Cassie shuffled uncomfortably from one foot to another. “It’s okay to have fun when you’re drunk,” she said. “Don’t worry I’m not mad at you or accusing you of being one of ‘those guys’ or something. I just want to keep things normal and fun between us. The last thing I want to do is mess up our friendship because of a little fun we had after an alcohol-filled high school reunion.”
“That’s what you want? To just be friends?” Max asked. He stepped up so he was mere centimeters from her body. They weren’t actually touching, but the air between them was so thick with electricity that Cassie could hardly breathe. Max’s eyes were intense, and Cassie wasn’t sure how to react.
“I…I just don’t want a drunken night to ruin our friendship,” she finally managed to squeak out.
“I wasn’t that drunk,” Max said in a low, husky voice. Cassie couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her mind had given up trying to process what was going on. She had expected Max to come in with a bunch of excuses for what happened the night before. She’d thought that if she tossed out the “we were drunk” excuse that he would have grabbed it like a lifeline. But Cassie realized as she stared up into his eyes that he didn’t want excuses. He wanted her.
He leaned his head down so that his lips met hers, and Cassie felt like a thousand fireworks were exploding in her body. She was so full of heat and desire. Was this really happening? Max really wanted a relationship with her, even when it was barely ten o’clock in the morning and he was stone cold sober?
Max let his lips linger on her hers for several long seconds, and then he pulled back to look into her eyes.
“So,” he said, his voice even huskier than before. “Now that you know that I want you, even when there’s no whiskey involved, maybe you can let me know whether you feel the same.”
Cassie felt like her eyes were as big as saucers inside her head. She had wanted this for so long, but now that the moment was here, her voice stuck in her throat. She opened her mouth and cleared her throat.
“Max, I—”
But before she could get any more words out, there was a loud clanging at the front door of the bar as someone tried to jiggle the door handle open. Cassie heard the sound of keys jangling and then hitting the ground, followed by a loud string of curses.
“Shit, Max. Alex is here. You should go,” Cassie said, suddenly panicking. She was surprised that Alex had shown up here so early, and she wasn’t sure what condition he would be in. He often looked quite rough after a night of drugs and partying.
“I don’t think Alex will be upset that I’m here,” Max said. “He’s known me forever, and I’m a regular here.”
“Please, just go,” Cassie said. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Max asked, his eyes narrowing. “Is he going to be upset that you’re with another guy? Is that it? Do you and Alex have a thing going on?”
“No, nothing like that,” Cassie said. “Please just go.”
Alex had picked up the keys by this point, and Cassie heard the key being inserted into the lock.
“Please,” Cassie pleaded again. “I’ll explain later.”
Max sighed, but then nodded. “Fine,” he said. “But this conversation isn’t over.”
Then he took several long leaps across the dining room area of the bar toward the back exit. Cassie was surprised at how quickly and silently he moved. It almost reminded her of a cat.
At the exact moment that the back door shut behind Max, Alex managed to get the front door open.
“Finally,” Alex said, stumbling into the room. As Cassie had suspected, he looked pretty rough. His hair was dirty and matted, and his eyes were red-rimmed with dark circles underneath them. He was wearing clean clothes at least, although they were quite wrinkled. And his breath smelled awful. Cassie could smell it from several feet away.
“Hey, Cassie,” Alex said, waving sheepishly at her. “Thanks for opening for me. I promise it won’t happen again. I really mean it this time.”
Cassie sighed. “We both know that’s not true. But it’s fine. Everything is pretty much ready to go. The cooks should be here soon to do morning food prep. It was already pretty busy in town when I went to the bank, so I’m hoping for a good lunch rush today.”
Alex nodded, looking around the bar as though he was searching for something, although Cassie had no idea what. Alex was always acting a little weird, and when he was coming down from a night of drugs he was even stranger than usual.
“Are you looking for something?” Cassie asked, trying to keep her voice light.
“I thought I heard voices,” Alex said. “Were you talking to someone? Or am I really starting to hear voices in my head? Maybe I’m finally going crazy for real.”
Cassie bit her lower lip. He’d heard Max. But she couldn’t tell him. Alex wouldn’t be mad that Max was here, but he would be nosy and want a full explanation. And Cassie wasn’t even sure herself how to explain things at this point.
“I was singing while I worked,” Cassie said. “Maybe that was it?”
Alex looked unconvinced, but he didn’t ask any further questions. He just rubbed his temples and frowned. “I need some pain meds,” he said. “This headache is killing me.”
“There’s some ibuprofen in the office,” Cassie said. “Go get some and I’ll make you some coffee in the meantime. You look like shit.”
Alex smiled ruefully. “Thanks,” he said, then disappeared into the back office while Cassie went to busy herself with making the coffee. Truth be told, Alex wasn’t the only one who needed a strong brew right now. Cassie was feeling a little overrun at the moment, too.
Alex came back and sat at the bar, gratefully taking the mug that Cassie slid over to him. The cooks came in the front door just then, laughing and singing, and looking like they had actually gotten some sleep last night.
“At least someone around here has their shit together,” Cassie said. The cooks waved and sang out good mornings, and then went to the kitchen to start getting ready for the lunch rush.
Cassie grabbed herself a mug and went to sit in the barstool next to Alex. For several moments, they sipped their coffee in silence. Alex was still rubbing his head, waiting for the pain meds to kick in. And Cassie was lost in her own thoughts. She wasn’t going to be able to relax until this situation with Max was sorted out, but she wouldn’t be able to talk to him until late tonight. She’d be waitressing for both the lunch and dinner rush, while Alex bartended.
Cassie glanced over at Alex and smiled. For all his faults, that was one thing she and Alex had in common. Neither one of them were afraid of hard work. In fact, they craved it. If Cassie wasn’t constantly busy, she went a little bit crazy. She worked double shifts six days a week. Sometimes she even came in on her day off to help out.
Last night had made her realize that she might be missing out on a lot by drowning herself in work, though. And not just because she’d had the chance to sleep with Max. Long before she and Max had started dancing, she’d noticed that most of her former classmates had managed to build up a life for themselves that went beyond just work. They had husbands or wives, and many had kids. Of course, Cassie had known this already. She saw these people in the bar all the time. But somehow, seeing them all in one room and realizing how much life they had lived that she hadn’t…well, that had been really hard.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Alex said. He’d finally stopped rubbing his head, so the ibuprofen must be doing its job.
Cassie shrugged. She couldn’t tell Alex what she was really thinking right then. Because what was really running across her mind right now was the realization that Alex was actually doing more with his life than her, and that was a sobering thought. Sure, he didn’t have a family, and he got high all the time. But at least he owned a business. Cassie had been doing the same waitressing job here for ages. She’d been so ambitious when she was young, running off to get a degree in political science. But after her mom died,
Cassie had lost her interest in politics. There didn’t seem to be much left that was worth fighting for.
Cassie didn’t really think that Alex wanted to hear all of this, so she decided to use the opportunity to talk to him about his drug use instead. Every now and then, she took it upon herself to encourage him to get help. He never did, and Cassie often felt like she was enabling him by covering up his wild nights. She didn’t want to appear disloyal, though. He was her boss, and a good friend after all. So she settled for occasionally reminding him that his constant drug use was a bad idea. As if he didn’t already know.
“You know you need to stop with the drugs, Alex,” Cassie said bluntly. “You always say it’s going to be the last time, and it never is. One day you’re going to really hurt yourself. I would never be able to live with myself if you overdose.”
Alex sighed. “I know you’re right, Cassie. But it’s not easy to give it up. Don’t feel like you have to be responsible for my actions, okay? If I do overdose it’s my own fault. Not yours.”
“Why don’t you just get some help? If you really want to quit, there are so many programs available to help you. You’ll feel so much better.”
“Will I really?” Alex said, a note of bitterness in his voice. “I’m not sure I want to go through life all sobered up. There’s nothing much for me. I have this bar, and it’s fun. But I’m never going to be anything important, or do anything that matters. I’ll live and die in this small town, just like my parents did. And a few years after I die, people will have forgotten all about me.”
Cassie bit her lip. She couldn’t argue with what Alex was saying, because she was feeling the same thing. Last night had made her wonder what the point of all of this was. But these thoughts were too heavy for her to think about right now. It would be time to open soon, and then she’d have to put on her smiling face to make all of their lunch customers happy. So she just shrugged as she stood up and started walking toward the kitchen to put her coffee mug in the giant dishwasher.
“Just promise me you’ll think about quitting, okay?” she said.
Alex sighed. “I’ll think about it,” he said.
They both knew he was lying.
Chapter Five
Max leaned back in his desk chair and threw a football up in the air over and over. The only sound in the room was the smack of the leather ball each time it came down and met with his hands, followed by a whoosh as he hurled it toward the ceiling again.
Max hadn’t done much of anything productive at work today. He’d rolled into work just in time for his first class of the day—he taught two American history classes, one at eleven o’clock and the other at one o’clock. After that, he’d returned to his office to hide out and think. Usually, he spent his free hours at work making lesson plans. But today was Friday, so he could procrastinate and use the weekend to get lesson plans done. During football season, he was really busy and there was a lot of pressure to get things done early so he could focus on football practice. But right now, at the beginning of March, he had a lot of free time.
And Max needed that time. He had a lot to think about. His tiger was becoming more and more restless, and, after last night, he was starting to seriously contemplate leaving town. He was lonely, and he was finally ready to truly admit that to himself. He loved his job here, and his crew. But he wanted a family, too. He wanted a lifemate to come home to, and a couple of cubs running around.
The fact that Cassie seemed to be pulling away from him hurt. He would never have slept with her if he hadn’t wanted something serious. But she apparently thought that the only reason he’d gone home with her was that he was drunk. He hadn’t been drunk. And the fact that she’d let him make love to her meant more to him than anything. But if she thought it was just some drunken fling, well, maybe that was his answer to the question of whether he should stay in Persimmon Springs. Cassie was the only girl here in town he could ever imagine being with. And if she didn’t want him, then he had to decide whether he wanted to find a mate badly enough to uproot himself and move somewhere else.
Deep down, he already knew the answer to that question. He wanted a mate, and he would find one—no matter the cost.
A knock on his office door startled him back to the present moment. Max caught the football and set it down on the desk, then leaned forward.
“Come in,” he called out.
The door creaked open, and Theo walked in with a big grin on his face.
“Hey, man, how’s it going,” Theo said, sitting down in the seat across from Max’s desk. Max picked up his football and started tossing it in the air again.
“It’s alright,” Max said, trying to keep his voice light and casual. He didn’t want an interrogation from Theo right now about Cassie. He wasn’t entirely sure if Theo had noticed Max and Cassie dancing at the reunion last night, but he really hoped Theo hadn’t. Now that Cassie seemed unhappy with the way things had turned out, Max didn’t want to talk about any of it. Theo was usually pretty observant, but sometimes when he was with his fiancé, Maddie, he tuned out the world around him. What Max wouldn’t give to have that kind of love.
“Pretty fun night last night, huh?” Theo said. “Looks like Cassie finally dragged your grumpy ass out onto the dance floor.”
Max’s eyes shot up to look at Theo, but Theo was just laughing. He didn’t seem to realize that anything more had happened between Max and Cassie than an innocent dance.
“Yeah, she can be pretty insistent when she wants to be,” Max said.
Theo laughed some more. “Yup. Well, anyway, good night. You have to admit it was fun. You’re glad you came, right?”
“Hmph,” was all Max said.
Theo grinned and stood up quickly, grabbing Max’s football in mid-air.
“Interception!” Theo yelled, then did his best impression of an end zone victory dance.
Max rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have work to do?” he asked.
“Nope. And neither do you. Wanna cut out early and head to the bar? It’s four now. If we leave right away we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy happy hour before it ends at five.”
Max felt his heart tighten up at the thought of seeing Cassie again. He wanted to see her so badly, but he also knew it was going to be damn near impossible to act normal with her waitressing at the bar. Theo was going to get really suspicious really quickly.
“Eh, I’m pretty tired after last night,” Max said. “I think I might just take it easy at home tonight.”
Theo looked at Max with a shocked expression on his face, then raised an eyebrow. “You never skip out on Friday night drinks,” he said. “And you’ve been in an awful mood the last few weeks. What’s with you?”
“Nothing. I’m just tired,” Max said. He already knew when he said the words that Theo didn’t buy his excuse.
“Bullshit,” Theo said. “Something’s bothering you. I’m not leaving this office until you tell me what it is.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Max said.
“I don’t care,” Theo said. “You’ve been walking around here like a kid who lost all his Halloween candy or something, and I can’t handle it anymore. What gives?”
Max groaned and leaned back in his chair, putting his hand over his eyes for a moment. Theo wasn’t going to leave until he gave him some kind of explanation, but Max wasn’t about to tell Theo that his tiger was pining for Cassie. So he just shrugged in Theo’s direction.
“I just don’t know what I’m doing here,” Max said.
“Here? As in at this job at the high school?” Theo asked, suddenly looking very concerned.
“I mean, in this town. I’ve spent my whole life in Persimmon Springs and I don’t have anything to show for it. I’ve barely built up a savings account. I don’t even have a girlfriend, and I have no serious prospects. Which is going to make having cubs pretty difficult. I dunno man, I’m just starting to think that this town is too small for me. I need to move on to bigger pastures.”
&nbs
p; Theo looked alarmed. “You can’t just leave me,” he said. “We’re a team! Who would be my assistant coach? And besides, you promised you would stand with me if the shifter wars ever started up again.”
Max ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “The shifter wars aren’t coming back, Theo. It’s been decades since we’ve had even a slight skirmish. And besides, you’ve got your brothers. They’ll fight with you if need be. I have no one.”
“My brothers are your brothers,” Theo said. “You’re like family to us. What about Cassie? Don’t you like her at all? She’s really pretty.”
Max looked carefully at Theo’s eyes, trying to see whether Theo was teasing him, or knew anything about Max’s night last night. But Theo seemed sincere, and Max decided that it was just coincidence that he mentioned Cassie. After all, Cassie was one of the few single girls in town, and she was a good friend. It made sense that Theo would think of her. Too bad a relationship with her didn’t seem to be in the cards.
“Cassie and I are better off just staying friends,” Max lied. “And there’s no one else in town that interests me. There’s definitely no one else in town who I’d be comfortable revealing my tiger side to. I think it’s time to branch out and see who else is out in the great big world.”
Theo’s frown deepened. “You never know what’s gonna happen, Max. Look at Maddie and me. She showed up from the east coast one day and the rest is history. Just because we’re in a small town doesn’t mean that you’ll never meet someone new.”
“Oh, come on, Theo,” Max said. “You know you got lucky with Maddie. Things just happened to all work out, and all in the perfect timing. The odds of that happening for me are pretty low.”
“I don’t think I got lucky,” Theo said. “I think Maddie and I were destined to be together, and so fate brought us together. It’s the same with you. There’s someone out there you’re destined to be with. Fate will bring her to you at the right time.”
Lone Star Tiger (Shifters in the Heart of Texas Book 2) Page 3