Read Online The Werewolf's Christmas Wish (Nocturne Falls) by Kristen Painter - Free Book Online

1
    B ridget washed the last martini glass and put it on the rack to dry. The eggnog martinis had been popular, even with the small crowd that had been in.
    She dried her hands on a bar towel as she rolled her shoulders. Her vertebrae crackled like Rice Krispies. It had been a long day and she was ready for it to be over, but since her bar and grill, Howler’s, was one of the mainstays of Nocturne Falls, she was still open for business.
    She checked the time. Another thirty minutes and she’d be out of here.
    Every other place in town was closed except for Mummy’s, but the diner was a twenty-four seven kind of joint. She couldn’t imagine they’d get much business tonight though.
    After all, it was Christmas Eve.
    She wiped down the bar. The Trevors were finishing their dinner and would be leaving soon. After that, she’d close up and head over to her brother Hank’s for a fun family evening with him and his wife, Ivy; their son, Charlie; her other brother, Titus and his fiancée, Zoe; their aunt, Birdie; and of course, Ivy’s brother, Sam.
    If Sam showed. Bridget had the distinct feeling he’d been avoiding her. She snorted softly at the thought of Sam. Now there was a man who defied understanding. For about two seconds, Bridget had thought there might be something between them, but ever since he’d come back from the fire academy, he’d been all business, giving her the cold shoulder. Oh, he’d been pleasant enough on the rare occasions they’d crossed paths, but nothing like the blatant flirting that had gone on between them when he’d first arrived in town.
    Maybe he’d met someone else. Whatever. She didn’t care. If he didn’t like her, that was fine. Maybe she didn’t like him. One Kincaid in the family was enough anyway.
    She walked into the kitchen. Juan Carlos, her cook and a mountain of man thanks to the ogre half of his family, was scraping down the grill. “Take off when you’re done. I’ll close up. There’s just the one table left anyway.”
    He looked up. “You sure, boss? I can stay.”
    She put her hands on her hips. “Juan Carlos. You have a wife and two kids. You shouldn’t be here as it is. And it’s snowing.”
    He shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? Leave you here shorthanded?”
    “I appreciate you filling in for Lenny. I really do. I swear, that’s the last time I assign a new hire a delicate shift before I know they’re reliable. He’s totally fired. If he ever shows up again.”
    Juan Carlos snorted. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
    “That makes two of us.”
    Juan Carlos hung the scraper up and took off his apron. “You have a good Christmas, boss. Thanks again for the bonus.”
    “You earned it. You and Marita enjoy your holiday.”
    He nodded as he headed out. “Say hello to the sheriff and the chief for me.”
    She smiled. “Will do.”
    Hank was the sheriff and Titus was the fire chief. Between the two of them, they knew everyone in town. Or maybe it was more accurate that everyone knew them. Bridget went back to the bar and poured herself a club soda. Having them as brothers was the best. But it did tend to make the local guys less likely to ask her out. Not that she had time to date anyway.
    She sighed and sipped her drink. The Trevors looked like they were ready for their check. She had just started for the register when the phone rang.
    “Howler’s.”
    “Bridget, I was hoping I’d catch you.”
    The youngest of the Ellingham brothers had an easy-to-recognize voice. Few men could make the act of speaking a woman’s name sound like an invitation to bed. “Evening, Julian. What can I do for you?”
    “You could deliver that case of Dom my grandmother ordered. She’s a little cranky it’s not here yet. You know how she likes her champagne.”
    “I sent Lenny over with that two days ago. It was in the same delivery as the two cases of wine and the standing rib roast.”
    “The wine and the rib roast are here. The Dom Pérignon is