Till the Break of Dawn by Tracey H. Kitts Read Free Book Online Page B

gunslinger Doc Holiday had ever used that expression, but it cracked me up just the same. He watched with a look I couldn’t quite read as I mixed the ingredients: dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, gin, cognac, orange bitters, and orange juice with a splash of lemon and food coloring to make the drink look more “shadowy.”
    I shook all of this together with ice and strained it into a dark purple cocktail glass and pushed it toward him with a smile. He took a sip and nodded approvingly.
    “Not bad. What do you call it?”
    I laughed. “You don’t want to know.”
    Jesse continued to sip the drink and study me with his dark brown eyes. “I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.”
    The way he spoke made me wonder if he was talking about the name of the drink still, or something else. But when he winked at me I forgot his strange tone and went back to my best flirtatious smile.
    I was glad Our Place wasn’t too busy. This gave me plenty of time to talk to Jesse who had another of my specialty drinks over the next hour or so of small talk. Of course, I still worked during this time. There were other customers, but not many. Only hardcore alcoholics hung out in a bar on a Tuesday night. The rest of the town was what I called social drinkers. And they usually “socialized” on Friday night. So, I took the opportunity to keep walking back to Jesse and continuing our conversation. Jamie kept giving me looks that clearly said she wanted to tease me, but would refrain for the moment.
    When I leaned down in front of him to put some glasses underneath the counter Jesse asked, “So, what’s your idea of a perfect date?”
    I hit my head on the underside of the bar. When I stood up, rubbing my scalp I was surprised to find him laughing. I was not used to having men laugh when I injured myself. However, his laugh was so warm and pleasant that I felt the corners of my mouth starting to tug upward as well.
    “Oh, you think that’s funny?” I said with a smirk.
    “Do you always react this way when a man is trying to ask you out?”
    My heart fluttered just a little bit. It made my head hurt worse. “I thought you were trying to finish that drink.”
    He returned my smirk, but his still looked playful. “I am.”
    I leaned forward, abandoning attempts to soothe my throbbing head for the moment. “What’s the matter, is it too much for you?”
    He finished the rest of the drink in one gulp. His smile never wavered. “Tell me, Dawn, what’s your idea of a perfect date?”
    *****
    “My idea of a perfect date isn’t expensive, it is peaceful.”
    I was explaining this to Jesse two nights later as we sat on the banks of the lake behind my house. We could have stayed up on the deck that overlooked the water, but I liked it here on the grass. A bottle of wine sat between us and he refilled my glass as I stared out at the water. The lake looked like it was filled with stars. I wanted so much to shed my clothes along with the heat and plunge into those stars. But I wasn’t about to take my clothes off in front of a man I had just met. Even a really sexy one like Jesse.
    The lake was bordered by thick trees all around. I knew that somewhere on the other side of those trees was other houses, but none were visible from here. Since I bought the house and the land around it, the lake was mine. As I stared at the small crescent moon reflecting off the glasslike surface I wondered how anyone could own something so beautiful.
    “Where are you?”
    Jesse’s voice was soft and closer than I remembered him being before. He handed me the glass of wine and I smiled. Not far from where we sat was a large oak tree. Its moss covered branches hung out, casting a shadow over the water. I remembered kissing another man underneath that tree. A man with pale green eyes and hair as black as the night sky above.
    “I’m here,” I lied.
    Jesse took a sip of his wine and studied me with a thoughtful expression. “No you’re not. But, maybe you’ll