“You’d better get a move on it,” Susanna told Ava as she nodded toward the dance floor. It was nearly jammed packed.
“It’s gonna be a great night,” Ava stated then twirled around on her boots and did a little two-step as she walked away.
Chapter 3
Sheriff BJ Parker was doing his rounds. It was getting late, nearly midnight, when he stopped by Dixie Chix to see some of his men patrolling. His department was big, and he had four deputies patrolling outside, keeping traffic control and also maintaining the peace. For the most part they barely had any problems at Dixie Chix but lately people were coming from outside of town. Pickup trucks, sports cars, and even fancy limos were dropping off new customers. If this place got any more crowded, the fire marshal would be on the scene doing an inspection. Now BJ knew Tyler, the fire inspector, well and could get him to hold off a bit in warning, but still Susanna needed to gain some control of the situation.
Just as he pulled up alongside the deputies, he noticed a group of rowdy cowboys trying to harass Big Dog, one of Susanna’s main bouncers.
He got out of the car as he radioed in. A minute later, the front entrance was under control again.
“Hey, Big Dog, we’re gonna have to break up this line. You don’t have anyone coming out to let these people in,” Deputy Tommy Ollsen told him as the sheriff walked over.
“What’s going on?” the sheriff asked as a few other deputies began to send the waiting crowd home.
“It’s a madhouse in there tonight. Usually people come and go, but the new band is kicking ass and the ladies are having a great time. The building just can’t accommodate more than a few hundred people.”
“Hey, Dog, I got five people leaving now,” G-Force, the other bouncer, stated, and Big Dog let five more people in.
“We better go in and check it out,” Sheriff BJ said as he and the two Ollsen deputies entered the club.
Sure enough, the place was crowded but surprisingly under complete control. The section toward the back where the band played had a nice crowd of people just sitting back enjoying the country music. The band was playing Luke Bryan’s song “Drunk on You,” one of BJ’s favorites. He scanned the other bars. People acknowledged his presence and moved out of the way. His deputies checked out the area and everything looked good, and then he saw Susanna. She was standing near the main bar, dressed in one of her rather sexy outfits. Susanna was a gorgeous sight, even from across the room and amongst the many good-looking women in the place. He felt his gut clench. First of all, what the hell was she doing working tonight with bruised ribs, and secondly, who the fuck were the three men surrounding her?
He knew he couldn’t go over there. Not in uniform and not all fired up with jealousy.
He watched her as he pretended to scan the place. It wasn’t uncommon for him or his deputies to do a walk-through and make sure things were under control. It was a community effort to maintain the peace. Business owners in Delite liked it when the officers checked out their establishments and made their presence known.
He stood there a few more seconds. He saw her cringe as she adjusted her position. One of the men reached for her, and she shook her head declining his assistance. Fire burned in BJ’s gut. This had to end. He and Monte had to take charge of the situation and fast before some asshole moved in on her, or three for that matter.
“Sheriff, all looks good,” Deputy Tommy Ollsen stated and nodded his head before they exited the building together. On his way out, he saw Monte in the side corner. A bit of relief hit his gut. His brother had just arrived. He’d take care of Susanna.
He nodded toward him, acknowledging his presence, then nodded in the direction of Susanna. Monte tapped a finger to his black Stetson and nodded. He saw what BJ saw, and Monte would take care of her.
He exited the building and continued his patrol for the night.
* * * *
Susanna was getting tired, and the ibuprofen she’d taken earlier wore off a while ago. She needed to head up to her office for a bit and rest.
She started to get down off the stool when one of the three men who had been talking with her for a while now grabbed her elbow to assist her.
He was a good-looking guy but a bit older than her.
“Where ya running off to, sugar?” he asked, standing a little too close to her.
She placed her hand
on his chest and took a step forward trying to let him know he needed to give her some room.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to take care of something.”
He didn’t budge, but instead he and his two friends let their eyes travel shamelessly from her face down to her cleavage. She had nice breasts and hips and an ass to go with them. She smiled at him.
“Maybe we can help you?” he asked then licked his bottom lip. She knew what they wanted. She’d declined enough offers for sex over the years to know when a man, or in this case men, were horny. She was in pain and just wanted to go sit down or even lie down for a while.
She gave him and his buddies a smile.
“I’m sorry, fellas, but I need to take care of this alone. Why don’t you get another drink and mingle with some of those fine-looking women prancing around the place.”