Touching Scars(74)

Slim’s eyes grew wide. “He did? What did he tell you?”

Unsure of how much to share because I knew it was personal to Timber, I said, “He told me about the guys he lived with. I also know that they all were killed in an IED attack and that he’s struggling with the guilt of that.”

He was well and truly shocked. “I’ll be damned. He really does love you, doesn’t he?”

That caused me to laugh. “I’m thinking so, yes. And before you ask, I think I’ve fallen for him as well.”

He plastered a wide grin on his face. “I knew that son of a bitch looked too happy today.”

My cheeks warmed. I hoped Slim and Uncle Roger didn’t let their imaginations go too far. There were just some things those two men didn’t need to think about when it came to Timber and me. Thinking of my guy, I looked at the large clock over Slim’s shoulder and noticed that Timber should have gotten off work an hour ago.

“Speak of the devil, where is he anyway?” I started chewing my lower lip.

Realization dawned on his face. “Shit, I forgot. He wanted me to tell you he would be a little late tonight.”

“Late? He’s never late.”

“He’s actually out having dinner with the owner of the company right now. He said he was going to bring him by when they were done.”

Slim looked like he wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. I scowled, wondering what he was holding back. “What is the boss of the company doing in Port O’Connor?”

“Uhhh, Princess, sometimes they actually do come in to check on the little people.”

“Ha ha, smart ass.”

This time he was the one reaching over and pinching my cheeks. “In fact, speak of the devil, I think your guy just walked in.”

Feeling like a magnet being pulled to him, my eyes flew to the front door. He looked across the way, his eyes searching for mine. When we connected, I felt like I was able to take a deep breath that I hadn’t realized I’d not taken since he left me this morning. I smiled at him — a bright, full mouthed smile — and watched him walk over to me. My grin faded a bit as he got closer. He didn’t look particularly happy about something. I walked around the bar so we wouldn’t have anything between us when he got to me. Stopping about a foot away, Timber’s hand came up and rubbed the back of his neck. He was shifting a bit from foot to foot. Why on earth was he so uptight? And why was he standing so far away from me?

“Hey,” I said, with mild trepidation. “How was work?”

He wasn’t making eye contact with me, and it was making me feel anxious. “Oh, it was just your normal day.” He looked over at Slim and tipped his head, acknowledging his presence. I didn’t appreciate feeling like he was blowing me off.

“That’s it? I don’t get a kiss, a hug, or a ‘hey baby, I’ve missed you’? I just get a brush off?” I didn’t mean to sound as angry as I did, but the vibes coming off of him right then were scaring me.

“Sorry, baby, come here.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me into his chest. I pressed my nose against his shirt and smelled his intoxicating scent. It helped put me at ease, but I knew something still wasn’t quite right. This wasn’t the greeting I’d been expecting after he’d been away from me all day and after being together for a full weekend. I felt his hand brush down my hair, smoothing it down my back. “How was your day?”

I lifted my head to look into his baby blues. “It was just your ordinary day at The Hole,” I said sarcastically. I saw a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. Standing up on my tip toes, I gave him a brief peck on the lips then lowered myself back down. “Slim said you went out to dinner with the owner of the company. How come he took you out and not my uncle or something?”

I felt Timber stiffen around me. He glanced over his shoulder at the front door. “Yeah, about that. Kat, I need to talk to you for a minute, but can we go somewhere private?”

“Yeah, of course. But what’s this all about?”

“I don’t want to talk about it out here. Let’s go to Ed’s office.” He started to pull me in that direction when Mel stepped in front of us.

“Kat, we are completely out of Absolut and I still have a couple of drinks that need to be made. I think there is a case buried in the walk-in, could you go see if you can find it?”

Timber growled his frustration and I felt my heart kick up a notch in my chest. He was making me nervous. And poor Mel knew I’d rather head into the back for something instead of taking over her tables for five minutes. I generally preferred to stay behind the bar. She had no clue that we were headed off to chat about something that was clearly making him uncomfortable. Figuring I could go find the vodka quick enough to come back out and talk to Timber, I looked at both of them and said I’d be right back.