“No.”
Don set his knife down and regarded her with a heavy stare. He was a man who didn’t hear that word often. She could almost feel the blaze of hatred in his eyes from across the room, but Shelby wasn’t intimidated easily. Growing up in a bar and having a hell of a right hook did that to a girl.
“Be careful who you push, Shelby, some men in this family push back.”
Billy shifted in his seat, clearly feeling the jab from his father, and Carol hid her smile behind her wine glass. Shelby had always liked her.
“As much as I’d love to give you a crooked nose to match both your boys, I’m here to end something.” She tossed the check on the table.
Don waited a good thirty seconds before picking it up, eyes widening as he read the number. Then he shook his head and passed it to his wife.
“As far as I can tell, that makes us clear,” Shelby said.
“Where’d you get the money?” Carol asked, no judgment in her voice, just a simple question.
“I consolidated assets to minimize my debt. I guess my education wasn’t wasted after all.”
“This doesn’t change anything,” Justin said.
Shelby felt his words like a punch to the gut, but she kept her cool. “I didn’t think it would. Happy Birthday, Mrs. Tanner. Sorry for the interruption.” Shelby spun on her heel and walked out the door. Tears welled in her eyes and she was halfway to the beat-up truck John had lent her when Carol ran down the steps and called to her.
“I just want you to know something, Shelby. I didn’t know anything about that whole college business until it was all said and done. I should have spoken up back then and I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“I knew it didn’t come from you.”
“Well, you still deserve an apology. I always liked you, Shelby, and I still think you’d be good for my son.”
“Yeah, well, I think it’s a little too late for that, but thanks anyway.”
“Don’t be so sure. The men in this family are pretty hardheaded, but eventually they come around. That’s why I’m still here.” She kissed Shelby’s cheek and walked back to the house, but turned with her hand on the door. “Not many people surprise my husband. If nothing else, Sunday dinners would be a hell of a lot more entertaining with you around.”
#
That night Shelby and John closed up and said goodnight at the door, but she didn’t follow him to the parking lot. She pulled the door shut behind him and slid the lock home. The bar was a different place when it was empty. As much as she loved the raw energy of the crowds and music and drinks, there was a special feeling when she was alone, a peace she couldn’t find anywhere else.
She made her way to a small space in the back behind the storeroom. The makeshift bedroom was just big enough for a bed, dresser, and a bookshelf. She’d fought so hard this last year to keep the house, clinging to a childhood fantasy about a perfect family home, but hers was an unconventional family. Even when she was a little girl, before her mom had died, they’d shared more memories in this bar more than anywhere else. It was more her home than any house ever had been. Even in L.A. she’d never felt quite settled in her own apartment. The beige stucco, cream walls, and smoggy skies weren’t the palm-lined beaches she’d imagined. Not that those didn’t exist, but they were dirty and crowded and usually more trouble than they were worth. But it was different here.
She turned off the light and curled up on the bed in the back of the bar. As good as she felt about her decision, even this home would never feel quite right without Jay. They’d shared too much inside these walls. But that bridge was burned, she’d have to find a way to make it work on her own.
Chapter Seven
Justin pulled out his wallet to pay for the drinks, his fingers hesitating above the cash. Resting against the bills was the baseball ticket he’d taken from Shelby.
“Don’t worry, I got this,” Sean said with a grin, dropping a hundred dollar bill on the table. “I’m sure things are tight with you being on a fixed income now and all.”
“You’re lucky I agreed to the endorsements or you’d be out of a paycheck, too.” They shared a laugh and headed to the valet stand outside where a Shelby GT idled at the curb. Justin’s heart stopped as he waited for the door to open, expecting Shelby to slide out of the car and right back into his arms. His palm tingled as the door opened and the valet got out. Justin laughed at himself and handed his ticket to the attendant at the stand. The other valet walked over to the small crowd standing outside and handed the keys to a short, stocky man in a dark suit.
“You okay, buddy?” Sean asked, clapping him on the back.
“Yeah, that car just looks familiar.” Which was stupid. There were millions of cars in L.A. with no shortage of rarities. The car had the standard Shelby white paint and blue rocker stripes, but something tugged at the back of his mind. He’d seen signs of Shelby everywhere since leaving Texas and this was just one more slap in the face.
“Well it does have Texas plates.”
“What?”
Sean pointed to the back of the car where The Lone Star State plate gleamed in the streetlights.
“Hey, buddy,” Justin called.
The man in the suit paused, hand on the door.
“This is a nice ride. You had it long?”
“No, it was a recent purchase.”
The man’s smile tugged at the back of Justin’s mind, a twinge of familiarity there.
“These cars are hard to find,” Justin said, trying to sound casual as every nerve in his body screamed for him to find out if the car had belonged to his Shelby. “A friend of mine used to have one.”
“It was a lucky find. The owner was looking for a quick sale and by the grace of the gods I got there first.”
Justin nodded, a flood of memories pouring through his mind—nights racing down the back roads and racing past third base in the back seat. He swallowed the lump in his throat and thought again of the ticket in his pocket and the Shelby he’d left behind.
“You’re Justin Tanner, aren’t you?” the man asked.
“Yeah.”
“Sorry about your arm, that’s bum luck.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Sometimes the gods have odd ways of leading us back to where we belong.”
Justin stared at the man, the words rolling through his mind.
“I hope you find yours,” he said and slid into the car.
#
Justin pulled into the parking lot an hour after closing. It was empty, but he’d heard she was staying there now. He backed into the spot across from the rear door and revved the engine a few times before he shut it down and got out. Leaning against the hood, he crossed his arms and waited. Not ten seconds passed before the back door flew open.
The sight of her standing there damn near stopped his heart. Hair pulled into a loose ponytail, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, she looked like the seventeen-year-old girl he’d fallen in love with a decade before.
He pushed away from the car and made his way to her, standing frozen beneath the single bulb at the back door. He’d been an ass, just sitting there at his parent’s table, the last time he’d seen her. He wasn’t sure if she’d even speak to him, or maybe break his nose again, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the car.
“Where? How?” Her jaw worked, but no other words came out.
“That old thing? I found it in L.A., but it said it missed Texas.”
“Is that so?” She finally met his eyes and gave him that half-smile that melted him to the core. His heart jammed in his throat.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice a little more tentative as he admitted, “And I guess I missed it a little, too.”
“Well, Texas missed you a little, too.”
Something eased in his chest, like he could finally breathe for the first time in a decade. “I thought maybe I’d buy you a drink, if the bartender is still on duty, that is.”
“I think I could work something out.”
He followed her inside, the dim room illuminated only by the accent lights behind the bar. She went behind the counter to grab two beers and he walked to the jukebox in the corner. They met in the middle of the dance floor and each took a long pull on their beers then the first notes from a piano echoed through the empty room. Garth’s voice filled the bar and tears welled in her eyes as he sang, “What’s she doing now?”
Justin wrapped his arm around Shelby’s waist, pulling her against him as they swayed together in the dark. “I thought of you every day. You stopped taking my calls and even your dad put me off. No explanation, no real goodbye. I tried to be pissed off, but it never lasted long enough to get you out of my head. Then after all this time I was back and in your bed and you walked out again. I’ve been lost since the injury, and truth be told, long before that. I thought leaving L.A. would solve my problems, but everything was so wrong here.”
“I tried to make it right the best way I knew how,” she said. “I knew paying off the debt wouldn’t erase the last ten years, but I couldn’t have it hanging between us forever. Everything I did was because I loved you. They may not have been the smartest things, but I thought I was doing what was right.”
“I know,” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I was pissed and confused and ran back to L.A., but things were even worse there—that’s when I knew.” He pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “My home isn’t in L.A. and it’s not in Texas. It’s right here in this bar, with you.”
“Welcome home,” she whispered.
His lips met hers and she wrapped her arms him. As the song ended, he broke the kiss, picked her up and carried her to the little room in the back of the bar, knowing there’d be no more running away for either one of them.
Epilogue
Eros slid onto the barstool beside Dionysus, still riding the high from reconnecting Justin and Shelby.
“Well done,” Dionysus said, waving at the bartender for another shot.
“It was a good match.” Eros slammed his shot and dropped the glass on the bar.
“I have to say, you had me a bit worried there when he took off to L.A., but the car was a nice touch.”
Eros shrugged, but couldn’t keep the grin from his lips.
“I told you she was a fiery one, didn’t I? Damn I love a woman with a temper like that. Not only did she keep the bar, she drew blood as well.” Dionysus pounded his shot and called for another round. “So how many more of these things do you have to do? Because the parties just aren’t the same without you around charming the panties off all the women. We make a great team.” They clinked shot glasses and threw them back.
Eros spun his empty glass in circles on the bar. “I have no idea. I haven’t heard word from him yet so I don’t know if I’m getting any closer to coming back or if I’ve just cracked the tip of the iceberg.”
“He’s just got a bolt up his ass. He’ll come around. In the meantime, you fulfilled your end of the bargain and earned yourself a little bonus.”
“Is that a fact?” The heat of the tequila flared to life, radiating to the tips of every nerve.
“Yes, it is.” Dionysus grinned, motioning to someone behind Eros.
A hand slid across his shoulder and down his chest. The warmth of a body pressed in against him, lips tickled his ear, sending a shiver up his spine. He turned and found a curvaceous maenad attached to his side. Dark curls slithered down her back and over her shoulders, ruby lips giving him a wickedly inviting smile. Her emerald slip dress left nothing to the imagination, her nipples hard and tight beneath the shimmering satin. She gave him a slow wink and his cock hardened. He slid his hand across the slick fabric at her waist and glided it down the curve of her ass, cupping the ripe flesh in his hand. It may not be a happy-ever-after ending for him, but he was damn sure going to be a happy-for-right-now.
The End
www.daniellelapaglia.com
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One Last Shot (Cupid's Conquests) Page 6