The Hard Way

by Jill Sanders

  He wanted to kick them out, to take Mel upstairs and to… “Yeah,” he relented. “I’m hoping to have an outdoor section where people can hang out, maybe with their kids. You know, play games while they eat outside.”

  “A giant Jenga set, corn hole, and horseshoes, that sort of thing?” Tyler asked.

  “Yeah.” He walked to the side door and showed them the area. There was already an old deck off the back of the building. He planned on expanding it to the side door and getting one of those kite sun shades for overhead to give the area some shade. As he showed the brothers the spot, he talked about his plans. If Tyler and Trent could do most of the work outside, then he would be free to finish the rest of the work inside. He listed off everything that he hoped to accomplish. He showed them the stack of wood he’d purchased to accomplish everything that he’d dreamed of and opened up his tool shed. Then he left them to get to work while he headed back inside to Mel.

  But when he stepped in, Mel was busy interviewing two other women in the kitchen, so he went to finish hanging up a couple of new neon signs he’d gotten for around the place.

  He wasn’t planning on the bar being a full-on kid friendly place, but he was going to serve food. Hence the grill part of the business name. He knew that a lot of couples wanted to sit down to dinner and drinks without being at one of the strip clubs in town or stuck at the brightly lit Dancing Moose diner.

  There were also the customers that he expected to bring in from the Mill. Most of the workers lived in the newer subdivisions across town, and he was in the perfect location for lunches or meal breaks for the workers.

  He heard Mel complete the interview with the women as he finished hanging the last sign. He watched as the two women left and walked back into the kitchen to find Mel talking on her phone.

  In the few days she’d been there, he’d never seen her take a personal call. He figured to give her some privacy, until he saw the look in her eyes. The sadness and anger had him moving a step closer to her.

  “I know,” she said into the phone as she closed her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “I can’t do that.” She listened again, keeping her eyes closed, and he watched in horror as a tear slipped down her cheek. He wanted to gather her up, to hold her and toss her phone across the room. Better yet, he wanted grab the phone from her and yell at whoever was on the other side making her cry. Instead, he stood there and watched and listened as she finished her conversation with a simple, “I’m not going to, and if you can’t respect my—” She broke off and opened her eyes, locking them with his own. “There’s nothing more to say then. Goodbye,” she said quickly, and hung up. Instantly, her phone started ringing again.

  Without saying a word, he walked over and turned her ringer off and set her phone down on the counter.

  “You can always change your number,” he said, wanting desperately to know who had called her but knowing it was up to her to tell him more.

  She surprised him by laughing as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  “I’ve changed it three times in the past four months,” she said with a sigh. “I suppose I should have changed cell phone carriers or…” She shook her head. “Something. I’m not sure how they are getting it.”

  “They?” The question slipped out before he could stop himself.

  She sighed again and rolled her eyes. “My parents.”

  He waited, watching as anger replaced the sadness behind her eyes.

  Instead of telling him more, she walked over to the office and walked in, leaving her phone on the counter as it continued to vibrate.

  He followed her and stood, leaning against the doorjamb.

  “I’ve hired both Jennifer and Lisa as waitstaff. They have a few more friends that might be interested and will come in later tomorrow to apply,” Mel said, sitting down behind the desk.

  “Okay,” he said slowly, getting the hint that she had told him as much as she was going to.

  “It sounds like the McGowans are busy out there.” She motioned to the window, through which they could hear a table saw and a drill.

  “Yeah. I know them. They’ll have it all done in a few hours.” He watched her closely, still seeing the anger and hurt behind her eyes. How many times had he seen that same look in his own eyes?

  “Are you okay?” he asked when she stopped and just looked at the computer screen.

  Her eyes moved up to his and she nodded slowly. “I… can’t talk about it right now.”

  “Okay,” he said again. “Then we’ll do something else.” When she nodded, he shifted slightly. “Want to work out some of the anger? I could use some help.” When he felt angry and hurt, he had to move, and there was plenty of busy work around there for them to do.

  She followed him out to the main room, and he motioned to the stack of boxes.

  “New glassware. Wine glasses will hang there.” He motioned to the wood racks that he’d built and hung above the bar. “All others, stacked here.” He tapped the counter behind the bar. “There are dishes in there as well, somewhere. Those will go in the kitchen.”

  “Shouldn’t we wash everything first?” she asked, opening the first box.

  He frowned slightly. “I guess. Shouldn’t it all come clean?”

  “Some of it might have been sitting in a warehouse for a while and be dirty.”

  “If you think… we can put it all through the machine.” He picked up the box and carried it back into the kitchen. When he turned around, she had a box in her arms and was following him.

  They worked in silence for a while, opening the boxes, unwrapping everything, and making sure it all fit in the large dishwasher he’d purchased and had installed in place of the old one that hadn’t worked.

  When they were done, he had worked up a sweat, something he’d never done doing dishes before. Turning to her, he could still see the frustration behind those amber eyes.

  She surprised him by punching the stack of empty boxes. She glanced at him, and he smiled and motioned towards the other stack. She punched and kicked the boxes until they all lay in a heap, broken or smashed.

  “It just…” She threw up her hands. “All of my life, I did what they wanted. I followed their rules. Whatever they said, I did, like a good daughter. Then I married Ethan and… They expected me to go to counseling. Like what was wrong with our relationship was my fault.” She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Once again, he wanted to go to her, to hold her, to shield her from the pain, but instead he remained rooted to the spot and listened instead.

  “The first time I went to them with my problems”—she started pacing as she continued— “they called their pastor and had him explain how it was a husband’s right to control certain aspects of his wife’s life.” She turned suddenly and met his eyes. “I had just purchased a blender. A blender.” She threw up her hands. “Ethan was pissed that I had spent his money. His money!” She started pacing again. “But he didn’t like the color or…” She threw up her hands. “Whatever. The fight wasn’t even the worst one we’d had up to that point.” She stopped moving and looked down at her hands, then up at him and added softly. “It was the first time he hit me.”

  Brent’s hands fisted. “Did you tell your parents?” he asked, between clenched teeth.

  It wasn’t as if he was a saint. Still, he’d never raised a hand to any woman. Nor did he tolerate men who did.

  “Yes, that’s when they called their pastor. I spent three months in counseling sessions to learn what some man I didn’t know thought it took for me to be a good wife.” She rolled her eyes. “All while Ethan was taught that it was his place as the head of the household to keep me under control.”

  He said a couple choice words under his breath, which caused her to stop pacing and look at him.

  “Exactly. Of course, I didn’t understand that part until almost half a year later.”

  “What happened?” he asked.

  She closed her eyes for a moment.
“He threw me through a wall. It’s not like it is in the movies at all.” Her eyes opened and met his. “Wall studs stop you from going all the way through it.”

  “Tell me you left the bastard after that,” he said in a low tone.

  “Of course.” She wrapped her arms around herself again. “I rushed into the arms of my parents. The first chance they could, they called Ethan over so we could attend more counseling.” She turned and looked out the window. “I ran away and filed for a divorce instead.”

  “Is that when you jumped in your truck and drove out here?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “What have you been doing since?” he asked as she moved over and sat down on a stool.

  “For the first few weeks, I worked and moved into my own place.” She looked weary and a little lost, and he felt his heart break at her silent anguish. “Then one night Ethan decided that he no longer wanted to play divorced and showed up at my apartment.” She wrapped her hand around her left wrist as she looked down at it. “When things turned… dark, I called my parents.”

  “Not the cops?”

  Her eyes moved up and locked with his. “Ethan is the cops. He has almost eight years on the force. He knows everyone and has persuaded all of his coworkers that I’m… disturbed emotionally and to blame for all of his actions.”

  He felt his blood boil further. If he ever met the man… He didn’t want to think about it.

  “So, you left?” he asked.

  “I moved across state. Three months later he found me again. It wasn’t as if I was trying to hide, that first time. But my parents had led him directly to me. After that, I stopped telling my parents where I was. I even changed my phone number. The type of jobs I took were even different. Each time he found me, I’d lose a little more of my self-worth, of who I was.” She looked down at her fingers. “He never broke any bones; he didn’t have to.”

  “How many more times did he come after you?”

  “Four,” Mel answered, not looking up from her hands. “The last time, he broke into my place at night. I had just finished working a double shift as a server at a family restaurant.” She glanced up and her eyes met his again. His eyebrows shot up, but she continued. “It was just like a scene out of an eighties horror movie. Unsuspecting girl comes home at night while the madman waits in the dark closet for her to climb into bed and drift off before he pounces.” She visibly shivered. “I think he actually gets off on it. You know? Keeping me jumping at shadows.”

  He opened his mouth to respond but realized he didn’t know what to say to her. Just then a loud crash sounded outside, and they both looked towards the windows.

  He relaxed when he heard the McGowans laughing and turned back towards her.

  “You’ll get used to the McGowans. They tend to play jokes on one another.” He rolled his eyes. “Still, they’ve treated Dylan and me like family.”

  Just then the dishwasher signaled that it was done with the first load, and they moved over to start unloading the clean dishes.

  As they worked, she changed the subject to employees and what else they would need before the party.

  As they were finishing up, a couple more people walked in to inquire about jobs. Mel took them back to her office while he finished putting the rest of the glasses behind the bar.

  His mind kept returning to what she’d told him about her parents. For years after his parents’ death, he’d been angry at them. Had even blamed them for the accident and for how things had ended up afterwards.

  In the twenty-one years he’d had the privilege of knowing his parents, not once had they been as abusive as Mel’s. Thinking back to his childhood, they had always stood up for their kids. There had never been a doubt in his or Dylan’s minds that they would go to bat for them in any way.

  The fact that Mel’s parents had taken her ex’s side just plain pissed him off. A few things were obvious to him now. He never wanted to come across either her parents or her ex.

  Chapter 10

  Mel couldn’t believe that she’d opened up to Brent as much as she had. With the truth of her past came embarrassment. She knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but she just couldn’t help it.

  For the rest of the day, she avoided him as much as she could. It wasn’t too hard. After the ladies she’d interviewed and hired had left, one of the McGowan brothers came in and asked for Brent’s opinion, and he disappeared outside.

  She spent the next few hours entering the new employees’ information into the computer system and learning the point-of-sale system.

  She’d worked at a few restaurants in the past year, but none of them had computer systems for orders. Mostly, they had been on a ticket system and an old cash register.

  Still, by the time Brent walked in, she had the system figured out. TK had promised to show up early the next day and start going over menu options so they could get the orders in for supplies and have menus printed up and put in the computer system.

  “How about we head to the Moose for some burgers?” he asked her.

  She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to entertain her each meal, but then her stomach growled, and she realized that a burger sounded really good. “Sure,” she agreed. She logged out of the computer.

  “Want your phone?” he asked her as they passed through the kitchen.

  She wanted to throw it away but, instead, she tucked it in her purse and followed Brent outside.

  She was shocked at the amount of work the McGowan brothers had gotten done outside.

  They’d finished the rest of the deck area and built four more large picnic tables, two benches, a huge Jenga game set, and even set up a brick firepit area.

  “Wow.” She stopped and admired all the work.

  “Yeah.” Brent smiled. “I told you. The McGowans are overachievers.” He chuckled. “Besides, I think they’re really going to enjoy having a place in town to hang out with their kids.”

  “Not bad.” She got into his truck when he opened the door for her.

  As they headed across town to the diner, she thought about opening up to him further about what they’d talked about earlier, but the embarrassment was almost too great.

  “So.” He glanced over at her. “We should talk.”

  She felt her heart skip a few beats before it sank into her gut. “Brent, my ex—”

  “Not about that. About the kiss.” He looked at her again.

  “Oh,” she said slowly. With everything that had gone on that day, she’d put the kiss that had rocked her to her core aside. “Okay.” She shifted slightly.

  “I didn’t pull away because I’m not interested,” he said, pulling into the diner’s parking lot and shutting off the truck. “I’m very interested. I just… I don’t want you to think that it’s because… That what’s between us has anything to do with…” He took a deep breath.

  “I’m the one who kissed you,” she reminded him. “I didn’t do so because you’re my boss.”

  He relaxed slightly. “And I didn’t kiss you because you work for me,” he said with a smile.

  “So, where does that leave us?” she asked, wanting—no, needing—to know his thoughts. She’d wondered why he’d pulled away the night before. Had even spent most of the night thinking about it.

  In her mind there was no doubt that he’d been attracted to her. She’d felt the heat between them from the moment she’d locked eyes with him. Heat so scorching that even now her knees felt weak, and she was still sitting down.

  As an answer, he unhooked her seatbelt, pulled her across the console, and cupped her face with his hands. When his lips covered hers, she sighed and relaxed into the kiss.

  Then his tongue darted out, and she got a taste of him and the heat flooded back. Her toes actually curled as he slanted his mouth across hers. His hands gripped her hips, holding her, rocking her ever so slightly over him.

  She wanted to ride him, to feel him buck under her. How long had it been since she’d taken pleasure? How long since sh
e had enjoyed the feeling of someone good under or above her? To feel the arms of someone who wasn’t out to hold her back or hold her down surround her.

  This time, when he pulled away, it was slowly, and she understood that there was no question that he’d want to kiss her again.

  “That was…” He took a deep breath. “I’m not going to lie.” He smiled at her. “I want to turn around and drag you upstairs and have my way with you.”

  She smiled as she felt her entire body heat at the thought of letting him do just that.

  “But,” he started to say, and then he chuckled when his stomach growled loudly.

  “Burgers?” she added.

  He chuckled and nodded. “Burgers.”

  They walked into the diner together. He surprised her by reaching out and taking her hand in his as they stepped through the front doors. Then she followed him as he sat at a booth near the front, looking out the large windows that overlooked the town.

  “I guess with this being the only real place to eat in town, it gets pretty boring,” she said, glancing around to the nearly empty diner.

  “Oh, it’s not the only place,” he said with a smile. “A couple of the strip clubs have lunch and dinner specials. Pretty damn good ones too.”

  “Who would want to eat in a strip club?” she asked, wondering just how often he went to said clubs himself.

  “The Wet Spot has the best steaks in Montana. Dinner and a show.” He smiled slightly. “Does it bother you?”

  “No.” It didn’t. Not really. After all, she’d been desperate for work in the past and could only imagine, if she’d had a stripper body, just how far she would have gone herself.

  “Of course a few of them have closed down since the last time I was here,” he said, handing her a menu. “Others have stopped serving food. That’s why Haven is so eager for the Hard Way to open its doors.”

  They ordered and this time she decided to try the French dip sandwich. They chatted about the plans for the bar and grill until their food arrived.

  She’d never seen anyone so in shape eat so much in her life. She knew that he spent most of his time working hard and figured that was how he stayed in shape.