“Because you’re stuck with me.” Starr sounded more scared than defiant.
“I don’t think of it as stuck,” Destiny said. “It’s actually kind of nice. You’re right, I am always the new girl, and it does get lonely. Having family around helps. I’m not sorry you’re here, Starr. In case you were thinking that.”
Her sister looked at her. “Really?”
“I promise.” She smiled. “I have all the ingredients to make fried chicken. I was going to prepare it last night, but with everything that happened, I never got around to it. We’ve had it once already, and now I want to teach you the old family recipe. Are you in?”
Starr smiled. “Sure. Let me put my stuff away.”
Destiny watched her walk to her room. Tonight, after dinner, they could play guitar together. She would teach Starr more chords and how to play a couple of her dad’s songs. If they both kept at it, they could find their way into being a family in deed and not just in name.
* * *
THE CAVEMAN STATUE by the door turned out to be a bigger hit than Kipling had expected. Nearly everyone coming through the door stopped to take a picture or have their picture taken with their mascot. There were also some hilarious selfies.
In honor of opening night, the pictures were then texted to the bar and loaded up onto the TVs. The resulting slide show had the crowd clapping and cheering.
Kipling circulated through the throngs of people. He wasn’t keeping count, but he had a feeling they were nearing capacity. He had no idea how seriously the local fire department took that sort of thing. Not that having a line outside the building was a bad thing.
He greeted his guests, kept an eye on the servers and watched for Destiny’s arrival. Given how early he’d had to show up for the opening, they’d agreed to meet at the bar. He wanted to make sure he saw her the second she showed up.
Anticipation, he thought with a grin. It made for a very good day. She was a complex woman, but he liked that. Easy was for sissies. Working hard to get what he wanted only made the reward sweeter. And he would have his reward. Destiny might be a little tightly wound, but he knew she would loosen up eventually. All she needed was to feel safe.
He walked by the bar, stopping to talk to people as he went. He’d been in town less than six months and knew just about everyone he saw.
Nick waved him over. He excused himself and went to talk to the bar’s manager.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Nick grinned. “It’s official. Jo’s closed every night through the weekend.”
“Jo as in Jo’s Bar?”“That’s the one.”
“Why is that a big deal?”
Nick’s expression turned pitying. “You still don’t get it. The women in this town are powerful, my friend. Jo’s is their place. If we cut into her profits, Jo won’t be happy, and then the ladies won’t be happy.”
Kipling dismissed the information. “We serve a different clientele. Most of our customers won’t have gone to Jo’s. We’re not taking anything from her. Plus, we’re going to get about half our business from tourists.”
He knew. He’d been to every one of the meetings where he and his partners had discussed their business plan. They figured they would be most successful in summer with the tourists. Guys watching sports would sustain them in the winter. Jo could keep her lady clients.
“We’re meeting a need,” Kipling told Nick. “When I moved here, all I heard was guys complaining about Jo’s place. How they were stuck in the back room, and the TVs weren’t big enough.”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“You’re worrying about nothing.” Kipling had seen a problem and put together a group of investors to fix it. That made today a very good day.
Nick shrugged. “Just spreading the news,” he said, then pointed. “You have company.”
Kipling turned and saw Destiny standing by the door. From his perspective, the noise in the bar faded and the lights shifted to a spotlight that focused entirely on her. He was pretty sure he was seeing things the way his dick wanted, rather than how they were, but he was willing to go with it. Especially when it meant staring at a beautiful woman.
She’d curled her hair and put on makeup. He couldn’t remember seeing her all done up before, and the results were impressive. Her green eyes looked huge, her hair was all curly waves and her mouth was a glorious, kissable pout of shiny pink.
He walked toward her, not bothering to talk to anyone as he went. She was all that mattered. All he needed. As he got closer, he saw she’d pulled on a short jacket over some kind of white lacy fitted shirt. She had on tight jeans and boots. The perfect combination of comfortable and sexy, he thought as he approached. It was the kind of thing only women could do, and speaking on behalf of all men everywhere, he appreciated the effort.
“Hey,” he said as he got closer.
She looked up and smiled. “Hey, yourself. Congratulations. There’s a crowd milling outside, and the rest of the town is oddly empty. You’re a success.”
“At least for tonight.” He took her hand in his and drew her against him. He inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo and maybe a little perfume, then lightly kissed her cheek. “Thanks for coming.”
“It’s going to be fun.”
He stared at her for a second. “You’re better. You make up with Starr?”
“How did you know?”