Ruined by You (4 page)

We waited another minute before the man at the far end of the bar saw us. His face lit up and he waved at Sarah. She returned it, and he came walking over.

He was tall, with light auburn hair. Gray peppered his sideburns, and his eyes had a couple tight creases. He looked more distinguished than he did old.

“Sarah Miller,” he said, leaning toward us. “I
never
would have expected to find you down here.”
 

“Oh, stop it,” she said. “Scottie, this is my cousin Maggie. She’s the one I was telling you about.”

Scottie gave me a warm smile. He wiped his hand on a towel draped over his shoulder, and then thrust it out to me. I responded in kind. His handshake was firm.

“The cousin,” he said, smiling. “So where are you from, Maggie?” he asked.

“Newark,” I said. “New Jersey.”

“Ah, Jersey,” he said, his eyes reflecting warmly. “Haven’t been there in a few years. It’s an interesting place.”

“You’ve been to Jersey?” I asked, surprised. “What were you doing there?”

“Scottie’s been all over,” Sarah said, bragging for him. “Are there any places you
haven’t
been?” she asked him.

He grinned. “A few.”

“What do you do?” I asked, curious.

Scottie’s lips pinched and he rolled a shoulder. “A little of this, and a little of that,” he said. “So what can I get you ladies? I saw Huck over here earlier - you’re being responsible, right?”

Sarah gave him a reassuring nod. “Not in the mood for beer,” she said. “I need something else.”

He nodded. “Well, I’ve got just the thing for you,” he said. “And how about you, Maggie?”

“Just water,” I said. He cocked his head to the side, as though to make sure he’d heard me right. “I know, I’m boring,” I said.

“OK,” he said. “One drink coming right up.”

Without another word, his hands disappeared behind the bar and he began grabbing bottles, making haphazardly measured pours into a metal tumbler. He dumped a full scoop of ice into the tumbler, and then shook it. He strained the drink into a martini glass, and dropped a cherry in to finish.

“What’s this?” Sarah asked.

“This is a little drink called a Moonshine Manhattan,” he said, pushing it toward her. “In honor of Green Falls’ newest guest.” He gave me a warm wink. “Now, be careful,” he said to Sarah. “It’s made with whiskey, and it packs a punch.”

She grinned at him, and took her first sip. “It’s great,” she said.

“Glad to hear it,” he said. He finished filling a glass with water, and he set it in front of me. “Give your Grandmother my best,” Scottie said to Sarah. “Tell her it’s high time she comes to pay me a visit.”

“Actually, there was something we wanted to ask you,” Sarah said, before he ran off. “Maggie’s looking for a summer job, and we were wondering if you might have anything available?”

His brow creased tight as he considered it, then he nodded, slowly.

“Yeah, I might have something,” he said. “Can you swing by tomorrow morning?”

I nodded quickly. “Is nine fine?” I asked, suddenly excited.

He gave me a knowing grin as the leaned back toward us.

“It’s a bar,” he said. “Morning would be sometime around noon.”

He gave me another wink, and disappeared to the other side of the bar to help someone else.

I’d been in town less than twelve hours, and I was already on my way to getting a job. Perhaps spending the summer in Green Falls was a good idea, after all.

We picked up our drinks, and turned to head back to our table.

As I spun around, I collided with a wall of someone behind me. My hands fumbled the full glass, but I lost my grip. The water spilled backward, splashing all over my black blouse. The cold liquid soaked straight through the thin cloth, and my eyes went wide with shock.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” a voice said.

“Are you OK?” Sarah said. She set her martini on the bar, and lunged for a box of paper napkins.

The entire front of my shirt was soaked, chilling me to the bone. Thanks God I hadn’t worn white. But still, I was mortified. Everyone was giving me awkward glances, and probably thought I was drunk.

That was when I glanced, up and saw the person I had just run into.

Great. Could the night get more embarrassing?

“I’m so sorry,” Mystery Man said, again.

He looked around in horror as Sarah appeared with a wad of napkins. She pressed them against my chest, which might have soaked up the water, but it did nothing to keep me warm.

“Hey, you’re that girl from the gas station this morning, right?” he said.

“Ya,” I said, giving him an awkward nod.

Sarah scraped rubbed at my shirt, but the napkins were of little help. Mystery Man stood by and watched her work. I was thankful he didn’t try to help her. It would have been awkward to have the hot guy I’d just met feeling me up in the middle of a bar.

“I’m so sorry,” he said again. “Is there anything I can do?”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving a hand. “I should have been paying attention.”

Sarah finished patting me down, and gave me a concerned look. “That’s about all I can do,” she said, mostly to herself.

She glanced up at Mystery Man for the first time, and the surprise in her face was obvious. She turned back to me, and her eyes flashed a look that said, “
Do you see who it is?”
I rolled my eyes at her, trying not to groan.

“No, I feel terrible,” he said. “At least let me buy you another drink.”

“It’s really alright,” I said. “It was just water.”

“Just water,” Sarah repeated me, smiling up at him. She glanced at me, awkwardly, and I gave her a look. “I’m going to go check on Huck,” she said, quickly. “Make sure he’s OK.”

In a flash, she grabbed her drink from the bar and disappeared off into the crowd toward the table. When she was gone, Mystery Man turned back to me, and held his palms out.

“I don’t know what to say,” he said. He flashed a smile at me.

Damn, he’s good looking.

I shook myself out of it. “It’s fine,” I said. “Look, I don’t want to keep you from your date,” I said. I glanced around, wondering where the blond had gone.

“My date?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

I nodded. “The blond you were with earlier,” I said.

He grinned down at me. “So you
were
watching me,” he said.

My mouth dropped open. “Don’t be so full of yourself,” I said. “I recognized you from the gas station, is all. And I saw her with you.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “I was hoping you’d seen me.” He smiled at me for a moment, and I felt more awkward than ever.

“I’m a mess,” I said, looking down at myself. “I should get going. My friends will wonder where I’m at.”

“Wait,” he said, looking concerned. “At least let me get your number. The blouse could be ruined, I’d like to buy you a new one.”

I gave him a long look, and fought back the urge to give in. He was too attractive for me. Guys like that were only after one thing, and I wasn’t about to let myself fall into something and end up hurt.

“It’s fine,” I said. “It was just water, I think the blouse will survive.”

But my pride might not
.

I pushed past him, walking toward the table. The soaked blouse stuck to my chest and slapped against me with every step, but I was determined to keep my head held high.

“Please,” the man said, stepping in front of me. “Can I at least get your name?”

I gave him a long look, and then my lips curled up into a grudging smile.

“Maggie,” I said.

His grin widened. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Maggie,” he said. “I’m Haden.”

He stuck his hand out in front of me, and I stared at it for a long second. Slowly, I put my hand in his, and his fingers closed around it. Energy tingled from his touch and rippled up my arm. His handshake was firm, and his eyes flashed, warmly.

I gave him another soft smile, and found it hard to pull my hand away. But, finally I did. My hand trembled slightly, afterward.

“I really should be going,” I said, nervously.

His head ducked in a nod and he stepped aside. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn’t. I brushed past him, and focused all of my effort on not tripping, or doing anything else too embarrassing.

I’d already made enough of a fool of myself for one night.

* * * * *

“Could I have made more of a fool of myself?” I said.

My shirt was still soaked, but at least it wasn’t so cold, anymore. Huck remained silent, while he drove, but Sarah gave me a sad look.

“What do you mean?” Sarah said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I acted like a spaz,” I said. “I was rude.”

“He spilled your drink on you,” Sarah offered. “If anything, you acted just right.”

I shrugged. “It was as much my fault as it was his,” I said. “But he was sweet about it and I completely blew him off.”

The last comment silenced her, probably because she knew it was true. The hot Mystery Man, Haden, had asked for my number, and I had completely put the brakes on. But I had my reasons, didn’t I? I never let guys get very close to me. They were too dangerous. I had to keep my focus on the things that were important. Just as much for my Mom’s sake as for my own.

“Well at least something good came from the night,” I said. “I have an interview with Scottie already lined up.”

I looked at Sarah, but her eyes kept glancing at Huck. Neither of them had said much to each other since we had piled into the truck, and I was beginning to think that they were actually having a
real
fight.

“Yeah, that was good,” Sarah agreed.

Huck’s eyes flitted over to her, but they snapped back to the road when he realized she was looking at him, too. I got the sense that the two of them didn’t have many disagreements. I made a note to talk to her about it later.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get to see him again,” Sarah said. “It’s a pretty small town, and if he sticks around for a while, you’re sure to bump into him.”

I groaned. “I hope not,” I said. “I don’t think I could handle another situation as awkward as that.”

“It won’t be like that,” she said. “That was an accident. It will be different next time. You’re pretty, and so is he. Things will be fine.”

I shrugged, considering it. “Maybe,” I said. I let out a big yawn, and realized that I’d spent way too much time in a car, lately. “All I know is that I can’t wait to get home, take a long hot shower, and sleep until it’s too late for lunch.”

Sarah and I laughed together, and even Huck cracked a smile.

I kept my hopes up that it was going to be a good summer. What choice did I have?

* * * * *

The next morning, I didn’t get to sleep as late as I wanted. Something made a noise, and I squinted my eyes open, confused about where I was for a time. Sarah must have noticed, because she moved in for the attack.

“Rise and shine,” she said, brightly. “Grandma’s making us breakfast.”

I peeked from underneath the covers, my stomach betraying my hunger with a little gurgle.

“She told me that if you don’t get up soon, you’re going to miss out.”

I groaned and managed to push myself upright. The light in the room was still off, but light was already creeping in from the window. I rubbed at the sleep in my eyes, trying to shake off the haze of a deep sleep.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Almost ten,” she said. “Don’t forget, we have to be at the Saloon by noon.”

“So all of that really happened last night?” I said. “It wasn’t some awful nightmare?”

She laughed. “Nope, it all happened,” she said. “It wasn’t
that
bad.”

“You’re not the one that made an absolute fool of yourself in front of a guy you were just checking out,” I reminded her.

“Forget about him,” she said. “You’re too hard on yourself. Besides, I don’t need you going off and getting a man on your first night in town. I’ve lived here my whole life and haven’t landed a catch.”

We managed a laugh with her, but I had a feeling it was going to be next to impossible to forget about Haden that easily.

“You looked like you were having a good time last night,” I said. “Well, until Huck started talking about college, at least.” She gave me a sideways look, her eyes narrowing, suspiciously.

“What are you trying to say?” she asked, still peering at me sideways.

“Don’t play dumb,” I grinned. “I saw the way you two were looking at each other. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought you were a couple.”

She waved her hand and looked away. “Don’t be silly. I told you we’re like brother and sister.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, stop it. You know how you feel about him. You just need to let go for once and let it happen.”

Sarah took a deep breath and looked like she was deep in thought. After a moment, she nodded her head once. “It’s not like I haven’t considered it,” she said. She paused a moment, reflecting. “But, what if it was too weird? What if it ruined our friendship?”

The look she gave me sent a worried chill through me. That was the first time I realized just how vulnerable Sarah was for him. It was obvious that she had feelings for him, but that she was too afraid to act on them. Her fear of losing him was worst than the pain of not having him in the first place.

“That’s a possibility,” I said, nodding my head. “But it could also be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Both
of you.”

Her eyes met mine. They sparkled brighter than they had a second ago. I recognized that sparkle for what it was - hope.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said. And, we left it at that.

“How about we go see what Grandma is cooking up?” I asked. My stomach grumbled loudly, again.

Sarah laughed at the pained expression on my face. “I thought you’d never ask,” she said.

* * * * *

We made our way through the huge house to the kitchen. Murmurs of gossip, and the smells of breakfast, carried through the air.

“Good morning,” Grandma said, when we entered, her face bright and beaming.

The kitchen had a breakfast nook off to one side, and Mom was sitting at the table set up in the nook. She smiled, tiredly, at us when we came in. Grandma hovered around the stove, frying something that smelled a lot like heaven. I had a feeling they’d been up for a while already. Mom always loved waking up early and gossiping over her coffee.