“Yeah, the name’s strange, but the wine’s fairly decent. Once every six months or so I make a run into Dallas for friends like Aiden and others to fulfill special orders. At one time, I tried to keep a stock of good vintages at my bar, but beer’s the main drink around here, so it wasn’t cost efficient to keep much of a wine stock. I could make a run over to the bar and grab a better wine if you like. I should’ve done that in the first place, but, like I said, I kind of wanted to get here before you ate.”
“You own a bar?” She searched her memory for the one bar she’d seen around town. “Is it The Moonstone Bar?”
“You know it?” He cast an inquisitive glance. “I know I haven’t seen you in there.”
“I drove by it one day. Tell me. Why does everything around here have the word “moon” in the name? I’ve seen The Moonstone Bar, Moonbeam Ranch, and Moonlight Ranch. Does everyone have a fascination with the moon?”
He stopped stirring the spaghetti and started cutting the bread into pieces. “I guess I never really noticed before. Maybe it’s just because the moon looks so nice out here. You know. Away from the bright lights and smog of cities like Dallas.”
“Okay. I guess that makes sense.” Did he know about the werewolves her sister was living with? Should she broach the subject?
“By the way, I’m a part owner of the bar. That way my partner and I can take turns running it and it gives us both time to do other things like run cattle and such.” He stopped what he was doing and shot her a piercing look. “I think you know him.”
She uncorked the bottle and poured the dark-red liquid into the Wolverine glass then some wine into hers. “I doubt that. I’ve met hardly anyone.”
“Well, I assumed you’d know him since your last name is Newman. Your sister’s Shannon, right? My partner is Anderson Holms, one of the Holms cousins.”
Chapter Five
Charlie didn’t want to believe her ears. “Anderson Holms is your partner?”
Blane turned off the gas under the pot of pasta. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”
Shaken, she knocked the bottle over, spilling some of the remaining wine. “And you know my sister lives with him? With him and his cousin Daniel?”
He snatched up the sponge lying next to the sink and wiped up the spill. “This is a small town. People know a lot about their neighbors. What’s the problem? Are you all right? You went a little pale.”
“Do you know much about them? The Holms cousins, I mean?”
He handed her glass of wine then took a sip from his. “As much as I need to know. I see them and your sister around town, and they drop into the bar like most everyone around here does.”
“Do you know what they are?” She took a sip, hoping to steady her nerves.
“I’m not sure what you mean. I know they’re good, honest guys. Daniel sometimes free-lances with architectural gigs, leaving Anderson to handle a lot of the ranch’s business along with his part in the bar.”
“That’s all?”
“What more is there?” He turned back to the pot on the stove and drained the water by pouring the pasta into a colander. After running hot water over the noodles, he grabbed two forks and piled the food onto the plates she’d found.
“Nothing. It’s just that it happened so fast. One day she’s single, and a couple of days later, she’s living with not just one but both men.”
“Is that the problem? That she’s living with two men?”
“No, it’s not that. Shannon and I have had threesomes. Not relationships with three people, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. If the right people are involved.”
He turned, his gaze glittering with curiosity. “Yeah?”
She wasn’t the type to blush, but the warmth spread through her cheeks anyway. “Okay, I didn’t mean to say all that, and I’m not going to say anything more except to clarify that we were never together in any threesome.”
“Damn. Way to break a man’s fantasy to hell and back.”
She took a sip to cover her smile.
He poured the sauce into a bowl then set it into the microwave to heat up. “I have to say that every time I’ve seen her she seems happy.” Bringing the warm sauce back to the counter, he pulled up the other barstool and sat next to her.
“Go on. Chow down. I promise next time I’ll plan a better dinner for you. One made from scratch, like it should be done.”
She nodded, unsure how to continue the conversation. Should she ask him straight out if he knew the Holms cousins were werewolves? But her nerve failed her. Instead, she twirled the spaghetti around her fork and took a bite.