Fifteen

FIFTEEN

Aria

Three days later, I was still riding the high of my encounter with Paxton on Monday evening.

I wouldn't mind if you had.

Those six words echoed in my head more times than I could count. All the same questions flitted through my mind for days. Was he simply being friendly with me in that moment? Or was Paxton indicating he might have liked knowing there was something going on between us?

Naturally, I'd reached out to Britney for advice. She'd been waiting for an update anyway, considering I'd filled her in on Sunday afternoon about how my date with Paxton had gone. This turn in things had certainly left her reeling.

"Oh, Aria, if you tell me there are more men like this guy out there, I might not come for a visit," she said.

It seemed like such an unreasonable response. "What? Why would you say that? "

Britney laughed. "I wouldn't be coming for a visit. I'd be coming for a permanent stay in hopes of finding a guy who would talk to me like that. I didn't know there were men who actually said things like that in real life."

"Apparently, they exist," I murmured. "But do you think he meant it the way I took it?"

"Well, I don't know him at all, so I can't say for sure. But it doesn't make sense to me why he'd say such things to you if he wasn't being serious. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

She hesitated, the silence forcing me to assume the worst. "I don't know. Is he the kind of guy who'd say something like that just to take advantage of you? I mean, he's your neighbor, and he knows you've just moved out there on your own. As tough as you and I both know you are, as strong as you had to be to take this huge step, you're still vulnerable."

Instantly, I was shaking my head. "I get your point, Brit, but Paxton is not that kind of guy. I'd be shocked if he had it in him to do something like that. There's no way. A guy who rescues animals like Paxton couldn't be that cruel."

Granted, every word was mere speculation, but I refused to believe he wasn't a good guy. It just didn't fit with everything he'd shown me so far. Plus, if everything he'd shown me had all been just a means to an end for him, I didn't think I'd have people like Mallory, Sawyer, Avalon, and Liv indicating their hope that something would develop between Paxton and me, so my inclusion in their group would be permanent.

Britney was quick to respond. "I didn't want to say it, because I truly don't think that's the case. But I'm also a bit cautious, as I'm sure you are, given everything you've been through. I don't want you to face more heartbreak, either."

"That'll only happen if I make the wrong assumptions about him," I reasoned. "At this point, maybe I don't need to be putting any pressure on myself. I'll let things happen naturally with Paxton, whether that's a purely innocent friendship that gets a little flirtatious at times or something else a bit deeper. Either option isn't necessarily a bad outcome."

"I agree. Until he shows you different, don't assume the worst."

And that right there was the one thing I needed to remember. In my situation, it was safe to say I'd been feeling bitter for a while. Before I'd left my hometown, I'd vowed to give myself a fresh start. I couldn't carry the weight of everything that had happened before if I intended to give myself a real chance at something I could be proud of here.

That was what was most important.

Despite all the analysis I'd done of the conversation Paxton and I had that evening, I hadn't been able to work out the precise intention behind what he said. Not even with my best friend's help.

That's why I was glad to be heading to work now.

It was early Thursday evening, and I was working at the pub tonight. Based on what I'd learned from my coworkers and combining that with what I'd seen on the evenings I had worked, tonight would be busy.

But I was looking forward to it.

Because the busier work kept me, the less likely I was to have any time to allow my mind to wander to thoughts of Paxton and whether he had any real interest in me that could lead to me being an official member of the Harper Security Ops girl group.

Why did I want that so badly anyway?

Was it the friendship I was after, or was it the more meaningful relationship with Paxton? If I was honest, it was both.

But I wondered if my reasons for wanting it were genuine. Was I merely trying to fill the void of having lost my family?

Once again, I was left without answers. Fortunately, I'd arrived at work, so I put all the thoughts and questions aside for the time being and stepped through the front door of the pub.

I walked in and noted the scene.

It was still early enough that the place wasn't packed, but there were quite a few patrons already inside—some I recognized as regulars, and others I did not.

Ernie and Sawyer were behind the bar, and Gina was out on the floor, delivering some drinks to a table.

"Hey, Aria," Sawyer greeted me.

I smiled at her. "Hi. How's it going?"

"Great. You're on with me and Ernie tonight, and Kelly should be in within the next hour," she returned.

"Sounds great. Busy today?"

"I just got here about thirty minutes ago, and Ernie was here thirty minutes before that," she shared. "It's only picked up in the last fifteen minutes or so, but I get the feeling we're going to have a rowdy night tonight."

It might have just been a feeling, but I'd learned Sawyer was generally very good at guessing how our nights would go. So, I grinned at her. "Awesome. I'm going to put my stuff in the back, and I'll be out to dive right in."

"Perfect."

Without wasting a moment, I scurried off to the employee's area in the back of the bar to set my things down before returning to the front. In the time it took me to do that, a group of three guys had walked in and sat down at a table.

"Do you want to grab that one, Aria?" Gina asked. "I'm off soon, so I'd rather just finish up with the tables I've got."

"I've got it covered," I assured her.

With a smile, I made my way to the table, introduced myself, and took their order. I approached the bar again, and Sawyer shot me an expectant look. "Just three beers," I told her, handing her the slip with their choices on it. "I'm going to get their app order to Ozzie, and I'll be right back for those drinks."

"You've got it."

No sooner had I delivered the appetizer order to Ozzie and the first round of beers to the guys, two women had walked in. I immediately got them squared away with some drinks, helped Gina clean up an unexpected spill at one of her tables, got the appetizers to the guys at my first table, and finally returned to the bar.

"You haven't been here more than twenty minutes, and you haven't had a break, Aria."

I glanced over at the end of the bar, where I saw Butch and Tom sitting. They were two of the regulars at the bar, guys who had long since retired and often came in to enjoy some time with each other at the pub. They had welcomed me from the start, were always friendly, and didn't mind chatting with anyone who was working whenever we had a moment of downtime.

"I know, Butch. It's a little crazy in here, but it's better than the alternative. Wouldn't you agree?"

He nodded his agreement. "Absolutely. But it's still early, so I think you're in for a chaotic night."

I shrugged. "I don't mind. In fact, I prefer to be busy."

Butch glanced at Tom and muttered, "They say hard workers are difficult to find these days, but I don't think they've been to our neck of the woods."

Soft laughter escaped just as the front door opened and two people walked in. A man had opened the door and allowed Kelly to step in ahead of him.

"Hi, Kelly," I greeted her.

"Hey, Kel," Sawyer added.

"Hello," she said to us before turning to look in the opposite direction. "What's going on Ernie?"

"Same old, same old."

Returning her attention to me, she said, "Sorry I'm a few minutes late. I'll be right out."

"No worries."

The door had opened again, another two guys walked in, and while the first made his way directly to the bar, the other moved toward a table in the corner. My eyes went to Sawyer. "One for each of us."

"Yep. I should have this one taken care of before you're back."

I moved out from behind the bar and made my way to the gentleman in the corner. On the way there, the two women had stopped me and asked, "Hey, could we place an order for some nachos?"

"Sure. I'll get those in for you in just a second. "

"Thanks."

I stepped up to the table in the corner and said, "Hi, my name is Aria. What can I get you started with tonight?"

The man tipped his chin up at an angle, clenched his jaw repeatedly, and narrowed his eyes on me. "Just a beer. Anything you've got."

"We've got a lot here," I informed him. "You could pick just about anything, and we'll likely have it."

He shook his head, pursing his lips in disgust. "It doesn't matter. I'll take anything."

Something about this man—both his demeanor and the way he was looking at me—made me wildly uncomfortable. Wanting to remain professional, I asked, "Is there anything else you'd like, or just the beer?"

"Just the beer for now."

With a quick nod, I turned and walked back toward the bar. "I need to put in an order of nachos with Ozzie, Sawyer. Can you grab me a beer?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

I continued to move toward the kitchen and called back, "Whatever you decide."

After returning to the bar, I took the beer Sawyer had chosen back to the man sitting at the table in the corner. "Is this okay, sir?"

"It's fine," he grumbled.

Deciding it was best to leave him be, I promised, "I'll be back in a bit to check in. Enjoy."

Without waiting for a response, I moved away from his table. On my way back to the bar, I checked in with my other tables, noting the new one that had just arrived and was being taken care of by Kelly .

"And what about you?"

I'd just made it back to the bar, and the man who'd walked in at the same time as the grouchy guy was looking at me expectantly. "Pardon?"

"I'm just learning everyone's names," he said. "I moved to town about a month ago, and some of my buddies from work mentioned this was one of those spots to check out. So far, I like the vibe. I'm Ronnie, by the way."

Smiling at him, I returned, "It's nice to meet you, Ronnie. I'm Aria. And having just moved here to Steel Ridge shortly before you, I can say you've chosen a great place."

"Aria. That's a cool name. Unique."

"Thanks."

"Was it business or personal?"

I raised a curious brow. "I'm sorry?"

"The reason for your move," he clarified. "I was just wondering if your reasoning for coming here was work-related."

My eyes shifted back and forth, my lips twitching. "As great as this place is, I did not make the move here just to work at The Steel Pub," I shared.

Ronnie laughed. "Fair enough. I guess I thought it was possible this was just a side hustle. So, a personal move then?"

I offered a slight nod. "I guess you could say that. And you? Was this a work move for you?"

"It was."

A bell rang behind me, indicating Ozzie had some food ready. I turned, noted in was the nachos, and sent an apologetic look in Ronnie's direction. "Back to work."

He laughed again. "By all means. "

I grabbed the nachos, delivered them to the table, and saw another group had just walked through the door. After making a quick stop to check on the guys at my first table, who requested another round, I went to the newest table. And once I'd gotten all of them taken care of, I returned to the guy in the corner.

I'd just barely made it to his table and hadn't had a chance to open my mouth to speak when he said, "I'll take another."

"Sure."

Although he was a relatively hassle-free patron, there was something about this guy that left me feeling so unsettled. Was it that he was sitting in the corner of the bar alone? Was it the way he looked at me, almost sneering, that did it? Or could it have been that he was just plain unfriendly? This had been the first less-than-pleasant encounter I'd had with anyone since arriving in Steel Ridge.

When I returned to the bar to get the beer for him, Ronnie asked, "So, where did you move from?"

"Me? Birch Creek. It's a pretty small town. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm from out of state. I'm here from Indiana."

"That's cool."

"Here you go, Aria," Sawyer interjected, sliding the beer for the creepy grouch in my direction.

I took the bottle and walked off.

And from there, the night got busier. It was, just as Butch and Sawyer had declared earlier, a chaotic night. On the bright side, all the tips were great for my bank account. Before I knew it, things were winding down. And the creepy guy wound up leaving within an hour of getting his third beer, which really helped to improve the vibe for the night.

Although hours had passed since I'd arrived at The Steel Pub, it had been so busy that it felt like my shift had passed in a flash and that I was walking back out the door mere minutes after I'd arrived.

I finished up with my closing duties, grabbed my things, and said goodbye to the rest of my coworkers before stepping outside. The moment I made it to the lot and was nearly at my car, someone called my name.

"Aria." I spun around and saw Ronnie moving toward me. He came to a stop a few feet away and said, "I'm sorry if I scared you. I just… well, I was curious if I could convince you to let me take you out sometime. I thought we could check out this new town together."

A vision of Paxton's face flashed through my mind.

While I was technically single and free to date anyone I wanted, I had a crush on Paxton. There wasn't a chance I could be fair to someone else at this point. "Oh, wow, Ronnie. I'm flattered. But I'm not exactly available."

"Ah, I guess that means you already have a boyfriend. I should have guessed a woman as beautiful as you would already be spoken for," he said, his tone deflated.

Even though there wasn't a boyfriend, I didn't correct Ronnie. It seemed he believed that was enough of an explanation and was willing to accept it, despite his disappointment.

"Thank you for the compliment."

He jerked his chin down. "Yeah, you're welcome. Well, I guess if there's nothing I can do to convince you otherwise, I'll just tell you to have a good night."

"Thanks. You do the same. "

After offering a slight nod and a friendly smile, I turned and finished the walk to my car. Ronnie had turned and moved in the opposite direction.

And before I knew it, I was on my way back home, my thoughts immediately drifting to Paxton.

Although I'd hoped to not think about him throughout the day when I needed to be focused on working, I didn't necessarily mind it so much when I was on my way home after a long day on my feet.

It was late, far too late for it to be possible, but there was a small part of me that wished I'd arrive home and run into Paxton much like when he'd come home from work earlier in the week and I happened to be working in my garage. More and more, I was craving time with him, and it didn't matter to me that it was well after any reasonable bedtime, especially for someone who needed to wake up early for work tomorrow. I still wanted to see him.

By the time I pulled into my driveway, I'd resolved myself to the fact that it likely wouldn't be until tomorrow morning, at best, that I'd feast my eyes on Paxton from the comfort of my home when he left for work.

I pulled to a stop, parked, and exited my car. The moment I got out, closed my door, and hit the lock button on the key fob, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye just seconds after I heard a car door shut. I shifted my attention toward that movement coming from the mouth of my driveway and noticed someone walking in my direction.

Based on the build and stride, it became clear I was watching an unknown man move toward me.

My body tensed as the tall figure came closer, and for some stupid reason, I couldn't seem to bring myself to move, to run. Maybe there was a part of me that assumed it wasn't possible there could be anything bad about to happen. I'd moved into a good neighborhood, hadn't I?

The worries that ran through my mind in that moment were the worst possible. There wasn't anyone who knew better than I did just how often bad things happened to people who weren't expecting it.

Seconds later, the man's face came into view. "Ronnie?"

"I was thinking, Aria," he said as he made his final approach and came to a stop only a matter of a few feet in front of me. "You didn't act like someone who wasn't interested in going on a date with me."

"Did you… did you follow me to my house?" I asked, my belly trembling.

"You led me on," he seethed, stepping forward and closing the very little remaining distance between us.

I was practically pinned between my car and this man, and it was as though I had an invisible clamp around my throat. Speaking no longer felt like an option. I was struggling simply to breathe.

"What are we going to do about this, Aria?"

"I… I don't know what you want. Please just leave," I begged.

He shook his head and leaned closer, his face inches from mine. The stench of alcohol lingered on his breath. "I think you need to invite me inside. We need to talk."

"No."

Ronnie lifted his hands to my shoulders and squeezed painfully, my body leaning back harder into the car. "Maybe you want to rethink that."

I didn't.

God, I didn't .

But did I stand a chance at escaping from this guy? Could I get away and run to Paxton's house?

"What's it going to be, Aria?"

His voice was dangerously low, like he was daring me to challenge him.

I lifted my hands from my sides and pushed as forcefully as I could against Ronnie's chest. "Get off of me."

"Sorry, that's not going to happen."

I pushed again. Harder, this time.

He didn't budge.

I pushed once more. "Get off me. Leave."

The words might have indicated I was being strong. Firm, even. But the tone of my voice gave me away. I was terrified, begging this man to leave me alone.

Just as I was about to start screaming, he pressed all his weight into me and warned, "Maybe you should have?—"

That was all he got out, because the next thing I knew, he was gone.

Not completely, of course. But he was no longer pinning my body between his and my car. In Ronnie's place stood Paxton, and he looked like I'd never seen him before.

He looked like he was ready to murder somebody.