Chapter 24: Ruth

Around eight o'clock, the McIntyre search and rescue team members start arriving at the bar to celebrate the win. Not only did they find a missing pregnant hiker, but they rescued her from her abductor. Or rather, I should say, Jack rescued her. I heard all about how he took down the girl's armed boyfriend single-handedly, without even drawing his own weapon.

Of course he did. Does that guy even know how not to be a hero?

When Killian and Hannah walk in, along with the sheriff and several deputies, the customers applaud. Word's already gotten around town that Ashley is home safe tonight with her parents.

Maya and Travis walk in next, followed shortly after by John Burke and his girlfriend, Gabrielle. When Micah arrives, he's immediately swamped by a wave of single girls.

Jack is the last to arrive. When he walks in through the back hallway, the customers in the bar take note, stand, and applaud.

"Wow, a standing ovation," I say to Jack, as I clap along with everyone else. "Impressive."

Jack shrugs. "Hey, I was just doin' my job. No big deal."

I'm standing behind the bar when Jack takes a seat opposite me. He looks freshly showered. The ends of his hair are still damp and curling, and he smells amazing, like soap, fresh laundry, and a hint of cologne.

"Chris offered me a job," he says.

My heart skips a beat. "Oh?" Suddenly, my chest tightens at the thought of him leaving to work somewhere else.

"Yeah. In law enforcement. What do you think of that? Me, a deputy?" He chuckles.

I can't tell if he's seriously considering the offer or not. It would make perfect sense for him to go into law enforcement. It would be good, steady work in a worthwhile field. He has an excellent set of skills that would serve him well, and the rest he would learn quickly.

"Chris would be lucky to have you," I admit. "What did you tell him?"

Jack shrugs. "I told him thanks, but no thanks. I've already got a great gig here as a dishwasher."

That's it. I can't take this anymore. I walk out from behind the bar, and nod toward the back hallway. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

"Sure," he says as he stands. Grinning, he follows me.

I lead him into my office and shut the door behind us. After taking a slow, steadying breath, I turn to face him, my hands on my hips. My pulse is racing, and I realize I'm nervous. What if he says no? Damn it, I should have done this as soon as he returned to Bryce. "If you're still interested—"

"I am."

"Wait." I bite back a laugh. "You didn't let me finish."

"I don't need to. The answer is yes."

When he takes a step toward me, I raise my hand to hold him off. "Let me say this, Jack, please."

"Okay." He crosses his arms over his chest, still grinning. "I'm all ears."

"If you're still interested," I begin, "I could use another bartender. The position's yours, if you still want it. I'm sorry about the dishwashing—"

"Stop." He steps closer and cups my face. "You don't need to apologize."

"Yes, I do. I was an ass for making you do the dishes."

Still grinning, he says, "True. But it's fine. It's honest work. No one's above doing honest work." His gaze fixes on mine as he holds out his hand.

I give him my hand, but instead of shaking it, he holds it securely in both of his. His gaze darkens as he searches mine. There's no resentment there, just anticipation.

"I wasn't expecting you to come back here," I say, "but I'm glad you did. What are you going to do about accommodations? You can't live in the motel indefinitely. It's too expensive."

He shrugs. "I'll get an apartment in town. Eventually, I might want to buy a house or purchase some land and build. I'll just have to wait and see how things go." With you. He doesn't say that part, but it's implied.

Sighing, I say, "You're welcome to use the apartment upstairs until you decide what you want to do in the long term. If you want to, that is. You don't have to."

He looks like he just won the lottery. "Really? I can use your place?"

"Sure. It's yours for as long as you want it." I walk over to my desk, open the top drawer, and pull out a keychain with two keys. "The silver one is for the back door, so you can get into the building. And this gold key is for the apartment." I hand him the keychain, and he pockets it.

The way he's looking at me, I fully expect him to kiss me any second now. We haven't kissed, or even touched each other, since the night we spent together in the upstairs apartment. I wonder if he's thinking the same thing. The hunger in his eyes tells me he is.

Jack takes a step toward me, and then stops, hesitating.

I try not to let my disappointment show. I guess if I was hoping we could simply pick up where we left off, I was wrong. I hurt him when I pushed him away after that first night together.

I take a step toward him, closing the distance between us. "I owe you an apology. I've been burned so many times, I've become afraid to take any more chances. It's just easier going it alone."

He frowns. "You were taking chances on the wrong guys, Ruth. You should have waited for me because I'm a good bet."

I can't help smiling. "I'm starting to think you're right."

He cups my face and looks into my eyes, his own reflecting so much vulnerability. I realize he's taking a risk here, too. It's not just me.

When he leans in, I close my eyes and practically hold my breath. I want this to work so badly. I want him to be the one.

Slowly, he lowers his mouth to mine and gently nudges my lips open. His hands slide down to my shoulders, then down my arms, gripping them firmly. I feel a delicious tug all the way to my very core, leaving me quivering with anticipation. My body heats, and soon I'm a hot, aching mess.

When there's a knock at the door, Jack pulls back with a groan and stares at the door. "That is the very definition of bad timing."

"Sorry for the interruption, Ruth," Tom says, his voice muffled by the door. "It's getting pretty intense out here. We're almost near capacity. I could really use another pair of hands behind the bar."

Jack presses a quick kiss to my lips. "I guess now would be a good time for me to start my new job." He nods toward the door. "You'd better come teach me the basics."

I let him take my hand and pull me along with him to the door. "I guess so," I say with a stupid smile on my face as we walk back to the bar, hand in hand.

* * *

The place is packed all night long, thanks to all the buzz and excitement around town. The success of the search and rescue mission is all over the evening news; even the national networks and cable news programs are picking it up. A lot of our customers are gathered around the only TV in the place. I guess people are interested in the story of the poor pregnant girl who was kidnapped by her boyfriend.

Most of the extra bodies in the bar are here out of curiosity. They want to meet the search and rescue team. Jack, himself, gets a lot of the attention, although he tries to deflect it.

He and I work the bar together, side by side, as I basically walk him through what I do. I hand him my spiral-bound, handmade cocktail recipe book for him to use as a reference.

But honestly, most of the orders are for bottles of beer, mugs of draft beer, straight shots, and soft drinks. It's not hard. While he takes care of the easy orders, I mix the cocktails, while Tom handles the dirty dishes.

Jack takes to bartending like a natural, smiling and joking with customers. He has a friendly, easygoing way about him that I lack. I'm an introvert, but clearly he's not.

It doesn't escape my notice that most of the people asking for drinks at the bar are single women of all ages, from just barely twenty-one to women in their forties and fifties. I can't blame them. He is pretty nice to look at. Okay, better than nice if I'm being honest. Panty melting is a better description. And his deep voice! God, his voice makes me weak in the knees. His voice belongs in our deepest, darkest, sexiest dreams.

Around nine, the hype seems to have dissipated. Most of the onlookers have left, and things have settled down to more normal levels.

Hannah and Killian and the rest of the SAR team, including my brother, have commandeered a couple of tables and are having a proper celebration.

I hear a cheer go up when Maggie and her husband, Owen, walk in. Owen's got their baby daughter, Claire, propped on his hip. Her light brown hair has turned curly, like her mama's, and she's got her dad's blue eyes.

Maya jumps up from the table and makes a beeline for the baby, holding out her hands and stealing Claire away from her doting father.

Owen walks up to the bar and shakes Jack's hand. "Good work today."

Killian joins them. "I hope you'll consider my offer to join the team," he says to Jack. "We can really use someone with your skills."

Jack nods to me. "Sure. If my new boss will let me have the time off work."

I bump Jack's shoulder with my own. "Of course, you can do whatever you want with your time."

"I think that's a yes, then," Jack says to Killian. "Count me in."

Micah walks up to the bar, having heard the tail end of their conversation. "Kudos to you for getting him to say yes," he says to Killian. "Chris offered him a job with the police department, but Jack turned him down."

Maggie and Owen don't stay long, as it's already way past Claire's bedtime. The baby's losing steam, sucking her thumb as she lays her head on Maggie's shoulder.

The rest of the team call it a night and file out through the back door, leaving us with our typical late-night clientele.

A phone call comes in on the landline. Turns out it's someone responding to my HELP WANTED flyer for a dishwasher. His name is Scott, and he just moved back to Bryce and is desperate for a job. The good news is he has two years experience in operating commercial kitchen dishwashers. I invite the guy to come in tomorrow for an interview, and if everything checks out okay, he can start right away. Tom will certainly be happy to hear that.

"It looks like we might have a new dishwasher soon," I say, crossing my fingers.

"Good," Jack says. "I thought my fingers were going to turn into prunes."

That night, at closing time, I offer to let Tom go home while Jack and I lock up.

During a brief lull in the evening, Jack returned to The Lone Wolf, packed up his few belongings, and checked out of his motel room for good.

"So, you're all set then?" I ask Jack as I'm about to leave for the night. "Feel free to stock the apartment fridge tomorrow. Until then, if you need anything, you can help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen or storeroom."

"I will. Do you mind if I purchase a few things for the apartment? Not a lot, just a few necessities."

"Go right ahead," I say.

When we're done with all the closing chores, Jack walks me to the rear door. I need to go home, and there's no reason for me to stay, but I hate the idea of leaving.

"If you need anything, just let me know. About the apartment, I mean."

He nods. "Is there Wi-Fi up there?"

"Yes. The password is hank1960."

"I might get a TV—nothing big. Just something to stream movies on."

"Go right ahead." It's after one a.m., and I should be going. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

This is ridiculous. We're both standing here like awkward teens who don't know what to do at the end of the night.

Jack reaches out and touches my cheek. "Goodnight, Ruth."

"Goodnight, Jack."

After I let myself out, Jack stands in the open doorway and watches me get into my Jeep and start the engine. As I pull away, I see the door finally close.

All the way home, I fight the urge to go back. I want to bridge the distance that has grown between us, but I don't know how to. I really wish we could just start over.