Shannon looked down at her boots, changing the subject. “I just love those boots. They look so cool on you.”
Crystal looked over at her, a grateful look in her eyes for changing the subject. “Well, thanks, hon. They are pretty killer, aren’t they?”
Shannon smiled at her, glad she could help her escape Angel’s scrutiny. Shannon knew what it was like to have things in your past that you didn’t want to talk about. Looking over at Angel, she knew Angel knew it, too.
Angel looked back at her with an innocent look. “What? I kid. She knows I love her.”
Crystal looked around Shannon. “Then maybe you’d stop bringing it up.”
“Okay. Okay. You’re off the hook.” Her attention swung to Shannon, a big grin on her face. “Now let’s talk about you and Crash.”
Crystal leaned back, raising the beer to her mouth and warned, “Oh, brother. Watch out, Shan, apparently you’re her next victim.”
Just then the kids ran up and the guys behind them. Billy went straight to Mary. TJ threw himself in his mom’s arms, and Crash walked up with Melissa riding piggy-back. She looked all tuckered out.
“Mom, can Billy spend the night with us?” TJ pleaded. “Please?”
Natalie walked over and suggested, “I think that’d be a fine idea, TJ.” Then she turned to Angel. “I can take the kids back home with me.”
“Are you sure?” Angel asked.
“Sure.” She turned to TJ. “You and Billy can play video games.”
His arms went straight up in the air. “Yay!”
“But you have to ask Billy’s mom if it’s okay.” He immediately raced over to Billy and Mary, shouting, “My mom and Aunt Natalie said okay.”
Natalie looked up at Melissa, who was perched up on Crash’s back, her head resting on his shoulder. “And you and I can make popcorn and watch a princess movie. How about that?”
Melissa smiled and nodded, holding out her arms to Natalie.
Crash passed her over, and then reached out and rubbed her back. “You have fun, sweet pea.”
Angel moved off to help Natalie load the kids up in her big SUV, and Crash looked down at Shannon. “I need a drink, come on.” He reached down, took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
Shannon gave an ‘I-guess-I’m-going-inside-now’ look at Crystal, who smiled back at her and said, “Have fun.”
Crash led her inside, his hand clamped on hers. They went straight to the bar, where Crash parked her on a barstool and then surprised her by asking her what she wanted, rather than just handing her a beer. “What’ll you have, Princess?”
“Umm.” Her eyes scanned the bottles behind the bar. “What have you got?”
Crash grinned. “How about I surprise you? Or aren’t you that adventurous?”
Never one to refuse a challenge, Shannon lifted her chin, “Fine. Surprise me. This I’ve got to see. Do you even know anything about mixing drinks?”
The corner of Crash’s mouth lifted, but he didn’t respond, he just moved behind the bar and began making something. A minute later, he slid a blue drink in front of her, his eyes meeting hers.
“What is it?” she asked, looking down at it.
“Take a sip,” he replied, lifting his chin toward the drink.
Green, Wolf and Misty were sitting at the bar watching her. Cole and Red Dog walked up, having finished helping get their kids loaded up.
Shannon took a tentative sip. It was actually good. “What’s it called?”
Crash grinned at her. “I named it after you. I call it the Blue-eyed Bitch.”
The guys around the bar all started laughing.