Chapter 9
“Wow!” a customer whispered in awe.
Cynthia wondered vaguely what the woman was talking about, but focused on putting down the pitcher of craft beer down along with the beer mugs. “Can I get you ladies anything else?” she asked, running their credit card through the small, portable credit card machine she’d purchased last year. The machines made her life so much easier – not to mention, cut down on people skipping out on their tab.
She was serving a group of four ladies, their husbands were sitting at the bar watching the football game on one of the televisions she’d installed in various corners of the room. The technology additions had put her back in debt, but she was confident that the changes would bring in more customers and help with her profit margins.
One of the ladies pointed towards the entrance, smiling wistfully. “I think I need him!” she sighed.
The other ladies tittered in agreement and Cynthia smiled, wondering if the group of guys from the previous night had returned. The men were in town skiing for the weekend and they’d looked pretty handsome last night with their wind-burned and sunburned cheeks. Not to mention, they had flirted outrageously with several of the ladies, setting several hearts a pounding.
Dismissing them from her mind, assuming that Annie would take care of whoever had just arrived, she walked over to the next table and lifted the empty pitcher. “Another?” she asked.
“Absolutely!” the five men unanimously agreed, laughing as they recounted their best trips down the slopes that day.
Cynthia waded through the crowd towards the bar. Things were going well, she thought in satisfaction. The weekends were always nice and brought in a lot of new business. But she was tired and eager to hit the slopes herself. Just one more day and then she’d be off for a couple of days. Cynthia closed the bar on Mondays and Tuesdays when business was negligible. Sunday afternoons were pretty busy, but by evening, only the locals still lingered around the small, wooden tables. But work days started early here in the mountains and most of the locals would head home only a few hours after the tourists. By eight o’clock, the bar would be empty, and she could close early.
Her eyes moved over the various tables, noting the customers that were getting close to finishing their beers and others who might need another glass of wine. She loved this place, enjoyed the challenge of enticing new customers away from the hotel bars and into her little pub-like world.
A sudden tingle flowed down her spine and she froze. The conversations from the other patrons swirled around her. The air had changed. Shifted. Everything felt…more intense.
Looking around, her gaze collided with Ryan’s, which literally knocked the breath out of her! He looked…beyond amazing! She knew that he’d finished college and enlisted in the Navy. His father bragged that Ryan had gotten into the elite Navy SEAL unit stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia. The SEALs had a reputation for being unbeatable and it showed. He’d always been tall, but now his muscles matched his height. Now she knew what the ladies in the corner had been talking about!
The scruff along his jawline hinted at the bad-boy underneath all of those muscles, but it was his eyes, those piercing blue eyes that caught and held her.
Ryan was back. Years after those blissful months they’d spent together in high school. Oh my, he looked…better than good. Better than amazing! He was…she couldn’t think as his intense, blue eyes looked right back at her. The sock of seeing him was like being electrocuted! Like being tossed in a tornado and…!
Someone bumped her from behind and she turned, shocked to remember that there were other people surrounding her. The sounds of the crowd and the televisions rushed back to her and she glanced around, back at Ryan who was still staring at her. She couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away.
Ryan was back!
Shaking her head, she tried to remember what she was doing. Beer. She was getting someone beer. Which table? Looking behind her, she realized that several tables needed a refill. How long had she been standing here?
At that moment, Sheriff Mack came in, letting in a gust of evening breeze. Mack was a bit taller than Ryan. They had similarly broad shoulders that tapered to trim waists. But there were a lot of men who came through with broad shoulders and slim waists. Skiers and hikers were generally healthy, athletic people.
The most important comparison; Mack didn’t make her heart pound.
There was just something about Ryan. Something that had always been there. As children, they’d acted out this odd chemistry by pulling pranks on each other. By high school, they’d started dating. By college, they were distant memories.
Well, in reality, Ryan had never been a distant memory for her, she thought with confusion as she pushed her way through the crowd to the kitchen. Ryan had always been in the back of her mind. When walking down the street, she searched the sidewalks, looking for him. Over the holidays, she wondered if Ryan would visit his father.
Why had he come back? And what had that look meant?
Ryan had most likely dated too many other women over the past several years. He undoubtedly didn’t even remember her! Rubbing her hands down her jeans, she wondered if she’d gained weight. Did she look different? He certainly did, but…he also looked the same. Wonderful and amazing and…intense. Yeah, Ryan looked intense and amazing. Had she changed?
Stupid question, she thought and spun around to face the back door. Of course she’d changed! For example, she’d gained weight! What woman didn’t gain weight between the ages of sixteen and twenty-eight?
“You look great,” a deep voice came from behind her.
Cynthia spun around. He looked even bigger from this distance! “You can’t be back here. Employees only.”
He moved closer, reaching out to pull her blond ponytail over her shoulder, letting his fingers linger amid the soft strands. “Never used to bother you before.”
“That was a long time ago,” she whispered, backing up because the old Ryan had been potent and irresistible. This Ryan was…beyond anything she’d ever experienced. He was rough, hard, and his shoulders seemed to be about ten inches wider than they’d been.
Aiming for normal, Cynthia took a deep breath, trying to pretend that this was just a casual encounter by two adults that were just…friends. “How have you been?” she asked, then cringed when her voice cracked.
“Good. And you?”
“Good,” she replied awkwardly, nodding as if that would make her reply more affirmative.
“The bar looks great! You’ve made a lot of changes.”
Cynthia looked around, smiling. “Yeah. My mother got the bar in the divorce and we’ve made a lot of tweaks.”
He smiled and her heart sped up.
“The best being a name. I don’t think your dad ever named the place, did he?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “No. And I don’t know why. It was one of the first things my mom and I did once the divorce was final. And by that point, we’d made enough changes so the place was actually profitable.” Why in the world had she said that?! Was she bragging? Or trying to show him that she’d succeeded just as much as he had with his SEAL career? Whatever, it sounded stupid.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice. “No more free beers for your dad’s drinking buddies?”
“Nope,” she agreed, smiling at the memory. “That was a pretty severe drain on the profits. The guys still come by on a regular basis, but they pay now.”
“Good to hear. So how did you come up with the name?”
Cynthia shrugged, trying not to look at those broad shoulders. Was that the equivalent of a guy ogling a woman’s breasts? Probably.
Focus on his question and not on his delicious shoulders. Name of the bar. Right! “My mom and I were sitting out on the back porch and we heard a bull frog somewhere. The name sort of stuck. She got a sign and everyone loved it.”
“It’s quirky. Everyone loves a bit of madness.”
“So…how long are you staying in town?”
Please let it only be the weekend, she prayed silently. Just the weekend! She could get through a couple of days and not throw herself into his arms.
“I resigned from the Navy.”
Resigned? Her mouth fell open in shock and confusion. “I thought…word around town was that you were one of those badass Navy SEALs.”
“I was. But that got old. I decided I didn’t want to die in the desert or a jungle. So I got out.”
Not good, she thought. “Okay. You left the Navy. That’s pretty good. I think.” She looked down, wondering about…a lot of things. Looking back up, she asked, “What are your plans now?”
Cynthia’s stomach tightened with…dread? Anticipation? As the smile slowly curled those sexy lips upwards, she knew that she wasn’t going to like his latest plan. Those danger signals weren’t flashing now. They were buzzing and glowing. Glowing red!
“I’m here to stay, Cyn. I took a job with the National Park Service. I’ll be patrolling the mountains. I even bought the old Henley cabin.”
Ryan. Here. Living here. Living here and looking like some sort of…she couldn’t even call him a sex god because he was so much more than that. He looked dangerous and delicious all at the same time. It was a potent mixture!
So she said the only thing that came to mind. “The Henley cabin hasn’t been lived in for about ten years. It’s a mess.” Would that deter him?
He laughed softly. Had he moved closer? “Yeah. It’s worse than you probably know. I’ve already started fixing it up.”
“It’s a death trap! I saw it a couple of months ago and there aren’t even any windows. I’m sure that there are critters living in there.”
“Not anymore. Living in the cabin will be just like camping for a while.” He smiled slightly, his eyes lighting up. “I’m pretty familiar with camping and roughing it. Living in that cabin, even the way it looks now, will be a whole lot better than some of the places I’ve slept over the past several years.”
Every cell in her body lit up with the memory of their camping trips together. Small tent. Two sleeping bags that had been zipped up into one. The air outside might have been chilly, but inside the tent, steam had formed!
“Yes.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “I’m sure your experience with the SEALs taught you how to sleep in just about any kind of environment.” Goodness, the kitchen felt hot and close all of a sudden!
A crash distracted her and she leaned to the side, peering around Ryan’s body. She should be looking for whatever hit the floor. But in reality, she was surreptitiously admiring Ryan’s shoulders. He was…
Wrong! Cynthia reminded herself that Ryan was not the kind of man who stuck around. This was a transient area. Tourists came through for a weekend and left. Ryan was most likely going to stick around for a few months, then grow bored with the quiet life here in Minneville. After his time as a Navy SEAL, he wouldn’t find enough excitement here in the sleepy town where the biggest event was when someone drove too fast along the mountain roads after the first snowfall.
“I need to get back to work,” she whispered.
“Right. I’ll see you around,” and he stepped back, walking into the bar area. But at the door to the kitchen, he stopped and turned, his gaze drinking in her figure as he smiled. “You look really good, Cyn.” And then he was gone.
Cynthia took several moments to relearn how to breathe, trying to slow her pounding heart.
“You okay?” Annie asked, walking into the kitchen a moment later. “You look a bit flushed. Are you coming down with something?”
Cynthia jerked slightly, blinking at Annie, who was a very efficient, friendly waitress. Cynthia couldn’t run the bar without her. Annie was also a good friend. She was about fifteen years older, and understood being a woman in this kind of rough, mountain environment.
“Yeah. I’m fine,” she lied. Looking around, Cynthia wondered if she’d ever really be fine again. Not with Ryan walking around town.
Thankfully, the Henley cabin was pretty far up the mountain. And if he was a ranger for the park service, he’d have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
“Cyn? You’re doing it again.”
Cynthia looked at Annie. “Doing what again?”
Annie moved closer, looking at Cynthia carefully. “Blushing!” she whispered in shock. “You’re actually blushing!” She smiled, shaking her head in disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush before!”
Then she was gone, walking out of the kitchen carrying two pitchers of beer, which she smoothly delivered to the appropriate tables without spilling a drop, despite the crowd of patrons.
Taking a deep breath, Cynthia shook off the…whatever…that had captured her in Ryan’s presence.
Ryan was simply a man from her past. Nothing more, nothing less. He was a handsome man with a great body, but…he would be on his way soon enough, just like all the others.
She would keep reminding herself of that tonight. Eventually, she’d remember that and wouldn’t react when he came close again.
Yep, a really good plan. So, why was she avoiding one side of the room? The side where Ryan and Mack Jones sat sipping beers while they casually surveyed the crowd? Hopefully, they weren’t aware of her watching them. Or, more accurately, Cynthia knew that she was only watching one of the men at that table. Sheriff Mack hadn’t ever really done much for her. He was a good friend, someone she could count on when trouble started brewing with the patrons. He was fair and tough and…unfortunately, just a friend.
Cynthia was relieved when the last of the customers shuffled out the door. One of the sheriff’s deputies stopped by, as usual. “Hi Louis!” she called when he nodded in her direction.
“Everything okay?” he asked, as he did every night.
“Yep. No problems tonight. But Mack was here, so no one would dare to get out of hand.”
Louis grinned in agreement. “Mack intimidates the hell out of me too.”
Cynthia and Annie laughed and Louis tipped his hat in farewell as he left.
An hour later, Cynthia trudged up the stairs to the small apartment over the bar. It had once been her family’s home. Now it was her home.
Her mother had moved to Florida several years ago, leaving the bar and apartment to Cynthia. The ugly, worn out furniture, the stuff from when her father had been around, was gone. With The Bull Frog’s prosperity, she and her mother had chosen better furniture. The ugly, gold, nineteen seventies era couch with threadbare spots and broken supports was ditched, tossed into a dumpster with joy. In its place was a white couch with deep seating and colorful pillows, a throw draped over the back for comfort on the cold nights. Together, they’d stripped the chipped paint off the old coffee table, sanded off all of the scratches and nicks, then painted it a rustic, creamy white. The stained carpet had been removed, revealing wide planked wooden floors. A weekend spent scrubbing, sanding and staining had left a honey colored wood floor that added warmth and depth. The tacky knickknacks that her dad insisted he needed because they brought back “memories” that had been left behind without a thought, were trashed.
Overall, it was a beautiful, soothing place to sit and read when she didn’t need to be downstairs in the bar. An oasis from the world. Her bedroom had an old iron bed with a white comforter and fluffy, colorful pillows. Gone were the band posters and school books.
Cynthia showered, scrubbing off all of the tension from the night. Slipping into a soft, white nightgown, she padded barefoot to bed and slipped under the covers, sighing with relief.
Unfortunately, the mystery she was reading couldn’t keep her thoughts from drifting to Ryan. The new and improved Ryan was so far more distracting than high school Ryan. Those muscles and his piercing eyes…he was…she didn’t…!
Her book dropped, forgotten, to her lap as she thought about him.
Yeah. She did. She remembered the way they touched so long ago. They’d both been so young, experimenting with everything as they discovered themselves and
each other. It had been such a wondrous time. No one had touched her heart the way Ryan had. No one made her feel as good with just a look. And no man made her feel safe in his arms the way Ryan had.
It had taken years after high school before she’d started dating again. Eventually, she’d gotten back into the dating world. But none of the men she’d met over the years had made her feel as special as he had. Nothing significant but…thinking back over the last few months, Cynthia tried to remember the last man she’d dated. Surely, it hadn’t been that long ago, she thought. There’d been the guy at the county fair that…no, she hadn’t kissed him goodnight. He’d had that thing in his teeth. Biting her lip, she pushed further back in her memory. There’d been the guy she’d talked with at the high school basketball game. Did that count?
Probably not. They’d sat together at the game and chatted. But after the game, he’d asked if he could buy her coffee and she’d declined. He hadn’t asked her to the game, they hadn’t left the game together and…she hadn’t given him her phone number. Not a date.
Okay, so it had been a while since she’d been on an actual date. She remembered that guy back in…? Hmmm…well, there was that other guy…Tim…had taken her out to dinner in October. Yikes, not this past October. Or the October before! Good grief, had it really been over two years since she’d been on an actual date?
Impossible! She sifted through the calendar on her phone, trying to figure out the last time she’d actually been on a date. Any kind of date. Three years?! Had it really been three years?
For a moment, Cynthia rejected that possibility. But then she realized that her lack of male companionship was probably why she’d reacted so intensely to Ryan earlier tonight. It had just been a while. A long while!
Yep! Time to start dating again. Not Ryan. No way. The last time had been too painful. Cynthia didn’t think she’d survive if Ryan left her again.
Not Ryan. No matter how yummy his shoulders might be or how sexy his smile, she wouldn’t ever date Ryan again. Nope! She was smarter and wiser now!
Second Chance Temptation Page 7