Behind the Bar
Renee Harless
Love gets mixed up . . .behind the bar
Risking it all for his family, Landon Murphy never looked back at the choices he made. But, years spent in prison had hardened him into a man he hardly recognized. Slinging drinks gave him the peace he craved, but his demons were never far from his mind. . .until she walked into his bar.
Having a one-night-stand wasn’t something Kerry Albertine expected when she snuck away from her country and responsibilities to the place she had always felt at home, Carson, North Carolina. But the sexy man with a hint of an Irish accent left the tiara shoved at the bottom of her bag and her forgetting who she was. . .at least for a little while.
When Landon and Kerry's one-night-stand spills outside of the bedroom, their secrets are exposed, threatening any hopes for a future. Living in the shadows or yielding to her royal duties weighs on Kerry's shoulders. While Landon must decide to hide behind his new secluded life or take the greatest risk of all.
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Copyright ©2021 Renee Harless
This work is one of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental. Names, places, and characters are figments of the author’s imagination. All trademarked items included in this novel have been recognized as so by the author. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Prologue
The darkness of the halls threatened to swallow Kerry as she ran through the endless maze. The shadows nipped at the edge of her silk gown. The familiar walls turned to shades of gray and then black. It was the blackness that terrified Kerry the most. She grew up roaming the vast collection of passages and corridors in the family home, Kerry knew them like the back of her hand, but nothing seemed the same in the darkness.
Her life didn’t seem the same. A life that people envied. A life that people would and had killed for if her ancestry was any indication. But in the last two years, her world was no longer her own. Of course, if Kerry wanted to admit it, her life had never been her own. She was trapped. Trapped in duties, responsibilities, and tradition.
Just as a glimmer of light pulled her from the obscureness of the dark pathway, Kerry felt herself tugged backward by an invisible force. She reached outward toward the glow, her fingers aching as they stretched out to the light, the sound of her heels scratching against the marble floors, screeching in harmony with her screams.
Her throat ached as a metallic taste pooled in her mouth. It was too much. She couldn’t fight against the force any longer and found her body giving up just as the light morphed into a familiar shine of gold with radiant gems beaming in the light. The grip around her waist released, leaving Kerry’s lungs heaving for air.
Kerry turned from the light without a second thought and dashed into the blackness, allowing the shadows to consume her whole.
“Karolyna!” a deep voice called out, bringing Kerry back into the moment.
She jerked her head violently, knowing that her father was on a war path. She had been disappointing them for years and today seemed to be the last straw.
“Sorry, father.”
“This is exactly what we’ve been talking about. Your head is always in the clouds at this most critical time.”
“I apologize, father. I was simply thinking about the charity event next week and what is left to be completed.” Kerry eyed her mother, quiet but stoic on her perch beside Kerry’s father. She hoped her mother would speak up, acknowledging the importance of the charity event they were co-hosting the following weekend, but as usual, she remained quiet. Kerry didn’t know why she expected anything less.
“I don’t give a damn about that charity event right now.”
If Kerry had been speaking with anyone else, she would have straightened in her chair and explained how this new charity, the first she was spear-heading, would lead their family in a new direction. A direction that showed the people of Lythembria that the royal family cared for their wellbeing, especially those with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. It was a cause that spoke deeply to Kerry after watching her grandmother’s deterioration from dementia.
But instead, she remained silent. Her father cared little for what she had to say. It had been that way for as long as she could remember. As King Armand of their small European country nestled between France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, her father ruled their country with an iron first; he ruled their family the same. As the eldest, she received the brunt of his anger and no-nonsense attitude. He didn’t even care that she seemed to break out into hives whenever she was within an arm’s reach of their centuries-old throne.
He was the ruler, and by the rouge creeping up from his neck to his receding hairline, she had disappointed him yet again.
“Karolyna! For our country’s sake, please pay attention!” he snarled, the irate voice echoing off the marble walls of his office where the three of them sat stoically in their finest garb. Her father was decked in his military suit from his time in the Army and her mother wore an elaborately beaded ball gown that, by Kerry’s assumption, weighed more than her mother’s small frame. Kerry herself wore a red silk dress by and up an coming designer that hugged every one of her small curves.
Placating her father, Kerry gesture with her hand for him to continue, “What is it you need to discuss?”
“I hear that you have turned down Lord Donoveaux’s request. . .again.”
She bit back a moan at the thought of that slimy weasel’s roaming hands and his propensity to find her at every event. She did not doubt that he was currently searching the ballroom at that very moment in search of her. The man that had the talent to make her vomit in her mouth whenever he spoke had it in his head that he should be her husband even though she had denied his advances more times than she could count.
“I have no desire to be betrothed to Lord Donoveaux. He sees me as nothing more than a shiny object. And frankly, the man disgusts me.”
“Karolyna, it’s almost your twenty-eighth birthday. You must find an eligible husband before ascending the throne,” her father tried to explain for the umpteenth time. It was the same story, a different day.
“You’re going to live forever, so what does it matter?” she joked to lighten the mood, but she could immediately see that her father wasn’t having any of it. “I understand the law, father, but I don’t see why it’s necessary for this day and age. Plenty of countries and kingdoms have abolished that rule. Why do we have to be any different?” Kerry questioned, trying to help her father see sense.
“Because it’s tradition!”
he snarled loudly. Kerry’s back immediately straightened and fear nipped at her nerves. Her father rarely raised his voice, choosing to speak to his family more diplomatically than with love or affection. “The point of this party tonight is to help you find a suitable husband before the coronation period begins, otherwise. . .”
“Otherwise, what? I abandon the crown?”
Leaning forward slightly with a narrowed gaze meant to intimidate, her father barely said above a whisper, “Otherwise, we chose someone for you.”
Jumping from her seat, startling both her father and mother, Kerry shook her head in denial. “No, you can’t do that. I’m not the freaking prince in Cinderella. I deserve the chance to choose who I want to spend my life with.”
“We have given you plenty of time to choose someone, but as usual, you’ve floundered about without a care in the world. Well, now your time is up. I suggest you spend the rest of the evening meeting the elite gentlemen we have invited instead of gossiping with your friends.”
“Mother,” Kerry pleaded, hoping the woman would sympathize with the child she gave birth to, but she wasn’t shocked as her mother subtly shook her head.
“We expect word tomorrow of your choice so that the courting process may begin. And, Karolyna, I strongly suggest you choose wisely because you are not going to be happy with the alternative.”
Kerry spun on her custom heels without a word and left the room in a fury, the red silk dress appearing like a flame behind her swift movement. There was no backward glance as she headed toward the other end of the palace, the opposite side of the ballroom. No, Kerry had better things to do than follow her parent’s demands without retreating to her safe haven first.
“Miss, can I get anything for you?” her assigned servant and friend Mary asked as Kerry swarmed into the luxurious bedroom Kerry claimed as her own.
“No, Mary. I’m just going to touch up my makeup and then I’ll make my way to the party.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, I just need a moment alone, if you don’t mind.”
“Yes, your highness.”
Once Mary left the room, Kerry swiped her fingers beneath her eyes, removing the black smudges from the threatening tears that pooled against her lower lids, and gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
She couldn’t help but wonder if this was what she wanted, if this life was what she wanted. A life that had been handed to her on a platter the moment she was born. The tiara surrounding the pile of blonde waves piled on top of Kerry’s head shimmered in the evening sunset shining through the windows.
Kerry had a choice to make, one that was going to define her life, and she wasn’t sure she was ready. Not that her parents were going to allow her the alternative. Either she chose someone to rule beside her, or her parents would make the decision.
Grimacing at that thought, Kerry reached for the small bottle of perfume she favored and spritzed herself one last time. Regardless of what her parents wanted, Kerry had to make an appearance at tonight’s gala. There were important dignitaries in town and she needed to schmooze them for her charity.
As she set the bottle back onto the top of the antique piece of furniture, a picture tucked into the corner of the mirror caught her eye. She had forgotten about the location that she had driven into by happenstance. Lifting the photo of the small town sign, a smile grew on her face for the first time that day.
A knock sounded on her closed bedroom door followed by a soft voice, “Your highness?”
Kerry placed the image down and took one last glance at herself in the mirror, then made her way to the door, opening the heavy wooden structure with flare.
“I’m ready,” she lied but masked it with an air of confidence she didn’t feel. “Let’s go find me a husband.”
Chapter One
Landon glanced around the cavernous room that he had painstakingly altered from ramshackle shop to high-end bar over the last two years. It had been a disaster when he walked into the building with the rotted wood siding and critters that had affectionately called the place home. Most people would have barely stepped foot past the entrance before turning around in disgust, but not Landon. He had seen the beauty that it could be. Hell, for all intents and purposes, the place had reminded him of himself and the journey he had been on. Just as fate had finally turned in his favor, he had given the building the hope it deserved.
With the rag in hand, Landon mindlessly rubbed the glossy finish of the bar top, remembering how far the bar had come, how far he had come. He wasn’t really sure what had drawn him to the small town of Carson to begin with. He liked to think his car breaking down on the interstate as he drove away from Georgia, coming to a halt just before the Carson sign, had been all the signal he needed. But actually, calling the town home took a lot of convincing – on his part. It reminded him too much of his past. Too much of the home that haunted his memories. Luckily the few friends he had made had convinced him quickly that Carson was a town unlike any other.
Hell, Landon still wasn’t sure how he was able to get a business license and have his permits approved to open the bar with the background he had. But he wasn’t about to stare a gift horse in the mouth. This was his chance to find himself. This was his chance at redemption.
Taking one last look around the space, Landon recollected that he had about another two weeks or so of work remaining. The booths, tables, and chairs were scheduled to be delivered the following week while he had already started stocking liquors, the glassware and all other small items were scheduled for the week after.
He supposed that he should probably plan an opening of sorts and hire a helper or two. Landon had every intention of working whenever the bar was open, but he knew based on the amount of business that Horizon’s, the other bar in town, did on a daily basis, he would need some help.
Moving to the corner of the bar, he located the yellowing piece of paper he had kept tacked in place. This was his list of things to do to complete the project and Landon took a moment to admire all the scratches through items. Gripping the pencil in his hand that he kept conveniently beside the paper, Landon added one more task to the list.
Hire Help.
Just as he set the pencil back on the counter, the bar's front entrance opened, and a petite dark-haired woman walked in. She smiled warmly at him and Landon couldn’t hold back his returning grin. Alexis was his friend Cliff’s woman, the woman he moved heaven and earth to save and they’d been inseparable since. She also held the town deputy position. Despite her warm and feminine appearance, she was a warrior through and through, and Landon tried not to let on that she scared him half of the time. The woman was stealthy, unlike anything he had ever witnessed before.
“Looks good around here. How close are you to finishing up?” Alexis asked as she ran the tips of her fingers across the glossy finish of the bar.
“Another couple of weeks. Probably need to decide on a date. Of course, you guys are welcome here anytime.”
“We appreciate that and will do everything to support you.” Cliff had been one of the first people Landon had met in town, along with the youngest Connelly son, Jameson. The Connelly’s were one of the most prominent families in the town and one of the nicest. Cliff’s tattoo shop sat a few blocks down the street from Landon’s building and he stopped in one day when Landon was busy tearing down walls. They had quickly formed a kinship based on unspoken troubled pasts. And Alexis quickly became one of his friends when the two of them got together.
“What brings you by this evening?” he asked her since it was rare that she made an appearance without her significant other.
“Nothing at all, just one my way home,” she said casually, but after all his years in prison, he knew when someone was lying.
All it took was the rise of his eyebrow to have a confession fall from her lips.
“Cliff would like you to join us for dinner. . .tonight.”
Ah, there it was. The charity. The setup. It seemed to make his frien
ds uncomfortable that he was happily single.
“Thank you for the invite, but I have plans tonight.”
“Really?” she said excitedly and it almost pained Landon to disappoint her as he replied, “Yeah. I plan to hit the typical haunts.”
“Oh.”
“Sorry, Alexis. Send my regards to whomever you invited under false pretenses.”
Her large brown eyes widened to an astonishing size. “I. . .we didn’t. . .Fine. We invited the new dentist in town, Reagan. Are you sure you won’t make this exception? She doesn’t know anyone in town.”
“Well, now she knows you and Cliff. And I’m sure you can invite Preston and Shelly. Hell, just give Amy Connelly a call and she can have an entire barbeque in her honor.”
“Landon. . .”
“What? You know it’s true.”
Alexis seemed to contemplate what he was saying before nodding with a disgruntled and pinched expression on her small face.
He had no interest in a relationship, not after everything he had been through. Landon wouldn’t dream of letting anyone that close to him and his past. And there was always the fear that a piece of his good-for-nothing father would rear its ugly head, tarnishing anything beautiful in his life.
“I wish you would reconsider.” she whispered, “even if just to enjoy our company.”
“I know. Maybe next time.”
“You say that every time.”
“And I’m still considering it.”
“Fine. Anything I can do to help you get ready for the opening?”
Landon began shaking his head then thought of the most recent task he added to his list.
“Actually, can you ask around for anyone that would be interested in waiting tables, preferably one with bartending experience?”
“No one comes to mind, but I’ll ask around. Someone up at Carson Mountain Winery may know of a few people.”
“Thanks, Alexis. I’ll see ya around,” he said, dismissing her as he moved from around the counter toward the back stairs that led to the apartment on the third floor of the building. He knew Alexis would see herself out.
Behind the Bar (Home in Carson Book 3) Page 1