Read Online Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) by Kiara Delaney - Free Book Online

"Yeah...when
hell freezes over."

 
    "Comes with the territory, Boss," he shrugged,
nonplussed. Good to know someone was getting a kick out of this clusterfuck.

 
    Georgia broke into our private musings, saying
apprehensively, "I'll go check on her," as she hurriedly brushed past
me and down the hall.

 
    I refocused my attention back to my on-looking worker bees,
saying with levity, "Well that's our show for tonight, folks."

 
    The group snickered quietly before Dunny piped up,
"It's still daylight out."

 
    I looked at him, bemused, and replied, "It's called
humor, Dunny...ever heard of it?"

 
    A broad smile creased his face, as he retorted, "Not
from you, man."

 
    "Well, there's going to be some changes around here,
Dunny," I stated.

 
    "You tryin' to say you're a reformed asshole,
Kellan?" he joked.

 
    Chuckles rose up from the group as I quipped, " Recovering asshole, Dunny."

 
    "Yeah? And how long 'till you fall off the wagon?"
he asked playfully.

 
    "Keep testing my patience and it won't take long,"
I said through a smile.

 
    His chest bounced as he let out a hearty laugh, saying
excitedly, "Ha! See...still a fuckin' asshole."

 
    I looked at him in mock disbelief before grabbing a bottle
of whiskey, waving it in the air, and announcing, "Now, would an asshole
give his whole staff a round on the house?"

 
    The group clapped and rejoiced in unison as Gail, now joined
by Jim at her side, buried her face in her hands and shook her head back and
forth, trying to hide her smile.

 
    "What?" I asked innocently, shrugging my
shoulders. "Back in Reno they call me Mr. Nice Guy."

 
    "Must've been a phase," Gail said rolling her
eyes.

 
    "Yeah, like puberty!" Dunny shouted.

 
    A wave of laughter rose through the group as I continued to
fill shot glasses. "Fuck you guys!" I yelled teasingly. "I was
getting laid while kids my age were getting their braces put on."

 
    Out of the blue, Joe, my former next-door neighbor, cut in
with a grin, "So how'd you get those pearly whites, Kellan?"

 
    "Eating pussy, brother," I quickly returned,
raising my shot in the air.

 
    Mirroring me, Joe replied, "I'll drink to that!"

 
    Jim, Gail, and the rest of the group joined in on the
laughter and tipped back their shots. My first day as a bar owner was getting
off to a great start. I wasn't about to let anything ruin it for me.

 
    ******

 
    Hailey

 
    I couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity as Kellan for
one more minute. Hearing the ridiculous news of him taking over Jim's bar
nearly had bile rising in my throat. Him ?
My boss? That'll be the day.

 
    As I paced the parking lot, trying to avoid breaking down, I
knew Georgia was probably hot on my heels. I'd be expecting her to come bolting
through the door in... 3...2...1...

 
    "Oh, Hailey, honey," she cooed, right on cue, as
she stepped out of the bar, her arms outstretched towards me.

 
    "Don't you honey me!" I shot at her. "You knew about this?" I accused.

 
    Dropping her hands, she inched closer to me as if I were a
wild animal to be handled with caution. Tentatively, she said, "I only
found out about ten minutes before you did. Gail spilled the beans."

 
    Throwing my arms up, I exclaimed, "And you couldn't
have warned me?"

 
    "I figured you were already on your way here," she
said guiltily as she lowered her lashes and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

 
    I reached into my back pocket and raised my phone in the
air, shouting, "Ever hear of a cell phone?"

 
    Suddenly morphing back into her sassy self, she placed her
hand on her hip and replied, "What would you have done? Turn around and
run home like a coward?" I gasped as she continued, "Whether you like
it or not, he's here to stay. You can't just run away from your problems,
Hailey."

 
    "Correction," I stated solidly, "My 'problem'
ran away from me , remember?"

 
    "Look, you know what I'm talking about," she
whined.

 
    "What I know is
you