The Posse by Tawdra Kandle Read Free Book Online

had stragglers for an
hour beyond five. But today, she turned over the ‘closed’ sign at
4:30. By the time Janet walked in at five, the last customer was
just cashing out.
    Jude chased Mack and Sadie
out of the kitchen, forcing icy beers on both of them. When her
sister-in-law came back behind the bar for a hug, she wrinkled her
nose.
    “Was it a long day? You like
you were ridden hard and put away wet.”
    “Thanks, love you, too.”
Jude rolled her shoulders. “Busy, and Mack and Sadie at each other
like they do when we get slammed. It’ll be okay. But can you keep
your eye on things for five minutes? I brought a change of clothes,
and I want to run upstairs and put them on before we get
started.”
    “Sure. I’m going to pour
myself a drink, that okay?”
    Jude untied her apron and
tossed in the barrel by the back door as she headed toward the
staircase. “Absolutely. Pour me one, too, and make it a double,
please.”
    The apartment over the
restaurant was tiny. When she and Daniel had moved in after their
wedding, it had been romantic and fun, finding used furniture,
using mismatched dishes and pots and pans handed down from their
families. Close quarters hadn’t been a problem. And even after
Meggie was born, she had taken up so little space, and it had been
handy to leave her sleeping upstairs while Jude worked in the
restaurant, baby monitor hooked to her belt.
    Since they’d moved, the
apartment was more of a flophouse, Jude thought as she stripped off
her shorts and t-shirt in the miniscule bathroom. It was a handy
place to crash when the posse hung at the Tide and maybe had a
little too much to drink. The kids used it sporadically during
their summers at home.
    She’d considered selling the
house and moving back here, right after Daniel died. The kids and
her brother had talked her out of it, arguing that if she did that,
she’d never get a break from work. They probably had a point.
    Jude gave into the
temptation of a quick shower, knowing her sister-in-law and friends
were more than capable of running the show on their own for a few
extra minutes. And it felt heavenly to let the water sluice over
her, feel the grease and stress of the day slide down the
drain.
    Dressed again in a fresh
shorts and a thin cotton tank top, she sprinted down the steps and
ran smack into Logan.
    She’d seen him that morning,
of course, as she had opened up, but tonight he too was freshly
showered, dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt that brought out
a deep tan. His light brown hair was damp as it fell across his
forehead.
    He grabbed her arm to steady
her. “Whoa, there. Where’s the fire?”
    Jude felt that same
disturbing skitter in her heartbeat that had been showing up
whenever she saw him lately.
    Logan , she reminded
herself. This is just Logan, one of my best friends.
    “The fire better be in my
kitchen, under some burgers.” To prove to herself that she could,
Jude tiptoed and kissed Logan’s cheek. “Glad you’re here. Ready to
see my plan spring into action?”
    Logan released her arm,
frowning. Jude wondered if she’d upset him with the kiss.
    “Seeing as neither of the
necessary parties are here yet, I think I have a little while
before show time.”
    Now it was Jude’s brow that
furrowed. “Matt’s not here yet? Or Sandra? Are you sure? I told
them both five.” She scanned the room.  “It’s twenty
after.”
    Logan shrugged. “I heard
there was traffic on the bridge. Maybe that hung up your friend.”
His eyes lingered on Jude’s damp hair, wandered down her neck,
making her acutely aware of the small rise of her breasts visible
at the top of the tank.
    She shook her head to clear
it. “Did you get a drink yet? Sam’s supposed to be making one for
me.” She didn’t wait for an answer but turned to head for the
bar.
    Samantha and Janet were busy
in the kitchen, pulling condiments from the fridge and setting up
baskets of buns. Emmy was fiddling with the stereo, trying to queue
up some