45. Fable

Chapter 45

Fable

A pparently, my birthday celebration isn't done just because it's a new day. Rhett announces the next morning that we're going back to the Boot Skoot. Since it's my last weekend here, I can't refuse even had I wanted to. Something forces me to accept, to push forward. I wanna spend as much time as I possibly can with these guys before I go. I wanna take all the memories with me when I go.

The Boot Skoot isn't nearly as busy as it was the last time. Apparently, there's no live band tonight, just a really good DJ. While it's still packed, there's plenty of room to move around the edges tonight and it makes me feel a little more comfortable.

Trent comes with us again, his eyes lingering on me when I appear in a classic cowgirl outfit I'd made. The small, brown leather skirt has fringe that moves when I do, making me happy, but when his eyes trace their path, I'm suddenly flustered. I paired it with my boots and simpler cowboy hat, so there's no hiding my prosthetic tonight. Part of me likes that. It's a part of me now. No one else seems to care, so why should I?

Only six more days until I fly back home. The thought sends a bolt of pain through my heart. I have to go. This isn't my home, and it's not like I should pay so much money to stay here another month. I need to go back to Florida, figure out life, sort through Jinx's things. I have so much to do.

Trent finds us a table against the wall and after a few minutes, he settles in to people watch, a beer in his hand. I keep from drinking this time so I can drive home. Rhett and Gunnar are on the dance floor, line dancing with the girls, big smiles on their faces as they try to learn the new steps they just created for the newest Morgan Wallen song. I'd bowed out when the steps had included lots of jumping. Colt is at the bar talking to someone, so it's just Trent and me. We don't talk but it's not awkward. Every now and then, he reaches across the table and strokes his finger along the back of my hand, reminding me he's here.

"I'll be right back," I tell him after I'm able to get my heartrate back down after dancing with Rhett for the song before last. "Bathroom."

He nods and watches me stand before I cut through the crowd. The bathrooms in the Boot Skoot are clear back in the corner so it takes me a few minutes to get in there. I make quick work since it's only a single toilet and there's always a line, before coming back out and sighing as I realize the club has gotten more packed just in the few minutes I've been in the bathroom. I know there's only one other bar in town, but surely not everyone comes to the Boot Skoot every single weekend?

"Fable Everhart," someone says.

I frown and turn, looking for the source of the voice only to find him sitting at a tall table alone. My brows shoot up as I recognize him, not because I've ever met him, but because I've seen him from a distance.

"Do I know you?" I ask. He knows my name, but I know absolutely nothing about this man other than his sketchy ties to Circle Bee. Curiosity digs at me. The guys won't tell me, and I've given up asking, but here's this man, the other half of the puzzle. . .

"I can see your gears turning," he comments with a smile. "I assume they haven't mentioned me?"

I narrow my eyes. "Are you here to start trouble?"

"Me? Trouble? I would never dare stain this fine upstanding place's reputation with trouble," he jokes, and I know that's exactly what it is. This man reeks of trouble. Maybe it's the tattoos I can see peeking from his suit jacket on his hands and covering his neck. Maybe it's the smug look he wears.

Maybe it's because he comes out to Circle Bee late at night in a black sedan.

I grab a chair and climb into it before folding my hands on the table before me. "Who are you?" I ask.

He grins. "You can call me Lennox."

"Alright, Lennox, I'm gonna level with you," I start, glancing around the room. The guys are still busy and none of them have looked my way. "I don't know shit about your business with Circle Bee, but I want to. What can you tell me?"

He laughs. It's genuine, too, and it makes him even more beautiful. He's not my type but he's exactly the type Jinx would have gone for. While I like onions, Jinx always liked the ones who were openly trouble. There's no question if this man is a bad boy or not. He is and that's that.

"Best to ask your men, cowgirl," he finally replies, tilting his head to study me better. "I expected you to be formidable with your last name." His eyes drop to my prosthetic where I have it kicked up on the rung of the stool. "Looks like I was right."

He doesn't linger on my leg long. His gaze trails over to the crowd, away from me. At first, I think he's looking at the entire crowd, but I realize quickly he's not. He's focused on a single person.

The woman from Steele Mountain, Naomi.

"You gonna ask her to dance?" I ask with a raised brow. "Or just stare at her like a creeper?"

Lennox smirks. "Another time, maybe."

He throws back the rest of whatever is in his glass and stands.

"So, you won't tell me anything?" I ask again.

"You still have a chance to escape, cowgirl," he says, tapping my hat. "I suggest you do so before you get trapped like your honeybees."

And then he disappears into the crowd, leaving me even more confused than I'd been before.