Another Snowbound New Year

Another Snowbound New Year By Veronica Tower

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Another Snowbound New Year by Veronica Tower Red Rose™ Publishing Publishing with a touch of Class! ™ The symbol of the Red Rose and Red Rose is a trademark of Red Rose™ Publishing Red Rose™ Publishing Copyright© 2011 Veronica Tower ISBN: 978-1-4543-0145-5 Cover Artist: Shirley Burnett Editor: Pam Line Editor: Zena Gainer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Due to copyright laws you cannot trade, sell or give any ebooks away. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Red Rose™ Publishing www.redrosepublishing.com Forestport, NY 13338 Thank you for purchasing a book from Red Rose™ Publishing where publishing comes with a touch of Class!

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Another Snowbound New Year By Veronica Tower 4

Chapter One

Thea Clark picked up her phone and checked the caller ID. It was her cousin, Kara Brennan. Oh, damn! she thought. Kara’s really serious about this! I don’t want to go out with her and Ron tonight! She accepted the call and put the phone to her ear. “Hi, Kara, how are you?” “Hi, Thea,” Kara greeted her. “Are you ready for tonight?” Thea grimaced, glad that Kara couldn’t see the expression. She liked Kara and it was nice that she’d invited Thea to go out with her and her boyfriend on New Year’s Eve, but she didn’t want to be a third wheel on someone else’s date. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m thinking about just staying in with Mom. Have you heard the weather report?” “I don’t have to hear it,” Kara told her. “We live just outside of Detroit. There’s going to be more snow. It’s going to be the same all winter. Now what’s this about you not coming out with us tonight?” Thea squirmed on her couch, trying to think of a story that would convince Kara to leave her alone tonight. “I’m tired,” she said. “And I’ve got Mom and the cats to worry about. And…”

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“We’ll pick you up at eight,” Kara told her. “But—” “Thea,” Kara reminded her, “on Christmas you complained that you haven’t had a date in forever. That is because you never go out. You spend every night at home keeping Aunt Edie company. Tonight you’re going to go have some fun!” As Kara spoke, a nervous trill worked its way up Thea’s spine. “Kara, you and Ron aren’t trying to set me up with someone, are you? I didn’t agree to a blind date!” Kara laughed. “No, we’re not,” she assured her, “not that we didn’t talk about it.” Suddenly Kara stopped laughing and got serious. “But we could if you want us to,” she said. “Ron’s got a lot of friends. And a lot of them are both handsome and successful like he is. I’m sure we could set you up tonight if you want to give it a try.” “Absolutely not!” Thea said. The truth was the idea thrilled and excited her, but she didn’t have the nerve to try. Besides Mom would completely freak out if Thea let Kara set her up on a date with a young white guy. “You’re sure?” Kara asked. “It could be fun!” “Positive!” Thea said. “Let’s just make this a no-pressure night of fun.” “Okay,” Kara agreed. Her cousin sounded a bit disappointed to Thea so she pushed the point to

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make absolutely sure. “You promise?” “I promise,” Kara assured her. Strangely enough, Kara’s ready compliance with her wishes disappointed Thea—not that she would admit that to her cousin. “Because all that I’ve been hearing this past year,” she said, “is that Kara is dating a young white man. My Mom hasn’t been so happy in ages. At last she has something to bring up whenever your mother starts asking when my brother, Dwayne, is getting out of prison. I don’t know what she’d do if I took that talking point away from her.” Kara was not amused by Thea’s story. “You know, she said, “there’s nothing wrong with Ron!” Thea laughed in delight at the irritated tone in Kara’s voice. “Oh, you are too easy to tease,” she said. “And I told you I like Ron. But you know our mothers. They just aren’t happy unless they’re scoring points against each other.” “That’s true,” Kara said. Thea thought she sounded a little bit mollified, but perhaps she was wrong because Kara suddenly leapt to defend Ron again. “You know it’s the twenty-first century. There’s nothing wrong with a black woman dating a white man!” “I know that!” Thea assured her. “And truth to tell, Mom knows that, too! She just brings it up because it drives Aunt Margaret crazy. It’s those points

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again.” “It makes you wonder why Mama tells her these things,” Kara said. “It wasn’t Aunt Margaret,” Thea said. “Your sister, Ruth, ratted you out to Becka. And as you know, my older sister can’t keep her mouth shut about anything.” Kara grunted softly as if to say she understood exactly what Thea meant. “Did she also tell her about Liz and Travis?” Kara asked. “She did, she did,” Thea squealed. “You know what gossips Ruth and Becka are. And for the record, it made my mother deliriously happy. It’s why she’s so annoyed at you both for missing our Fourth of July barbecue. She wanted to watch Aunt Margaret squirm when you showed up with your new men.” “So that’s why she gave me a hard time at Christmas,” Kara said. “But you do realize that you dating Ron is worth more points than Liz dating Travis, don’t you?” Thea asked. “No,” Kara said. “Why would that be?” “Because Liz is the fun one in your family,” Thea explained. “She’s always out doing crazy things. You were always the quiet conservative daughter. The only thing that would be more shocking than you dating some college kid is if Ruth started cheating on Al with your beau’s brother.” Thea’s comments aggravated Kara again. “Ron’s is out of college, thank you!

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And for the record, he doesn’t have a brother.” Thea just laughed harder. “Good! Then you can’t set me up with him and ruin Mom’s fun.” “That’s the second time you’ve brought up the idea of Ron and me arranging a date for you,” Kara noted. A speculative tone entered her voice, but Thea couldn’t tell if Kara were really trying to figure out what she wanted or to give her some payback for teasing her all through the conversation. “Are you sure that’s not what you really want? I’m sure it’s not too late for us to arrange something.” “No, no, no,” Thea insisted. She was still laughing and it felt good. She realized suddenly that she really was going to go out with Kara and Ron despite what her mother would say. When they’d been younger, when their dads had still been alive, the Brennan girls and the Clark sisters had been a lot closer than they were now. Thea was been midway between Kara and Liz’s ages and she’d gotten along well with both of them. It wasn’t until they’d all become adults that they had begun to drift apart. Maybe this was a way to reverse that trend and bring the extended family closer again. “I’ll go tonight,” Thea decided, “but you have to promise you aren’t setting me up on a date.” “Agreed,” Kara told her. “Okay then,” Thea said, her mind immediately turning to practical

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considerations. “How fancy is this place? What should I wear?” “It’s not fancy at all,” Kara told her. “It’s just an old bar. It’s got pool tables and dartboards, a really good crowd, and a great bartender. Ron and he go way back.” “Okay,” Thea agreed. “I guess we’re talking jeans then, right?” She had a new designer pair that she could wear and that blouse with the fireworks display on it. “That’s what I’m wearing,” Kara said, “blue jeans and boots, a nice festive blouse and some earrings Ron just gave me.” “I can do that,” Thea said. “Great!” Kara told her. “So we’ll see you at eight?” “Eight it is,” Thea agreed. “See you tonight.” Thea hung up the phone and set it down on an end table wondering what her mother would say.

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Chapter Two

“But Thea,” her mother complained, “it’s already begun snowing. Don’t you think it’s time to call off this foolishness?” Thea wished she could simply ignore her mother, but even after thirty-eight years she hadn’t figured out how to do that. She picked up Hendrix and occupied her hands stroking the cat’s sleek black fur. “The snow is not that bad yet,” she defended herself. “And Kara says Ron’s Jeep has four-wheel drive.” “But it’s just not necessary,” her mother protested. “You never go out on New Year’s Eve! It’s bad enough that we had to drive in the snow on Christmas. Do you plan to go out every time the roads get icy now?” Thea just kept petting Hendrix. “The snow is just a coincidence,” she told her mother. “And I would think you’d be happy I was spending some time with Kara. Think of all the gossip I’ll be able to give you after spending the evening with her and Ron.” “Spending the evening drinking in some tavern,” her mother complained. Mom was good at disapproving. It was something she had in common with Aunt Margaret.

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“Yes,” she conceded, “it is very likely that we’ll be drinking. It is New Year’s Eve after all.” “That’s no excuse!” her mother said. A fervent gleam in her eye warned Thea that she was about to extol the virtues of abstinence. “Alcohol,” she began, “is the root of all evil.” The doorbell rang. Oh thank God! Thea thought. She dropped Hendrix down beside Aretha and hurried to the front door. “One moment, Mom,” she said. “That’s probably them.” “Who else would it be?” her mother called after her. “Or is there someone else invited on this evening out that you haven’t told me about? A man, perhaps? Someone you’re hiding from me?” “Of course not, Mom,” Thea called back to her. She knew she sounded as if she were fifteen and not thirty-eight, but she couldn’t help herself. She grabbed the handle of the front door and tried to pull the door open but it stuck again. This meant she had to grab the knob with both hands, lift upward with most of her strength and twist to get the door to unlatch and open. Outside, Kara and Ron stood on the porch, their dark coats and hair sprinkled with snow. “Happy New Year!” Kara greeted her. “Happy New Year to you too,” Thea said and gave her cousin a hug. It was

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cold out there without a coat so she stepped back into the house and pulled Kara after her. “Come inside! I have to get my coat and say goodbye to Mom.” Kara followed her inside with Ron trailing a couple of steps behind. “How are you, Ron?” Thea asked as she closed the door. Hendrix and Aretha padded into the room to check out their visitors. “Doing well,” Ron responded. “You look great, by the way! Are you ready to go have some fun?” Instead of answering Ron directly, Thea turned her attention back to Kara. “He’s a nice one, isn’t he?” Kara slipped her arm around Ron’s back. “I think I’ll keep him.” Ron’s arm reciprocated Kara’s gesture, slipping around her waist. His head started to duck down toward hers. “I think I’ll enjoy being a kept man,” he told her. Kara started to stretch up to meet his lips but Mom came into the room interrupting them. “Hello, Kara,” she said before acknowledging her niece’s boyfriend. “Ron, I must say that it is nicer to see you when you aren’t preparing to strike me as a result of mistaken identity.” Ron hung his head in shame. “I am very sorry about that, Ma’am,” he told her. “I suspect you are,” Mom agreed with what might—or might not—be

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acceptance of his contrition. Kara slipped out of Ron’s half embrace and gave Thea’s mother a hug. “Happy New Year, Aunt Edie. And of course Ron is sorry about what happened on Christmas. You know there were unusual circumstances that night.” Unusual circumstances didn’t even halfway explain the reality, Thea thought. Aunt Margaret had invited Kara’s ex-boyfriend to dinner and he and Ron had almost come to blows. “I suppose there were,” Thea’s mother agreed, “although I’m not sure what you think I have to be happy about this evening. I usually spend my New Year’s Eve with Thea. Now this year I have only myself to keep me company.” Thea felt a surge of guilt well up inside her, but Ron came to her rescue. “I thought that you were spending this New Year’s Eve with Becka and her son, Mrs. Clark.” “There was some discussion of that,” Mom conceded, “but my grandson has decided to spend the evening with his high school friends and my daughter doesn’t wish to drive in the snow.” She put a lot of emphasis on that last word, not too subtly reminding everyone of the weather and of her opinion that they shouldn’t be out driving in it. Ron did not appear to get the message. “That’s really too bad,” he said. “Would you like us to drop you off at Becka’s? I’ve lived in Detroit all of my life.

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I’ve got four-wheel drive and lots of experience getting around in bad weather.” Mom sniffed. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” she said, “although it was polite of you to offer.” Thea decided it was time to end this conversation. She walked to the closet and pulled out her coat. It was more stylish than warm, but as they would mostly be in the heated car or the bar, she figured it was enough to do the job. Just to be certain she wrapped a scarf around her neck and stuck some earmuffs in her pocket. “Are you ready to go?” “Sure,” Kara said. She hugged Thea’s mother again. “Happy New Year, Aunt Edie.” “Happy New Year, Mrs. Clark,” Ron added. Thea gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t wait up for me,” she said. “The ball doesn’t drop until midnight so you know it’s going to be late.” Mom shook her head in disapproval. “Kara,” she said directing her words over her daughter’s shoulder. “I expect you to keep Thea out of trouble and bring her home safely.” Kara smiled, clearly amused by her aunt’s statement. “Of course, Aunt Edie,” she said. “You have nothing to worry about. We’re just going to shoot some pool and introduce Thea to some of our friends.” “And drink alcohol,” Mom reminded them.

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“Well naturally that!” Ron agreed. He had a look on his face that suggested he was completely clueless regarding the substance of Mom’s concerns, but Thea suspected that he was just teasing the older woman. “It’s New Year’s Eve, isn’t it?” Thea patted Mom on the arm then squatted down to say goodbye to her cats. “Goodbye, Hendrix; goodbye, Aretha,” she crooned. “You two take good care of Mom while I’m out and remember that Mommy loves you, too.” She got back up and turned to Kara and Ron. “Let’s go start celebrating,” she said. “It’s New Year’s Eve after all.”

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Chapter Three

“Now Thea,” Kara said once the front door had firmly closed. “Aunt Edie has put me in charge—just like back when we were in high school—and we’re going to follow the same rules.” She tried and failed to hold back her laughter. “No slow dancing, no kissing, no running off with a boy into the bathroom—what does she think you are? Twelve?” “She means well,” Thea defended her mother while Ron opened the back door of his Jeep for her. He’d left the engine running so the air inside was nice and warm. “I’m sure she does,” Ron agreed. He kept his tone both polite and serious, but Thea suspected he was laughing inside also. “Wow, and I thought Mama was bad,” Kara said as Thea took her seat. “Hey, that’s a low blow,” Thea called back just before Ron closed the door on her. She wasn’t finding the situation nearly as amusing as Kara seemed to, but then Kara probably hadn’t found the jokes about her younger boyfriend all that funny either. Kara walked around to the passenger seat and got in before answering her.

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“Maybe it is a low blow,” Kara conceded. She reached for her seatbelt. “Mama did, after all, just invite my ex-boyfriend—who cheated on me before we broke up—to Christmas dinner in the hopes I would break up with Ron and go back to him. Somehow I can’t see Aunt Edie doing that to you.” “No,” Thea agreed, “she just tries to keep me from ever dating anyone at all.” “She never really liked Becka’s Wilson, did she?” Kara said. Ron finished securing his own seatbelt and put the car in gear. “Hey, Christmas Day was the first time I even heard of Wilson. Would it be impolite to ask what happened there?” “Wilson wasn’t really a bad guy,” Thea told him. “He liked to gamble a little too much, which really freaked Becka out because money is always tight. Honestly, I think they just drifted. They have a great son and it seems to me that they’re trying hard to be one of those divorced couples who don’t fight their personal battles through their kid.” “That’s very respectable,” Ron agreed. “Having grown up in a family where the parents probably should have gotten divorced—” He broke off as Kara tried to strangle a chuckle while it was still in her throat and broke into a fit of coughing. “Is there something you want to say?” he asked her. Kara pounded her chest a couple of times before saying, “No, Sweety.”

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Ron grinned. “Good! Then as I was saying, Thea, I grew up in a family where the parents really shouldn’t have been keeping house together any longer.” He glanced at Kara to see if she would have a problem with that phrasing but she just patted him on his knee so he continued. “So I can say from personal experience that even though a divorce is obviously stressful, staying together and bickering all the time is also really hard on the kids. Sometimes there just aren’t any good answers when things go bad. At least they’re trying to minimize the impact on their son. His name’s Jamal, right?” “That’s right,” Thea said. “He’s a great kid. I think he’ll come out of this okay.” “I hope so,” Kara said, “because he really is a great kid.” “So what’s this place we’re going to,” Thea asked in what she hoped wasn’t too obvious a ploy to change the topic. “It’s a great bar run by a friend of mine,” Ron said. “It’s called The Church Key.” “We like the place when the owner’s sister isn’t around,” Kara said, “and she’s back in rehab again so tonight should be great.” “The bar owner’s sister has an addiction problem?” Thea asked. “Alcohol is not her drug of choice,” Ron said, “but yeah, she’s a problem for Nick.”

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“And for everyone else she comes into contact with,” Kara added. “But we don’t have to worry about Cass tonight,” Ron said. “We’re going to shoot some pool, enjoy a few beers and ring in the New Year with a lot of friends.” “Sounds great!” Thea told them, and other than the part about the owner’s drug addicted sister, she meant it.

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Chapter Four

“Damn,” Ron said as he pulled into a parking lot on the edge of Wayne County. “The place is already filling up. I thought with the snow it wouldn’t be so busy tonight.” “It was last year,” Kara reminded him. “Is that a problem?” Thea asked. She wasn’t all that impressed looking the place over from the outside. The Church Key was what was prosaically described as a hole in the wall. The building was large but run down, badly in need of both paint and basic maintenance. The lights illuminating the sign had two letters burnt out, so that instead of reading The Church Key, it read The _hurc_ Key. But based on the number of cars in the large lot, it must have something good going on inside. “No, it just means there will be more competition for the pool tables,” Ron said. “I guess it’s actually good news it’s so full when you think about it. This is Nick’s business, after all.” He opened the door and got out into the snow, then opened the door for Thea. Big fluffy flakes blew into the car and landed on her lap where they quickly

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melted. Kara opened her own door. “Wait a minute,” Ron called out to her. “I’m trying to be a gentleman here, but there are two of you so you’ll have to show a little patience.” Kara got out anyway. “Women’s lib means I don’t have to wait on a man anymore,” she joked. “Oh, is that what it meant?” Ron teased back. “Thanks for explaining it to me. I thought it was about voting, good jobs and ending discrimination—you know, crazy things like that.” Thea accepted his hand and got out of the car. “How long ago was it a church?” she asked. “I mean, it doesn’t really look like a church building…” “What?” Ron asked her. He looked completely confused by her question. Fortunately, Kara followed Thea’s line of thinking. “I thought that too when Ron first mentioned the place, but that’s not the kind of church we’re talking about. It’s a church key, that little metal tool we used to open cans with.” “Oh!” Thea said, feeling foolish over her mistake. “That makes sense, I guess, but why the heck do they call that little metal thing a church key?” “I have no idea,” Kara told her. “Back in the day,” Ron explained, “bottles of beer had to be opened with a

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special tool that gripped the bottle cap. The tool reminded people of the big oldfashioned ornate keys which were used to open large doors like the ones on churches.” “Wait a second,” Kara said. “I thought a church key was that little piece of metal that punches triangular holes in cans. We used to use them when we were kids. You punched a hole in either side and then you could pour your Hawaiian Punch out.” “Those are church keys, too,” Ron assured her, “but they came later. Again, they were first used for opening cans of beer back before the pull top got invented. So the name for the beer bottle opener got attached to the beer can opener.” “How do you know all that?” Thea asked. “You’re younger than Kara and me. They probably didn’t even use church keys when you were a kid.” “I’m not that much younger,” Ron insisted. Thea thought that was probably a lie—her mother and Aunt Margaret talked about Ron as if he were barely out of high school—but she couldn’t tell for sure and she didn’t comment on it. Instead she asked: “So how do you know?” Ron shrugged. “Nick told me, of course. If it has to do with beer, he probably knows it. You two ready to go inside?” “Sure,” Thea said. Ron led her around the car where he took Kara’s hand and the three of them

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walked to the front entrance of the bar. The interior of the building was much like the exterior—unpretentious in the extreme. A very large flat-screen television showed the crowd at Times Square and a half-dozen pool tables filled much of the floor space. A few archaic-looking video game machines were scattered near the walls and tall stools sprung out of the floor at irregular intervals. Sometimes those stools were accompanied by tall round tables, and sometimes they weren’t. The wooden floor was stained with dark splotches as if spilt beer had sat there too long. The lights were dimmer than they needed to be without actually making the bar dark. The Church Key was crowded with a mixture of young and old, black, white, and other crammed into the space. A jukebox played in the depths of the interior and a handful of people were dancing, or trying to, but most of the customers were content to talk, drinks in hand, or huddle around the pool tables. She couldn’t immediately see the dartboards Ron and Kara had mentioned, but then darts weren’t really her game anyway—certainly not in a place this crowded. Ron took a deep breath as if it would help him absorb the festive atmosphere, then said, “Come on, let’s say hi to Nick and get a drink.” He began to weave his way through the crowd, holding on to Kara’s hand as he did. Kara glanced back at Thea to make certain she was following, then hurried away with him.

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The crowd was heavy, but the place was large enough to accommodate them without Thea feeling claustrophobic from the press of people. Ron reached the bar where a skinny guy with long blond hair was filling glasses at the tap. “Hey, Ron, Kara,” he greeted them. “Happy New Year! Thanks for coming out!” He dried his hand on a white towel, then reached across the bar to shake Ron’s hand. Afterwards he leaned across to kiss Kara’s cheek. “Nick, this is my cousin, Thea,” Kara told him. Nick smiled and offered her his hand. “Pleased to meet you.” He had a good firm grip, Thea noticed, but not the kind that crushed your fingers. He also had beautiful blue eyes that shown clearly despite the dim light. “Pleased to meet you, too,” Thea told him. “You’ve got a great crowd. When the snow started falling, I thought we’d find the place empty, New Year’s Eve or not.” “It is a good crowd!” Nick agreed. His teeth were very white behind his smile. “It appears that the only person who doesn’t like to come out on a snowy night is my other bartender, Jim.” “Did he ditch you again?” Ron asked. “Honestly, Nick, I know you’ve known him since you were ten or twelve years old, but you ought to get rid of him. You need someone you can count on helping you back there.”

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Nick shrugged. “Good help is hard to find, even in these times.” He was answering Ron, but his blue eyes remained on Thea, making certain she stayed included in the conversation. “And I can’t fire the guy I played Dungeons and Dragons with all through high school. Besides, who else would hire him?” “Ah, Dungeons and Dragons,” Ron said. “Man, I haven’t thought about that game in years. I didn’t realize you were a player.” Thea noticed that Kara was looking at Ron in a new light. “I hadn’t realized that you were a player either,” she said. “I’ve heard some strange things about that game.” “I’ve heard those things, too,” Ron told her. “Didn’t notice any of them being true, of course, but I’ve heard them all.” “Hey, Nick,” one of the patrons called out. “What about those beers?” “What?” Nick asked. He looked around as if he were momentarily confused. “Oh, sorry.” His hands began to move under the tap, automatically placing the glasses and filling them with beer while his attention returned to Thea. “So you’re Kara’s cousin?” he asked again. “Are you just in town for a visit or…” “No, I live here,” Thea told him. “All my life, in fact.” “And in the same house she grew up in,” Ron added. “It’s a nice—ow!” Kara removed her elbow from Ron’s gut and said to Nick, “We’ve been

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planning to bring her here for ages, but it never worked out. So when we saw each other over Christmas, I made her cancel her plans and come with us.” “Glad you did,” Nick said. He really did have beautiful eyes. He wasn’t quite as tall or broad as Ron, but Thea had always liked the lean track-star-style body type. His hands automatically stopped the taps when the glasses were full but he didn’t slide them down the bar to his customers. “Nick!” the exasperated patron called again. Nick shook himself. “What?” he asked. “Oh, right, sorry!” He picked up the two glasses and handed them to the patron. He started to turn back to Thea, Ron and Kara when he suddenly remembered he hadn’t been paid yet and stopped to get his money. “I’ll take a Sam Adams Winter Ale,” another man said. “Two Buds!” a second called out. A third and a fourth man shouted their orders, which Thea thought meant that their brief conversation with the bartender was over, but she was wrong. When Nick put his mind to his business, he was efficiency personified. Bottles began to appear on the bar with remarkable speed and clean glasses were set beneath the tap. In about ninety seconds, he’d handed out more than a dozen beers and raked the money into his cash register. The storm of thirsty orders briefly

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abated, he turned back to them and picked up the conversation as if there had been no interruption. “So what were you originally planning to do tonight?” he asked. “Not going out with your boyfriend, I presume, as he’d be a fool to let a beautiful woman like you come to a bar without him.” Thea flushed at the off-handed complement. “I was going to spend the night with-” Kara interrupted her. “Her mother wanted her to help her sister chaperone a small—well party is too big a word for it, but a gathering she’s letting her son throw this year.” Thea turned to stare at her cousin, wondering what was inspiring this lie. Kara continued as if she didn’t notice. “Aunt Edie’s idea of a properly chaperoned party is two adults for every teenager. But they’re good kids and Becka didn’t need us, so we dragged Thea out to have some real fun.” “I’m glad you did,” Nick said. He must have noticed more patrons pushing their way to the bar because he suddenly got down to business. “What can I get you?” he asked. Ron raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t suppose you could make Black and Tans,” he said. “I’m betting Thea has never had one.” Nick gasped as if this was the most horrific thing he had ever heard. “Never

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had one? We’ll have to do something about that.” His hands immediately found another clean glass and began to fill it with amber liquid from the tap. “What’s a Black and Tan?” Thea asked. “Hey, Nick, how about a couple of Rolling Rocks?” someone called out. The bartender grabbed two green bottles, popped their caps, and handed them over, stuffing the money in the cash register. While he did so, he answered Thea’s question. “Black and Tan’s may just be the perfect mix of stout and ale,” he told her. He switched the glass out when it was only half full and began to fill another without pausing in his explanation. “It’s a blend of flavors. The amber ale is bitter, but we lay a dark stout on top, which is very creamy. It really is the perfect beverage.” He put a third glass under the Bass Ale tap and washed a spoon while he half-filled it. Then he switched the glass to the Guinness tap positioning the spoon so that the dark beer bounced off the metal and sprayed against the side of the glass. This permitted the darker liquid to sit on top of the amber so that the two did not mix. When he was finished, he handed the drink to Thea. “Here you go. On the house since it’s your first one.” Thea took the drink from him and examined its contents through the clear

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glass. It was pretty the way the darker liquid floated on the lighter one, but not what she was expecting. “I thought you said this was a mixed drink?” “No, it’s a blended drink,” Nick gently corrected her. “Take a sip and you’ll see what I mean.” Tentatively, Thea took a sip of the beer. She didn’t drink a lot—it was hard to drink much when you were home most nights with your pro-prohibitionist mother—and she wasn’t sure she was going to like it. The liquid touched her upper lip and she let a little slide in her mouth. She lowered the drink in surprise. “That’s creamy! I’ve never had a creamy beer before.” “That’s just what I said,” Kara laughed. “Take a bigger sip.” “Nick, I need three more beers,” a patron called out. Nick held up his hand in a bid to silence the man. He never took his eyes off Thea. She lifted the glass to her mouth again feeling a little self-conscious to be the center of all of this attention. She wasn’t actually certain she’d liked her first sip. Sure the flavor was unexpected, but that didn’t exactly mean that it was good. But with everyone watching her, she felt she had to try a whole mouthful. She tipped the glass back and was rewarded with a swirl of two very distinct flavors, which played with her taste buds. The first was the Guinness she

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had already sampled. The second was a bitter ale, which countered the creamy stout before being overwhelmed by it again. She could feel the grin forming on her face as she lowered the glass again. “That is good!” she announced. Nick’s smile significantly brightened. “I’m glad you think so!” “Nick!” a man shouted at him. “Flirt later! I need my drinks!” Nick reluctantly glanced away from Thea to take the man’s order. Thea took an embarrassed step back into the crowd. Was the bartender really flirting with her? She hadn’t realized. She’d noticed his attention, of course, but had thought she was getting it because Kara and Ron were his friends. Despite what she had said to Kara over Christmas, a boyfriend was a complication she didn’t need. She had Mom to take care of and she did not think Mom would respond well to her flirting with a cute white guy who made his living tending bar. Kara leaned closer to her so she could speak without shouting over the crowd. “I think Nick likes you,” she said. “And you’ve got a foam mustache on your upper lip.” Thea wiped off the mustache with her fist. This is definitely bad, she thought. If Kara thinks Nick is flirting, then he probably is. “You said you and Ron weren’t trying to set me up with anyone!” Thea reminded her. “We weren’t!” Kara assured her. “But if you meet someone you like, what’s wrong with that. And Nick really seems to be a good guy!”

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Thea took another sip of the Black and Tan but only got a mouthful of creamy stout. She tried again, searching for that swirl of contrasting flavors she’d enjoyed so much. While she drank, she watched Nick expertly fill a quick dozen orders, chatting briefly with his customers while he got them their drinks. Nobody got the sort of attention she, Ron and Kara had. Besides Thea, her cousin stood patiently watching her examine Nick. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ron looking extremely pleased with himself as if he had foreseen the possibility they would like each other from the beginning. “He owns a bar,” Thea said, trying the words out to hear how they sounded. “Even if he is interested in me, I can’t go out with a guy who owns a bar. What would Mom say?” Before Kara could answer her, Nick came back over to the taps and started completing the second of the three Black and Tans he had started earlier. “So what do you do when you’re not chaperoning teenagers or trying new drinks in bars?” he asked in what even Thea had to admit was a blatant attempt to get her talking to him again. The attention made her feel warm and sort of gooey inside. “I’m the admin assistant in a dentist office,” she said. “I schedule the appointments, of course, but what I was really hired for is to try and figure out how to get the insurance companies to pay for our patients visits—cleanings, fillings, x-rays, root canals, caps, false teeth, whiteners…” She let the words trail off

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when she realized she was going on a bit. “Well, you get the picture.” Nick handed a fresh Black and Tan to Kara and started to finish the third, directing the stream of stout against the spoon and into the glass. “Insurance companies,” he said with a shake of his head. “That sounds more like a punishment than a job. How’d you get into it?” “My dad got me the interview,” she said. “He did some electrical work for the office when the old admin was retiring. I got the job the next day.” “You’re obviously very good at it,” Nick said. Thea couldn’t help but smile. “Now how would you know that?” Nick finished pouring Ron’s drink but didn’t immediately hand it over to him. “I like your smile,” he told Thea. “We could use more like it around here. Too many people come to bars to forget their problems rather than make new memories.” The compliment felt really good. Thea couldn’t remember the last time a man had complimented her like that. “I like your smile, too,” she told him. “You have good teeth and believe me, I’ve worked around dentists long enough to know.” An empty glass was pushed up the bar toward Nick. “I guess I better get back to work,” he said. He didn’t sound particularly happy about it. “Let me know if you need anything.” Then he held up the final

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drink. “Ron, you’ll be wanting this.” Ron took the glass and handed Nick some money. “We’ll be over by the pool tables,” he said. “Why don’t you stop by when you get a minute?” “I’d love to,” Nick said. He didn’t take his eyes off Thea when he answered Ron. “But it’s New Year’s Eve and I’m working the bar by myself. I don’t think it’s likely I’m going to get a minute.” Ron shrugged and began to escort Kara through the crowd. Reluctantly, Thea turned and followed after them.

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Chapter Five

“Well this is certainly an interesting development,” Kara announced as they reached the group of tables. The room was slightly less crowded over here as people gave the players room to maneuver, but unfortunately, none of the tables was immediately free for a game. “He’s cute,” Thea agreed, “but don’t get any ideas. I have Mom to take care of—she’s not as young as Aunt Margaret and I don’t have time for a boyfriend.” “Thea,” Kara slipped her arm around her shoulders to emphasize her point. “You’re thirty-eight years old. If you’re not going to start dating now, then when? Please don’t tell me you’ve completely given up on finding a man.” This was a sore topic for Thea. She’d never enjoyed being the sister or the cousin without a boyfriend or a husband. Becka might be single again now, but she’d been married for a lot of years to Wilson. And while in cousin-Kara’s family only Ruth was actually married, Kara had usually had a long-term boyfriend, and Liz had never had a problem bringing a new man to a family event. Truth to tell, Thea had hated being the lone woman out—the perpetual third or fifth or ninth

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wheel, depending on how many relatives were around, and she didn’t appreciate Kara bringing up the subject now. “There aren’t a lot of good men out there,” she reminded Kara. “And well, Mom does need help. What would she do if I met someone and fell in love?” Kara had been taking a sip of her Black and Tan, but this last comment caused her to lower it so quickly that the beer would have sloshed out the sides if the glass had still been full. Anger flashed in the woman’s eyes. “Don’t you dare think that way, Thea!” Kara snapped. “That’s the sort of excuse that will make you an old, lonely, bitter woman! If you don’t find someone, well, those are the breaks. But if you give up the opportunity to even try because you think your mother wouldn’t like it—” “I didn’t say that!” Thea protested. “Yes, you did!” Kara insisted. “I’m sure Aunt Edie genuinely needs some help, but that doesn’t mean you can’t develop a life of your own and pursue your own dreams.” Her voice softened. “We have problems with this in our family, too. Mama has ruled the roost for a very long time and we all have issues because of her. It’s not easy doing things you know will make her mad. But you have the right to be happy and to live your own life. And honestly, Thea, Aunt Edie never seemed half as bad as Mama.” Thea let slip a barking laugh at this last comment. “I don’t know about

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that,” she muttered. “They’re both really opinionated and have absolutely no compunction against sharing their notions with anyone. They’re just like Grandma was, if you think about it.” “God, I hope we don’t become like that,” Kara said before taking another sip of her beer. Behind Kara, Ron was trying hard to squeeze them into one of the games, chatting up a player he seemed to know very well. The player was a big man—very heavy with an overgrown beer gut and a good-natured smile—sort of what Thea had pictured in her mind when she’d first worried Kara and Ron were setting her up for an impromptu blind date. Except that he was white of course. She returned her attention to Kara. “Who are you kidding?” she asked before pausing to sip her own beer. It really was good. She wasn’t certain she’d be all that happy with either flavor on its own, but together they were truly wonderful. “Ruth is well on her way to becoming Aunt Margaret, and Becka will probably end up just like Mom. Getting divorced has dampened her confidence, but she’ll get her feet back under her again and start doing unto Jamal as Mom has always done unto her.” “Hey, Kara and Thea,” Ron said as he stepped back up to them. “Charlie and Father Bob are willing to let us join in their game.” “Happy New Year, Kara!” Charlie said.

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An expression of embarrassment crossed Kara’s face as she awkwardly accepted a hug from the big man. “How are you, Charlie?” she asked. “The same as ever,” the big man jovially informed her. He offered Thea his hand. “Hi, I’m Charlie,” he said, before twisting his head back toward Ron and saying in a stage whisper. “Please tell me she’s single and you told her I’d make a great boyfriend.” Kara patted Charlie on the shoulder. It reminded Thea a little bit of a person petting a dog. “None of that, Charlie,” she said. “Thea’s just here to enjoy an evening out.” Charlie let go of Thea’s hand and shrugged. His smile looked a little bit sheepish. “Can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?” Ron turned Charlie back around toward the pool table. “Yes, we can!” he informed his friend, before adding, “Charlie, one of these days you and I are going to have a talk about subtlety. No woman will want to go out with you while you’re making jokes like that.” Thea followed Kara up to the table. Father Bob casually raised his pool cue to them in a sort of salute and went back to lining up his shot He was a thin, elderly man with very dry skin and a stern look of concentration on his face. An unlit cigarette dangled between his lips. “Is he really a priest?” Thea asked. The idea of a minister—even a Catholic

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one—standing around drinking in a bar was faintly scandalous to her, but she didn’t see a collar and he wasn’t wearing black. “I don’t know,” Kara told her. “Bob, are you really a priest?” He’d been easing the cue toward the white ball, carefully preparing his shot, but he paused at Kara’s question and lifted his eyes toward her. “Hmmfph,” he mumbled. “I’ve never met anyone who knows why Father Bob is called Father,” Ron told them. “Nick says he was here when he bought the place, back when it was called A Taste of Ireland. He comes in a couple of nights a week like most of us do and plays pool like a pro.” As if to reinforce Ron’s statement about his abilities, Father Bob took his shot. The cue stick directed the little white ball across the table to deftly sink the number three ball into a side pocket. Father Bob straightened, picked a glass of beer up off the edge of the pool table, and somehow managed to take a drink without removing the unlit cigarette from his mouth. “Nice shot,” Charlie told him. “Hmmfph,” Father Bob mumbled back. Thea glanced skeptically at Kara, but her cousin just smiled at her. Father Bob made another shot and easily sank the eight ball winning the

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game. “Why don’t you and Kara take the Father on this game,” Charlie said. “When he beats you, Thea and I can take a try at him.” “You see, Charlie?” Ron said over the top of his beer. “You can be more subtle when you try to be.” Kara rolled her eyes at the two men, but Thea found herself laughing.

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Chapter Six

Father Bob did an awful lot of winning. Thea had always thought Kara a pretty good player, but she was outclassed by the older man. Ron had a chance when they played, but he was still losing the majority of the time. All of which meant that Charlie and Thea really didn’t have a prayer of winning. And losing consistently, Thea discovered, really wasn’t fun. Losing consistently while Charlie continued to ineptly hit on her was even less fun. It wasn’t just the unkempt beard that bothered her. He was a basically nice guy, but he obviously didn’t know how to act around women and he kept making jokes that were inappropriate. Ron was pretty good about dragging the man back in line, but it was still really irritating. Ron was clearly aware of the affect Charlie was having on Thea because he suddenly took out his wallet and said, “Thea, would you mind heading over to the bar and seeing if you can convince Nick to set us up with another round of Black and Tans?” “I’ll go with her,” Charlie said. “No, you won’t, Charlie,” Ron said. “I need you here with me if we’re going

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to make Father Bob sweat for a change.” Thea appreciated the chance for a break. She accepted two twenties from Ron and hurried to slip away through the crowd. Kara came with her. “Sorry about Charlie,” she said. “He’s a nice guy, but he’s desperate for a girlfriend and well, you can see why he’s having trouble finding one.” “It’s okay, I guess,” Thea said, “as long as you weren’t planning to set me up with him.” “What?” Kara asked, before stating an emphatic, “No! Frankly, I knew he’d hit on you, but I didn’t think he’d keep it up this long. He must think you’re very cute.” They reached the bar where Nick was working hard filling orders. “Here’s someone else who thinks you’re cute,” Kara whispered. Nick opened the cash register to stick some money inside and caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye. His whole face brightened and he smiled wide with genuine pleasure. “Thea!” he exclaimed. “How do you like the place?” Thea found herself smiling, too. It was a big goofy grin, which probably wasn’t flattering, but she couldn’t seem to control it. “I love it!” she told him. That hadn’t been true a minute ago. She was having a decent time but the combination of Father Bob’s unbeatable skill and Charlie’s incessant attempts to

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make her like him had been wearing upon her. Suddenly looking into Nick’s baby blue eyes made those detractions seem unimportant. Nick’s smile actually broadened at her words. “I’m glad,” he said. “I love this place, too. My whole life—ever since I was ten years old—I’ve wanted to own my own bar. So I started working construction after high school, putting away about eighty percent of my checks toward the bar fund.” As he spoke, his hands worked with minds of their own, reaching behind him to pull a bottle of vodka off the shelf. He filled a short glass with ice, poured an inch or so of vodka into it, then topped off the drink with orange juice. “My parents were great,” he explained as he worked. “They let me live with them and paid most of my bills as long as I was saving. Under those circumstances, it only took about three and a half years to find a place and get started—and let’s face it, I couldn’t even drink for the first three of those years so that really was pretty great.” Thea found her smile slipping away as Nick spoke. Intellectually she admired his drive, but hypocritical as it sounded, she kept thinking: Did he just say he lives with his parents? She had to find out. “So you’re still living with your parents?” Nick broke into laughter. “Heck no!” he said as he gave the mixed drink and a beer to a couple waiting patiently down the bar and started working on the next

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shouted order. “Oh, I stayed on with them for about fifteen months after getting the bar open. The plan was to keep living with them for three years—that’s the typical make or break period with a new business—but frankly, I was doing really well and one of my clients told me about a great little apartment that’s a lot closer to The Church Key then my parents’ house was, and so I went ahead and moved out.” He scratched his head for a moment. “I think it was three years ago.” Relief made Thea laugh, too—well, that and the fact that a handsome man laughing was simply contagious. Then other things Nick had said began to click together in her head. “Three years,” she said. “And you started saving right out of high school.” The numbers added together for her on the crest of a wave of disappointment. “That means you’re only what? Twenty-five? Twenty-six?” Nick didn’t seem phased by her discovery. “Twenty-six,” he agreed. Thea felt completely unbalanced by the discovery. She looked around for Kara but her cousin had disappeared. “But…” “I’m the same age Ron is,” Nick told her. “And you’re what?” He squinted in the dim barroom light, appraising her. “Twenty-nine? Thirty?” Try thirty-eight, Thea thought. “I’m a few years older than that,” Thea told him. “You don’t look it,” Nick said, “not that it really matters. Look at Ron and

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Kara? They’ve got to have at least ten years between them and they’re totally happy together.” Kara, Thea remembered, was forty-one. Nick obviously had no clue how to estimate a woman’s age. “So what can I get you?” Nick asked just as Thea caught sight of the video games through a hole in the crowd on the far side of the room. “Is that Space Invaders?” she asked. Nick turned to look in the direction she was staring but the momentary gap in the crowd had closed up. “Space Invaders, Asteroid, Tempest, Galaga—I’ve got six of them, plus a couple of pinball machines. Heck, some of them are as old as I am. They came with the place when I bought it.” He pushed some drinks down the bar and accepted some money in return. “I use to sneak out to 7-Eleven to play those games,” she said, “until my father caught me and whipped my behind. He didn’t approve of wasting money on things like that.” “When I first bought the place,” Nick said, “I used to play them a lot. But I don’t think I’ve even touched one other than to dust it or get the quarters out in the past year and a half.” “I want to try it again,” Thea said. She handed him Ron’s forty dollars. “Could you make us three more Black and Tans, and one each of whatever Charlie

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and Father Bob are drinking. I’ll be back to pick them up after I get killed.” Nick put the twenties in the cash register and handed her the change including four quarters. “Enjoy yourself,” he said. “Maybe we can talk again when you finish…” Thea suddenly felt bad. She hoped Nick didn’t take her sudden interest in an old video game as a rejection. She’d just had a flash from her childhood and gone all nostalgic. She reached across the bar and grabbed Nick’s hand. He looked up at her in surprise—his blue eyes wide and beautiful. “Thanks!” she said. “I’ll be right back to continue our conversation.” He smiled. His white teeth were perfectly straight. Thea would be willing to bet that his parents had spent a small fortune on that mouth. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to kiss it. Then the same annoying man who had embarrassed her early called out, “Nick, you’re flirting again! We need beer down here!” Thea quickly pulled her hand back and pushed her way into the crowd. When she looked back, Nick was still staring after her.

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Chapter Seven

If Thea had ever been good at Space Invaders, she’d lost the knack along with her childhood. Her timing was terrible, her wrist seemed stiff where it should have been supple, and trying to press the fire button while she cranked the joystick back and forth made her feel like a child watching Sesame Street and trying to rub her tummy while patting her head. So she switched with her quarters to Asteroids and discovered she was no better at that. At least in Space Invaders the aliens only came at you from one direction. Humbled, and out of quarters, she returned to Nick and the bar. “That didn’t go so well,” she told him as she squeezed between two people to get within earshot again. “Do you want some more quarters?” he asked. Even before he completed the question, he had the cash register open and was scooping out a handful of coins. “I don’t think so,” Thea told him. And then she did that thing that she knew she shouldn’t do. She asked a leading question—and by leading, she meant, one that had to prove to him that she liked all the attention he was giving her and

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wanted to see more of him. “So what do you do when you’re not tending bar?” Nick had just shut the register again and lifted two full glasses of beer. He jerked in response to her question, spilling a little foam over the sides of the glasses. He grinned sheepishly and pushed the beers across the counter to his customers. Then he took their money and put it away before grabbing a towel to dry his hands. “I’ve been hoping you would ask that question and dreading it at the same time,” he told her. “I keep trying to think of something that would make me sound really interesting to a cool, classy woman like you. But the truth is, I’m not that interesting. I tend bar most of the time. And when I’m not here, I’m…well I’m just not that interesting.” Why was it, Thea wondered, that a guy who tried to show how cool he was always ended up sounding boring, while the guy who claimed to be dull fascinated her? “So you’re not spending your nights playing Dungeons and Dragons?” she asked. She’d thought she was making a joke, but Nick’s moment of hesitation made her wonder. “No, I work nights,” he finally said, “although I’ve been known to play a game or two still if some of the old gang comes back in town.” Thea felt a frown turning her lips. She didn’t really understand the game other than that geeks played it—geeks and kids. Nick didn’t fit the geek stereotype so she didn’t really know what to make of his admission. “So it’s like a social thing for you? You play with your old friends because it’s the thing you

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always did together?” “Well, yeah,” Nick said. “But that doesn’t mean I dislike the game. It just means I have a life now. When I was fifteen it was D&D and wrestling. Now I have the bar and frankly, tending bar has taught me that real people are a lot more interesting than the stuff we made up in the game, so—” Charlie pushed up beside Thea. “Hi!” he said to her. “You didn’t come back with Kara so I got worried about you.” “Nothing to worry about, Charlie,” Nick told him. “I don’t let anything bad happen in my place.” “Well, of course not,” Charlie said. “I didn’t mean it like I thought something really bad might have happen. I was just wondering where Thea had gotten off to.” “I was just talking to Nick about Dungeons and Dragons,” Thea told him. She couldn’t blame Kara for going back to Ron, but she wished that she could have found a way to prevent Charlie from coming to find her. “You play Dungeons and Dragons?” Charlie asked. His whole face lit up with a wild smile. In front of them, Nick tried to warn either her or Charlie off by waving his hands back and forth. “I love that game. I play every weekend with a great group. You’d be totally welcome! What kind of character do you like?”

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“She’s never played before, Charlie!” Nick intervened. “And you’re probably scaring her right now and confirming every bad story she’s ever heard about the game.” “What?” Charlie asked. “Here!” Nick told him handing him two of the beers. “Why don’t you take Bob’s back to him? Tell Ron if he wants his and Kara’s Black and Tans, he’s got to come for them. With Cass in rehab, I don’t have a waitress and Thea only has two hands.” “But I want to talk to—” “Charlie!” Nick said. There was just a touch of snap in the bartender’s voice. Charlie gave in. “All right,” he said. He didn’t look happy about it, but he took the beers and went away. “Sorry about that,” Nick said. “Charlie means well, but—well, I guess that happens to you all the time.” A woman maneuvered her way up to the bar and showed Nick an empty bottle of Sam Adams Winter Ale and then held up three fingers. It was obvious that she was trying not to interfere with their conversation. “What do you mean it happens all the time?” Thea asked. The woman smiled as if she understood what Nick had been talking about. Nick pulled out three bottles, popped the lids, and set them down in front

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of the woman on the bar. She handed him her money and carefully picked them all up, cradling them together in a somewhat precarious fashion. “I mean guys like Charlie,” Nick said. “A beautiful woman like you must get hit on all the time.” “Isn’t that what you’re doing, Nick?” the same annoying man from before asked. “Hitting on her, I mean.” He was not particularly tall and he had a very red nose and a pronounced slur to his words. “Why yes, Glen, it is,” Nick confirmed. “And if you don’t stop drawing Thea’s attention to that fact, I’m going to decide you’re drunk and cut you off even though it’s not midnight yet.” “Oh, you wouldn’t do that,” the short drunk said. “I’m a regular!” “Regularly annoying!” Nick laughed. Then he took the man’s beer out of his hand and refilled it for him. “Here! It’s on the house if you just leave us alone while you drink it.” “Hey, thanks, Nick!” he said. Then his eyes squinted like he was trying hard to think and couldn’t quite do so because of the drunken fog in his brain. “Hey, what time is it anyway. We’ve still got to watch that stupid ball drop at midnight.” “Oh, that’s right,” Thea said. “I forgot for a moment that it’s New Year’s Eve.” She looked up at Ryan Seacrest on the big TV. A countdown clock in the one

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corner reported they had just under two hours until midnight. The sound was down so she couldn’t hear anything, but closed captioning at the bottom of the screen told her Ryan was directing the camera to cut away to their reporter in Times Square. “Hey, it’s snowing in New York, too,” Thea told Nick. “I wonder what it’s doing outside here?” “It’s actually getting pretty deep,” a man a few people down the bar from them said. “I’ll bet we’ve got three or four inches already. You may have noticed that the crowd has thinned out a little over the past hour. A lot of people were willing to give the evening a try, but that’s a hell of a lot of snow out there now.” Thea looked around them truly noticing the crowd for the first time in quite a while. The man was correct. There weren’t nearly as many people here as there had been when she’d arrived. But she didn’t want to make Nick feel bad about losing his customers to the weather so she half disagreed with the stranger. “There’s still a lot of people here,” she observed. Nick shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a great crowd considering the storm. But it’s nothing like what we could pack in if it wasn’t snowing.” She reached out and touched his hand in sympathy. The contact made her fingers tingle and her stomach flutter. “I’m sorry. I guess this is really cutting in to your profits.”

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Nick shrugged again. “That’s the business,” he said. “And there’s an upside, of course. If it were super busy, there’s no way I could spend so much time chatting with you tonight.” Thea’s heart skipped a beat and her knees weakened. She didn’t feel faint, just very warm and incredibly good. “Wow!” Nick said. “I really love the way you smile.” She noticed that sometime in the last couple of minutes, the bar stool nearest to Nick had become available. She pulled herself up on it. “I’m glad you do,” she told him. “Because I love the things you keep saying that are making me smile.”

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Chapter Eight

A hand touched her shoulder. Thea glanced around to find Kara and Ron standing beside her. “How’s it going?” her cousin asked. Thea wanted to say it was going fabulously, but some internal reticence flared up as if it might jinx the evening to admit out loud how perfectly happy she felt this night. She couldn’t remember meeting a guy like Nick for ages, much less talking to him for a couple of hours. He had a gift for making everything seem interesting to her—even rock climbing and backpacking, which she’d definitely never tried before. Yet, even amidst the distraction of running his bar singlehandedly, he also made her feel like the center of the universe. His questions made her feel like her boring mundane life was vibrant and meaningful. “It’s nice,” Thea told her cousin. “This is a really great place! Thanks for bringing me.” In a spontaneous gesture that was at least half fueled by the beers she’d been drinking, Thea slipped off her stool to hug Kara. She didn’t quite get the motion right—perhaps it was the height of her seat—and she ended up falling against her.

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“Whoa!” Kara said. “I think someone’s had a little more to drink than she realizes.” Much to her surprise, Thea realized she was right. “I don’t know how that happened,” she said. “I’ve only had, what? Three drinks?” “But there’s more beer in these glasses then you get in your typical can or bottle,” Ron told her. “Besides, you live with a woman who doesn’t approve of alcohol, so you probably don’t do this that often, which means you don’t have much tolerance built up.” “That’s true,” Thea said. “Mom hates drinking. Once Aunt Margaret let it slip that Kara here goes out drinking with her young white guy and Mom’s never let her hear the end of it since.” In some distant part of her brain, she wondered why she’d just shared that story in front of Nick. It wasn’t particularly flattering. On the one hand, it told Nick she lived with her Mom. And on another it suggested all sorts of bad things about that same mother. “This is my fault,” Nick announced. “I’m a bartender. I should have realized Thea was getting drunk.” “I’m not drunk,” Thea protested. She turned back to her stool and laboriously clambered back on top of it. “Well, let’s agree you’re a bit tipsy,” he said. “I should have realized you’d

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had more than you thought, but you were sitting down and I’ve been enjoying the conversation.” As he spoke, his hands were moving just out of sight. He brought them into view now as he handed Thea a dark red liquid in a mixed drink glass. “Here, try this. It’s one of the things I drink when I’m working.” Thea accepted the glass from Nick and examined it. Tiny bubbles rose to its surface and the smell seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite distinguish it from the beer smells all around them. “What is it?” she asked. “Just try it,” Nick encouraged her. “It’s not a mixed drink is it?” Kara asked with just a touch of suspicion evident in her voice. “No, of course not,” Nick told her. “I told you it’s one of the things I drink when I’m on duty.” Thea sipped the drink and was rewarded with the slightly tart flavor of cranberry. “Oh, that’s nice,” she said and drank some more. “Cranberry juice and seltzer,” Nick told Kara and Ron. “I don’t know if it’s really true, but it’s also one of the drinks that I think fights hangovers. Not quite as good as honeyed-toast, but then, she hasn’t really had that much to drink yet. If we slow her down now, she’s going to be just fine.” “I’m sorry I doubted you, Nick,” Kara said.

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“No problem,” Nick told her. “Can I get you two another round?” “Well that depends on Thea,” Ron told them. “The snow is still coming down pretty hard. There are five or six inches out there and we want to know if you’re comfortable staying, or if you want us to take you home.” Nick frowned. “I think my Jeep can handle this weather, but there’s no pretending it isn’t a little bit dangerous. I’m sure the snowplows are out, but we don’t know how good a job they’re doing.” “Ron wants to stay,” Kara added, “although he’s too much the gentleman to tell you that. But I think we should go.” She glanced apologetically at Nick but didn’t say anything else. “So you’re saying it’s up to me?” Thea asked. She looked up at the big screen TV as if it could help her determine her answer. It was still snowing in New York, too, but it didn’t appear to be anything like five or six inches there. She turned to the bartender she’d been talking to all night. “What do you think, Nick? It’s only another forty-five minutes to midnight. Should we stay?” “How’s that for putting me on the spot?” Nick asked. “Of course I want you to stay, but I want you to be safe, too.” Thea didn’t know what to do. Then a tangentially related thought popped

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into her head. “Hey, if it’s that bad out, why hasn’t my mother been ringing my phone off the hook?” “Come to think of it,” Kara said, “that surprises me, too. Ron and I turned our phones off earlier this evening specifically so we wouldn’t be bothered by our families.” Thea dug her phone out of her pocket and noticed to her surprise that she had a dozen voice mails waiting. “Uh oh,” she said, “I think I’m in trouble. Why didn’t I hear this ringing?” “There’s a lot of background noise in a bar,” Nick pointed out the obvious. “If your ringtone isn’t particularly loud, it’s easy to miss it.” Thea started to call up the voice mails when Kara stopped her. “If you’re not going to vote for us to leave now,” she said, “then I wouldn’t listen to those voice mails yet, or call your mother back.” “What?” Thea asked. “It’s just going to make you feel guilty or make you angry,” Kara told her. “Believe me, I know!” Ron grunted in amused agreement. “So since you already know what she’s going to say anyway, I would wait to listen to the messages until you’re on your way home.” “That actually makes a lot of sense,” Thea agreed. It took a powerful act of

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will on her part, but she forced herself to put her phone back in her pocket. She wasn’t going to let Mom mess up her evening with Nick. “I guess that means we’re staying,” Kara observed. “You’re sure you can get us home okay?” Thea asked Ron. “Reasonably sure,” Ron agreed. Thea returned all of her attention to Nick. “Then I’d like to stay until midnight,” she told them. Nick’s answering smile provided ample proof that he was very happy with her decision.

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Chapter Nine

“It’s getting close to midnight,” Nick said. “I’ve got to hand out the bubbly.” He started setting plastic champagne glasses out on the bar, quickly placing them in neat rows. Thea checked the countdown on the big screen TV. There was only eight and a half minutes until the ball dropped. “Wow!” she said. “I can’t believe it’s almost midnight already. Where has all the time gone?” “I know exactly what you mean,” Nick told her. “It seems like you just got here a couple of minutes ago.” He continued setting out plastic glasses while they talked. “Can I help you with that?” Thea asked. “No need,” Nick told her. “I can handle it.” He took out a bottle of champagne, covered the top with a towel, and popped the cork. Then he started half-filling the little plastic glasses. “There’s still a pretty good crowd,” Thea noted. She looked around. At a rough count there were at least fifty or sixty people still in the bar. “With all the snow, I really didn’t think people would stay this long.”

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Nick finished emptying one champagne bottle and took out another. “Truth to tell,” he said, “I expected everyone but the die hards to leave a couple hours ago. I guess people just really like to drink.” “I don’t know,” Thea said. “Maybe people just really like your bar and want to ring in the New Year with friends and good people.” Nick stopped pouring champagne so he could give Thea his full attention. “That’s a really nice thing to say,” he said. “A good bar is about building a community. I try very hard to make this a place people want to be. The video games and the pool tables are an excuse for people to hang out. And of course the drinks are important. But the real reason people choose my bar over someone else’s is it’s a place they feel like they belong. And that’s why I wanted to start one. Growing up, I always had the house where my friends wanted to hang out. Now I have a business that does the same thing. The Church Key is everybody’s home away from home.” He stopped speaking for a moment, looking a little sheepish, then ventured one further comment. “I’m sorry. That was an awful lot of words, but I don’t know if I actually succeeded in saying anything.” “Yes, you did,” Thea told him. She reached across the bar for the third time tonight, but this time she took Nick’s hand instead of just touching him. After a moment, his fingers wrapped around hers and gently squeezed.

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“You said it just right,” Thea assured him. Nick eyes met hers, clear, blue and beautiful. “You have the most incredible brown eyes,” Nick told her. “It reminds me of that old Fleetwood Mac song.” Nick leaned a little closer to her. For a moment, Thea thought he was going to try and kiss her, but the bar was too wide for more than a quick peck like he’d given Kara earlier. Evidently he wanted to do more than that so he pulled back, leaving Thea disappointed. He glanced around, looking as if he felt awkward over his attempt, and finally offered a wry smile. “I keep expecting Glen to interrupt us.” “He does have a bad sense of timing,” Thea agreed. She wondered if it would be too forward of her to come around the edge of the bar so she could stand next to him as the ball dropped and they ushered in the New Year. Nick must have been thinking about the same thing because his eyes suddenly widened. “Oh damn!” he said. “Look at the time! I’ve got less than four minutes.” He started filling plastic glasses with champagne again. “Hey, everyone!” he shouted. “Come get some bubbly! It’s almost midnight!” People began to make their way over and grab a little plastic glass. Nick wasn’t charging them, Thea noticed, so she helped out by passing the little disposable containers out to the crowd. Kara and Ron appeared, with Charlie,

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Father Bob, and a dozen other people that she already felt were her acquaintances even though she didn’t know their names yet. Bars did that. They made everyone feel at home. Nick kept opening bottles and filling the plastic cups with incredible speed until everybody had one in their hand. “One minute!” someone shouted. “Turn the sound up, Nick!” Nick produced a remote control and un-muted his television. Ryan Seacrest’s voice filled the bar. “Glad you came tonight?” Kara asked. Thea’s cousin stood with Ron who had his arm comfortably around her back. Standing side by side as they were, Thea could see the age difference quite clearly between them. Kara, she knew, was forty-one and Ron, she’d learned tonight was only twenty-six. That seemed an awfully big difference to Thea, but it clearly made no difference to them. They looked completely happy in each other’s company. “Let me take that from you,” Nick said easing the plastic cup of champagne out of her hand. She turned and saw that he’d come out from behind the bar to stand beside her. In place of the plastic cup, he offered her a glass champagne flute. “Here it comes!” someone shouted. “Ten, nine, eight…”

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The rest of the bar picked up the chant, everyone shouting the numbers except for Thea and Nick. “Six, five, four…” His right hand found her left one, fingers cupping hers as he moved slightly closer to her. “Three, two…” His beautiful blue eyes stared into hers. His face drew closer to her own. “One—HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Nick’s lips touched Thea’s, gently requesting her mouth to open against his. Her heart stopped and the breath froze in her throat. The tip of his tongue ever so politely asked hers to come out and dance with him. And Thea’s mouth responded, opening slightly so her tongue could inch forward and flutter against the tip of Nick’s. The shouts of joy in the bar surrounding her were pale reflections of the pleasure screaming in her heart. Nick’s arms wrapped around her and his chest pressed against her breasts. His lips locked more tightly against hers and finally she stopped merely responding and began to truly kiss him back. Her tongue thrust deep into his mouth and her arms hugged him back. The champagne glass was still in her hand

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but her mind was barely aware of it. Her senses were consumed by the sensation of Nick’s lips moving against hers, their tongues entwining with each other’s, and the gentle suction of his mouth on hers as they kissed, and kissed and kissed.

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Chapter Ten

When their mouths finally broke apart, Thea leaned against Nick, arms still wrapped around him, panting for air. Her mind was racing with excitement. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d kissed a man. She certainly didn’t recall it feeling this wonderful. For his part, Nick was clearly in no hurry to move away from her either. His right hand stroked the hair on the back of Thea’s head and she could feel his heart beating rapidly against her chest. The champagne flute still hung in her hand, but she couldn’t see it from her current position, resting her head on Nick’s shoulder, so she wasn’t certain if she had spilled its contents or not. Beside her, Ron and Kara continued kissing, completely absorbed in their own world. That was just fine with Thea. She wanted them occupied so she had all the time in the world to enjoy the feel of Nick’s lean body pressed tight against hers and to luxuriate in the comfort of strong male arms wrapped around her. Someone slapped Nick congenially on the back and wished him a Happy New Year, but the bartender didn’t seem to notice. People toasted with their

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champagne on either side of them and wished each other well but they might as well have been in a different building. When the high spirits around them began to settle, Nick slightly relaxed his embrace of Thea, pulling back from her just far enough that his face was in front of hers again. She thought he was getting ready to tell her he had to go back to work, but that didn’t prove to be what was on his mind. “Happy New Year, Thea,” Nick whispered. “I think this is going to be a good one. I can’t think of a way I would rather have started it, then kissing you.” Before she could answer, his lips ducked down to hers again and she found herself stretching up on the tips of her toes to meet them. Nick started gently, as he had the first time, but in very short order their mouths were locked tightly together again, sucking on each other’s air as if they could breathe in each other’s souls. When they came up for air this time, Thea found Kara standing arm in arm with Ron, her head resting lightly on his shoulder, watching her. The pleased smile on her face gave Thea a different kind of warmth than Nick inspired, but equally comforting in its own way. With her free hand, Kara lifted her plastic champagne glass. “Happy New Year, you two!” Thea remembered she still had a flute twisted in her fingers and raised it as well. Somehow it still had champagne inside of it. “Happy New Year,” she agreed.

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Nick clinked his glass against hers. “Happy New Year!” She drank the sweet champagne and then kissed him again, wondering if this was what she’d been giving up all these years she’d been taking care of Mom. The exciting flutter in her chest; the racing pulse in her veins; the fiery excitement flushing through her body and congregating in her neck and breasts and lower, between her legs. It felt wonderful. She could stand in Nick’s arms like this forever. A stranger suddenly reared up beside them and hugged the both of them. “Happy New Year, Nick! Sorry, but Emma and I have to get going. There’s too damn much snow out there!” The woman who had tried not to interrupt them when she ordered drinks early in the evening gave a quick peck on the cheek to each of them and said good night. Nick and Thea had to half break their embrace, standing side by side, arms around each other’s backs as the other patrons said goodnight. Charlie appeared in the middle of the crowd and hugged them both without any apparent bad feeling that Thea had chosen Nick over him. Father Bob gave them each an Hmmfph and a nod. And faster than Thea would have believed possible, there was only she, Nick, Kara and Ron, in the bar—plus a tremendous mess of bottles and glasses and quite a few spills on the floor. “Wow!” Nick said. “What an incredible night!”

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“I can’t believe everyone left so quickly,” Kara told them. “You want us to hang around and help clean up?” Ron asked. Nick shook his head. “No,” he told them. “I’ll get it tomorrow. I know Kara was worried about the weather earlier. You guys probably want to get home.” While his words were giving them permission to leave, his arm around Thea did not relax in the slightest. If anything, he was holding her even more tightly against him as if he hoped she would consider staying. The thought was nice—she really liked Nick—but Thea had never slept with a guy before and she wasn’t going to start tonight before they’d even had a first date. Besides, what would she tell her mother if she didn’t come home? Having to go home to Mom was going to make things really inconvenient if Nick and she did start going out. Thinking about Mom dampened her spirits a little. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip on Nick. “I wish I didn’t have to leave,” she told him. “Me too!” Nick told her emphatically. He lifted one hand to caress her cheek, “But there will be other times, right? You’ll come back, and, maybe we could try going out without the bar.” “I’d like that,” Thea told him. “It would be nice to spend an evening with you when you’re not working.” She remembered what he’d said earlier about spending most of his time running The Church Key, but then, maybe he’d never before had a reason to want to spend his time someplace else.

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Just to make certain he’d keep thinking about next time, Thea leaned closer to Nick and this time she initiated the kiss. His strong arms slipped back around her waist and pulled her body tight against him. Her breasts flattened against his chest as she sought to mold herself against him. Her own hands found his back and strove to pull him closer yet. His mouth moved against hers kissing and sucking as if he were determined to permanently latch his lips to hers. When they stopped kissing this time, Thea laid her head upon his shoulder while he held her and stroked her hair. They were almost slow dancing to music only they could hear. If standing here in Nick’s arms wasn’t heaven, she didn’t know what was. Someone moved, either Kara or Ron, walking across the floor, but Thea, caught up in Nick’s embrace didn’t open her eyes to see who it was. She wondered when it was over the years that she’d stopped wanting something like this. She’d dated in high school and a few times since then. She’d gone to her senior prom with Lamont…what had been his last name? It didn’t matter now. Kissing him goodnight had been nothing like what she was experiencing right now. “Thea?” Kara’s soft voice penetrated the quiet peace that had settled inside of her. She opened her eyes. Kara stood next to one of the windows looking outside. Now she turned to

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look back at her and Nick. “I’m really sorry,” she said. “But the snow is terrible outside. We really shouldn’t have stayed this long. We’ve got to go!” Thea lifted her head from Nick’s shoulder and met his sweet blue eyes again. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “But Kara’s right. I have to go.” “I understand,” he said. “And this isn’t goodbye.” They kissed briefly, just a quick and tender pulling at each other’s lips, but it was sufficient to get Thea’s heart pounding again. “No, it isn’t goodbye,” she agreed. He relaxed his embrace. “I need your phone number,” he said. “Absolutely,” she agreed. He reached over the bar and snagged a pen and a pad so that Thea could scribble out her number. She added a little heart with a smiley face inside it. “This is my cell phone,” she said. “I live with my Mom.” She hated admitting that fact, but if they were going to try dating, he had to know what they were dealing with. Mom would be a difficulty when he started calling her. She didn’t think the problem would be that he was white or even that he was so much younger. It was the bartender thing. Mom was never going to accept the fact that she was starting to date a bartender. Nick read the number, pulled it off the pad, folded it and placed it in his wallet.

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Then he stuck the wallet back in the pocket of his tight jeans and wrote his own number on the pad. “The first one,” he said, “is my cell phone. But frankly, it isn’t always easy to hear it when there’s a big crowd so I also wrote down the number of the bar. I don’t have a landline in my apartment, but…” He stopped and added an email address to the phone numbers. “I should have given you mine too,” Thea told him. “Hey, look this way you two,” Ron called out. They glanced up, surprised, and saw Ron pointing his phone at them. “I can email you the pictures for your Facebook pages,” Ron said. “It may be a little early for that, Sweety,” Kara told him from her place by the window. “They haven’t had their first date yet.” Thea wasn’t sure how she felt about a Facebook announcement either. On the one hand, she was so excited she wanted everyone to know everything she’d learned about Nick tonight. But on the other, Kara was right. They hadn’t even had their first date yet. What if things didn’t work out? It would be embarrassing to make such a big deal about meeting Nick and then never have a second date. “I tell you what,” Ron said. “I’ll send you both a bunch of pictures from this evening. Then you can post about the party and no one has to know what else you’re thinking. Here, step over next to Kara, Thea.” She did as he said, reluctantly leaving Nick’s side but realizing immediately

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what Ron was doing. He was giving them the excuse to post pictures of each other without getting entangled in the whole relationship thing. By the window, she started to pose with Kara when she caught sight of the visage outside through the corner of her eye. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed. There was a heck of a lot more snow than she’d had any idea. Patrons of the bar were still out there cleaning off the tops of their vehicles—their headlights illuminating thick torrents of flakes plummeted from the dark skies all over the lot. “It really is terrible out there!” “Well, let’s hurry up and take these shots,” Ron said. Thea pulled her eyes away from the snow and took a happy picture with Kara by the window. Then Kara took one of Ron and Nick by the bar. For atmosphere, she also snapped a couple of the storm outside. “It’s still doesn’t look as bad to me as last year, but maybe that’s because I’m already with Ron.” “It really is pretty bad,” Ron said as he held Kara’s coat for her. Nick helped Thea slip into hers and then hugged her briefly from behind. “I’m so glad you came tonight,” he whispered. She turned around in his arms to kiss him again. “Me, too.” Ron pulled on his own coat. “Okay,” he said. “It’s time to get this over with. Do you two want to stay in here while I clean off the car?” “I’d better help you do that,” Nick said. “It’s a nightmare out there.”

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He hurried behind the bar to grab his own parka. “I think we’ll go out with you,” Kara said. “I can snap some shots of my man at work and let people see how bad the weather really is.” Together the four slipped outside into the snow.

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Chapter Eleven

It took half an hour in the swirling storm as Ron and Nick worked first to clear Ron’s car and then Nick’s truck. While they were doing so, the last of Nick’s patrons slipped and slid their way out of the lot to the sound of spinning tires and a farewell honk of their horns. “I have a guy who plows the lot,” Nick told them as he rested the big brush he’d been using to clean the vehicles on his shoulder. “But he can’t do it when it’s full of cars and doesn’t really need to have it cleared until tomorrow afternoon.” “How early do you open?” Thea shouted over the wind. It was much colder than she had expected. Standing at the window she’d been able to see the snow, but the bar itself had been fairly warm. Outside she had quickly discovered the full frigid reality—biting wind, driving flakes, and temperatures that had to be approaching zero. Now that she’d been out in the weather for thirty minutes, she was really, really, cold. Her coat was more fashionable than warm. “On week days,” Nick shouted back, “I get Jim in here to run a shift from eight to ten in the morning—lots of people need a round or three to help them face the work day.”

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“Really?” Thea asked. The idea astounded her. “People really got a buzz on to get ready for work?” “Oh, yeah,” Nick said. “It’s a very profitable block of time.” He moved directly in front of her. “We can talk about the bar later,” he said. “You’ve got to hit the road. I’m sure Ron is a great driver, but it’s still going to take forever for him to get you home.” Thea slipped closer to Nick. His body partially blocked the wind, which was an added incentive for her to snuggle up against him. “Call me when you get there,” he told her. “I want to know you’re safe. I really should have closed the bar a couple of hours ago.” “It’s going to be very late,” she reminded him, knowing he wouldn’t care and liking the knowledge. She wondered what it would be like to call a man from the privacy of her room in the middle of the night, and wondered if she should wait until she was in her nightgown and under the covers. The idea made her feel delightfully naughty. She’d never done anything like it, but the idea of talking to Nick as she drifted off to sleep made her feel all gooey inside. “We’ve got to get going, you two!” Ron called to them. Nick dropped the snowbrush and put his arms around her. His lips were cold this time, but she could help him with that. She closed her eyes and enjoyed

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the warmth he generated inside her. When they parted, he opened the door to Ron’s Jeep and held it against the wind while she slipped inside. “Call me,” he whispered, “tonight.” “I will,” Thea promised him. He leaned down to kiss her one more time then backed away and closed the door. Ron pressed the accelerator and with a slight spinning of tires, the Jeep rolled forward. “That went very well,” Kara observed. Thea never took her eyes off Nick as he stood in the storm watching them. She couldn’t see his blue eyes anymore, but she knew that they were staring at her, too, through the heavy, swirling, snow. “It’s going to get even better,” she predicted. She couldn’t wait to get home and call.

The End

To be continued in Snowbound Date…

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Other Books by Veronica Tower and Red Rose Publishing Blind Date Christmas Wagers House Rules My Son’s Roommate Not Another Dateless Valentine’s Day One Night Stand One Night Stand 2 Tricky Business The Runaway Strip Poker Tricks Healing (forthcoming) Please Stop Filming (forthcoming) Rock Idol (forthcoming)

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The Snowbound Series Snowbound 1 Snowbound Christmas Snowbound 2 Snowbound New Year Snowbound 3 Snowbound Valentine’s Day Snowbound 4 Snowbound Vacation Snowbound 5 Snowbound Treat Snowbound 6 Snowbound Summer Snowbound 7 Another Snowbound Christmas Snowbound 8 Another Snowbound New Year Snowbound 9 Snowbound Date (forthcoming) Snowbound 10 Snowbound Games (forthcoming) Snowbound 11 Snowbound Ink (forthcoming)

In Print from Red Rose Publishing

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Christmas Wagers House Rules One Night Stand One Night Stand 2 Tricky Business (forthcoming) My Son’s Roommate (forthcoming) Not Another Dateless Valentine’s Day (forthcoming) Snowbound 1 Snowbound Christmas (forthcoming) Snowbound 2 Snowbound New Year (forthcoming) Snowbound 3 Snowbound Valentine’s Day (forthcoming) Snowbound 4 Snowbound Vacation (forthcoming) Snowbound 5 Snowbound Treat (forthcoming) Tricks

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