I'll Be Watching You Page 13

  “Well, you sure like the way they look wrapped around your—”

  Owen had held up his hand. “All right, honey, we get the point.”

  Charlotte was looking at Kim’s nails, blunt cut without a speck of polish. It was clear why Kim hadn’t commented. “Speaking of getting the point, these are why Owen gets to sex the gators now. Kim, you know how to sex a gator?”

  “No, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

  “You stick your finger right up in their hole.” She demonstrated. “And feel around some. Can’t hardly do that with these, now can I? I’d eviscerate the poor thing,” she said, pronouncing the c in eviscerate. She patted Owen’s cheek. “He’s dang good at it, too.”

  Kim was too grossed out by the mental picture of that to point out Charlotte’s mispronunciation. She gratefully took an order from Amy before returning to her bar patrons. Charlotte was tapping those nails again, but her gaze was on Kim. “So, how long you going to be staying in town?”

  Kim had expected those words to be the first out of her mouth, actually. She may as well have asked, when are you leaving? Kim glanced at the crowd of people, the two glaring men, and then to JoGene. “You want to know how long I’m staying?”

  “It is the question of the week after all,” Charlotte said. “Followed closely by, what are you going to do with the bar?”

  “Well, I’m going to answer both questions.” She walked around the bar and over to the jukebox. When she pulled the plug on Ricky Skaggs, sounds of protest filled the room, including a, “Hey, I paid for that song!”

  Well, she had their attention. “There’ll be free music for the rest of the night. I have an announcement to make. I’m staying in town and I’m keeping the bar. Now, I know that several of you won’t be happy to hear that. Some of you will be downright annoyed. If you want to boycott my place, well, there’s nothing I can do about that. If you want to bust out my winders”—she looked at Smitty, and he winked—“well, there’s nothing I can do about that either. The truth is, though you may not like me, you like Southern Comfort.”

  She gestured at the pictures. “Most likely your family is up on those walls. You’ve got a history here. You’ve got your favorite table. I don’t intend to change much around here, other than maybe adding some tunes to the jukebox and someday building a screened porch out back. I intend to honor Elva’s memory, and I hope you’ll do the same. She wanted this place to go on, and she wanted me to have it.”

  She leaned against the jukebox and caught sight of Zell standing by the front door. For a minute all her words flew out of her head. She coughed to recover and shifted her gaze away so he wouldn’t distract her. “So, yeah, you could get the whole town to boycott me out of spite and run me out of business. Then what would you have? No place to go. I still wouldn’t sell it to any of y’all, out of spite, too. Some tin-canner might buy it and jack up the prices and take all the country music out of the juke. Or maybe turn it into a bait shop and compete with our locals.” She gave Lou a look, since he owned Master Bait and Tackle, the biggest bait and tackle shop in town. He hated tin-canners, what the old-timers called tourists. “I’m willing to bet that you need this place as much as I need customers.” She studied the faces around her. Most registered some state of shock; some even showed a smidgen of respect. “Any questions?”

  Oscar, obviously sensing something of import was up, ambled over to her side. She reached down and scratched his head in appreciation of his support.

  One man shot to his feet. “You’re not gonna take Merle off that jukebox now, are you?”

  He looked so worried she nearly laughed. She was on the edge of a bubble of laughter anyway, relief at not being stormed or booed. “I’ll leave Merle and Skaggs and even Willie. We just won’t have every album they ever made on the juke.”

  “Well, all right then.” He slowly sank to his chair.

  Another man bellowed from his place, his arms crossed in front of him. “What about Oscar? Saw you had an ad in the paper giving him away.”

  “Since I’m staying, so is he.”

  No one else said a thing. Billy Bob and Clem shoved up from their seats and pushed past Zell to walk out. A couple of others threw their bills on the table and walked out, too. No one else moved or said a thing. Until Zell started clapping. It started out slow and increased in speed. Her face flushed with heat. A couple of the women clapped with him, and a couple of men even joined in. Amy let out a whoop.

  “Thank you,” she said because it seemed appropriate. Hopefully nobody noticed the squeakiness in her voice. As promised, she plugged the jukebox back in and fed a bunch of dollar bills into it. She walked on shaky legs over to Zell. He was wearing an old, white T-shirt and brown camouflage nylon pants, dressed for egg hunting, she supposed.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she said. “Clap, I mean.”

  Something in his eyes drew her in and made her heart pound even faster than it already was. “Damn, woman, you sure do make it hard for a man to hold a grudge.” He ran his hand back through his hair and shook his head. “You got bigger balls than most of the men in here.”

  A comment like that may have insulted a woman in Tallahassee, but down in Cypress, it was the biggest compliment a gal could get. “Thanks.”

  He wandered to the bar with a gait that said he was way too comfortable in his skin. Even Amy was watching him with some appreciation, and she was related to him. Kim met a few people’s eyes as she made her way back to the bar. She’d only lost a few customers.

  “You seen Dougal?” Zell asked the threesome at the bar. “He was supposed to meet me at the house an hour ago. I was hoping he’d forgotten and was here having too much happy hour. I hope he hasn’t disappeared again.”

  “I haven’t seen him,” Kim answered. The last time she’d seen Amy’s brother, he was a gangly teenager who looked a lot like Zell. She was sure she’d still recognize him.

  Owen said, “I’ll go.”

  Kim could see that prospect didn’t warm Zell. “I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe we crossed paths and he’s back at the house. See you all later.”

  Was she imagining that he’d left his gaze on her a second longer than the others? Why did he have to be so damned gorgeous? It wasn’t right. Even in the old t-shirt and camos.

  Angus, wearing those crabbing boots as always, waved Zell down. “You nailed it again. Or should I say, I nailed it, heh heh. I threw her down on the bed like you said, and she jumped all over me.” He shook Zell’s hand. “Thanks, man.”

  “Glad it worked out.”

  Kim rolled her eyes, remembering Zell’s advice. That man could be dangerous.

  As Zell walked toward the door, his cell phone went off. He raised his hand to them, indicating it was Dougal. Owen’s shoulders slumped.

  JoGene was watching him walk out, but it wasn’t appreciation on his face; it was fierce anger. “That son of a bitch walks around here like he owns the world. He does whatever he wants, no questions asked.” When he realized that Kim was watching him, he erased the anger. “So, you’re gonna stay,” he said. She couldn’t tell exactly how he felt about that at first, but then he winked at her. “Maybe we can pick up where we left off.”

  Owen snorted. “Oh, yeah, your daddy would sure love that.”

  “Well, first I have to tell the current boyfriend,” Kim said to buy time.

  That got a snort out of the three of them. Kim knew it sounded cold talking about Simon like that. He wouldn’t miss her, just her company. It was going to be weird being the one saying goodbye. She always hung around until the guy said it first. Well, she was sure walking out of her comfort zone now. What she didn’t need was to get involved with anyone until she was settled in here. That could take a while.

  “Does that mean I get to keep my job?” Amy asked.

  “If you’d like it.”

  “I would. This is so much fun, it almost ain’t fair taking money for it. My tootie’s been pinched twice already, and by a cu
te one, too.” She gave Bo a lascivious wink. “Need a rum and Coke and two MGDs.”

  Kim walked around the bar and hoped a tootie was Amy’s butt and nothing more personal. She met Charlotte’s gaze, but she was hard to read. She was tapping her nails again. Once Kim had processed Amy’s order, she leaned against the bar in front of Charlotte. “Go ahead, say whatever it is you’re wanting to say.”

  Charlotte’s mouth twitched until one side lifted into a smile that reminded Kim of Zell. “Well, it sure is gonna be interesting around here.”

  That wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d expected. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all. A warm feeling alighted in her stomach. Maybe—

  “Oh, my God, Zell!”

  Charlotte’s voice rocked Kim out of her thoughts. Zell had walked back in covered in blood. Out of instinct, Kim rushed toward him as he approached the bar.

  Charlotte beat her to it. “What happened? You only left here a minute ago!” She grabbed up a paper towel from one of the tables and started dabbing at the blood.

  A few of the men at the bar had gotten to their feet and walked over. Upon closer inspection, he wasn’t exactly covered in blood, but there was a fair amount of it running from a cut above his eye down his cheek. He had a cut on his lower lip, too.

  That didn’t keep him from giving them a wry smile. “Billy Bob and Clem didn’t much care for my applause.” He waved Charlotte away. “Stop fussing, woman! I didn’t come in here to get coddled, I just didn’t want to get blood in my truck.”

  Three of the big fellers rushed out the door to look for the offenders, Kim guessed. Smitty came over and pulled up a chair so he could watch the ministrations. Even Oscar wandered over and looked up at Zell, who grumbled, “What are you looking at, piggy?”

  Kim said, “We have a first-aid kit in the back. I’ll get it.”

  Charlotte pushed him down into a chair and ordered Owen to get some wet towels. “I’ll coddle you all I want. It’s a sister’s right and duty.” She turned to Kim when she returned with the kit and popped it open. “What do we have in there?”

  “Not much.” Kim shifted to block Charlotte from taking over the kit. She could be a caretaker, too, dammit. It was her bar. Her fault. When Charlotte took the towels from Owen and wiped away the rest of the blood, Kim pushed a chair in front of Zell and sat down. She ripped open the last medicated wipe and brushed it across each cut. He hissed and swore.

  “Sorry.” She meant it in more than one way.

  It was only then that she realized how close they were. That made her pause for a moment, the same way he’d thrown her off when she spotted him during her speech. She focused on opening the antibiotic packet. It had expired a few months earlier, but she figured it was better than nothing.

  “Look, it’s fine, a couple of little cuts.” He started to get up, but she held his chin in place before even thinking about it.

  “They’re not that little. Let me do this.”

  His muscles relaxed, and she wiped the cream over each cut. They weren’t bad, probably didn’t need stitches. It didn’t matter; he’d sustained this because of her. No wonder he wanted her to leave. Her presence was probably causing him lots of trouble. There was as much pushing her to leave as there was pulling her to stay.

  “You’re not putting a bandage on me,” he said, getting to his feet. “This’ll be fine.” He grabbed his cell phone, which had obviously taken a skid across the gravel. The plastic was scratched with white streaks.

  The posse came back in. “They’re gone. Hope you got ’em as good as they got you.”

  Kim said, “They were two against one! How good could he have gotten them, especially since they obviously ambushed him?”

  Zell put his hand on her shoulder. “No need to protect me, darlin’,” he said in a low voice. To the men he said, “Got Billy Bob in the nuts. He can’t move as fast as the little guy. I gotta get out of here. Dougal’s going to wonder what happened to me.”

  Charlotte gave him a quick hug and didn’t see him wince. “Once you’re out there collecting gator eggs, you’ll forget all about those cuts.”

  Zell gave Kim a pointed look. “Be careful. Keep that stuff you have handy.”

  As soon as Zell walked out, Charlotte turned to Kim. “See what your presence here is doing. Zell never fights, never. You been here not even two days, and he’s been in a near-brawl, got kicked out of your bar, and now been attacked by two dickless weasels.”

  Kim didn’t need this piled onto the guilt she already carried. She turned to JoGene. “They work at the club, don’t they?”

  “Yeah, but I’m not their keeper.”

  Kim crossed her arms over her chest. “I bet they’re doing this for your dad, maybe even on his orders. Can’t you say something to them or Buck?”

  JoGene, Owen, and even Charlotte laughed. JoGene’s smile faded fast, though. “I can’t tell my dad nothing. He holds a worse grudge than the Macgregors.” He eyed Charlotte. “Or at least the way they used to.”

  “We still do. We’re the best grudge-holders in town. But Kim’s right. This is the town bar. Why should we deprive ourselves of a drink now and then because of her?”

  JoGene didn’t look as though he believed her, but he shifted his gaze back to Kim. “Forget talking to my dad. Or those knuckleheads. They’re all as hardheaded as a cypress tree. And don’t you get any ideas about talking to him yourself. He’d just as easily have you for supper as give you the time of day. Maybe you ought to rethink your decision to stay.”

  All the fight drained out of Kim as she eased into the nearest chair. She should rethink it. She also knew the decision was made. Now she had to live with it.

  CHAPTER 10

  “You were flirtin’ with him,” Smitty said as they cleaned up at closing time late that night.

  “I was not.” Kim slipped a surreptitious glance toward Amy, wondering how much she’d pass on to the Macgregors. “I was treating his cuts. It was the least I could do.”

  Smitty had a smug expression on his face, like he knew everything in the world. “Flirtin’,” he said under his breath and carried off a bin of garbage.

  Amy supposedly found some dirt beneath a nearby table that Kim was sure had already been swept. “There was something going on between you two,” she said with a sly smile.

  Kim tapped the palm of her hand against her forehead. “There was not. I was getting into the nurse Nightingale thing, that’s all.”

  Amy leaned against the broom handle and shook her head. “I don’t blame you. That man has it going on. If he wasn’t my cousin—”

  Kim held out her hand. “Stop right there. There are some things I don’t want to know about my employees.”

  “Don’t be silly. I can admire a gorgeous man, no matter who he is. Acting on it is another matter, and if you’ll recall, I said if he wasn’t my cousin.”

  Kim wiped the fingerprints off the jukebox. Smitty set the chairs on the tables. Zell’s table. He murmured, “Flirtin’.”

  “Was not!” She turned around and leaned back against the jukebox. “Even if I hadn’t testified against his stepfather and even if he hadn’t lied about me on the witness stand—talk about your ifs—we’re all wrong for each other. He’s so…so…intense. When he talks about his work, I mean.”

  “He’s got a passion about him when it comes to gators, and his family, and anything he feels strongly about,” Amy said. “Which I bet translates nicely into the bedroom.”

  She didn’t want to think about Zell and bedrooms. “I like calm, sensible guys.” She thought of Simon. A good point, she thought. Saying goodbye wasn’t going to hurt all that much. If he’d said goodbye first, that wouldn’t have hurt either. That was sensible.

  Amy rolled her eyes. “Sounds boring to me.”

  “Then there’s the alligator thing,” Kim said, ignoring Amy. “He loves them, I hate them.”

  “Well now, that could be a problem,” Amy said.

  Smitty set the last chair
on the table. “There’s the gator test, after all. She’d never pass it.”

  Kim pushed away from the jukebox. “What’s the gator test?”

  Amy and Smitty shared a conspiratorial look. “Knew she’d ask,” Amy said, looking proud of herself. “because she likes him.”

  “Oh, tell me. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  Smitty said, “Any gal who thinks she wants to get serious with Zell has to pass the gator test. It’s a series of questions about gators that only someone who really likes the animal will know. Then she has to hold a gator.”

  “And enjoy it,” Amy added. “He said if he’s gonna marry a gal, she’s gotta love them gators as much as he does. He can tell if she’s faking, too. Two gals failed on that part alone. Being able to stand going in the gator farm is the last part. One gal passed the first two parts and then passed clean out on that last part.”

  “Sounds like he wants to avoid commitment. How many girlfriends has he had?” When Amy gave her that annoying grin again, Kim added, “Not that it matters.”

  “Oh, a few,” Smitty said. “Truth be told, I don’t think he gets attached to any of ’em. Not that he leads them on or anything. If they start talking marriage, he throws the test at them.”

  “He treats those girls good, though,” Amy said. “Takes ’em out for nice dinners, picnic lunches out on the marsh in dry season when the skeeters aren’t so bad. Buys ’em little gifties to show he’s thinking about them when he’s out of town. He’s a good dancer, too.” She got that if he wasn’t my cousin look again.

  “Okay, I think we’re done now,” Kim said, meaning both the bar and the conversation.

  Smitty chimed in with, “Why, when he took Linda May out for their first date, she come right out and said she loved him. He never did take her out again.”

  “That is a little fast,” Kim had to admit.

  Amy issued a little sigh. “He’s an Everglades cowboy.”

  “Don’t you have to have horses to be a cowboy? And have a ranch?” She pictured him in his alligator boots, but doubted any self-respecting cowboy wore tropical shirts.