Read Online Dirt: A Sexy Small Town Romance (Copperwood Book 1) by Reese Patton - Free Book Online Page B

Kirstin and I were slammed. I barely had time to keep the orders filled, much less spend any time talking with Shane.
    Kirstin and I danced around one another behind the bar, trying to stay out of one another’s way in a smooth dance. So, when she bumped into me, I was surprised. She nodded her head to the back hallway and I stopped pulling drafts to look at what drew her attention.
    Shane and Mike moved through the thick crowd carrying cases of beer for the cooler. I glanced down at the cartons we used to hold the empties and saw that a fresh stack of empty cartons waited for the bottles. I grinned at Kirstin and shrugged my shoulders.
    “We have bar backs.”
    “I’m not sharing my tips with them.”
    “We’ll just feed them beer and they should be happy.”
    She pushed her blonde hair behind her ear and moved out of the way as the men walked behind the bar. They ignored the good–natured calls from the customers wondering how they got back bar privileges and jumped in on filling the coolers.
    “You need to get your boyfriend to come around more often.” Kirstin eyed the over–flowing tip basket.
    “He’s not my boyfriend.”
    Shane was in the back getting ice for us so he didn’t hear the exchange, but Mike was washing glasses and looked at me. I turned away from his knowing gaze. Shane wasn’t my boyfriend, but it didn’t mean I didn’t
want
him to be my boyfriend.
    We spent the rest rest of the night in a daze. Busy nights didn’t only mean good tips, they also meant the shift went by faster than normal. Before I realized it, Kirstin shouted out ‘Last Call’ to the teeming mass of bodies and we got slammed again.
    It was going to take forever to get everyone out the door, but Jack would be happy with the till. He’d also feel guilty he wasn’t here to help. We ended up wiping down the counter and cleaning up the bar before the last customer walked out the door. Mike and Shane sat at the end of the bar. Waiting.
    I wasn’t sure what had transpired between the two of them, but Mike didn’t seem as cool towards Shane and I wasn’t about to bring up our earlier conversation. It could wait until Shane left town and I was a crying mess.
    Kirstin popped two beers down in front of the boys and handed one to me before taking her own. We deserved shift drinks and even though the bar was technically closed, we sat down next to the guys and enjoyed the quiet.
    “I’m Kirstin.” The little blond bartender reached her hand out to Shane. “And you must be the famous Shane Crawford.”
    “I’m not famous.” Shane took a long drink from his bottle of beer and rested his arm around the back of the stool I sat in.
    “You were born here and left town. That’s reason enough for celebrity status in Copperwood.”
    Kirstin said, “Transplants aren’t celebrities?”
    “She knows the lingo?” Shane gave her an appreciative look.
    “Naw. Transplants always leave,” Mike muttered around his beer bottle.
    “Unless they have a reason to stay,” Kirstin amended his statement.
    I sat back and watched the conversation. Something about it felt right and I wanted to imprint the image into my memory so when I couldn’t experience it in real life any longer, I could at least see it in my dreams.
    Shane’s fingers brushed against my shoulder as he finished his beer. A subtle cue I took as him letting me know he wanted to leave. I assumed he intended to leave with me. I drove to work, but the Dart could stay at Pick’s as far as I was concerned.
    “I’ll lock up.” Kirstin winked at me. I was going to have to owe her.
    I slipped from the stool and grabbed my things from the back office. By the time I came out front, Shane and Mike stood by the front door talking. I stopped for a moment and contemplated the sight and what it meant for me.
    But I was a grown up, so I pulled up my big girl panties and pushed my shoulders back before striding across the floor, fully intent on ignoring them. The car keys jangled in