Stud Muffin (Donner Bakery #2) - Jiffy Kate Page 0,17

his head. “Nah, I think you’re quite all right, Miss Cassidy.”

Cassidy.

Tempest Cassidy.

I roll her name around in my mind while continuing to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“It’s official, you know?” she asks, like he should. “I’m officially a Cassidy again… no more Williams bullshit for me.” When she laughs, it comes out as a snort and it’s fucking cute. “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.”

“Heard that,” Floyd says, pulling a beer for another customer as he continues to engage her in conversation.

Divorced?

That just doesn’t seem right.

What kind of guy would have a girl like her and mess that up?

“He’s with Mindy,” she drawls. “Mindy… Miiiiindy… Minnnnndy.” Repeating the name over and over, she licks salt off her glass. Her pink tongue darting out to the rim and sending chills up my spine. “She used to work here, remember?”

Oh, fuck.

“Mindy,” she muses again. “She was so mean to me in high school … and I was always nice to her.” There’s nothing but pure disgust and injustice in her tone. “Can you believe that, Floyd?”

He’s basically just listening to her talk now, arms braced on the bar, lending her an ear.

“What happened to the nice guys finishing first … or girls …” She mumbles something I can’t hear. “I’m a girl… well, a woman.” She laughs, tossing her head back. Good ol’ José. He makes everything funny. “Wouldn’t you say, Floyd? I’m a woman, right? I mean, I’ve got boobs … they’re not big ones, but they’re a handful.” She’s now cupping her tits, over her shirt, thankfully, and I have to force my eyes in the other direction. “I always thought they were enough … I thought I was enough … but I guess …” When I hear her tone shift from appalled to so fucking sad, I turn back to see her laying her head on the bar. “I guess I was wrong. I’m not …”

“Hey,” Floyd says, squatting down to get eye level with her. “You’re great. And you’re going to be fine …” He hesitates and I can tell this is a little out of his comfort zone, but I’m already putting Floyd up there with some of the better people I know, because she needs someone to tell her that. I would, but again, we haven’t even officially met. “And you know what,” he asks, forcing her to turn her head to look at him. “What goes around … comes around.”

I can’t help but keep my eyes on her, waiting for her response.

“Thanks, Floyd.”

“You’re welcome, Em.”

Em?

Nickname?

I find myself filing away each little tidbit of information about her.

“Want me to call your dad?” he asks and this brings her straight up in her seat.

“No!” she says, practically crawling over the bar. “No, Floyd. Not my dad. And not Sheriff James,” she pleads. “I’m not going back to jail … not tonight.”

He chuckles, hands up in a placating gesture. “Okay, alright … no Butch and no Sheriff James. Who else can I call?”

“Cole…” she says, sleepily putting her head back on the bar. “Call Cole.”

The next thing we know, the fiery redhead, who was dancing on the bar thirty minutes ago is now snoozing on it. Like, full on snores. They’re cute snores, don’t get me wrong, but they’re snores nonetheless.

He looks up at me, as if to ask what to do, and I just shrug.

Turning, he picks up the phone behind the bar and dials a number. I go back to watching the rest of the club, Fuchsia is back for her second routine and the crowd is behaving nicely, as they usually do.

Before I came, Hank hadn’t had a bouncer in a while. He stuck around to keep the peace when needed, but me being here frees him up some, or at least that’s what he claims. Part of me wonders if he really needed someone or if he’s just being … well, Hank. He’s always been good people … giving more to others than they’ll ever be able to give him in return.

“No answer for Cole down at the police station,” Floyd says with a sigh.

“Maybe she has a phone?” I ask, glancing over at her small purse on the counter beside her.

Floyd’s hands go back up. “I ain’t touching it.” Shaking his head. “My mama about beat me one time when I went digging in hers for a stick of gum.”

Sighing, I glance around before walking over and slipping her purse from under her arm. It’s small, so the only thing in it is her phone and a house key.