by Mandy Baggot
“I know, we don’t have any mustard, but apart from that, everything came together. I just hope we don’t run out of food, or beer…beer would be worse,” Robyn admitted.
“Where’s Cole?” Mickey asked.
“Behind the bar—where a good employee should be. Although he seems to have got himself a female fan club. There are three women who haven’t moved from the end bar stools since we opened. I’m not going to say anything just yet, though, because he’s got them drinking double Jack and Cokes every round,” Robyn replied.
“Robyn! We got orders backing up out there!” Nancy called as she came out onto the floor with two trays in her hands.
“Okay, I’m on it. Guys, table twelve over there. Give me two seconds and I’ll come and take your drink orders,” Robyn told them as she skipped off, one hand to her injured ribs.
He watched Robyn as she collected some more empty plates and glasses on a tray. She was struggling with her injury but she was never going to stop for a break when they were so busy.
“So Cole, when do you get off?” a woman with thick, dark hair and heavy make-up asked him.
She was toying with the straw in her drink and staring at him appreciatively. He’d seen plenty of women like her in the bar he worked in Chicago.
“Yeah, when do you finish so we can go and have some real fun?” her blonde-haired friend wanted to know.
“Oh, I’m here ‘til late,” Cole answered, serving a group of guys next to the women.
“You have to go to bed, though, right?” the dark-haired woman said in an attempt at seduction.
“Sure. With my girlfriend,” Cole said with a smile. It felt nice to say that.
“Well, I don’t see her and what you can’t see isn’t important in my book,” she continued.
“Well, I’m afraid it is in mine. And she’s over there,” Cole replied, pointing out Robyn who was adjusting her Eddie’s Roadhouse cap and taking orders from another table.
“Man! Really! She’s not even wearing lipstick,” the blonde replied in horror.
It was all he could do not to laugh at her comment. Robyn didn’t even own a lipstick. She used gloss that smelt like mint and vanilla and tasted like an ice cream sundae. He glanced over at her as she came back out onto the floor with another tray of food.
“I’ll have a Bud,” Brad growled, squeezing himself between the women and putting his hands on the bar.
“Hey there, sexy. Do you come here often?” the dark-haired woman asked, turning her attentions toward Brad.
“It could be arranged,” Brad replied, smiling at her and taking his cap from his head.
“That’s two dollars and fifty cents,” Cole said, putting the bottle down in front of him.
“And drinks for the ladies,” Brad said, getting out his wallet.
“Why thank you!” the blonde said, giggling like a teenager.
“And while you’re at it we’ll have a pitcher of Bud…” Eddie’s voice spoke.
“That’s Bud Light and just the one. You’ve got an hour,” Pam spoke seriously.
She stood behind his wheelchair and Sierra and Sienna were behind her.
“Hey, Eddie, it’s great to see you,” Cole called.
“Boss, I can’t believe they let you out. How you doing?” Brad asked, turning around and looking down at his manager.
“A lot better than you. Look at the state of you. You haven’t shaved. Have you even showered?” Eddie questioned.
“Is this your father?” the dark-haired girl asked, looking at Brad.
“One bottle of Bud Light. Robyn’s over there,” Cole directed.
“Pam! Bring the drink; I want to see my daughter,” Eddie said, trying to move the wheelchair himself.
“Here, let me take you,” Brad offered, putting his bottle down and taking hold of the arms of the wheelchair.
“Need something to help you keep balance?” Eddie snapped at him.
“No,” Brad replied hastily.
“We went through this before, Brad, when Michelle left you. I don’t want to go through it again. Whatever’s wrong with you, snap out of it. The Panthers captain needs to be someone I can trust and rely on. If you don’t want the job, I’ll give it to Mickey,” Eddie told him firmly.
“Holy crap! What are you doing here?” Wes exclaimed as Brad wheeled Eddie over toward the table of Panthers.
“Checking up on you boys. How are you?” Eddie asked, smiling broadly at all of them.
“We’re good. Climbing the table, Boss!” Wade told him.
“We winning big Boss, but Robyn, she is, how you say? Hard pleasing,” Henrik informed him.
“Oh, yeah, she’s always been that. So I guess you’ll be happy to see me back ice side,” Eddie said with a grin.
“Are you back tomorrow game?” Henrik asked.
“No, he’s not. He’s not meant to be here tonight. It will be a few weeks yet,” Pam insisted quickly.
“Where’s Grant?” Eddie asked, noticing his assistant coach wasn’t at the table.
“He…er…well…” Wes started.
“He didn’t think it was appropriate to come. He has Jason at home at the moment and…” Wade filled in.
“Oh my God! Dad? What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home resting?” Robyn exclaimed, her mouth wide open.
“He’s got an hour,” Pam said.
“And we have a defibrillator in the car,” Sienna added with a grin.
“Hello, Buttercup. Look at this place! You’ve taken over,” Eddie said, looking around at the decor, the scores of happy customers, the great band, and the clowns.
“Dad, what are you doing here? I can’t believe you’re here to see this. I must get Nancy,” Robyn said, looking around for her soon-to-be stepmother.
“No you won’t. She knows I’m coming, she and Pam arranged it for you. You’ve worked so hard building this place back up in such a short time. Your dad couldn’t miss opening night,” Eddie told her, his eyes welling up with tears.
“Jeez, don’t you weep on me, Dad, you’ll kill my ribs,” Robyn answered quickly, sucking in the urge to cry.
“I ain’t gonna cry yet Buttercup but I might if I don’t get any fries or rings,” Eddie told her.
“Griddled with no oil and no salt,” Pam ordered.
“I’ll get you a table,” Robyn said with a smile.
“Hey, Robyn. Listen, I just wanted to say…” Brad started, taking hold of Robyn’s arm before she moved away.
“Not tonight, Brad. Tonight’s about Robyn, not you. Look at the place…it’s never been this busy, not even back in the day. Now come and sit with us and talk me through the last game. I know it was a draw, but we want a win on Saturday against Cincinnati,” Eddie said.
“Are you okay? You must have served close to a hundred tables,” Cole said as he passed Robyn on the way to the stock room.
“I’m fine. In fact, I’m great. Look at the roadhouse, look how the town turned out for me. When I got here, when I took on this challenge, I never believed it would be like this. I always hoped it would, but well, you know, I wasn’t sure,” Robyn admitted.
“You’ve done so well,” Cole agreed, smiling at her.
“And you’re a part of that. A big part,” Robyn told him and she slipped her hand into the pocket of her jeans.
She took out her engagement ring and she slipped it back onto her left hand.
“It’s time it stayed on—for good,” Robyn said, looking up at him.
Cole took hold of her hand and smiled at her.
“In fact, it’s time everyone knew,” Robyn announced suddenly.
“What? Well, I thought you wanted to wait. You said the day before,” Cole reminded her.
“I know and I’ve changed my mind. Come on,” Robyn said, pulling him toward the stage as Special Guest belted out a number by Bryan Adams.
The song came to an end and Robyn took charge of the microphone.
“Hi everyone, I’m Robyn. Don’t worry, I’m
not going to sing,” she began tentatively.
The diners all whooped their appreciation, but the loudest was the hockey team who started banging on the table. Mickey let out a wolf howl before Sarah slapped his arm and made him stop.
“I just want to thank you all for coming tonight and supporting Eddie’s Roadhouse. My dad’s here, just over there, eating as many of the free nuts as he can get his hands on, thinking I can’t see! I see you, Dad! Anyway, I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the people who helped me get the roadhouse ready for tonight. Nancy, my almost step-mom…you’ve worked so hard, you’re still carrying plates and stuff now…and I know besides all the hard work you’ve put into this place, you’ve also had to put up with my bad attitude, so thank you. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but well, it’s forgotten. And then there’s Milo, he’s my head bartender over there—the cute one with the curly hair and the dimples. Milo, you’ve been fantastic, you’ve been here constantly when I couldn’t, and you even found ice cream when I demanded it was produced immediately. And the lack of mustard was an oversight on my part and you did remind me, and I said I would handle it and I didn’t. So, sorry folks about the whole lack of mustard thing, tomorrow we will have mustard!” Robyn announced.
A cheer went up and people laughed.
“And this by the way…this is Cole,” Robyn said, looking at him and smiling as his cheeks flushed and people turned their attention to him.
“I met Cole just over a week ago at the airport and since then…well, he’s upturned my life,” Robyn informed her audience.
“Woo hoo!” Henrik hollered in appreciation.
“Not only did he buy me a car, he gave me a place to stay, and he’s been steering my Panthers to victory ever since. To be honest, I can’t imagine my life without him,” Robyn said, turning to look only at Cole.
Mickey let out another howl and this time Sarah let him carry on.
“So, tonight I want to tell all of you that—Cole and I are getting married—next week—and you’re all invited!” Robyn announced loudly.
There were shouts of excitement, and the whole room erupted into a frenzy of shock, surprise, and delight. Special Guest began a rendition of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” as Cole put his arms around Robyn and kissed her.
“This has got to be a joke,” Brad stated through gritted teeth.
“I can’t believe it! Getting married next week!” Wade said with a smile.
“Is anyone listening to me? I’ve never heard anything so messed up in my life. She’s known him a week!” Brad exclaimed.
“Hey! Robyn knows what she wants, always has. You keep your opinion on it to yourself,” Eddie warned, looking sternly at Brad.
“You knew! How long have you known? You should have told me,” Brad blasted angrily, his face reddening.
“She told me this afternoon and I reacted the same way you just did for the same reason. We only just got her back and you don’t want to lose her. The difference is Brad she was never yours in the first place,” Eddie reminded him.
“Come on man; be happy for them. Look at them, they’re so in to each other,” Wes remarked as he watched Robyn and Cole being congratulated by well-wishers.
“It sucks! The whole thing sucks!” Brad yelled angrily.
“Hey, what about that announcement then! Sarah didn’t even know! A Portage wedding next week and another one in the spring,” Mickey announced as he and Sarah joined the hockey table.
“Two weddings?” Henrik queried, puzzled.
“Two?” Pam questioned.
“I asked Sarah to marry me and she said yes—oh and we’re having a baby,” Mickey told them all.
“Are you sure it’s yours?” Brad snapped, drinking greedily from his glass of beer.
“Bradley that’s a horrible thing to say,” Pam said.
“Just asking. I mean it was only last week she was trying it on with me,” Brad informed the table.
“Mickey, it wasn’t anything. It was after we had that fight at the barbecue and…” Sarah began tears forming in her eyes.
“Well I think wedding is good—wedding means party,” Henrik told everyone as he downed the remainder of his drink in one gulp.
“You Dutch know how to party Henrik don’t ya?” Wes spoke.
“He’s not Dutch, he’s Swedish,” Wade replied.
“I think you need to go,” Eddie told Brad.
“Yeah? Well I’ll go when I’m good and ready. I want a few words with the bride before I go anywhere,” Brad snarled as Robyn and Cole made their way over to the table.
“You knew about this? Aren’t you going to put a stop to it? I mean I wasn’t happy with her moving in with him so fast—but marriage!” Pam remarked to her brother.
“She’s twenty-five Pam, what do you want me to do? Ground her? Give her a slap?”
“Well, no, but…” Pam started.
“Look at her. I’ve never seen her look so happy and if that’s his doing then we should be welcoming him into the family, not wondering whether he’s an escapee from Death Row,” Eddie replied.
“Congratulations, my girl, it’s wonderful news. Will there be a reception?” Ada asked, enveloping Robyn in a hug, the gin fumes almost making her cough.
“Yes, Ada, at West Lake, I think. We haven’t really finalized everything yet,” Robyn said, looking at Cole anxiously.
“Straight after the ceremony, we have one of those huge, open party tents and Eddie’s Roadhouse is providing all the food,” Cole answered.
“You’ve organized it,” Robyn said, smiling at him.
“I told Nancy it was a surprise party for your birthday just so I had something booked,” Cole admitted.
“Can I speak to you?” Brad said, stepping in front of Ada and addressing Robyn, a furious look on his face.
“Are you going to offer your congratulations?” she asked.
“You are kidding me. This whole marriage thing is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard about,” Brad raged.
“No one cares what you think about it,” Cole said.
“You’re totally out of your mind. If you feel insecure because Jason’s dragging everything back up again, I can help you. I can get a restraining order so he can’t come near you, I can get my dad to…” Brad started.
“A restraining order? I don’t want a restraining order. I don’t want anything like that,” Robyn said, her mind being forced back to the past again.
“Brad, I think you’d better go,” Cole warned.
“If it’s security you need, I can give you that.”
“I don’t want security and I don’t want you. How many times do I have to say this, Brad? I don’t want you; I never have wanted you, not like that,” Robyn stated loud and clear.
“We were together once,” Brad told her.
“We were high school kids. I’m not getting into this, not again. I’ve got people to serve and washing up to do and—just go if you’ve got nothing good to say,” Robyn said, heading back toward the kitchen.
“If you really feel anything for her you’ll leave her alone, you’re upsetting her,” Cole told him.
“What’s upsetting her are people dragging up the past. Eddie said she gave her statement again yesterday,” Brad said, watching Robyn as she took some plates from Nancy and helped serve them.
“She’s fine and it’ll all be over soon. They’re obtaining new DNA evidence, so we’ll know one way or another whether it was Jason who attacked her—no matter what his witness says,” Cole informed him.
“What new evidence?” Brad questioned.
“Concrete evidence. Listen, unless you want a bruise on the other side of your jaw, you need to leave,” Cole ordered him.
Chapter Forty-three
“It was awesome, wasn’t it? The whole night was awesome!” Robyn shrieked happily as Cole drove Leonora back toward home.
It was almost three in the morning. The roadhouse had been a complete mess and had taken two hou
rs to get half straight again. Pam, Bob, and the twins had stayed on to help, but there was still more cleaning up required before they opened for lunch the following day.
“It was totally awesome,” Cole agreed.
“And the band was just as amazing as I remembered.”
“Well, I have news for you. I booked them for our wedding,” Cole told her.
“No! That’s the best news!” Robyn screamed and then laughed out loud.
She was so happy. Everything in her life was finally coming together. Her dad was getting better, the Panthers were holding their own in the league, the roadhouse launch had gone better than anyone could have imagined, and she had Cole. Wonderful, gorgeous Cole.
“Stop the car,” Robyn ordered him.
“What?”
“Stop the car. Pull in there, right by the lake,” Robyn instructed him.
He followed her directions, stopped the car, and turned off the engine.
“So, here we are, just like you asked. What now?” Cole asked, looking at her.
Robyn just looked at him, drinking him in.
“You’re trembling,” Cole said, holding onto her fingers.
“I’m scared,” Robyn admitted with a swallow.
“What of?”
“How I feel about you and how fast it’s happened.”
“Me too,” Cole said, looking into her eyes.
Robyn edged closer to him until their faces almost met. Her heart was racing as she gazed at him and realized the intensity of what she felt for him.
“I want you to kiss me. Then I want you to take my clothes off and I don’t want you to stop,” Robyn said with conviction. She was ready.
“You mean? Like now? Here? In Leonora?” Cole asked, looking out of the windscreen at the blackness hanging over the rippling lake.
“I’ve never done it in a Mustang before,” Robyn admitted with a swallow.
“Me neither…but…just wait there,” Cole said, releasing his seatbelt and opening the door.
“Where are you going?” Robyn asked him.
“Just wait there,” Cole repeated, shutting the door behind him.
She shivered as the cold air from outside blew into the car. She rubbed her hands together and caught sight of her engagement ring. Tonight she’d told the whole town she was getting married. With Ada knowing, it would be all over the state by the morning and might even make CNN. That thought didn’t even concern her like it might have done. She’d hollered the announcement out in Eddie’s Roadhouse because she’d wanted the world to hear.