Joke

by Mia Malone

  I immediately made my face as calm and blank as I could make it because, dear God. His lean face was –

  “You should probably stop staring,” Tug muttered next to me. “Paddy has a woman already.”

  “I’m not staring,” I quipped and bent down to grab a bottle of imported beer.

  Considering how many of those they sold, it seemed stupid to have them at the bottom of the fridge beneath the bar. When I turned to hand the beer to the man who had asked for it, he was grinning widely. European beer apparently made the good people of Wilhelmine happy.

  “What’s this?” I heard Joke ask.

  He sounded angry, but when I turned to look at him, he seemed mostly exasperated.

  “It’s one of your tees. Cleaning out my closets, found it there. Guess you forgot it at my place,” the gorgeous man said calmly.

  “Paddy, for fuck’s sake,” Joke snapped, and I blinked.

  It was kind of his friend to bring him his tee, wasn’t it?

  “What the –”

  Joke’s angry growl made me look toward the door, and I stared again. Another man had entered Oak, and he wasn’t beautiful but, woo-boy, was he hot. Tall, fit, lean-faced and with hair cut short in a no-nonsense way which suited him very well. He looked like the real version of how Hollywood portrayed federal agents as he walked across the bar to stop in front of Joke, although I decided as I watched him move that walk was actually not a good word for what he did. This man ambled. Or sauntered.

  Nice.

  “Mac,” Joke grunted.

  “Found your spare keys,” the man apparently called Mac said calmly but with a small lip-twitch. “Figured you’d want me to bring them over.”

  Joke’s sigh cut him off, and then he muttered, “At least the others have the decency stay awa –”

  A woman walked into the bar, shouted hello to everyone in general, blew a kiss toward Joke and walked up to sit down in front of me.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Huh-ey,” I said, a little stunned by the intent way she was watching me. “What can I get you?”

  “I’m Jenny,” she said.

  “Sissy.”

  “Are you one?” she asked.

  “Sometimes.”

  “Fair enough. I’m Joke’s sister.”

  I’d figured that out myself. Part of that was since he’d told me his sister owned the place across the street and it was called Jenny’s. Most of it was because they were both tall and blonde, and resembled each other quite a bit. Jenny was my age and pretty.

  “Jen, I promised Joke we’d leave again.”

  My eyes flew to the stunning man apparently called Paddy. He’d put an arm around Jenny’s waist and was pulling her with him.

  “But –” she protested.

  “Babe.”

  That single word was uttered quietly, but there was no mistaking the message behind it. Or the steel in his voice.

  “Oh, alright,” she muttered, turned to me and grinned. “We’ll catch up another time.”

  “Okay,” I said albeit slightly hoarsely because I had no clue what we would catch up about.

  I watched them leave and saw the grin they shared as Paddy held the door open. It hurt a little to see the obvious affection in his eyes because I’d had that. A long time ago, but still.

  “Bobs. Petey,” a deep voice said to the men in front of me, and I swung around. My eyes met those of the man Joke had called Mac. “I’m Mac,” he clarified what I already knew.

  “Sissy,” I said calmly. “What can I get you?”

  “You’re gonna want a Carlsberg,” one of the men in front of me said.

  “Oh for –”

  I turned to stare at Joke. Something was going on that I didn’t understand and wasn’t sure I liked. It looked like the two men in front of me were laughing, and I wondered if it was at me.

  “Trust me. Carlsberg,” the other man said.

  Mac turned to raise his brows at me.

  “Guess I want a bottle of Carlsberg,” he said.

  “Right,” I chirped, happy to walk the few steps away from the huddle in front of me.

  Joke had walked back to his end of the bar and was moving some papers around when I straightened with the beer and made my way back to the man I’d realized was the chief of police in Wilhelmine. Nothing in his eyes betrayed that he knew about my background, and he didn’t grin like the other two customers did. His eyes were full of humor, though, and it looked good on him, so I smiled as I handed him the bottle. He declined the glass I offered, but before I could mess up the cash register again, Joke called out for him to get his ass over to that end of the bar.

  I turned to Tug who suddenly was standing next to me, and raised my brows.

  “What’s going on?”

  “New girl in town.”

  “What?”

  “This is a small town, Sissy. You waltzing in looking like the proverbial ice queen… it’s gonna create some gossip. Don’t worry about it.”

  “The proverbial ice queen?” I drawled slowly.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that description and with my unusual eyes, and I guessed it wasn’t entirely unsuitable.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Tug repeated. “Everyone will settle down eventually.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  Joke was scowling again as he leaned forward to face his openly laughing friend, and I wondered if Tug had been entirely truthful. Maybe he had, I decided and started wiping off the clean countertop in front of me, mostly to have something to do.

  Shortly before eleven Joke stretched an arm out and rang an old-fashioned brass bell hanging on the wall next to him.

  “Last call,” he announced loudly.

  I got another beer for the men in front of me, Heineken this time. Then I ignored their grins and proceeded to punch the sale into the cash register. It made a pathetic beep like it had done most of the night and I muttered a few not so nice words.

  “Look,” Joke said calmly, suddenly standing next to me.

  He smelled way too good and the way his warm body felt when he leaned in sent a small shiver down my spine. I’d been focused on doing my job and had deliberately not looked his way during the evening. Or, more accurately, I’d spent most of the evening trying to hide that I was glancing his way a bit more often than I thought was wise. Ogling the man you really wanted to hire you would surely not give him a good first impression of your abilities as a bartender.

  “Okidoki,” I chirped and could have kicked myself.

  Okidoki? Who the hell said that? And in that breathy, stupid voice?

  “Babe,” he chuckled, and repeated, “Look.”

  Then he slowly walked me through how the cash register worked, again. His deep voice slid through me, and the way his big hands moved over the buttons was distracting, but I hummed and nodded at times where I felt it was appropriate and tried to concentrate.

  “Got it?”

  “Yeah?” I said. It came out as a question, so I added more forcefully. “Sure.”

  “Good. I’ll let Tug go now. You and I will close, and then we’ll talk.”

  “Sure,” I repeated, managing to make it sound calm and collected.

  Then he cashed out Tina who had been the waitress for the night. She grinned at me and told me she’d be there for my next shift and we’d catch up then. I wondered again what everyone wanted to catch up on but assumed it meant they wanted to get to know me, so I waved and smiled when she left.

  “Beer?”

  I blinked.

  “Sissy. You want a beer?”

  Joke was holding a bottle out toward me, and I took it, doubting that this exact moment would be a good one to tell him I didn’t like beer.

  “How did I do?” I asked and leaned against the bar.

  My leg hurt, but not much more than it usually did after a long day. I’d been in the car for a few weeks which had added to my stiffness, but if I could find somewhere to work out, I’d be good again in no time
.

  “Surprisingly well.”

  Well, that was a little insulting.

  “Thanks,” I said calmly. “Do I have a job?”

  “Yeah, you have a job. You’re on an early shift tomorrow. Come in at one, and I’ll have the schedules worked out by then. There’s barely a soul here in the afternoons, so it’ll give you some time to figure out the register.”

  Oh. The way he was watching me told me he had a pretty good idea of just how much I’d probably messed it all up during the evening.

  “It would have been easier if you’d given me a bit of training before I started.”

  “But a lot less fun,” he retorted.

  I moved to the side and pain shot through me when I put too much weight on my leg. His eyes narrowed in a way I knew meant I hadn’t managed to hide my wince.

  “Let’s sit for a while.” He indicated a table close to the bar and moved toward it without waiting for me to agree. “I have a few questions.”

  I watched him in silence for a while, assessing him and thinking about the small town I’d ended up in. The chief of police had looked like an okay man, and everyone had been friendly. Joke had agreed to keep my name off the books, and when our eyes met, I knew I’d tell him.

  “Is this a place where I can be safe?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes.”

  His answer came instantly, and there was such determination in both his voice and the way his face hardened that I felt my shoulders drop with relief.

  “There are a few things you need to know,” I started.

  Then I told him. Not everything, but everything he needed to know which had been quite enough if the anger I saw in his eyes were a good indication. He didn’t say much about it, but I saw him look at me sometimes after that evening, although thoughtfully and not like he’d grab a baseball bat and charge off into the sunset ready to beat the absolute shit out of my nemesis. Something I was pretty sure Joke Tucker was capable of doing.

  With a sigh, I parked the car and got out, sidestepping to avoid getting dirt on my pants. I should wash the stupid thing.

  “Hey, Sissy,” a happy voice called out.

  “Lee,” I said and smiled at the blonde woman who had crossed the street and stopped beside me. “It’s gonna snow later, I think.”

  “I know,” she said. “Do you ski?”

  “Yeah,” I told her.

  I did ski. Not like I used to, but even if I had to be a little bit careful and wear a damned annoying brace around my leg, I still skied better than most people.

  “We’re heading up to the slopes this weekend. Do you want to come?”

  “Bummer,” I said, and meant it. “I’m working.”

  “Okay,” she said casually. Too casually, which made me wonder if she hadn’t known this already. “But it means that you’re off tomorrow, right?”

  I was, actually.

  “Uh-huh,” I agreed and stopped in front of the old wooden doors leading into Oak.

  “Fantastic,” she chirped. “Jenny and I are having a girls night. Please come?”

  “Girls-night?”

  “Great!” she said, smiling as if I’d put the word yes somewhere in my short statement. “My place at five.”

  She gave me directions before I could come up with an excuse for not going, and as I watched her cross the street and enter the diner, I realized that I wanted to go to Lee’s place and have a girls night with her and Jenny. Both women had been to the bar while I worked, and I’d had lunch at Jenny’s a couple of times. I liked them both a lot because they were funny and interesting. They were also strong women who didn’t hesitate to speak their mind, even in the company of a group of men I’d learned were Joke’s childhood friends.

  Gibson, Paddy, and Mac. Laid back and easy on the surface but with a look in their eyes that told me they were not men you messed with. They reminded me of my brothers all the way down to the frequent dropping of f-bombs, and I’d easily slid into their familiar banter.

  Joke was different. Or not different, but not the same. He was just as much a badass as the others. He had the same calm look in his eyes and confident way of moving. I couldn’t figure out just exactly what it was about him that had made me make him the star in numerous late night, or early morning, fantasies. The others were ridiculously hot, but even if Paddy or Gibson hadn’t been in relationships, I wouldn’t have thought about them moving over me. In me.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.

  I was standing like a fool outside Oak entertaining adult fantasies about my boss. I was a damned grownup. I didn’t even like sex that much. With a shrug, I straightened my shoulders and opened the door. I could do this. Joke would be off so I’d just go in there and spend the night with Tug behind the bar. Chatting. Smiling. Reclaiming a part of my life I thought I’d left behind years ago.

  ***

  Joke

  “Ah, fuck,” he groaned and moved his hand faster.

  It shot through him like nothing before, and he couldn’t hold back. With a loud grunt and a few more jerks, he tilted his head back and came. It hit him so hard he had to reach out and put a hand on the tiles to steady himself. Water ran over him and washed him clean while he stood there, lazily moving his hand a few last strokes.

  Jesus. He had decided to take things slow, but it was fucking killing him. There wasn’t any other way to do it, though, and he knew it when he saw Sissy’s guarded, frightened eyes as she told him about the man who had hurt her. He couldn’t just go after her the way Gib had with Lee, or Paddy with Jen once he’d found his goddamned balls. Sissy fit in like she’d been a part of the small town forever, but she’d been in Wilhelmine a week only. He was also her boss, and he wasn’t going to be the jerk who pushed her around behind the bar. Unless she asked him to.

  No, he told himself when his cock twitched. Don’t go there.

  He was going to take it easy. Seduce her. He’d be fucking gentle. And slow.

  And he’d never jerked off so much in his life.

  He hooked up with women, and he was a healthy man who liked coming so he used his hands too. Not every day but often enough. He’d wondered when the urge to come would fade away, but since he had absolutely no desire to know how often his buddies jerked off, he hadn’t asked them. Maybe he should because the way he was strung up now was ridiculous. He wasn’t working that night but he’d meet his friends down at Oak and knowing what, or rather who, would be behind the bar made him take a shower before joining them. He wasn’t going to walk in there with an erection entering the place ten seconds before he did.

  To be on the safe side, he let his flannel shirt hang loosely over his jeans, and hence his crotch. Considering how hard he’d come he should be okay to spend the night pretending not to watch Sissy.

  Gibson was leaning on the bar, and his eyes lit up with laughter when he saw Joke.

  “What?” Joke asked and nodded toward Tug who handed him a beer.

  “You showered,” Gib smirked.

  Oh, for fuck’s sake. Sometimes he wished they could act a bit more like the middle-aged gentlemen they were supposed to be.

  “Yeah?” he said and turned to look around the bar.

  It was half full even on a weeknight he noted with satisfaction. He knew part of it was because of the town’s curiosity about Sissy, but it was still good.

  “You showered this morning after your workout.”

  Gibson had converted the barn on his property into his own personal workout space, and Joke had contributed with some of the equipment in exchange for unlimited access to the place. He worked out there most days and often washed off there too.

  “So?”

  “Nothing,” Gibson murmured, but the tips of his mouth twitched in a way which made it clear that he knew exactly why Joke had showered. “You have your hair down.”

  “So?” Joke repeated.

  “Usually don’t.”

  He didn’t. The thick blonde hair reached his shoulders so it got in his face whe
n he moved and he mostly kept it tied back in a short ponytail.

  “It’s wet,” Joke stalled.

  It wasn’t like he’d been primping like a fucking girl. His hair was wet, and he was allowed to have it down if he felt like it, wasn’t he?

  “Because you showered,” Gibson said calmly.

  Joke was about to push back when Mac walked in, looked at him with raised brows and a broad smile.

  “You have your hair down,” he said instead of a normal hey or hello, and started laughing.

  It took a while for his friends to stop commenting on his hair, but eventually they did. Then the front door was suddenly thrown wide open, and Jenny marched in, looking supremely pissed. Paddy was right behind her, and he was no less angry.

  “I wanted to do something romantic,” Paddy snarled.

  “Changing my locks without telling me was not romantic.”

  “Those locks were ancient and not very good. I picked them in less than five minutes.”

  “I stood there like a moron for half an hour, trying to get into my own goddamned restaurant,” Jenny snapped. “Not romantic, Paddy.”

  They stopped next to Gibson, but neither paid any attention to the people around them and kept glaring glared angrily at each other.

  “I didn’t know you’d go there right fucking now, and you love that damned place so I thought these would be,” Paddy growled, and threw a set of keys on the bar.

  Attached to the keys was a heart shaped thing with a large J engraved into the middle. Joke pressed his lips together as he watched his sister. It looked like she’d fucked up just a little, and she knew it. Before she could say anything at all, Paddy stalked out of the bar and slammed the door shut behind him.

  “Oh, shit,” Jenny whispered. “What should I do now?”

  Joke was about to tell her that groveling would be in order when a glass was set down in front of Jenny.

  “Apologize,” Sissy said. “And you should do it in a way that counts. He did something you should have done a long time ago, just because he wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to you. Doesn’t get more romantic than that.”