“Leave her alone, Channing. She’s taken.” Sylvia gave the cowboy a wink.
“What are you drinking, cowboy?” Lori asked then gave Sylvia a smile. Sylvia gave her a playful bump and the cowboys started hooting and hollering.
Lori shook her head at their wildness but was glad for the crowd. It would make the next three and a half hours go quicker.
* * * *
The stranger watched as the lights went out by the tiki bar. His beautiful blonde bombshell had to practically beat the cowboys off of her tonight. She was headed his way when the other bartender stopped her.
“I’ll finish up. You head out.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Plus, Sheriff Morgan is here. He asked me to tell you that he’s inside.”
“Oh, I hope everything is okay,” Lori replied.
“Ah hell, honey, I think he’s got a thing for you.”
“Naw, he knows that I’m seeing Charlie, Dante, and Trevor. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Lori said then headed inside.
A sinking feeling hit his gut. He had envisioned the blonde’s long, tan legs wrapped around him tonight. He even had the rope and ties in the trunk in case he needed to restrain her fully before reaching the motel.
Instead of Lori, the brunette with the red highlights approached his table.
“Come on, honey, the bar is closed. Time to head out.”
“One more drink,” he slurred and so his act began. A glance toward the brunette’s eyes and he saw her sympathetic expression. She would be the substitute tonight. She was going to be his playmate.
* * * *
Lori headed into Carl’s to grab her purse from the small locker. Carl said that someone was waiting on her. She knew it wouldn’t be Charlie, Trevor, or Dante. They were sound asleep by now because the construction crew was headed to the new property by
6:00 a.m. She knew immediately that it was Sheriff Morgan.
She glanced at her watch. It was three twenty. Looked like her morning jog would turn into an afternoon one. She couldn’t wait to hit the pillow.
As she took her purse from the locker, she dropped her keys as she closed the door and bent over to pick them up.
She felt the eyes on her and swiftly turned to find Sheriff Morgan standing there.
“Hi, Sheriff.” She pulled the skirt down best she could as she headed toward him.
He was dressed in casual wear, not his uniform.
“Long night, huh?” he asked.
“Sure was. I can’t wait to get home. What are you doing here?”
“Well, I do have a social life, Lori. I’m not always on duty,” he said then winked.
She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him. The older man lived law enforcement.
“You live and breathe the law. What are you really doing here?”
“Actually, I was hanging out with Carl and some old army buddies of mine. We were in the back area near the boat docks.”
“Oh, I saw a bunch of men heading over there. One came by the bar to smoke a cigar.”