All the Right Moves(13)
While he listened, he dumped the lukewarm crap and refilled his mug, making sure to drink it as he carried it into the bathroom. The voice mail was from Towlie, aka Rick, another pilot he worked with at Nellis, confirming dinner tonight, which was a good thing because John had forgotten. Two other guys were joining them on the Strip. Both from other bases who were flying in overnight. John had run into Derek a few times on assignment; the other pilot wasn’t someone he knew. But he had no doubt they’d have a good time, talking shop at dinner and then club-hopping and picking up women.
Goddamn, he must be in rough shape if the thought of that sweet plan made him cringe.
* * *
IT WAS A QUIET AFTERNOON with only four customers in the bar. Mondays between noon and five at the Gold Strike were usually slow, especially toward the end of the month when people were waiting for checks.
Cassie looked up from her book to check on Gordon and his three cronies. The old guys made it easy on her. They always ordered two drinks at a time. On days like this when she worked solo and needed to study, it helped not to be constantly interrupted. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t wring Tommy’s neck. He was supposed to have covered the afternoon shift. But he’d claimed he had bar business to take care of. Bar business, her butt.
He barely wrote or signed checks anymore, or verified invoices or shopped for the garnishes. No, he just dumped everything on her lap. And like a fool, she let him.
Gordon caught her glaring at the door. “Your folks still in Oregon, Cassie?”
“Yep. They’re likely to stay till fall.”
“Can’t blame ’em. This whole valley feels like a damn oven. Hotter than last summer and no one can tell me otherwise.”
Cassie agreed. She’d just paid last month’s electric bill, and wow, had that stung. She’d had to cut into what she jokingly referred to as her salary to cover costs, and tips weren’t always that great. Last night’s thirty-three dollars had been awesome. She hoped John came back. But only because he was such a good tipper. “You guys want pretzels?”
“Nah, we might order a pepperoni pizza,” Gordon said. “You interested?”
She glanced at the clock...already three-thirty. “I’ll pass. As soon as Tommy gets here, I’m shoving off.”
“You need me to watch the bar?”
Sighing, Cassie shook her head. “Thanks, but I don’t know what time he’ll be here.” If he didn’t show up within two hours, she was screwed. Lisa started at five, but she couldn’t handle the after-work crowd by herself, so Cassie would have no choice but to stay.
Gordon gave her his famous raised eyebrow. Which was saying something, because his brows were bushy, pure white and as expressive as a cartoon character’s. “What’s he gonna do without you?”
“Why? Where am I going?”
“Once you get that master’s degree, you won’t be sticking around. You’ve got too many brains to be working here as it is.”
“I don’t know about that.” She pushed her fingers through her tangled hair. “Besides, who’d keep you guys in line?”
Gordon frowned. “Nobody’s gotta worry about me. My hell-raising days are over.”
Joe muttered something about Gordon being too slow to get into trouble. The other old boys hooted with laughter and added their two cents.
Cassie just smiled. All four were retired military, ornery and gruff when they played poker or argued over the superiority of the air force versus the navy. But they were harmless, and ready to step in and help her out when she was in a bind.
“Shut up,” Gordon said. “Let the girl study in peace.” He tossed a take-out menu across the table. “Are we ordering pizza or not?”
She took another look at the clock, knowing only two minutes had passed, and then stared down at her textbook. Studying psychology wasn’t a hardship. She loved observing people and discovering what made them tick. But it was this extra class on neurorehabilitation that was going to kill her. She’d passed cognitive neuroscience with relative ease, but this one was surprisingly more difficult for her. Maybe because she hadn’t had nearly enough sleep and too little study time.
But she wouldn’t beat herself up for being too ambitious. Her only fault had been overestimating Tommy. He knew she’d chosen an aggressive summer schedule, assured her that he was behind her all the way, and then he’d let her down. Was it intentional?
She doubted it. He was a good man at heart, but stubborn. And since he wouldn’t go for counseling, she was left to struggle with his decisions. It wouldn’t be so bad if those decisions didn’t impact her so acutely. On the other hand, he wasn’t actively trying to harm himself anymore, so that was something.