Between the Sheets (26 page)

“That late? Crap.” Ty whistled to get everyone’s attention and the room quickly went silent.

“Let’s get this started,” he said. “Head on out to the parking lot.”

The crowd filed out, leaving behind a few regulars.

Sean and Brody and Jim, behind the bar, all took a giant breath and then started working on dishes and clearing out the empties buckets.

Ty went out the back and rode the Chief around to the front, where the streetlight created a big golden pool that showed his bike off pretty nicely.

“You guys know the drill,” Cliff said and then began reading—at super speeds—from the card Ty gave him. “Up for auction tonight we have a 1942 Indian Chief. The odometer has 7,100 miles on it. Matching frame and motor numbers. A 74ci engine, foot clutch, three-speed tank side shifter. Six-volt battery system, stainless steel exhausts—”

“Just start with the bidding!” Bruce Olep, a former Outlaw from Memphis who got out of the club just after Ty left, yelled out. “So Gordo can take it and we can get back to drinking.”

“We’ll start the bidding at twenty thousand dollars,” Cliff said.

The bidding was fast and furious. The booze helped, and Gordon from New Orleans didn’t let anyone get too far ahead of him. Ty expected twenty-seven thousand, but they blew past that pretty quick.

“We have thirty, do I hear thirty-one?” Cliff looked over the assembled crowd, but no one so much as twitched. “Bidding stands at thirty thousand dollars.
Going once. Going twice. Sold to Gordon McNeill for thirty thousand dollars.”

There was a smattering of applause and whistles, and of course a few grumbles as the guys Gordon outbid headed back into the bar.

“It’s a beautiful bike,” Gordon said, shaking Ty’s hand.

“I know you’ll take good care of her,” Ty said.

Thirty thousand was the most he’d ever made on a bike. Ever.

And he knew that wouldn’t settle in for a while, distracted as he was by the sight of Shelby inside the bar. He should be sick with pride, crowing with accomplishment, but he was just pissed off.

“What are you working on now?” Gordon asked.

Ty started telling the older man about the Velocette just as police sirens broke through the silent night.

Shelby leaned back against the counter, feeling like every muscle in her body had been worked to exhaustion. But the adrenaline of it all still hummed through her. “That was fun,” she said. “I never thought working in a kitchen would be so exciting. It’s all so fast.”

They still had some food out on the buffet. Cornbread and beans. But they were out of ribs. Out of chicken. Out of wings. The thirty people Ty brought in had been like locusts, eating their way through everything Sean had in his fridge. Including the coleslaw.

“Ah, another one gets the bug,” Cora laughed, pulling off her barbecue-sauce-splattered white apron and setting it on the counter. Shelby did the same. “Well, let me introduce you to the finest aspect of the restaurant business. The after-service cocktail.”

A drink sounded good, and Shelby followed Cora out
of the kitchen into the bar, which was silent for the moment as the auction went on outside. Through the big garage doors in the eating area, they could hear the auctioneer describing the bike.

She didn’t know anything about motorcycles, but the bike outside underneath the streetlight was a beautiful piece of machinery. Of art. And it looked as if it had been created and handled with love.

“You worried about the noise ordinance?” Brody asked. Sean checked his watch.

“They’re not that loud,” he said, though he was clearly worried. “And if he works fast, maybe Mrs. Phillips won’t have time to even get to the phone.”

Sean leaned over the bar to tilt up Cora’s face and press a long, sweet kiss on his girlfriend’s lips. “You are amazing,” he whispered to her. “Amazing.”

“I am,” Cora laughed. “And you owe me your very finest Old Fashioned.”

“Whatever the lady wants,” Sean said, clearly hopped up on the energy of a good night. “And you?” he asked Shelby, putting out napkins in front of them. “Better get it quick before the hordes come back.”

“I’ll have an Old Fashioned, too,” she said.

“Make it three,” Ashley said, coming around the bar to sit with a heavy sigh on the empty stool next to Shelby. “But make mine a Sprite.” Ashley put her hand to her stomach, and Cora caught her eye, raising an eyebrow.

Sean turned to line up the drinks, singing under his breath to the Taylor Swift song on the sound system.

“Crap, why does Jim keep moving the private stock?” Sean said.

“So you don’t use it!” Jim yelled from the corner of the room, where he was bussing empty beer bottles and pitchers from the empty tables. “It’s in the office.”

Sean skipped back to the office. Brody went to change a keg in the basement.

“There something you need to be telling us?” Cora whispered to Ashley, who seemed to be glowing red hot.

Ashley shook her head, all flushed and pink and twinkly. “It’s still super early.”

Was this code? Shelby wondered.

“But you think?” Cora asked.

Ashley bit her lip and nodded.

“Oh my God!” Cora squealed and Ashley shushed her. “We don’t want Sean to know yet,” she whispered.

“ ’Course not—that man can’t keep a secret to save his life,” Cora quickly agreed, but she leaned over to squeeze Ashley’s hands. “So excited for you, honey.”

“What is going on?” Shelby asked. Granted, she’d been drunk earlier and was now buzzing on adrenaline, and any moment she was going to be exhausted, but she could not, for the life of her, figure out what they were talking about. Whatever secret decoder ring other girls got in their first box of tampons, Shelby had missed out on.

“Brody and I are going to have a baby,” Ashley whispered just as Sean came back into the bar.

“Oh my God,” Shelby breathed, delight for her friend filling her. Cora shushed her and Shelby grabbed Ashley’s hands under the bar, squeezing them.

A few people came back into the bar just as Sean pushed two Old Fashioneds and a Sprite toward the three women.

They lifted their glasses in thanks and all took sips. The drink was strong and sweet and Shelby took a big swig of it, feeling celebratory and grateful and sad all at the same time. Grateful for her friends, for this community that she was a part of. That a wonderful couple like Ashley and Brody were starting a family. That they
could pull off an event like this without warning for a man none of them knew very well.

But the thought that she might not get to know Ty any better was a sad one. Repellant, even.

She had to convince him that she wanted nothing to do with Joe.

That she only wanted Ty.

“To Bishop,” she said, drawing surprised glances from everyone, just as police cars pulled up outside.

Chapter 18

Crap. The noise ordinance
. Ty had hoped they’d gotten in under the wire, but apparently not. Most of the crowd had gone back inside the bar, so it was just him, Gordon, and Cliff the auctioneer still out on the asphalt. But soon word got out that there were cops in front and a small group of men and women stood at the door watching.

Some of the guys inside the bar had a long and complicated relationship with law enforcement, and after a couple of drinks that relationship got pretty volatile. The last thing this night needed was anything volatile.

Ty turned to face the cruiser just as the two officers stepped out.

Jenkins and Debreau, who’d given him the gears the other day at Cora’s.

Great. Just great
.

“We meet again?” Jenkins said without much of a smile.

“Sorry if we got too loud,” Ty said, trying to cut off the good cop/bad cop routine before it got started. “Sean warned me about the ordinance, but I lost track of time.”

“The neighbors called,” Jenkins said. Again the officers split up, Jenkins coming to stand in front of him, Debreau strolling around to check out the bike behind him.

Sean and Brody came out, followed by Ashley, Cora, and Shelby. “Hey, sorry, guys,” Sean said, jogging out
to the curb where they all stood. “The time kind of got away from us.”

“That’s the fifth complaint this month, Sean. You said you’d stick to the ordinance,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to have to start fining you.”

“It’s my fault,” Ty said, trying to keep Sean from getting in trouble. After all the guy had done for him tonight, it seemed the least he could do was handle the flack from the neighbors. “Honestly, mine. If anyone needs to be fined it’s me.”

“What’s going on here?” Debreau asked. Ty turned to face the cop, who was crouched down looking at the bike.

“I’m auctioning off the bike,” Ty explained.

“It’s a nice bike,” Debreau said, standing upright again. His knees popping. “Where’d you get it?”

Ty crossed his arms over his chest. “Bought it in pieces mostly.”

“Yeah?” Debreau shifted his belt, getting comfortable with his foot up on the curb. “Like on those TV shows?”

“Sure.” Lying was easier than explaining how all those Learning Channel shows did was make things look easy and fast when they were in fact the opposite.

“So you fix this kind of stuff up and then auction it?”

“Yes.” He glanced over at Brody. Shelby stood beside him, soaking all of this in. The gold of the streetlight washed over her, gilding her hair in sparkles.

Debreau whistled, forcing Ty’s attention away. “You do good work. Real good work. I’ve got my dad’s old Harley growing rust in my garage. Maybe you want to take a look at it?”

“I don’t take clients.”

“Why not?”

Ty shrugged.
Because I don’t like working for assholes like you
, he thought, and though he didn’t say it,
Debreau clearly got the point. He sniffed and stiffened and got back to remembering he was some badass small-town cop on a power trip.

“You got the permits for this auction?” Debreau asked.

“Permits? What do I need a permit for?” Sean asked.

“I have a license,” Cliff spoke up, reaching into his wallet. “And the sale is private—”

“This area here is still public property,” Debreau said, pointing to the blacktop that Sean was planning on making patio space. “Your zoning hasn’t been approved yet, has it, Sean?”

“Are you kidding me, Max?” Sean asked, his hands on his hips. “You know I filled out the paperwork. We’re just waiting for everything to go through. It’s not my fault City Hall works on a skeleton staff.”

Debreau shrugged. “You need permits for this sort of thing, Sean.”

“Look, I’ll go into City Hall tomorrow and take care of everything.” Ty tried to placate everyone. “I’ll pay fines or fees or whatever you need me to do.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work retroactively.” Jenkins pulled out his ticket book. “Sean, I’m going to have to write you a ticket for the noise and the auction.”

Sean started swearing but Brody put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, calming him down. Jenkins handed the ticket to Sean, who wouldn’t take it, so Brody did.

“Your son here tonight?” Debreau asked.

“My son?” Ty jerked backward at the question, the sudden change of subject. “No. I didn’t bring him to a bar.”

“You got someone watching him?”

“A friend.”

“A friend like these guys?” He pointed toward the bikers in the doorway.

“Jesus, man,” Ty breathed. “What is your problem?”

Debreau stepped forward, but suddenly there was Shelby. Shelby smelling of barbecue and bourbon, with a halo of sparkles in her hair.

“We appreciate you coming out,” Shelby said, calm and level, a bucket of water on a growing fire. “The Chamber of Commerce is going to be looking into the issues with permits, and we’ll set up a better system so this doesn’t happen anymore.”

“That’s a good idea, Ms. Monroe,” Debreau said, backing off, but those sharp brown eyes didn’t leave Ty’s. “Why don’t you see what you can do about keeping these people out of trouble tonight.”

“No one is getting in trouble,” she said. “I promise.”

Jenkins and Debreau stepped back into their cruiser and after a moment pulled away from the curb and headed back out into the night and whatever passed for crime in Bishop, Arkansas.

“Thank you, Shelby,” Sean said, and Cora and Brody all chorused their thanks. Ty just looked at her.

“You keep stepping in,” he said, amazed and irritated all at the same time. He wanted to cup his hand around her neck, pull her in close to him, rest his weary and tired body against hers. Work out the giant mixed bag of emotions that had been dogging him all night with her. In her.

Hell
. He wanted to celebrate with her. Put his arm around her. Kiss her in front of her friends and his. Thank her for being a part of this night; whether she was doing it for him or for Sean didn’t matter.

She was here. She’d stayed.

But he couldn’t forget the look on her face when that Joe guy grabbed her hand.

“Holy shit!” Sean yelled, looking at the tickets. “That’s half of what we made tonight!”

“Look, guys,” Ty said, shaking free of his Shelby thoughts. “I’ll pay the tickets.”

“No,” Sean grumbled. “I agreed to do this. It’s my fault.”

“Sean.” Ty stepped closer to the guy, surprised that he was being so noble about the whole thing. “Do you know how much I made on the auction tonight?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sean said.

“Thirty grand.” Sean blinked. Shelby’s mouth fell open. “Give me the tickets. I’ll pay them.”

Sean handed them over and Ty shoved them in his pocket. “I’m sorry things ended the way they did here,” he said. “But I really appreciate the way you accommodated us. On the fly like that, too. You did a great job.” He glanced at all of the people standing behind Sean. Brody, Cora, Shelby, and Ashley. “All of you. I know you chipped in to help Sean, but it was a big deal for me. And I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sean said, sticking out his hand, and Ty shook it. “It was an amazing night. And you know if this is something you do a lot of, we can work something out. A collaborative thing.” He turned to Shelby. “Can you imagine the draw we’d get for the Okra Festival if we had one of his bikes to auction off?”