Side Squeeze (Jasper Falls 6)

Perrin’s eyes lit up with a smile. “That’s our hotel! My husband, Gage, just opened it. How do you like it so far?”

“It’s nice.” He had no energy for a Yelp review.

“They’re still a little under staffed over there. We’re interviewing for managers.”

It was the closest thing to an opening he’d likely get. “Find anyone good, yet?”

“Meh.” She dried a glass and hung it on the wine rack with the others. “I’m still holding out hope.”

A woman barreled in from the back and delivered his burger. “Perrin, girl, you better scoot if you plan on meetin’ Gage for your date. It’s almost five.”

“Shoot.” Perrin untied her apron. “Just charge him for the burger. His first beer was on the house.”

“Go,” the woman ordered.

“Nice seeing you, Harrison.”

He gave a nod and pulled his burger closer.

Once Perrin was gone, the woman turned to him. “What’d you do to get a free beer?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. Perrin counts every penny around here. You must’ve done somethin’ right.” She lifted a stack of papers out from beside the register and set one in front of him.

He frowned at the sheet. “What’s this?”

“Jukebox bingo. Stick around and play. It’s fun.”

He doubted that. “How does it work?”

“Don’t worry. The rules get explained before we start. Your burger’s gettin’ cold.”

She was a pushy little thing, but the burger was well worth eating hot—cooked to perfection and just what he needed to settle his stomach.

“Sorry I’m late, Sue.” A woman appeared and shoved an enormous bag behind the bar. She tied back her hair. “The kids were driving me nuts. I never thought I would get out of there.”

“No Finn tonight?”

“He’s on his way. His mom was telling him something, and I didn’t want to hold you up.”

“Plenty of time,” the bartender, Sue, said, refilling Harrison’s beer without being asked. “Here you go, sugar. I’ll put that one on your tab.”

The other woman looked at him and smiled, cocking her head. “Hi, I’m Mallory McCullough. I don’t think we’ve met.”

She wasn’t one of the McCulloughs he remembered. “Harrison Montgomery. Did I hear you mention Finn?”

“Finn’s my husband. Do you know him?”

“We went to school together.”

“Montgomery?” she said slowly as if playing a mental game of connect the dots. “So you must be Erin’s…?”

“Brother.”

“I didn’t know she had a brother.” Her expression softened and she touched his arm, the motion intimate and unexpected. “I’m so sorry about your dad.”

Maybe it was a mistake to come here. He could do without all the touchy-feely sentiments. “Thanks.”

Her hand disappeared, and luckily, more patrons poured into the bar, requiring drinks and asking when Jukebox Bingo was going to begin.

Harrison recognized a few faces, but kept his head down. He wished Sue hadn’t refilled his beer. There was no law that he had to drink it. He tried to flag her down, so he could cash out, but the evening rush had started and by the time he was able to snag her attention the beer was gone.

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew his wallet and stilled, a flashback filling his memory from his and Mariella’s first time together. Every sense came alive, and for a moment, he was back in high school again.

Forgetting what he was doing, he searched the crowd for a dark-haired beauty but didn’t see her. He wanted her to appear and wondered if she would, since Jukebox Bingo seemed a big crowd pleaser in Jasper Falls. Maybe he could text her and tell her to shoot over to the bar and join him for a drink. Maybe a few drinks. Then they could go back to his room and…

The woman, Mallory, yelled something to someone across the bar and laughed. The McCulloughs were her cousins, which meant Mallory might have Mariella’s number. He pushed his beer forward to get her attention.

“Another one?”

He nodded. “Are a lot of your relatives coming, tonight?”

“A few. The girls like the bingo more than the guys. But Tristan and Luke usually show.”

“Tristan?”

“Luke’s husband.”

He stilled. Luke was married to a man? He hadn’t seen that coming. He was shocked Luke settled down at all. He’d been a hound with the ladies back in the day. What other surprises should he expect?

He figured it wouldn’t hurt to wait around a while and see if Mariella showed.

Over the next thirty minutes the crowd doubled, as did the volume of the bar. Still no sign of Mariella, though.

Just about ready to call it quits, he reached for his wallet again, only the music cut off and a microphone screeched through the speakers. “Okay, everyone, break into teams and put your phones away!” Sue yelled from the stage. “Mallory is passing around bingo stampers. I’ll play snippets of a song, and if the title’s on your board, mark it off. Five in a row is a bingo.”

He couldn’t stomach the corny game so he waved his platinum card at Mallory. “Hey, can you cash me out?”