Finding Focus by Jiffy Kate Read Free Book Online

from New York City, she’s not too bad.
    “Test. Test . . . one, two . . . test . . . one, two, three,” a familiar voice speaks, emanating over the entire restaurant.
    “This thing on?” he asks. “Y’all seen French Settlement’s most eligible bachelor? Where’s Micah Landry?” Dani looks over at me with a wicked grin, eyeing me expectantly. When he continues with, “he and his glory cock must be ‘round here somewhere, charmin’ the panties off some unsuspectin’ young lady, I’m guessin’,” she begins laughing hysterically with her head tossed back.
    “For the love of all things good and holy, Tucker,” I mutter under my breath. “Wait right here. I gotta kill me a coonass.”
    I make my way up to the stage where Tucker and his band are tuning up.
    “There he is,” he shouts into the microphone, earning me a few cheers from the women who have gathered at the tables by the stage. Tucker gives me his gleaming smile—the one that gets him outta more shit than it should.
    “For the record, I plan on taking you out back and kickin’ your ass later.”
    “Empty promises, brah. Who’s that lovely little lady sittin’ with you and Deacon?”
    “Oh, Chuck?”
    “Dude, her name is Chuck? What the hell kinda name is that? Her parents had to been smokin’ some wacky weed.”
    “Nah,” I say, laughing to myself as I glance back over at her. “It’s actually Dani. She’s just in town for a week or so to take pictures of the plantation. She works for Southern Style Magazine .”
    “Where’s she from?”
    “New York.”
    Tucker whistles through his teeth. “Son, she’s finer than a frog hair split four ways. You ever been with a Yankee?”
    “Nope. Planted my flag in all the states south of the Mason-Dixon Line . . . and a few north of it . . . and Mexico. Oh, and there was that foreign exchange student from France who stayed with the Barrows.”
    “So, never New York?”
    “Never.”
    “Well, Micah,” he says decidedly, slapping me on my shoulder as we both look over to where Dani and Deacon are sitting, “I think you have yourself a mission. You need to go forth and plant your flag in New York. Do it for the greater good. Do it for the south! We shall rise again!” He turns to me and salutes.
    “All right, General Fuckin’ Lee. Save it for battle.” I laugh, rolling my eyes at his dramatics. “She’s here on business, and I have a feelin’ she’s not the type to just hook up with the locals. She may have a city-slicker boyfriend back home waitin’ on her.”
    “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, y’know,” Tucker says, barely loud enough for me to hear him.
    “Want me to introduce you to her?”
    “Abso-fuckin-lutely.”
    We start to walk back over to the booth when Jamie steps right in front of us.
    “Shouldn’t you be takin’ some orders?” I ask sternly.
    “All caught up, Boss!”
    “Well, go find somethin’ in the back to clean. Make yourself useful.”
    “You know, I was thinkin’ . . .” she says with mock shyness as she tilts her head to look at me.
    “That’s scary as hell.”
    She continues, ignoring my insult. “Valerie’s outta town tonight, and I wouldn’t want you to be lonely.”
    Tucker snorts at my side and I jab him with my elbow. Lord knows, she doesn’t need any encouragement.
    “So,” she continues, “I thought maybe I could come over and we could watch a movie or just talk. Maybe you could show me exactly how you stuff your pockets . . . or maybe you’d like to stuff my pocket?” She eyeballs my crotch and licks her lips.
    “Jamie,” I say a little more forcefully than I normally would when speaking to my employees, but I need to get her attention. “Get back to work. I wouldn’t wanna have to fire your ass on a busy night like tonight.”
    Her ponytail almost slaps me in the face as she turns around and stomps off. I swear, she’s like a petulant child. If her daddy weren’t the mayor, I’d have given her the boot a long