just wanted to get his fingers tangled up in her short blond hair and shove his tongue down her throat.
Fine, so it wasn’t the most romantic image, but he was at his wits end. The girl had been tempting him for ten years and he’d tried to put her off, especially because he knew the stories about her. She was a boy crazy flirt who switched boyfriends on a weekly basis. Eric wasn’t interested in being a casualty in her dating war path.
He wanted Gracie like he’d never wanted another woman, but he had his pride.
Well, you’re definitely safe, asshole. If she found you bleeding on the side of the road, I doubt she’d stop and save you with the way you treat her.
Suddenly, someone pushed him in the back, sending him stumbling against the bar. He looked over his shoulder, ready to tear someone apart but found Gracie standing there. Her hands on her hips and her pixie sweet face screwed up in anger.
“What the hell was that about?” he asked.
“That’s for being a douche nozzle.”
Eric saw that several people were watching him, interested in their conversation and the last thing he wanted was an audience when he pulled her over his knee and smacked her little hot tempered ass.
He took her arm and hauled her struggling towards the cooler, ignoring her squawks of protest.
Pulling her in behind him, he slammed the door and put his back to it, blocking her escape.
“Now, you wanna say that again without a room full of witnesses?”
“Oh, please, you can pull that intimidation act on everybody but me. You wouldn’t hurt a woman, and you and I both know it, because if you did, your mother would kill you.”
Of course she was right, not that he really wanted to hurt her. No, the things he wanted to do to Gracie had a lot more to do with pleasure than pain.
“Fine, I won’t hurt you. But I also will not take you assaulting me in my fucking bar.”
“Okay, sissy-lala, first off, this is your dad’s bar, you pour drinks. Second, there was no assault. That was a tap, and if you tried to press charges, all the cops would laugh at you,” she said.
Eric didn’t even argue with her about the bar. Since his dad was semi-retired, he was doing a lot more than pouring books and since the family split the business four ways, he most definitely was an owner, but it wasn’t worth getting into now.
“Hey, I’ve got a dozen witnesses that will back my side.”
“Not once I offer them free coffee for life. Believe me, my coffee is like crack to this town and I am their supplier, which makes me all great and powerful like the fucking Wizard of Oz.”
Eric snorted, trying to smother a laugh. She was just so full of it.
“You have me there…oh, wait. I have beer. And chili fries.” An evil grin spread across his lips. “I win.”
“Fine, if you want to be a pussy about a little nudge, be my guest. Now get out of my way. I’m freezing in here.”
“You’ve got a dirty mouth, for such a sweet looking woman,” he said.
“Too bad you’ll never know just how dirty I can get.”
The taunt slapped him across the face, dragging a ragged breath from him as heat surged through his body, pooling between his legs and making his cock stiffen as he pictured that glossy pink mouth saying all the things he’d only imagined.
“Is that a challenge, Gracie Lou?” His tone was dark, and he watched her green eyes flare wide. Was that apprehension or excitement he saw in the mossy depths?
“Don’t make me laugh.” But she wasn’t laughing, far from it. Her voice was husky and soft, and he wondered if he took her mouth now, if she’d fight him or kiss him back.
“What? If you feel nothing but disgust for me, then what would it hurt if I decided to devote all of my energy to making you get very”- he stepped away from the door towards her, enjoying the way she backed up. Was it bad that he liked stalking her across the room like a wolf after a deer? “very dirty.”
Gracie was backed up against the shelf of produce, and his put his arms up, hanging onto the metal shelves on either side of her.
“What do you think? Should I make it my mission to make you beg for me?”
His body hovered over hers, nearly touching and it was pure torture on his end. He wanted to press into her warmth to escape the cold.
The door opened behind Eric, and he turned his head. Too late, it gave Gracie the chance to escape.
She ducked under his arm and rushed to where his brother Grant stood in the doorway, his jaw wide open against his chest.
When she was a safe distance away, she faced him again, and he didn’t miss the fact that her nipples were hard and pressing against the front of her dress. Was that because of him or the cold?
“The next time you pull something like this, I’m going to take out your nut sacks with my fingernails.”
She stomped past Grant, who looked from her to Eric, a stupid grin on his face. “Do I even want to ask?”