time for me. I’ve got to end this now before we get any closer and I won’t be able to do it.”
They were both silent for a few moments after that last statement.
“Look, Danni.” Jack finally broke the silence, speaking in a soft, low voice. “I know this has been quick, but I also know it’s real. I know what I feel and I think I know what you feel. I can’t just walk away from these feelings.”
There were tears in Danni’s eyes. “You’re going to have to, Jack, because I’m not ready for this.”
Silence again for what seemed like an eternity. Jack didn’t know what to do or what to say. He could persuade a judge or a jury of his peers in the toughest of circumstances, but he had no words for this woman who had taken his heart. Deep down, though, he knew he didn’t want to persuade her. This was a decision she would have to make on her own.
“I’m going to go,” he said softly. “I’ll be in town for at least another week. You’ve got my number. Call me whenever you have a mind to—about anything. I’ll be there.”
He stood up. Danni stood up, too, and hugged him tight. He felt from that embrace that this was just as hard for her as it was for him. Then he left.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jack was sitting at the bar in The Swamp putting down his third beer when Ron showed up.
“Out on your own tonight, lover boy?”
“I am. Sit down. I’ll buy you a beer.”
“Can’t. Don’t drink in my own place. That’s a rule.”
“Well then, let’s go somewhere you can drink.”
They’d been friends for too long. Ron could tell there was something not quite right about old Jack. “All right, finish up. We’ll go in my car.”
They drove down College Avenue heading out of town.
“Henry was in The Swamp last night for dinner. I stopped and chatted with him a little bit,” Ron said.
“That’s funny,” Jack said, more to himself than to Ron. “I thought he’d gone back to Miami. What the hell is he doing here?”
“I don’t know.”
Ronnie took him to a dark, quiet little spot east of town. There were a few people at the bar but other than that it was deserted. An attractive middle-aged brunette wearing a tight top and showing some great cleavage was tending bar.
“Well, if it isn’t the grand pooh-bah come to visit the slums,” she said to Ron who leaned over the bar and planted a kiss smack on her lips.
“Mabel, this is my friend Jack.”
“Pleased to meet you, Jack. Any friend of Ron’s is a friend of mine—only because Ron might buy this place someday and I need the job, know what I mean?”
Jack smiled. “I do.”
“What are you having?”
“Give us a couple of martinis,” Ron said. “Jack needs to talk and I’ve got to get him a little drunk first.”
“Sure thing.” She looked at Jack for a minute. “I’d say it’s woman trouble. I’ve been doing this for a long time—usually get it right.”
“Unfortunately you’re right again, Mabel.”
“Don’t worry. A good-looking guy like you won’t be lonely for long. Not in this town. As a matter of fact, I get off in five hours if you’re still around.”
That got another laugh out of Jack. “Thanks, Mabel, but I don’t think I’ll be making it that long. Not after this martini.”
Mabel had just handed him and Ron their martinis. She worked as she talked, always in motion.
“I’m here six nights a week, honey. You decide to go slumming again, you come see Mabel.”
Mabel moved on down her bar. The place was starting to fill up and she was greeting her regular customers.
“She’s a great bartender for a place like this,” Ron told Jack. “She’s got the goods—not bad looking, big tits, and a great personality. She packs the joint.”
“Why don’t you hire her?”
“I’ve got a different type of place. We cater to the college kids, the professors, and the businessmen. This is a workingman’s bar. You need a little fantasy and a little conversation. Mabel gives you all of it. She creates that little possibility in your mind that you might be the guy tonight. It keeps ’em coming back. Enough about Mabel; let’s talk about Jack.”
“Nothing to talk about really.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Jack. I see that puppy-dog look in your eyes. You’re a great lawyer but you’re a little sappy when it comes to the game of love.”