Dirty Tricks One Up On You html by Myla Jackson Read Free Book Online

One Up On You
    Charli Sutton sighed and swiped
the surface of the bar, her hand moving in slow, listless circles, her gaze
following Kendall Mason and Ed Judson as they spun and laughed around the dance
floor.
    "What's wrong, Charli?"
Audrey, the owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon, relieved Charli of the rag and
tossed it into the sink behind the counter. "You haven't been yourself
lately."
    "I don't know." Charli
heaved another sigh. "I think I'm missing Austin." She filled an
order for a cowboy in a black T-shirt, sitting at a barstool and turned back to
Audrey.
    Audrey shook her head. "I
don't miss Austin. That's where Randy and Jason live. I've never been happier
getting as far away from the city as I could."
    "Yeah, I don't miss them,
but I miss the nightlife and the variety of people you met there. I've been
here with you at the Ugly Stick from the start, but I'm...well..." She
flung her hand in the air. "I don't know."
    "Bored? Lonely? Need to get
laid?" Audrey chuckled. "I can understand that. Been feeling a little
that way myself."
    "You?" Charli blinked
hard and stared at her boss, noting the beautiful strawberry blond hair and
light blue eyes. "How could you be bored or lonely? You're gorgeous."
    "And driven to make this
place work. I don't have time to date. But you," she waived a hand in her
direction, "have no excuse. You should be out there dating."
    "Yeah, but it's been so
long, what do I do? I'm starting to feel itchy. Wanderlust is tugging at me,
making me want to leave or do something different." Charli pulled a beer
mug from the shelf above her and filled it halfway from the tap, swallowing a
healthy slug before she set it on the counter. The cool beer slid down her
throat but did nothing to take the edge off her twitchiness.
    "Are you unhappy being the
assistant manager of the Ugly Stick?" Audrey asked.
    "No, don't get me
wrong." Charli leaned on the counter and sighed again. "I love my
job."
    Libby Hammons, with silky brown
hair and deep cleavage flashing out of her low-cut blouse, slid her tray on the
bar and offloaded the empties.
    Even Libby managed to find dates
in this little corner of Texas.
    "Need 5 whiskey shooters,
you choose the whiskey, a pitcher of Bud Light, a fruity wine cooler and five
mugs for table twelve." She pushed her curly blond hair behind her ears
and glanced over at Audrey. "I could use a hand with the tables in the far
corner. Tia picked a bad night to be sick."
    "I'll take care of
them." Audrey grabbed an empty tray and hurried to the corner where the
waiting customers were getting restless.
    After Charli filled Libby's order
and sent her on her way, she sighed for the hundredth time and slumped a hip
against the bar.
    "That's a mighty big sigh
for such a pretty little lady."
    Charli glanced at the man sliding
onto the stool to her left. "What can I get you?"
    "Guinness." He leaned
both elbows on the counter, the movement stretching his blue chambray shirt
over broad shoulders.
    A tug of latent awareness pulled
at Charli's gut. "Need a mug?"
    "No, I like it straight from
the bottle."
    That tug blossomed into
full-fledged attraction—the first she'd felt for a male in at least four
months. Charli popped the top off the bottle and plunked it on the counter in
front of the stranger. "You're not from around here, are you?"
    "Actually, I am." He
downed a healthy swallow and turned halfway around to watch the crowd on the
dance floor.
    Charli's brows dipped. "I
haven't seen you in the saloon."
    "Just back from a tour in
Afghanistan. Before that, I was too busy preparing for deployment to stop
in."
    "Oh." Charli's interest
perked and she looked closer. She should have known he was in the service. Hair
cut short on the sides, his face angular, tanned and lean, the man reeked of
military, his movements confident, strong and proud. Not a bad looking guy.
    He faced her again, a smile
lifting his lips, his teeth shining white in the semi-darkness of the saloon.
"I'm Connor Mason, Kendall's