Town of Chance 5:Sweet Caroline(21)

Hunter brushed his hands down the front and fixed his belt. “Maybe,” he said as he looked around the bar.

“Who the hell are you looking for?” C.J. asked him and then took a slug of beer. He and York had been at Spencer’s an hour already and hadn’t caught sight of the pretty platinum-blonde Caroline.

“What’s with you and the new shirt?” York asked Hunter.

“Nothing. I stopped into mom’s store and she talked me into some shirts she put aside for me.”

“You were in Mom’s store? When?” York asked.

“Yesterday.”

“Who the hell do you keep looking for?” C.J. asked him.

“No one. What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? First of all you’re acting fucking strange,” C.J. said.

“How so?”

“Well, you never come out to Spencer’s. You hate…people,” York stated. C.J. knew something was up.

“You went shopping at mom’s store for new shirts. Why is that?” C.J. asked.

“I needed new shirts and I don’t hate people.”

“Bullshit,” both C.J. and York replied at the same time and then they chuckled, clicked their beer bottles together, and then looked at Hunter. He seemed pissed off, but then another set of pretty brunettes walked by and said hello to them. Hunter turned away and so did C.J. and York.

C.J.’s eyes landed on Shelby and her friends. There was still no sign of Caroline. He was getting the feeling that she wouldn’t be there.

“Maybe we should ask Shelby if her sister is coming here tonight,” York said to C.J.

“If Caroline was coming, she would be here right now.”

Hunter swung his head around to look at C.J. and York.

“Did you say Caroline?” he asked.

C.J. nodded. “She works in Mom’s store and she’s Shelby’s sister. We met her a week or so ago.”

“And?” Hunter pushed.

C.J. looked at York. “She’s gorgeous and shy,” he told him.

“Has an amazing body and beautiful platinum-blonde hair.”

Hunter crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

C.J. stared at him and then looked at York then back to Hunter. “You met her, too? You know Caroline?”

He nodded his head.

“And?” York asked.

C.J. felt tense. C.J’s whole reaction to Caroline was different and something not to take lightly. She did something to him and to York, too. If Hunter met her and found her attractive, then it was important. It was a game changer because she could be the one woman they all wanted and could possibly make theirs. It would explain why he and York were compelled to see her again and to get to know her.

“Holy shit. You met her as well and found her attractive.”

“Who wouldn’t, York?” Hunter replied.

“You know what I mean,” he said a little loudly and then lowered his voice. “You know damn well what I fucking mean. Tell us how you met her and what you felt,” York pushed.

“And how she reacted,” C.J. added, and Hunter explained about the other day and the shop.

“Damn, do you think the bump was worse than she let on and perhaps she’s not feeling well?” York asked.

C.J. spotted Shelby heading by them.

“Hey, Shelby,” he said to her.

“Hi, guys, how are you?”

“Good, good. We were wondering if Caroline was coming here tonight or if she was feeling okay,” he asked, and Shelby looked a bit surprised that they were asking.

“She’s fine, just not into coming to places like this.”

“Is her head okay? She bumped it pretty damn hard at work yesterday,” Hunter asked.

“She’s fine. How did you know about that?” she asked Hunter, and Hunter explained about coming inside and catching her. They talked a little more about how C.J. and York met her and then suddenly Shelby got all serious and looked upset.

“My sister is going through some stuff right now and prefers to just relax on her days off.”

“Listen, we just wanted to get to know her and maybe be friends,” C.J. added.

“Did you mention that to her when you met her?” she asked.

“I told her I was going to be here,” Hunter said, appearing angry and like he was getting concerned by Shelby’s reaction like C.J. was.

“Well then, there’s your answer. She’s not interested.” Shelby went to walk away and bumped right into Bender Pace, a detective with the sheriff’s department. He was also the brother to her boss, Kenneth.

“Whoa, where you rushing off to, Shelby?” he asked her and she appeared shocked. C.J. knew that the Pace men were interested in Shelby, but she always seemed to be avoiding them. It made him wonder why, but obviously not as much as the Pace brothers.