I hung up and tried to catch my breath before heading back into Bar.
I hated fighting with my mother. I wanted to live my life and have her accept me. She didn’t have to approve, but we were all we had left. My dad wasn’t present, and come January it would be a year that Julia’s been gone. Sure, I was starting a new life in Grand Haven with Caleb. But I longed for us to have a mother-daughter relationship, and I wasn’t sure if that was possible. She was still so mad at me.
Once I got back into Bar, I was greeted with the distraction I truly needed but surely didn’t want.
“Why is the pool table out of commission?” Dirty Al complained, clutching his glass.
Caleb and I exchanged guilty looks from across the bar.
The pool table needed to be professionally cleaned after our antics on top of it. So Caleb decided to throw a sheet over it for the night and deal with the aftermath in the morning.
As he mixed a customer’s tequila sunrise, Caleb somehow came up with a response. “Uh, one of the legs was a bit wobbly so I need Paul to come check it out.”
“If that’s what they call it.” I snickered to myself as I cashed out a tab on the register.
Caleb made his way over to me and playfully pinched my side.
“Why don’t I give it a look? I had one at my old place. Might be an easy fix.”
“Nah, it’s all right,” Caleb stammered.
I spun to face Dirty Al and Caleb, and I gasped in shock and embarrassment when I took in the scene before me.
Caleb’s response had come too late, and Dirty Al was already next to the pool table.
He ducked down to check it out.
He picked something up off the ground and held it up for me and the entire bar to see.
One of my buttons.
Shoot! I thought we collected all of those.
“Hmm, maybe this shiny button might have been the source of your leveling problem. Now what would a pretty thing like this be doing in a place like this?” he pondered, his eyes meeting mine.
I couldn’t help the blush that plagued my face, so I looked away.
I really thought all our bases were covered.
“Grace’s jacket snagged on the counter while she was cleaning up. She couldn’t find it anywhere,” Caleb lied smoothly, coming to my rescue.
Dirty Al was less than convinced, but thankfully dropped the subject.
I couldn’t look at him for a week after that night.
CHAPTER 23
Grace
Ms. Kenzie handed me a clipboard,her usually stern eyes softening for just a moment. “I expect you’ll keep things organized, Grace. No distractions. This event is important and I’m trusting you.”
When I learned Ms. Kenzie was running a talent show fundraiser, I jumped at the opportunity to ask her whether she needed any volunteers. Since volunteering at the homeless shelter, I realized how badly I wanted to help. I also realized how many people were in need of help. I had grown up so privileged and knew I could really make an impact.
I tried not to smile too wide and appear overly enthusiastic. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Ms. Kenzie raised an eyebrow, skeptical, but her mouth fought a smile. “See that you are.”
She strutted away, barking instructions at the volunteers near the makeshift stage. Ms. Kenzie might have a sharp tongue and a permanently furrowed brow, but I’d come to realize she had one of the biggest hearts I’d ever encountered, especially when it came to the shelter she ran from mostly out of her own pocket.
