Read Online The Bartender's Daughter by Isabelle Flynn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Isabelle Flynn
Ads: Link
a formality. If she’s having a rough time, it has more to do with having just lost her father and being away from her boyfriend.” He walked away. Instead of watching the sun glint off the surface of the water, he’d go for a run and maybe get this morning behind him.
****
She saw him from a distance during her morning run. There was no mistaking the smooth, confident gait or the way his head stayed high, looking forward. She envied his approach. She always struggled to look up when she ran, fighting her natural urge to look down at the ground. She turned and ran back to the cottage, cutting her run short but saving herself from encountering Lee when she wasn’t prepared.
They hadn ’t spoken more than the bare minimum in the last two weeks and they certainly hadn’t kissed. She had avoided any situation that may have found them alone. She simply didn’t trust herself. She’d gone over the books, cleaned out a few drawers in her father’s office, and read a few books on small business she’d found at the library. She had lots of questions for him. Questions that could no longer be avoided.
She pulled the key out from under a rock and unlocked the front door. The door was just shutting behind her when she threw off her clothes and added them to the growing pile of laundry. She ’d need to hit the Laundromat today or tomorrow. While she didn’t have Serena’s cleaning lady or the luxury of a washing machine and dryer, she loved living in the cottage. It was all hers, a place that was completely her own. She’d lost that feeling of being constantly indebted.
She got ready and started on her walk to the bar. Except for sleeping and her occasional trips to do laundry, she wasn ’t spending much time at her new home. Mornings were for deliveries. Then there was the small lunch crowd after opening, the afternoon drinking crowd, the dinner push, and then the nighttime drinkers. She was getting back into the rhythm of the place.
There were upgrades that needed to be made, marketing that had to be developed, and most of all, the loan to Lee that had to be repaid. Apparently, he hadn ’t used the loans to purchase his share of the bar. She found a handwritten promissory note in the bottom drawer with no information on the kind of interest rate the bar was expected to pay him back. She wondered what her father was thinking when he made such a decision.
She kicked a rock along the quiet road and watched it skitter across the black top. She shouldn ’t be questioning her father’s choices. She hadn’t been there when the deep fryer broke or the walk-in went out. Obviously he’d done what he thought needed to be done at the time. Either way, she had a significant amount to pay back to Lee, even if they split the debt in half. In the future, she had every intention of being the only owner of Ray’s. She needed him out of her bar and out of her life.
It was getting harder and harder to avoid him. If only he had begun losing his hair, gotten fat, and stopped coming around all together. Maybe then she could forget those kisses and that she had been nothing but a joke to him, a well-played bit of rebellion that he kept to himself.
She sighed and pushed on, concentrating on the salty breeze and fresh morning air that promised the humidity only summer in New England could bring. A little of the pressure building in her chest loosened when she spotted the empty parking lot. She would have to deal with Lee soon but, at least, not until she had her morning coffee.
She slid her key into the slot , but the door opened without any pressure. The door had been locked last night. She swore remembering the click of the lock and turning off the air conditioning just before walking out. Now it hummed loudly and cold air leaked from the open door. She was just about to shut the door and pull out her cell phone when she heard her name.
She opened the door wider until sunlight lit up the figure striding toward her. A little of the
****
She saw him from a distance during her morning run. There was no mistaking the smooth, confident gait or the way his head stayed high, looking forward. She envied his approach. She always struggled to look up when she ran, fighting her natural urge to look down at the ground. She turned and ran back to the cottage, cutting her run short but saving herself from encountering Lee when she wasn’t prepared.
They hadn ’t spoken more than the bare minimum in the last two weeks and they certainly hadn’t kissed. She had avoided any situation that may have found them alone. She simply didn’t trust herself. She’d gone over the books, cleaned out a few drawers in her father’s office, and read a few books on small business she’d found at the library. She had lots of questions for him. Questions that could no longer be avoided.
She pulled the key out from under a rock and unlocked the front door. The door was just shutting behind her when she threw off her clothes and added them to the growing pile of laundry. She ’d need to hit the Laundromat today or tomorrow. While she didn’t have Serena’s cleaning lady or the luxury of a washing machine and dryer, she loved living in the cottage. It was all hers, a place that was completely her own. She’d lost that feeling of being constantly indebted.
She got ready and started on her walk to the bar. Except for sleeping and her occasional trips to do laundry, she wasn ’t spending much time at her new home. Mornings were for deliveries. Then there was the small lunch crowd after opening, the afternoon drinking crowd, the dinner push, and then the nighttime drinkers. She was getting back into the rhythm of the place.
There were upgrades that needed to be made, marketing that had to be developed, and most of all, the loan to Lee that had to be repaid. Apparently, he hadn ’t used the loans to purchase his share of the bar. She found a handwritten promissory note in the bottom drawer with no information on the kind of interest rate the bar was expected to pay him back. She wondered what her father was thinking when he made such a decision.
She kicked a rock along the quiet road and watched it skitter across the black top. She shouldn ’t be questioning her father’s choices. She hadn’t been there when the deep fryer broke or the walk-in went out. Obviously he’d done what he thought needed to be done at the time. Either way, she had a significant amount to pay back to Lee, even if they split the debt in half. In the future, she had every intention of being the only owner of Ray’s. She needed him out of her bar and out of her life.
It was getting harder and harder to avoid him. If only he had begun losing his hair, gotten fat, and stopped coming around all together. Maybe then she could forget those kisses and that she had been nothing but a joke to him, a well-played bit of rebellion that he kept to himself.
She sighed and pushed on, concentrating on the salty breeze and fresh morning air that promised the humidity only summer in New England could bring. A little of the pressure building in her chest loosened when she spotted the empty parking lot. She would have to deal with Lee soon but, at least, not until she had her morning coffee.
She slid her key into the slot , but the door opened without any pressure. The door had been locked last night. She swore remembering the click of the lock and turning off the air conditioning just before walking out. Now it hummed loudly and cold air leaked from the open door. She was just about to shut the door and pull out her cell phone when she heard her name.
She opened the door wider until sunlight lit up the figure striding toward her. A little of the
Similar Books
