2. Tanner

Tanner

" H ey, Matt, can you check the coolers and make sure they're restocked?"

"Already done, boss."

I opened the door of the large cooler in the back room, and sure enough, it had enough drinks to get us through a busy Friday night.

"Thanks, man," I said, bumping his fist.

"Before you ask, there are extra boxes of snacks under the bar. The kitchen had a delivery today and it's all ready for when the chef comes in. Oh, and Molly left a note to say she deep-cleaned the restrooms and gave the floors an extra scrub this morning. She also threatened to send us into the next life if we ever touch her cleaning supplies again."

I chuckled. "She wouldn't feel the same way if she'd come in at six this morning to dried-up vomit in the middle of the bar."

He scrunched up his face and started filling the napkin boxes while I checked the staff schedule for the next week.

"Hey, boss, forgive me for saying this, but you've been a little off lately. What's gotten you all mixed up?"

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You're triple-checking everything, but you forgot you gave Sam the night off the other day, and I've never seen the shelves so clean."

It was early afternoon and the bar was practically empty, so it was easy to see if a new customer came in. At this time, we mostly had business people who used the bar to schmooze other business people, and it was profitable enough to justify opening so early. The heavy door opened to reveal none other than the answer to Matt's question.

"You're imagining things," I said, my eyes locking on Jax's as he approached the bar.

"Nah. You've been cleaning and tidying this place like even the cocktail picks bring you joy."

I rolled my eyes. "Why don't you go chop some oranges and limes in the kitchen? The Hooking Up ladies are coming in tonight."

Matt disappeared into the kitchen as Jax took a seat on the stool in front of me.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the bar. "A guy walks into my bar in the middle of the day. What does he want?"

His lips curled into an easy smile. "He's curious."

"Well, you know what they say about curiosity…"

"It killed the cat?"

My gaze zeroed in on his lips before I straightened and picked up an already clean glass and a cloth to keep my hands busy. "Ask the right questions, and you might get the right answers."

He smiled. "Hooking Up ladies?"

That was disappointingly not the question I thought I would hear. "It's a crochet club. They meet in the library around the corner and then come in for cocktail hour. They can be quite rowdy. Well, as rowdy as seventy-year-olds can be."

Jax rested his elbows on the bar and stared at me with intent.

"So, Tanner from Tanner's Bar, it seems I've missed a lot while I was gone."

I smiled. "Twelve years is a long time."

"I thought you'd end up an accountant, like your dad."

I shivered. "Fuck no. People's financial affairs are best managed away from me. Anyway, can I get you something to drink?"

"Whatever you have on tap is good."

My practiced moves behind the bar felt stiff under his watchful eye. I was known for flirting with customers from barely legal twinks to silver foxes, but Jax was a whole different category. One I had never encountered in the past until now. The one who got away.

"Fucking bastarding fucks," I said as the beer ran over the rim of the glass and onto my hand because I'd gotten distracted by my thoughts. I wiped my hand on a rag and grabbed a clean glass, restarting the process.

"You swear more now," he said, a tinge of amusement in his voice.

I placed the beer on a coaster in front of him. "There are a lot of things I do now that I didn't do when you knew me."

"Like men."

I spluttered a half cough, half choke.

"The Jax I knew would never have been so direct."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I've changed too."

I hoped he hadn't changed too much.

"How was it?"

"The Army?"

I nodded.

"It was tough. There were many times I thought about quitting, but there were also days when me being there meant someone could go home to their family."

"You saved a lot of lives."

He sighed. "I'm proud to have served the country, but I'm happy to be back. I was lucky Cliffborough General had an opening come up at the time I was considering moving back."

"I'm glad you're here. Maybe now Jodie will actually come visit."

He smiled at the mention of his sister. "You guys are still close, huh?"

"She's my only girl. Shame I never get to see her."

"When was the last time she visited?"

"A couple of years ago, maybe a little longer. Since her interior design business took off, she hasn't had much time to travel."

"Speaking of which, can you recommend a few places I can get good furniture and home stuff? At this rate, even the hospital feels more like a home than my apartment."

I chuckled. "I can do better and take you to my favorite places." I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote my number down. "Here. Save it and call me. Next time you're off-shift, I'll give you the Jodie experience."

He made a face. "Please don't make me buy ten throw blankets and dozens of pillows."

"Nothing wrong with a well-placed throw blanket framing a nice couch," I said in my best imitation of Jodie's voice, which got another smile out of him.

He drank his beer and looked around the bar.

"How did all this come about? I would have never placed you as a bar owner."

"Easy. I took a bartending job in college to cover my living expenses. Never expected to enjoy it more than the degree I was meant to study for. My parents wouldn't let me drop out in case I needed something to fall back on. My grandmother left me some money in her will, so as soon as I graduated, I began looking for a place to start a business."

"Cliffborough isn't exactly around the corner from home. How did you end up here?"

"That's an embarrassing story, and I'm not sure we're close enough for that kind of confession."

He winked. "Maybe not yet, but how about…?" He reached into the pocket of his jeans and then placed his closed hand over the bar.

I gasped when he turned his hand over and opened it.

"Chip! Oh my god, you still have it."

The Tamagotchi I'd given him after I learned he'd been accepted into the medical training program for the Army. Jodie had made fun of me for weeks after that, but I hadn't cared. Our love for the high-maintenance little toy had been the basis for my friendship with Jax.

Selfishly, I'd wanted him to take something of mine with him. I hadn't wanted him to forget me. I always expected he'd lose it or that it would end up left behind, so much so that I'd forgotten about it completely.

My throat closed a little as my eyes flickered between the small device and Jax's face. "You kept it all these years?"

"I did. It was silly, and trust me, I got a lot of shit for it from my unit, but it was the only thing I had that I could take everywhere."

"Is it still alive?" I leaned over to look at the screen.

"It died a few times while I was in the middle of a mission and working on real injured soldiers was more important, but it always left me with a new egg, so I grew a new one each time. This one is three years old."

Humans of this world, this is the day Tanner Beckett lost his words, maybe even his heart, to the man who probably always had it without even knowing .

"She's hungry," I said when the food icon appeared on the Tamagotchi screen.

"Go on." Jax held it up by the small chain in my direction.

"You're letting me feed it?" I held the device with shaking hands.

"Technically, you're still her parent. Maybe we can share custody now."

I pressed the buttons to feed the digital pet, trying my best to not read too much into Jax's words.