Johnnie and June

by Lara Norman

  He changed his clothes and went to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. It was still pretty early, so he pulled out the book he was currently reading when he sat down. The problem was, he couldn’t focus on the words in front of him.

  June was beautiful. She’d chosen him from the other men in the bar, over Ryder or Cooper. Milo knew both of them’d had their share of women since coming to Abbott. He figured they were good looking, and Ryder could charm the clothes off almost any woman. But she’d waited for Milo to close up and taken him home.

  There was something about the way she’d sat alone with her untouched drink that bothered him. She had trouble, he was positive. He’d become a better judge of character since becoming a bartender, so he could say with some confidence that she had a past she wasn’t happy about. She’d run to Abbott, he would almost guarantee. Paying in cash, staying away from his house, and using pseudonyms added up to hiding.

  Or she just liked to pick up random men, and he’d been in the right place at the right time.

  Milo put her out of his mind as he went in to begin the day of training. He spotted Nora’s light purple hair as she waited by the back door for him to unlock it.

  “Hey, Nora.”

  She looked up from her phone. “Hey, Milo.”

  He let them in and went around flipping on the lights before going behind the bar and setting empty bottles in the sink.

  “So, I was watching this video tutorial, and I wanna try this trick.”

  Milo suppressed the sigh that threatened. She was the worst at catching, but she wanted to try something he hadn’t even gotten around to teaching them yet. “What is it?”

  “See?” She held up the phone. “This looks easier for me.”

  At least she was smart enough not to want to try a bottle trick. It was opening a beer bottle while it hung off the opener.

  “Be my guest.”

  He was mildly worried that she would end up with too many opened bottles of beer and waste it. Either that, or she’d never get it right and he would only have to sacrifice one bottle.

  Nora’s shortcoming was coordination, unfortunately. By the time Ryder and Cooper arrived, Nora had yet to open the bottle.

  “Are we learning that today?” Ryder asked with a nod toward Nora.

  “No.” Milo shook his head. “Nora found it online and wanted to give it a go.”

  The three men watched her for a solid five minutes before Milo put a stop to it. “Okay, let’s move on.”

  They continued their day the way they always did; dropping liquor bottles full of water on the floor. Most of the time, they hit the non slip mat behind the bar and didn’t break, but many times they weren’t as lucky. They stopped at noon to clean up and go home until the bar opened.

  Milo didn’t think they’d ever make a ton of money with the classes, but the addition of hiring the students as extra employees made it easier for Lillie, Hannah, and Stella to do other things. They continued to run the tattoo parlor a few doors down, Trois Femmes, and Lillie sold her artwork while Fletcher worked from home. They weren’t exactly hurting for money anymore, but every penny counted. Hannah’s husband, Owen, was a photographer, and Stella’s husband, Luke, stayed home with their son, Kyle.

  Milo waited for the three students to walk out the back door and locked it behind them. They had several hours to kill before the bar opened, and Lillie would be there that evening. She worked a few Saturdays a month to give Milo the night off, but he felt a need to go in, anyway. How would he know if June came back if he wasn’t there?

  He didn’t think he could make that case to Lillie. Sure, she loved the rowdiness of the weekend crowd, and she enjoyed getting out of the house, but she was serious about Milo taking time off. She didn’t just stop in to make sure he wasn’t screwing things up; she genuinely cared if he worked too much. He wouldn’t be able to go in on his day off without solid reasoning.

  He decided to show up and see what she said about him supervising the trainees while she worked the room. Being a mother of two hadn’t cleaned up her mouth or her attitude. Milo was in awe of her, and more than a little terrified.

  She had the music cranking when he arrived. She was checking the stock on the shelves behind the bar and humming along to the screaming guitar solo playing at top volume. He knew there was no way she heard him coming.

  He decided to walk around the bar in a wide arc until she spotted him. When she glanced up, she had a pencil nub clamped between her teeth.

  She yanked it out of her mouth and narrowed her eyes. “Milo!”

  He couldn’t help it; he squirmed at her sharp tone of voice and raised his hands in a placating gesture. “I know, I know.”

  Lillie switched off the music. “Why the hell are you here on your night off?”

  Now her hands were on her hips, and he knew he was seconds from being kicked out. “I don’t need the night off. I want to work.”

  “What have I told you about overworking? I know what’s it’s like, but I had no choice. You do.”

  “I’m not overworking, Lil, I promise.”

  She sighed. “You’re here at nine to train the newbies, and you don’t leave as early as you promised me you would before coming back at five to open the bar. Do you think I don’t notice when you conveniently forget to clock in?”

  “Look—”

  “No,” she cut him off. “You’re already putting in ten or eleven hours each night, plus the time in the mornings. You get your ass out of my bar before I fire you.”

  “The only reason I’m here so many hours is to get those three up to speed so I don’t have to be here as much, and neither do you. I don’t want you to have to come in on the weekends to give me time off.”

  “So now you’re telling me I don’t know how to schedule my staff?” He began to back away from her as her voice rose in pitch and volume. “Have I given you so much power you think you can tell me I’m running my business wrong? Just because I trust you to run things when I’m not here doesn’t mean you can open your mouth and let bullshit come pouring out.”

  Milo shook his head. “That’s not at all what I’m saying.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “You know I just want to help you, Hannah, and Stella not to have to work as hard.”

  “They have minds of their own, and they’re on their way in, too. Do you want to tell them they should go home because they’re too precious to stand up to a night of work?”

  What little color he had left drained completely out of his face. “No.”

  Lillie turned her back on him. “Good. Now go scrub that fucking sticker off table three. I couldn’t get it to budge.”

  “Uh . . .”

  “Uh . . .” she mocked. “I’m busting your balls, Williams. Do what you want about tonight, but for fuck’s sake, take some time off tomorrow.”

  Milo backed farther toward sweet escape. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I ain’t no fucking ma’am!” she yelled.

  He laughed. Some things never changed.

  Chapter Three

  Milo was disappointed but not surprised that June didn’t come back to the bar. He didn’t know if she was even in town anymore, or if she’d moved on. He tried to put her out of his mind, to focus on work and not worry about whatever she was up to. She wasn’t his business, after all.

  He decided to call Carol and invite her to lunch. She’d been a wonderful surrogate mom to him, and he often turned to her when he was in turmoil. Carol had married Eli Doyle, the teacher she’d met and dated while Lillie and Fletcher were trying to work out their issues. He was a decent guy, but Milo had never grown very close with him. He looked to Fletcher and even Fletcher’s father, Liam, when he needed male bonding. He figured he should talk to them about June, but he wasn’t ready yet.

  He’d get there, but first he needed to see Carol. He met her at the cafe a few doors down from the bar.

  “Milo!” Carol hugged him just inside the door. The top of her head bar
ely reached his armpits.

  “Hi, Carol.”

  “It’s good to see you.”

  They sat together, but neither of them even needed to look at the menu. They knew what they wanted from years of eating there.

  “Tell me, Milo, what’s going on?”

  He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “What makes you think there’s something wrong?”

  “For one, you sounded off when we spoke on the phone. Second, you’re inspecting the salt shaker like it’s about to perform a number from West Side Story.”

  He looked up. “You know me way too well.”

  “Eh.” She smiled warmly at him.

  He waited until they’d ordered before he spoke again. “I met someone at the bar the other night. She’s just passing through, I think, but we had a connection. At least, I thought we did.”

  Carol smoothed her napkin across her lap. “You haven’t really dated, Milo.”

  “No.” Nothing he’d done with the women he’d met at the MC could be considered dating.

  “So what type of connection did you have?”

  He flushed. “Uh, well, I mean—”

  “Got it.” She sighed and leaned toward him. “Look, if you only saw her that one night and she’s not even living here, you can’t get yourself all twisted up.”

  He knew she was right. “There’s something about her, under the surface. Does that make sense?”

  “Maybe there is. But, again, if she’s not moving here, what can you do?”

  “Okay, what if she does move here?” He fiddled with his utensils as their food arrived.

  “You’re borrowing trouble, Milo.”

  “Not intentionally.” He scrubbed his hands over his face.

  “You have to put her out of your mind. If she were living in Abbott, it would be different. Then I would suggest you give it a try with her.”

  What if she was still at the B&B? Should he make an effort to track her down? She seemed determined not to make any connections, given the false names she’d insisted on.

  “Milo?”

  He looked up. “Hmm?

  “You were a million miles away.” Carol chuckled. “My advice is going over your head.”

  “No, it’s just that I wonder if she’s actually staying or not. I have no idea.”

  “Ah, so you’d rather find her again?”

  He rubbed his napkin over his mouth. “Only because she’s stuck in my head and there’s nothing I can do to shake her out.”

  “How did you part ways? I’ll see you around sometime, or it was nice meeting you?”

  Milo frowned and fell back against the seat. “Actually, she said she’d see me around. I didn’t take her seriously, but maybe I should have.”

  Carol patted his hand. “There’s your answer.”

  He hadn’t told Carol that he didn’t even know June’s true identity. He was a little embarrassed to admit they’d had a one night stand without using their real names. Carol was too much his mother for that much information.

  When they were through with lunch, Carol went back to work and Milo walked back to the bar. He was going to go over inventory and spend some time filing invoices. None of them were fond of that part of the job, and it tended to pile up. He wasn’t exactly watching where he was going, but when he looked up at the back door to unlock it, he saw her.

  She leaned casually against the brick as if it were no big thing. Her long hair was swept over one shoulder and she wore the same leather jacket she’d worn the night they met.

  He stopped walking, but he said nothing. He didn’t honestly know what she wanted from him.

  “Hey, stranger.”

  There was that voice that sent tingles racing up his spine. “Hey.”

  “Are you opening?”

  “No, it’s too early. I was going to do paperwork.”

  “This place yours?”

  He thought about the question. Obviously, he wasn’t going to claim it was his, but was she asking because she wanted to know more about him? Did she hope she could find out that he was Carter without having to ask outright?

  “No, it’s not mine.”

  She hummed. “Mind if I keep you company?”

  “I suppose.”

  He unlocked and opened the metal door, locking it back behind them and leading her to the bar. “Have a seat. I’ll begin with the front stock.”

  She watched him for a few minutes without saying a word. Milo didn’t mind silence in the least, but the awareness of her seated right behind him without speaking was off-putting. He turned and set the clipboard he’d been using on the bar top.

  “Why are you here?”

  Her eyes went wide at that question before he watched her shut down. “I wanted something to do outside the hotel today.”

  He wondered if she thought he meant more than what he’d intended. He’d merely wanted to know why she was there right then, but he got the impression she thought he was probing deeper than that. “And yet, you’re not speaking to me. So, why come here?”

  “You were decent to me.” She shrugged.

  “You still don’t want to know my real name?”

  “That depends.”

  Milo leaned over the bar to come close to her face. “On what?”

  She leaned away. His height sometimes came across as intimidating; though he hadn’t meant to make her wary of him, it appeared he’d done exactly that. “On whether you’ll ask twenty more questions after we exchange our real names.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the habit of sleeping with someone I don’t know. I’m even less in the habit of forming a friendship based on lies. Depending on where you see this headed, I don’t think we can go on without some truths being laid on the table.”

  Her eyes were a fierce, bright blue that glinted with her emotions. He could read her like an open book. “Shea.”

  “Milo.”

  There was silence, only punctuated by a car driving past outside.

  She’d folded her arms and proceeded to stare him down. If she was expecting him to break, he didn’t know what part of him she thought would crack first.

  Instead, he went back to inventorying the bottles of liquor on the shelves behind the bar. She’d either talk or she’d walk out, and he wasn’t sure it mattered which at that point.

  “I’m thinking about living here in Abbott.”

  At that admission, he looked at her once again. “Abbott would be glad to have you.”

  “What about you, Milo? Would you be glad to have me?”

  “Is that meant to be an innuendo?”

  She laughed. “It wasn’t, but I hear it now.”

  “If you’re trying really hard to be mysterious, it’s working. I need honesty, Shea. One hundred percent.”

  She searched his face. “What the hell is it about you that makes me want to actually spill my secrets?”

  “I’m trustworthy?”

  Shea shook her head. “I’ve heard that before.”

  He was pretty sure his hunch had been right about her. She’d left someone behind and didn’t want to be found. “Is Shea your given name, or are you hiding?”

  She gasped. “What the hell, Milo?”

  “I can read you clear as day. Fear, reluctance, a little panic. You don’t want to trust me. I don’t scare you, but your truth does.”

  She slid off the stool. “Are you a fucking psychic now?”

  “I see people day in and day out, Shea. I’ve learned how to pick out emotions on someone’s face. You’re running scared.”

  She shook her head, and it was more than a denial of what he’d said. It was terror that he’d come so close to the truth. “I can’t do this.”

  “I’ll tell you every stupid thing I’ve done in my life if you’ll just open up to me, Shea. I’m an open book.”

  “I can’t do this,” she repeated, and ran for the back door.

  As he walked slowly behind her to lock up, Milo wondered if she realized she’d told him everythi
ng with her actions alone.

  Chapter Four

  The week went back to normal, or as normal as it could be. Milo decided to put June—Shea—out of his mind once and for all. She’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Hell, she was scared to even hold a conversation with him. He’d meant what he said about opening up to her. He would have told her about all the bad decisions he’d made in his past, despite the fact that he usually kept it to himself.

  Carol had made sure he knew that mistakes were merely lessons learned. If he moved forward with an effort to better himself, he could be forgiven for his past. He’d been a petty criminal when he was a member of the Bandidos, the same as the other men in the MC. Brody had been someone he looked up to, and that man was essentially scum. He’d been with Lillie while her father was alive and didn’t take kindly to her breaking up with him. He’d tried to make her life a living hell and, for a time, Milo didn’t see what was wrong with it. Brody was entitled to a little sympathy for the way he’d been dumped, to Milo’s way of thinking. It wasn’t until he began calling Lillie unsavory names and taunting her for working hard to be successful that Milo realized how truly awful Brody was as a person. He’d spent some time in jail for assaulting Fletcher and moved out of Abbott when he was released.

  Milo left the MC for good when he and Lillie became friends. It was embarrassing to think of the way he’d once been and the things he’d once done. It was Fletcher, Lillie, and Carol that helped him get his life straight.

  The more he thought about it, it became clear to Milo that he wanted to see Fletcher and his kids. He hadn’t spent much time doing anything but working, and he felt it was about time to call up his mentor to hang out. He enjoyed playing with the little ones, Jack and Lucy, and Fletcher was a great example of a father.

  “Hey, Milo,” he said as he opened the door. Fletcher was almost as tall as Milo, and he’d kept up his lean physique after retiring from the Army by running.

  “Hi, Fletcher.”

  Two children came squealing around the corner from the kitchen. It was hard to tell which parent Jack resembled more with his laughing blue eyes and dark hair, but Lucy had the same light brown eyes and blonde curls as her maternal grandmother. The little ones cheered his name, but it sounded more like he had a w in the place of the l the way they pronounced it.