At Peace by Kristen Ashley Read Free Book Online Page A

shoved it in his back jeans
pocket. He was seated at the barstool next to me at J&J’s
Saloon.
    I looked down at my mostly finished
cranberry juice and vodka. It was my third; Morrie was currently
making my fourth. I hadn’t moved from my stool for awhile so I
didn’t know the extent of my drunkenness but I figured, since I
didn’t drink much, I was closing in on pretty smashed.
    “ That’s okay,” I told Colt who was my
designated driver seeing as I came to the bar with him and Feb
after she caught me getting my mail from the mailbox after coming
home from work. We’d called our hellos then she’d suggested I go in
with her and Colt to J&J’s for a night out.
    I’d said yes because it was Friday and on
Fridays normal people went out to have a drink, socialize,
unwind.
    I’d also said yes because Kate was out
with Dane and she’d asked for an hour extension on her curfew
because there was some party she just had to attend. All the other kids had later curfews
and she explained she’d look like a dork if she had to be home by
eleven. I’d allowed this because I was a moron. I knew this party
wasn’t about kids sedately drinking punch and discussing possible
college applications they wished to submit. I just hoped my
responsible first born would act responsible. I also hoped her
boyfriend, Dane , who seemed
more into Kate than she was into him (if that was possible), would
take care of my daughter.
    I’d also said yes because Keira was at a
sleepover which meant Kate and Keira being out, the house would be
empty and I’d rather be at J&J’s having a drink sitting by
Colt, who was a nice guy (and proved to be a fun guy, in a
light-hearted, teasing, big brother kind of way) and not home by
myself yet again.
    “You want me to drop you home now?” Colt
asked.
    Morrie slid my drink in front of me and I
smiled at him then looked at Colt and, still smiling, shook my
head. Colt looked at my drink then at me and he smiled back.
    He turned to Morrie. “Can you get Darryl to
take Violet home?”
    “I’ll get a taxi,” I said quickly because I
might have been heading straight toward smashed but it was Friday
night and the bar was packed so I knew Morrie couldn’t afford to
let his employee Darryl take a trip out to play driver to me.
    “That’s cool, Vi, Darryl can take you or I
will,” Morrie stated, smiling at me.
    Man, he was so nice, they all were.
    “Really, I’ll get a taxi,” I smiled back.
    “I got her,” a deep, rumbly voice said from
behind me.
    I twisted on my stool, looked up,
up, up and saw,
standing behind me, Joe Callahan, his hair longer and more unruly,
wearing his black leather jacket, a black t-shirt stretched across
his wide chest, faded jeans and black motorcycle boots.
    “Yo Cal,” Morrie greeted as I stared at
Joe.
    “Yo,” Joe greeted back.
    “ Great, Cal, thanks,” Colt muttered, I
looked from Joe to Colt and watched Colt call to the back of the
bar, “Feb, baby, got a callout.”
    “All right, honey,” she called back. “See you
later?”
    “Yeah,” Colt replied, grinning at her then he
slid off his stool, lifted a hand to squeeze the back of my neck,
he nodded to Joe and Morrie then he took off.
    Through this I sat there thinking firstly,
that Joe freaked me out a bit considering he could come up behind
me and I never heard him coming and secondly, that I didn’t want
him taking me home.
    I put my elbow to the bar, my head in my hand
and I aimed my mouth at my straw. Capturing it, I sucked up
cranberry juice and vodka and considered this dilemma.
    “Beer?” Morrie asked Joe before I came to any
conclusions about my dilemma.
    “Yeah,” Joe replied and slid in between me
and the empty stool beside me which meant he came in close to me as
well as cut me off from the bar as Colt and I were sitting on the
last two stools by the wall.
    He didn’t sit though. He stood there even
after Morrie opened a bottle of beer, set it on the bar top and
walked away. Then he still