Raging Fires by Candace Camp
Chapter Three
As Jake left, slamming the door behind him, Kelli sat down on the stool behind the bar, deflating. He still knew how to push her buttons. She wished she hadn’t let him do it. She had hoped that after four years, she’d be completely over him, that he would seem like a stranger to her.
But as soon as she saw him, she’d known that was a lost cause. All he had to do was walk in, and she’d immediately felt on edge and tingling. There were a few little differences in his hair and face, even in his demeanor—there was something a little weary about him now—but she knew that mouth, those eyes, that little scar on his chin. She knew how he smelled, how he tasted, how his breath felt against her cheek. She had unwrapped him like a gift and kissed her way down that toned body. And Kelli was honest enough to admit that as soon as she saw him, she’d wanted to do that again.
No danger of that, though, since they couldn’t be in the same room with each other for five minutes without getting into an argument.
The kitchen door opened, and Naomi, her assistant manager and friend, walked in. Naomi’s curly red hair was its usual cloud around her head, and she was wearing crazy long earrings and one of her vintage seventies dresses that looked like she should be floating through a meadow with a daisy chain crown on her head.
“Who was that hot guy that was walking out of here when I drove up?”
“That was Jake Riley.”
“Oh...” Naomi’s eyes rounded. “Wow. It must have been hard to walk out on all that.”
“Yes, it was. I cried the whole plane ride home. The guy in the seat next to me must have thought I was nuts.” Kelli sighed. “Unfortunately Jake’s not only still hot, he’s also still a jerk. Stupid me, I thought... I really thought that maybe we could get along now that he was back. Pops was so happy when he learned that Jake was going to sign with Phoenix; he hoped things would be like they used to be between them.”
“Did they have a fight?” Naomi settled down on a bar stool near Kelli and crossed her arms on the bar.
“I don’t know exactly. I’m sure Pops gave Jake his opinion about the way he was acting, but Pops never said a word to me about what happened. I just know that after the divorce, Jake didn’t come back here often. It was because of me, I’m sure. Jake didn’t like it that Pops gave me my job back when I left Miami. That he and Gran still treated me like I was part of the family. I guess he thought his grandparents should have taken his side in the divorce.”
“But they took yours.”
“No. Pops and Gran didn’t see it that way. The divorce didn’t matter to them. As far as they were concerned, I was still Jake’s wife and their granddaughter-in-law. I didn’t want to stand between Jake and his grandparents. I wouldn’t have had Christmas and Thanksgiving with them if Jake had ever come back for the holidays. But I wasn’t going to avoid them, either; I felt like I was their granddaughter, too. Anyway, that’s why I was determined that I would be polite to Jake. I was hoping he’d hang out with Pops some, and I didn’t want to spoil any of Pops’ time with him.” Tears filled her eyes. “But I guess that doesn’t matter now.”
“I’m sorry.” Naomi leaned in, reaching out to take Kelli’s hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Kelli shrugged. “As okay as I can be, considering.” She impatiently brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Damn it. When am I going to stop doing that?”
“You’re allowed. Everybody loved Pops. I heard a bunch of the guys were going to escort the funeral procession on their bikes. You know, two by two lined up behind the hearse.”
“Engines roaring,” Kelli said, her mouth quirking up on one side. “Pretty cheesy. But it makes me want to cry, too.”
Naomi nodded. “I’m really sad he’s gone. I think maybe it’s worse because it was so sudden. I mean, with an illness, you kinda have a little time to adjust, but a stroke like that—he’s just there one day and the next he’s not. It has to be worse for you.”
“Yes. He was my family,” Kelli said. “Before Jake and after. I felt like that from the moment I met him. I was nineteen and, well, I’ve told you about my actual family.” She had no interest in rehashing the story of the father who died young and the mother who was more interested in the bottle than she was in her daughter. “I really needed the job, and I came in to apply for it, and Pops was so... just so himself. Kind and funny, and he always had that little twinkle in his eye.”
“Oh, crap, now I’m going to cry too.” Naomi grabbed a cocktail napkin to dry her eyes. They sat in a sad silence for a moment. Then Naomi said, “What do you think they’re going to do with the Blue? Wilson called me this morning about whether he should come in. I’m sure all the staff’s wondering if they still have jobs. I hope it’s not going to close. I love this place.”
“So do I. It feels like my home.” Kelli cast her eyes around the big room. It didn’t look like anything special, she knew, but from the first day, it had seemed to wrap itself around her and fill her with warmth. She belonged here. She hated the thought of having to leave. Of someone else owning it, changing it. “I don’t know what Gran’s going to want to do. I hope she’ll decide to keep it going. It makes good money, and she won’t have to do anything, really. I can run it by myself. I already was, for the most part; Pops only came in because he missed being here. I think she would want to hold onto it, just because of Pops. But I guess she might decide to sell it or maybe lease the building. I don’t know. I just plan to keep everything going like usual after tomorrow until Gran tells me to quit.”
“Good. I’ll tell the staff to come in as scheduled.”
“Thanks.” Kelli straightened. “Well, we ought to start getting things ready for the wake. God only knows how many people are going to come by.”
“A ton of them,” Naomi answered.
“Yeah. Come on, let’s go see what damage Tiny has managed to do to our kitchen.”