he welcomed the few minutes to himself so that he could work on his enthusiasm about this so-called party in his honor. While he was happy to see everyone, the nagging thought that this was only temporary, that all too soon he’d be returning home alone after Lily’s wedding, adhered to him like a slow-moving slug leeching at his happiness. He had to work his way through that before he went to the Salty.
He nodded at her compliantly. “Whatever you say, Lily.”
“See?” She turned her face up to Max. “That’s how it’s done.”
Max merely grinned as he took her hand and walked back to their vehicle.
Kevin envied them their happiness, even as he was glad for them.
There was an entire wall of people in every direction. Noise assaulted him as voices mixed with music. The smell of alcohol and smoke was everywhere. Kevin turned to the woman who had been sent to fetch him when Lily failed to turn up as promised.
“Are you sure this isn’t a fire hazard?”
June grinned and shook her head as she elbowed her way in, cutting a path for him as well. “Most of the volunteer fire fighters are in here already.” She raised her voice as the din went up a notch. “They don’t seem to have any objections.”
He had no idea who the firefighters were, but the mellow, tolerant mood that generally permeated the crowd was very apparent.
“That’s because most of them are probably feeling no pain,” he guessed.
June looked at him. Was that a judgmental tone? Because of the noise, she couldn’t quite tell. She tried to recall if she’d ever seen him with a drink in his hand, other than toasting Jimmy at his wedding. She couldn’t remember. The details of the last wedding were blurry, except for the fact that she’d thought he was one of the best-looking men she’d ever seen. With his jet-black hair, worn a bit long, his piercing green eyes and high cheekbones, he looked like Jimmy, only better.
“You don’t drink?” she asked.
Right about now, he thought, a drink sounded like a pretty good thing to him. “I never said that.”
“Then follow me.” Taking his hand, she began to weave her way through the sea of bodies to the bar. “What’s your pleasure?” she tossed over her shoulder.
The words were eaten up by the din. He raised his voice. “What?”
June stopped. Turning, she leaned in to him. Her hair, worn loose tonight even though she hadn’t changed her clothes from earlier today, brushed against his face. “What’s your pleasure?” she repeated.
You.
The silent response caught Kevin completely by surprise. Where the hell had that come from? He didn’t think about her in those terms. In comparison to him, she was a child, for heaven’s sakes. Why had he even thought that?
Simultaneously clearing his mind and his throat, Kevin said, “Scotch and soda,” a tad too loudly.
She nodded. Her hair seemed to shimmy as it flowed about her shoulders. Kevin stifled the urge to thread his fingers through the strands and push them away from her face.
June was still holding on to his hand. He shoved the other one into his pocket to stay on the safe side.
“Sounds simple enough,” she acknowledged.
Reaching the bar, she elbowed her way in and met with resistance. The man to her right wasn’t budging. Tall and muscular, he was taking up more than his allotted share and laughed when she tried to get him to move. June frowned, annoyed.
“Hey, Haggerty, leave a little room for the guest of honor,” she told him.
The man grinned down at her. “I’d rather leave just enough room for you, June. Say, about this much?” Holding his hands apart, he indicated the tiny pocket of area right before his torso.
Taking a step forward, Kevin found his way impeded by her hand as she waved him back. He saw June’s profile become rigid. “Only if you want to sing soprano, Haggerty.”
The man’s grin only broadened as he struck a cocky stance. “Oh, a few minutes with me, June, and I could have you singing another tune.”
All the protective instincts he’d developed over the years galvanized in a single movement. “The lady asked you to move.” Ignoring the glare June tossed his way, Kevin stepped in front of her. “I suggest you do that while you’re still able to do so on your own power.”
Haggerty’s grin hardened a little. The man’s eyes swept over him, looking him up and down. Kevin had no idea what conclusion was reached, only that he wasn’t about to back down.
And then Haggerty snorted. “Bad luck to punch out the guest of honor on his first night in Hades.” He drained his mug, then set it down on the counter with a slam. “Guess I’ll have to wait on that.”
Kevin didn’t look away. “Guess so.”
And suddenly Ike was on the other side of the counter, breaking up the tension with his easy voice. “On the house, Haggerty.” He placed a tall glass of stout beer before the miner. “As long as you drink it over there.” He pointed to a pocket of space at the far end of the saloon.
Haggerty’s eyes lowered to the drink. When he raised them again, his expression could almost be called amiable. He picked up the glass. “I never said no to anything free.”
Ike watched him until Haggerty was well out of earshot, then turned his attention to the two people directly before him. He wiped away a smudge on the bar. “What’ll it be?”
“Scotch and soda,” Kevin told him.
Reaching under the bar, Ike brought out the good stuff and began to pour. “Goes without saying that yours is free, too, Kevin.” He pushed the glass toward his guest. “And a bit of advice to go with it. Next time, pick on someone your own size,” he cautioned, “not a gorilla.”
Kevin lifted the chunky glass in his hand. “He was bothering June.”
June squared her shoulders. At five-one, she was the shortest in her family, as well as the youngest, and took offense easily because of both. “I can handle myself.”
He wasn’t about to argue with her. “Always nice to have backup.”
Ike grinned and leaned over the bar, as if to impart some deep wisdom.
“Listen to the man, darlin’. There’s strength in numbers.” He glanced over to the man who was standing nursing his beer, watching them even as he was talking to someone at his side. “To my recollection, Ben Haggerty’s not a mean drunk, but there’s always a first time.”
She shrugged, picking up the tall, foamy mug that Ike placed before her. “Worse comes to worst, I can have Max arrest him.”
“Won’t do you much good if it’s after the fact, darlin’,” Ike commented. Someone at the far end of the bar raised his hand and called his name, though the latter melted into the din before it reached him. “Well, I’m off.” He paused to nod at the glass in Kevin’s hand. “Let me know when you need another.” With that he moved to the other end of the bar.
Taking a long sip, Kevin looked over toward where Haggerty had gone. The man was no longer looking at them. “He give you trouble before?” Kevin wanted to know.
June took a long swig of her beer, then wiped away the foam from her upper lip. “Haggerty?” Kevin nodded in response and she shrugged. “No more than some of the others.”
“The others?” Just how many men came on to Max’s sister?
She hadn’t given it much thought. She did now as she considered his question. “The other men.” Despite the sparse lighting in the saloon, she could almost see the thoughts as they formed in Kevin’s eyes. She wasn’t sure if she should be insulted or touched. She settled