Morrison (Caldwell Brothers #2) (12 page)

I stand in the doorway of the room originally intended for Momma and then occupied by Hailey and Marisa. I hate seeing it empty, though for a while it couldn’t have been more perfect…for her and that little chick. Not even gonna lie to myself: Their leaving is the second hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.

Hailey was strong when I met her—fierce, actually. Never in a
million years would I have thought she felt like that fuck really owned her. Given what she went through, I understand she needed to build a wall. I wanted that wall strong, and not only for her.

The little one needs her momma strong, fierce, and independent, and she is seeing that now, no doubt about it. She even told me “Mommy is happy all the time now” on Wednesday night, my night with her.
Those nights, I take her out of the nest, so to speak, and we have dinner.

Hailey’s
new
nest. The
original
nest—the home in which my family embraced both my girls—was great for the two of them. And for us, too. I’m sad to see that time end.

However, now little chick and I have our one-on-one Wednesday date night, and fuck if she doesn’t have me opening doors and shit. It’s the first time in
my life that I’ve wined and dined someone who actually tugs at the hardened Caldwell heartstrings. Okay, so it was chicken tenders, fries, and milk shakes, but dammit, it was a step.

Someday soon, I am gonna give that to little momma Hailey.

“You okay?” Hendrix asks from behind me.

“Monday nights, I want the bar,” I tell Hendrix, looking over my shoulder.

“For?”

“Cards, man. I need that.
I also need a couple nights at the bar.”

“I’m down with that. Livi gets pissed when she trains someone and then they get caught fucking up, so she insists on being there a couple nights. I’d like her little ass at home more often, though. Weekends are getting busy as hell, too, if you can work then. Sally, me, Livi, and sometimes Jagger can hardly keep up. You want—”

“I’ll help out wherever,
but I have a few plans of my own.”

“Atlantic City? Reno?”

“Nah, man, I’m here for good. I left Aces in Vegas, retired his ass. I’ll sell my place in Atlantic City, too. Now I want something else. I appreciate the job, and I know it’s only for three or four hours on Friday and Saturday when you get overwhelmed. I have no intention of taking money out of your pocket.”

“You just said yourself
that you know I need the help. It’s cheaper to pay you than one of those fucks that wants to steal me blind.”

“For now, I will take it.”

“ ‘Earn’ it, man. It’s not ‘taking’ shit.”

“Cool. I’ll gladly step in even when I’ve sorted my shit.”

“You wanna fill me in on your plans?”

“Not yet. Still need to see what’s coming in before I make the move.”

“You free tonight?” Hendrix asks from my doorway.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Married Livi two months ago today. I was gonna go eat dinner at the bar, but I’d rather eat it in bed. You mind going down and helping close up later?”

“Who’s working?”

“Does it matter?” he asks.

“Thursday night: Hailey’s working,” I state, and he nods. “Sure, I can handle it.”

“Mail came today with something from an insurance company, and something from Vegas police?”

“No shit?”

I walk over and grab the envelopes off the counter, then go to my room, where I open up the one from the Vegas police first. Apparently, Monte is pleading not guilty. I have no clue how the idiot thinks he can pull that off. It makes me laugh out loud, until I read the part about me being called to testify against him.

Now little momma is gonna find out, and I know she will be pissed.
I have to tell her sooner rather than later. I have a few weeks, though. Three, to be exact.

Fuck, she’s pissed
now
. I try real damn hard to keep the physical contact to a minimum, but I still give her a hug once in a while. You bet your ass it’s quick, though, or I’d be popping wood.

I see her look at my lips, and I know she wants me in that mouth as bad as I do, but I can’t, not yet. Things
need to be solid, and I am gonna make damn sure she is the one making that first move. But God help her when she does.

The next envelope is the insurance check for my totaled car. The green is gonna come in handy, but it still pisses me off that that asshole rolled up on me the way he did. He’ll get his. In prison, someone will roll up on his ass, and then he’ll see what it feels like to be taken
from behind with no fucking warning.

As soon as I walk into the bar, Livi grabs her things, then gives me a squeeze. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

She practically runs out the door.

The place is hopping; it has been for a few months now. Caldwell’s is the place to be.

Hailey’s behind the bar, running her little ass off, so I get behind there with her.

“Here to help.”

“Do I look like I need
help?”

Piss-ass,
I think. “The place is three deep, so yeah, you need some help.”

“Coolers could use stocking, and the Miller Lite keg is nearing its end. You could change that. Other than that, I got this.” She doesn’t miss a beat, continues pouring shots, filling cups, and taking in cash while she speaks.

“Sure thing, boss lady.” I laugh, unable to help myself, and she stops dead in her tracks,
then looks at me, pissed.

I don’t look away.

“Hey, sweet-ass, I’m empty,” a guy yells.

I whip my head around, ready to lose my shit, when she yells back, “Sweet-ass? Is that all you can come up with, Romeo?” She laughs as she pours a shot.

“It’s mighty fine,” the fuckhead says, giving her a wink.

She hands him the shot, and he hands her a ten.

“You think it’s okay to talk shit like that
to me?”

“Damn.” The guy smiles. “Probably not. Probably should be on one knee, asking you to marry me.”

“You do know you have a better chance of seeing God, right, Ricky?”

“So you keep telling me.”

She looks at Jared. “Man has a thick skull, but he tips well.”

“Keep the change, girl.” Rick laughs.

She rings him up, then throws the extra eight bucks in her overflowing tip jar before she looks
over at me.

I am still pissed. “Say the word, and I will throw his ass—”

“The guy’s drunk and likes to talk shit, Caldwell. He means no harm. You gonna stand in my way or change the keg?”

I change the keg, stock the coolers, and stand back, watching her work the crowd. She is just as much of a hard-ass with them as she is with me. The exception is Jared; they seem to be tight. They live in
the same building now, too.

Jared may look like he’s in his forties with that thick-ass beard and wild hair, but he’s only in his early thirties. I really hope nothing is going on with the two of them, ’cause I like the guy and don’t wanna have to kill his ass.

She busts her ass all night, and anytime I try to help, I get the look, the one that’s supposed to intimidate yet in reality turns me
the fuck on. So I grab the stool behind the bar and park my ass in it.

“Morrison?” I look up as a couple of women make their way over to me.

“Hey, Patsy, Tina, what’s up?” I give them the smile they are accustomed to.

“It’s Thursday—ladies’ night—and we came all the way here thinking we might get to see you and your brothers on the bar.”

I laugh. “Hendrix got hitched and”—I wave my hand through
the air—“looks like there are very few ladies in the house tonight. Lots of men, though, huh?”

“But only one Caldwell.” Tina winks.

“Just stopped in to back the bar, but Hailey here,” I say as Hailey approaches us, “would be glad to help you two out.”

“What can I get the two of you to drink?”

“We’d like a Caldwell cocktail.” Patsy smirks at me.

“Come again?” she asks.

“Wish he would.” Tina
laughs. “You and your brother Jagger…Remember that time?”

Hailey’s eyebrows shoot up as she looks at me.

“You know what’s in a Caldwell cocktail, Hailey?” Patsy giggles.

“Nope,” Hailey says as she pours a shot and pushes it down the bar to one of the guys waiting for a drink.

“Well, it starts with one of us on our knees,” Tina begins.

“Then lip to tip, right, Morrison?” Patsy adds.

Fuck me
. I nod.

“Then a little stir, no shaking, tongue flat. Isn’t that the instructions you gave?” Tina bites her lip.

“Take it deep, don’t gag, just swallow,” Patsy picks up where she leaves off.

“Are you two fucking seriously telling me about the blow jobs you gave him? If so, save it. Not interested. What I am interested in is your drink order, but if you’re just here to hook up, let me know so
I can serve some customers,” Hailey snaps.

“Two Miller Lites,” Tina says quickly.

“You wanna get that or should I?” Hailey hisses at me.

“You go ahead, babe.”

When she scowls at me, then goes to grab their drinks, I turn back to the girls. “Look, I’m not serving those anymore. It was great seeing the two of you, though.”

Then I walk away as Hailey serves them.

It is one in the morning before
things die down. Hailey talks to the customers, smiles, and even calls a few of them cabs. By the time the bar is empty, it’s two in the morning. Hailey flips the sign and locks the front door.

She doesn’t sit for a second, only keeps up her pace, and it’s obvious she’s avoiding me.

“You wanna exchange your ones and change for bigger bills before I do the till?”

“Yeah.” She sets the bar rag
down and walks over to the register.

I don’t move. I want her to have to come to me. “You are one hell of a bartender.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not brain surgery.”

“That guy, the one who called you—”

“He’s harmless.”

“You sure about that?”

She whips her little braids around and glares at me. “A girl like me can spot an asshole a mile away.”

“A girl like you doesn’t deserve catcalls,” I retort.

“Well, it seems you have some ‘cats’ calling on you.”

“I’m not a cat person.” I lean in a bit and look at her lips, watch her take a short, quick breath.

She looks away quickly. “No, you’re a kid person. My daughter thinks the world of you. Actually, she talks about you all the time.”

I take a drink, trying to calm my shit down.

“About some game you only want to play with me? ‘Twitch’?”

I nearly choke on my drink. “Hailey—”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for the two of you to spend time together. She’s gonna think of you as more—”

“Hold up a minute.”

“No, you listen to me! She believes in those fairy tales—the white knights, the happily-ever-after, shit that clearly isn’t a reality. She needs to know she can be strong all by herself.”

“You done?” I don’t like where this is
heading.

She looks away from me. “Clearly.”

She turns around, and I go stand in front of her, placing my hands on the counter behind her. Her breath hitches again, but she doesn’t move.

“She sees you and what you do. She’s gonna be a strong woman, no doubt. Now explain the reason behind you not wanting me around her.”

“What’s twitch?” she says, clearing her throat and trying to hide the desire,
the way she feels when she and I are this close.

“I said bitch. Didn’t know she was there and had to cover my—”

“So I’m a bitch!” She shoves me, but I grab her hands and keep them against my chest.

“Sometimes.” I just can’t help myself, though it had nothing to do with what I was telling her.

She pushes me again.

“It’s hot, though.”

“Morrison, don’t play games with my daughter.”

“Not a
game player anymore.”

“Right.” She finally looks away.

“Look at me.” She does. “I’m not playing a game.”

“What do you want from me? What do you think I owe you? What?”

“Slow down, baby. One question at a time. What do I want from you? I could ask the same question of you.”

“Of me?”

“Yes.” I lean in. “What do
you
want from
me
?”

Her chest rises and falls, her breathing rapidly increasing
as I move slowly toward her.

“While you’re thinking about the answer, no, Hailey, I don’t own you.
You
own you. Now, wanting you…Well, I think you know the answer to that.”

I step back until her hand fists my shirt.

“I have no idea what I want from you.” Her voice is thick and husky.

“You’re playing a game. You know what you want. You want it, and it’s right here. Your move, your call.” I
slowly lean in. “It’s right here, baby. Right fucking here.”

She licks her lips and stares at mine, then looks down at the erection pushing against my pants. “Your girls could have taken care of your needs.”

“That need can only be taken care of by one of two people, and the one who has been handling it is getting real sick of jerking off in the shower, thinking about you.”

“You need to get
laid.”

“I need a taste, a touch, something to hold me over till you know for damn sure this is what you want, ’cause I’m all fucking in, baby. I don’t own you; you feel me?” I take her hand and run it down my chest to the waist of my pants. “But if you want me, I’m here. I’ll play bitch for you until you realize I’m not about owning you in the way he tried to.”

I see the wheels turning. “Twitch?”
her voice squeaks.

“Call it whatever you want, but if you aren’t gonna take it, I need to get the fuck outta here and take care of it myself.”

“Show me,” she says, trying to see how far she can push me.

“You wanna watch me take care of myself?”

She nods, swallowing down her desire.

“You gonna show me what you’ve been doing to take care of yourself?”

She shakes her head.

I unbuckle my belt,
then reach out and grab her around the waist. I lift her up, and she moans and goes limp in my arms, her head on my shoulder, as I set her on the bar stool, then step back.

“Not used to spectators, baby, but if you want it, you got it. Starts like this.” I unbutton my pants, and my dick pops out of my boxer briefs. “He’s looking for you, always looking for you. Can’t get you out of his system.”
I push my boxers down and wrap my hand around my dick. “Gonna close my eyes, ’cause you sitting there isn’t you lying in the back of your car while I eat the best pussy I have ever eaten in my fucking life. Platinum, Hailey. Fuck,” I moan as I stroke myself slowly up and down. “Gotta squeeze tight to—mmm. That platinum pussy of yours, so wet, so tight…’’