Darling couldn’t believe the crowd at the Melody Bar and Grill. Who would’ve thought a small town would attract larger crowds than some of the New York City nightclubs Madison had dragged her to over the years. It was a good thing Carrie’s boyfriend Matt and his buddies from the fire department had gotten there early, otherwise there was no way they would ever have gotten a table. A local band was playing cover tunes in one corner, and a large wall-to-wall bar took up the entire other end of the facility. After her initial blush at having to face Matt again after the embarrassing menstrual issue, she got over it and realized he was a really nice guy. And he had some cute friends. Time to move on with her new attitude.
If Ross showed up tonight, she would be his friend, but if he wanted anything beyond that, he could just kick rocks. She should be out meeting men instead of lusting after a guy who was leaving in another few days. He’d said as much himself.
“Darling, meet Connor. He’s another fireman at the department with me.” Matt introduced her to a tall young man with a crew cut and chiseled cheekbones. He shook her hand firmly before offering, “Can I buy you a drink?”
“Sure, that’d be great. I’ll have a rum and Diet Coke.” Darling accepted the offer with a smile. Zack had never bought her a drink; he usually didn’t even want to acknowledge her existence when she went out to see his band play. Probably didn’t want her to be getting in the way of him hooking up with groupies. Or was there a more embarrassing, depressing, and humiliating explanation? She had to face up to it; he’d been embarrassed to be seen with her. But that was all behind her, and she was going to have a good time tonight. She wasn’t that frumpy young girl. She was an attractive, determined woman who was going to settle into this town and write cookbooks. Maybe she’d even look into what it would take to get her kitchen licensed so that she could sell her pastries to regional restaurants. Teaching just wasn’t it for her, and she didn’t want to go back.
Carrie and Matt were cuddled up next to each other at the table. Darling took a seat next to her friend and tried to learn all the names of the various locals crowded in at the table. There was another guy from the fire department, a female dispatcher, two cops, a local middle school teacher, and three other young guys who she couldn’t make out either their names or how they knew Carrie and Matt with the loud noise in the background. But it didn’t matter. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Connor slipped in beside her and handed her a drink. “To making new friends,” he toasted, and the group clinked glasses and beer bottles together.
“So, Matt, did you grow up in town?” Darling asked, taking another sip of her drink, now slightly more used to its heavy alcohol taste.
“Yeah. Yes, actually. We were kind of neighbors to your house except I usually spent summers with my mom in Rhode Island. My dad and brother still live in the cottage next to your property. Dad still owns the town’s only landscaping business.” Matt took a healthy sip of his beer and made a smirk. The whole table seemed to grow silent watching her intently for a response.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize Mr. Whitaker was related to you. I remember now that your dad got questioned a lot back then.” She shook her head and looked down at the coasters stacked on the table, embarrassed she hadn’t made the connection before.
“It’s okay; it was a long time ago. Hell, if my old man had just come clean about what he’d been doing over in the woods that day, he would of been cleared in an hour. He brought it on himself.” Matt took another long draw from his beer bottle. “Come on, we’re celebrating old friends and new. Let’s dance or do shots and switch the signs on the restrooms.”
“I vote for the dancing. You guys almost got me arrested last time you pulled one of your pranks in a public place. Putting firecrackers in the grill nearly gave Jimbo out back a heart attack when he lit it up for the pig roast,” Carrie elaborated her story with a wide smile taking the sting out of her words.
“You exaggerate! No way would you have gotten arrested since we had two of Uniontown’s finest helping us on that one.” Matt explained, falling into guffaws.
“Would you like to dance with me?” Connor asked standing up and extending his hand toward her.
“I’m not much of a dancer,” Darling explained, feeling a bit shy.
“It’s a slow song, so you just have to hold onto my shoulders and let me lead you around. It will be fine.” Connor gave her a gentle tug that pulled her out of her seat.
She was about to refuse again when she caught sight of Ross pulled up at a barstool in the corner. He had a beer in front of him and seemed to be looking right at her. If he thought he was going to trample on her evening out, he was mistaken. They were friends, but that was it—she didn’t need another experience like she’d had with Zack. She knew he was joining them but thought he would just fade into the background. But nothing about Ross was background material. She smiled brightly at Connor. “You lead the way, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He escorted her toward the middle of the dance floor and gently spun her in his arms, one hand on hers and his other wrapped a bit tightly around her waist. The dance floor was closer to the stage, so it was almost impossible to hear what he was shouting into her ear over the music. Darling kept having to guess what his questions might be based on the couple of words she caught, and she would shout back a short answer into his ear.
The strong drink had made her feel a bit more competent about twirling around on the dance floor, but she wasn’t quite thrilled with how close Connor was holding her. He had her breasts mashed up into his chest, and his hand kept dropping lower on her back. She was regretting the scooped-back cocktail dress she was wearing despite how great Carrie assured her she looked in it. She tried to pull away from him a bit when he started skimming his fingers just under the wispy fabric toward her butt. Connor was having none of it; he just tightened his hold and spun her a bit faster. This time he wasn’t shouting something into her ear; he seemed to be trying to nibble on it. It was all a bit much. She couldn’t break out of his tight grasp as she fruitlessly searched the other couples on the dance floor, hoping Carrie and Matt were nearby. Perhaps she could flash her friend the “rescue me” signal, but her friend was too far away. She stepped on Connor’s toes, but that just encouraged him to squeeze her closer to his body and grind his pelvis into her stomach. The way he was dancing with her was far too intimate, his moves making her feel under attack. Enough was enough.
She pulled her head back to shout about the bathroom when his whole body jerked back away from hers. The sought-after separation was a blessing and a curse. Connor stumbled back a couple of feet, and there was Ross, his hand still on Connor’s shoulder while his eyes glared at her.
“Sorry to interrupt. Darling, I need to have a word with you,” Ross loudly stated, not sounding sorry in the least. He looked murderous, a deep scowl and narrowed eyes marring his beautiful face.
“Who the hell are you?” Connor asked, a surprised expression on his face.
“I’m the guy living with her. Who the hell are you?” Ross demanded, shifting his gaze to Connor and folding his arms across his broad chest.
“Damn. Sorry. I didn’t know she was anyone’s girl.” Connor walked off, shaking his head and heading toward the bar.
“What is so important?” she shouted.
“I’m trying to prevent a murder.”
“W-whose?” she stammered.
“The next guy who touches you, looks at you, or even thinks about you,” he huffed.