All the Right Moves(51)
At John’s stern tone, she sighed and closed the door.
“Before you get in his face,” Lisa said, drawing the man’s angry glare away from John, “you should know he’s doing this for Cassie. She’s back there studying for an exam. Your buddy was supposed to be working this shift.”
“Where is he?”
“Who knows?” She set the filled pitcher in front of him. “He won’t answer Cassie’s calls.”
Spider’s brows furrowed and his irritation with Tommy seemed legit. He went back to sizing up John, the mischievous gleam entering his eyes hard to miss. “Our girl is more than a bartender. She knows her stuff,” Spider said. “Dude, you got some big shoes to fill.”
John snorted a laugh. “You going anywhere with this?”
“See you, boys.” Lisa picked up her tray, and as she slipped to the other side of the bar, she whispered to John, “His bark’s worse than his bite.”
Spider picked up the pitcher and drank from it as if it were a mug. He wiped the foam off his beard with the back of his arm. “Where’s the cheapest gas in town? You got five seconds.”
John folded his arms across his chest. “The Pilot on Craig.”
Rearing his head back, Spider eyed him with suspicion for a moment, then said, “No shit?”
“Nah. That’s what I heard Cassie tell someone the other day. For all I know they could’ve doubled the price by now.”
Several customers thought that was pretty funny. So did Spider. “You’re all right, pretty boy, you’re all right,” he said, nodding, and then took his pitcher with him back to his pool game.
A guy sitting at Gordon’s table yelled, “Hey, barkeep...”
John looked over, saw everyone’s grins and waited for the smart-ass question he figured was coming.
“The Cheyenne exit is closed for construction. What’s the quickest detour to get downtown?”
“I know this one.” While he answered, he took up where Lisa had left off, washing glasses and mugs, and letting them dry on the rack.
For the next hour, different customers shot out random questions. He replied truthfully to the ones he knew, responded to the absurd queries with the silly answers they deserved. It was all in fun and made the time fly. Lisa had clued him in on the betting pool the regulars had started the minute he’d taken over for Cassie. Evidently him lasting twenty minutes was the long-shot wager.
Since he’d disappointed them, they’d started a new pool. Now they were betting on how long it would take him to break down and call Cassie for help. Fine with him. They were ordering drinks by the case. He just hoped they tipped Lisa and Cassie accordingly.
“I have a question.”
John glanced up from cutting limes and into the flushed face of a short blonde. If she’d been sitting with one of the groups, he hadn’t noticed her. She looked young, and he wondered if he should card her. “Yes?”
“I’d prefer to talk to Cassie,” she said, her voice lowering.
Ah, he got it now. Someone was hedging their bet. “She’s not available.”
“It’s kinda important.”
“Sorry, it’s me or nothing.”
“What about Lisa? Where is she?”
“Taking a smoke break. She’ll be back in ten minutes.”
“Oooh.” She seemed genuinely distressed, biting at her lip, her cheeks growing pinker. But he wasn’t fooled by her act. “It’ll only take a few seconds.”
“I’m not calling Cassie out here, so if you really need something, I suggest you spit it out.”
She took a deep breath. “The machine in the ladies’ room is broken. I need a tampon.”
John blinked, stared at the woman for a moment, then looked over his shoulder. “Hey, Cassie.”
Everyone, without exception, laughed. Even the bald guy who dug in his pocket and had the twenty promptly plucked from his fingers. A side bet, obviously.
“You’re good,” he told the grinning blonde, who then turned and bowed to her audience.
Behind him, he heard the storage door creak...at the exact moment the front door opened.
It was Tommy.
A little unsteady, he looked as if he were drunk. Or barely awake. He stopped just inside, panning the room, his smile growing with the infectious laughter. When his gaze came to John, all humor left Tommy’s face. “Get the f*ck out from behind my bar.”