Maizy the Bear Charmer(Diving Creek Ranch 16)(22)

“We’ll still see you tonight?”

She glanced at the group, obviously noting the way both women still stared, blanched, and then turned to him. “Of course. I just need…it’s complicated. I still want my kiss.”

Cody didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath. “All right. But when I kiss you tonight, it’ll be on my terms.”

The unfocused quality came back to her eyes as she whispered, “I understand. I’ll see you tonight. Be safe.”

She started the Bug. Recalling her words from during lunch, Cody thought that while she might know her worth as a teacher, she didn’t know her worth as a woman, with rights to a life outside of the school and her job.

The group finally moved toward the entrance of the steakhouse and Cody stalked over to Heath and Spencer.

“Everything okay with her?” Spencer asked. “She didn’t change her mind, did she?”

Cody gave a small shake of his head. “I think those people were from her school or something.”

“That would explain why she got all skittish,” Heath said. “Did you get your kiss?”

“No.” He didn’t say anything else as they climbed onto the bikes. He watched as her little red Bug zipped out of the parking lot.

Was it fair of them to expect her to just fall into their plans for a ménage regardless of the consequences to her job? A job she clearly loved and felt called to do. Maybe the best thing to do would be to have an honest talk with her tonight and nail down whether a ménage would work for her or not. It might not matter what they wanted because he wasn’t going to ruin what she’d worked so hard for in the process.

He smiled, thinking she still owed him a kiss. She needed to at least have a clear picture of what she’d be missing out on if by chance she decided to walk away. He ignored the ache that thought inspired in his gut.

The feeling still hadn’t left him hours later as he stood at the front door, checking IDs. Heath was at the bar, watching the monitors from there and Spencer was at the back door dealing with a delivery driver who was running late.

As Cody greeted a group of regulars, he kept his eye on two single girls at a nearby table who were being hit on by a couple of drunk cowboys. He made eye contact with Heath across the club and then looked at the girls. Heath nodded back. This was one of the reasons why the guys worked well together. Nonverbal communication was vital in this business.

When he worked, he mentally filtered out the loud country and Western and hard rock mix that usually pounded in the club to observe nuances in the crowd. As long as club goers looked and sounded happy he was relaxed.

The cowboys gesticulated with their beer bottles in their hands at the dance floor, nearly clocking another guy standing nearby. The girls, Tammy and Tracy, glanced at each other and then shook their heads at the cowboys. The men kept talking to them, leaning closer, and the sign he’d been watching for was there as both women sat back in their seats and the sparkle left their eyes.

Heath made eye contact with Cody and nodded. They headed toward Tammy and Tracy from opposite sides of the club. They needed to intervene or the girls would likely leave and then have a worse problem if the cowboys followed them into the parking lot. Unhappy female customers were bad for business. Plus, he just didn’t like seeing women unhappy for any reason.

Cody leaned in between them so they could hear him over the music. “Girls, you okay here or would you like to move?”

The more sensible of the two girls, Tammy, turned to him. “Don’t throw them out, Cody. They were nice but I think the last round of beers was one too many.”

Heath was having a conversation with the two cowboys which wasn’t going quite as well, as one of them shrugged off his friend’s staying hand and said, “No. I came here to dance. We were polite to the girls,” he said as he waved his beer bottle in their direction again, splashing beer on the table. Cody gestured for the girls to get up before one of them got conked in the head with the beer bottle. “Come on,” he said, “Just until Heath gets them settled down.”

The girls followed him and made themselves comfortable at the front table reserved for the bouncer’s use. Cody grinned when he overheard Tammy speak to her friend. “Wipe that grin off your face, Tracy. Cody didn’t ask you to join him because he’s interested. He doesn’t date girls who come in here.”

“Whatever, girl.” In his peripheral vision he saw Tracy check her lip gloss and had to chuckle.

After a few minutes Heath made his way to the front to help Cody as a large group entered. They were at about seventy percent club capacity and the night was still young.