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so thankful for that.” Sable started crying, reaching for a tissue. “Luke, I’m sorry I left you, and I hope that you’ll be able to forgive me someday.”
    “Sable, there’s nothing to forgive.” I put my hand over hers. “I’ll be in town for at least another week. I hope to hear from you.”
    I wondered for a second if I should hug her, but I felt a little awkward, and I needed some fresh air. Even in the big house, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I walked out the front door, closed it quietly behind me, and headed for my Jeep. I felt like I was moving on autopilot as I climbed in, started my car, and backed down the driveway.

Chapter 10
    Krystal
    T he lunch rush had been fantastic, especially for a weekend. Even though Falling Rock was in the perfect area to pull in both tourists and business people, the tips on the weekend usually weren’t as good, especially for a pretty girl. It doesn’t matter how hot you are if a husband’s sitting at the bar with his wife looking over his shoulder while he signs the credit card receipt.
    I’d done well over the course of the afternoon, though. I’d hustled and really worked on selling some of the obscure, higher priced beers. It still blew my mind that there were people willing to pay twenty dollars for a single bottle of beer, but I was glad those folks were in Denver today!
    I checked my watch and realized that I only had about forty-five minutes to get the bar back into shape for the dinner shift, and I still had a bar that was about half full. Time to shift into higher gear , I thought, as I started wiping down the liquor bottles I’d used to make what had felt like about a thousand bloody marys. I’d just finished a quick cleanup of the back bar, when I turned to scan the bar and see if anyone needed another drink.
    And in walked Luke.
    I’d wondered if he’d be miserably hung over from the night before, but he didn’t appear to be. He waved as he crossed the room.
    “I promise I’m not stalking you,” he said as he pulled out a bar stool and took a seat.
    “But here you are,” I said, narrowing my eyes and trying to look suspicious.
    “Seriously,” he said, as he started to stand up. “If you want me to go, I will. It’s just that I don’t know anyone else … and I …”
    “Jesus, Luke. I was kidding.”
    “Oh,” he laughed. “I feel like an idiot.”
    “Actually, I’m glad to see you, to be honest.” I wasn’t sure why I told him how I felt, but I realized that it felt good to be able to say what I thought, rather than having to worry about how he’d react — I didn’t have to measure my words and try to anticipate what would make him explode … like I did with Bug.
    “If you’re busy, I can leave, but I thought I could drink a beer and tell you about my day if you’re not too slammed.”
    “As long as you don’t mind if I work while you talk, that’s perfectly all right,” I answered, getting out the lemons, oranges, and limes I needed to slice to get things set for the closing bartender.
    “Go ahead,” Luke said as he looked over the beer menu. “I’ll enjoy every second of watching you work.”
    I poured his beer — not one of the twenty-dollar bottles, but a draft from California, and I slowly bent over to place it on the bar in front of him. I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and I ran my finger around the edge of the glass, catching the foam from the beer’s head. I brought my finger to my mouth and slowly licked the foam from my finger, maintaining eye contact with Luke the entire time, finally finishing by inserting my finger into my mouth and sucking it clean.
    “You can watch all you like,” I said, as I headed to the other end of the bar to check on a couple who — after a couple of drinks — had started to kiss and whisper in one another’s ears. I laughed as I saw Luke close his mouth and adjust himself inside his jeans. I wondered if I could push him — get him so hot and turned on