Asa (Marked Men #6)(20)

He nodded grimly at me. “That’s what I wanted to hear. She’s driving Darce nuts. The girl is going to be the death of us both.”

I made a noise of agreement. “Rome in the office?”

Brite nodded and again flashed me a grin that had to fight through his facial hair. “You look nervous, son. Don’t be.”

I was annoyed that my typical mask of indifference and carelessness had slipped, so I struggled to put it back in place as I walked down the hallway where the restrooms, storage, and tiny back office were located. I knocked on the door before pushing it open and noticed Rome was on the phone when I walked in. I sat in one of the ratty chairs that was up against the wall while he continued to grunt and reply in one-word sentences to whomever he was talking to. There was paperwork on the desk, cases of alcohol were piled up on the floor, and Rome’s gym bag took up the space on the other available chair. His chair squeaked as he leaned back heavily in it, said, “I love you more,” meaning the person on the end of the call had to be Cora, and finally hung up and looked at me.

I wanted to grin at him, to play it all off like whatever was about to go down didn’t mean shit to me, but instead I felt my spine stiffen and my eyes narrow. “What’s up?” I didn’t really know what to do with the fact that this somehow mattered so much to me. The only things I had ever cared about before were materialistic and my sister; this was so foreign, and I hated how uneasy it made me. I wanted to squirm but I forced myself to stay still.

He rubbed his palms into his eyes and pressed down on the scar that bisected his eyebrow.

“Cora’s pregnant.”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my leg so that my ankle was resting on my knee. “You don’t say?” Sarcasm was as thick as Kentucky grass in my tone.

He blinked at me for a second and then blew out a breath. “What do you mean?”

I snorted. “I saw her at the hospital. I saw you at the hospital. If it was the flu or just a cold, you wouldn’t have been all over her like a mother hen, and I doubt Cora would’ve looked so happy.”

His blue eyes widened a fraction and then a grin split his stern expression. “Yeah. She just hit a little over two months. She wasn’t as sick with RJ, but she was a hell of a lot moodier.”

“I didn’t know you were trying to have another baby.”

His big shoulders rose and fell. “We weren’t. But we weren’t not trying either. I got a fiancée and a new baby all within a few months of each other and that makes a man start to think about what’s next.”

That made me laugh. I was genuinely happy for him. “Congratulations.”

“We wanted to wait until Rule and Shaw got to take Ry home and had a little while to bask in the new-baby awesomeness before we said anything. Rule as a daddy is a miracle that needs to be appreciated fully for a while, and I don’t think my mom can handle any more Archer good news without exploding. So you and Brite are the only ones that know for now.”

“Got it. Is that what this little powwow was about?” If so, all my muscles could unclench and the breath I was holding could finally escape my frozen lungs.

I gritted my teeth when he shook his head in the negative.

“No. I need to talk to you about the Bar.”

I didn’t want to give away the fact I was sort of falling apart on the inside, so I just stayed silent and waited for him to keep talking.

He just stared at me for a minute and then rocked back in the chair and put his hands behind his head.

“Brite sold me this bar for a hundred bucks. I thought he was crazy.” I agreed. “I didn’t get it at the time, but I do get it now. It wasn’t about the bar or about giving me something to do, it was about taking something beaten, something that had adapted and survived, and breathing new life into it. Did you know that even with the expense of adding Dixie and Avett to the payroll, we still turned a profit last year? And not just a few bucks; an actual, decent-sized profit.”

We were busier and busier and the crowd was getting more and more diverse. The live music helped and so did the fact that Rome’s friends and family were gorgeous and liked to hang out here. The Bar was hip now, so I really wasn’t surprised.

“That’s good news.”

“Yes, it is, and it has a shit ton to do with you, Asa. You work your ass off. You’re here more hours than is healthy. You take care of the staff. You take care of the customers, no matter who they might be, and goddamn, you’re good behind that bar. People f*cking love you.”

That’s because I spent most of my life tricking people into thinking I was lovable when the opposite was true.

He dropped his arms and got to his feet and walked around the desk so he could perch on the corner closest to me. It was a small space and Rome was an intimidating guy, but there was a gleam in his gaze that was all about excitement and expectation.

“I want you to hire some more staff. I want Dixie to have help on the floor and I want you to hire a full-time day bartender that’s good with the military guys and a night guy to give you a break.”

“I don’t know that a break is the best thing for me. You know what they say about idle hands.”

I lifted both my eyebrows up at him as he scowled down at me from where he was most definitely looming.

“This bar gave both of us a crutch to lean on when we were trying to figure out what we were doing with our lives. It’s helped us both out by keeping us busy and given us something to focus on. You more so than me because I had my Half-Pint and the baby to worry about. I think it’s also offered me the insight into what happens next.” He looked at me to see if I was still with him and I was. I couldn’t disagree that the Bar was a safe haven when I was trying to leave behind a life and turn into something, someone, more respectable. “There are a lot of businesses that could use a little revitalization, a second chance, if you will. The gym I go to is falling apart. It needs some new equipment, some new blood, to bring it into this century. I like that the place feels like an old gym from the 1930s or something, but it needs some help. I want to invest in it.”