Tantrum Read online

  Where'd this sweet thing come from?

  It's almost closing time and I've never been so happy. The bar's all but cleared out, except for a few stragglers like the girl and the small group she's with. She walks up to the bar top with a different guy and I make it a point to head for them. She's been pushed aside too many times tonight. It's not happening again.

  “Hey, guys, what'll it be?” I ignore the patrons right next to them, as well as some idiot that's been drunkenly yelling at me to serve him for the past thirty minutes.

  “Kay!” The dude next to her yells over the noise. “Hey, Kaydence.” He jostles her arm to get her attention. “What do you want to drink?” When he points at me, she looks and her face lights up with an even bigger smile.

  “Oh! Sorry! Can I have another pumpkin ale?” When she hiccups in the middle of a cute as fuck giggle, it's a sign she's past the point of being tipsy.

  The man at the bar shakes his head. “You're so drunk! Stay away from Tim. You ain't goin' home with him.” He's sternly pointing a finger in her face and her head's nodding in agreement.

  “And for you?” I interrupt, noticing the eye color is almost spot on to this girl's.

  “I'm serious, Kaydence,” he warns her.

  Kaydence.

  A beautiful goddamned name for a stunning woman.

  “Just order, Ty!” She giggles, giving him a shove.

  “Sorry.” He looks at me; his smile almost matches hers perfectly. They're definitely related. “I'll have a Jager bomb and same beer.”

  “Coming right up.” I smile, thankful she's at least got someone looking out for her tonight. I hate seeing girls getting taken advantage of, and in her state that's exactly what that Tim guy's looking to do tonight.

  When I slide the drinks across the bar to them, the guy pays for their drinks and I glance over the room, noticing Popped Collar Tim has his hands all over some blonde chick.

  “Oh! Tim! I should order him something.” The redhead blurts, pushing against the bar.

  “No, come on.” The kid tries to walk her away but she pulls free and leans against the bar again.

  “He's been paying for my drinks all night, Ty. I can buy him one. He's really sweet.” Her hands slap the bar between us and she smiles. “Hi.” Her drunk giggles make me chuckle. She's cute. She's incredibly drunk and I feel bad for the morning she'll have, but she's still cute.

  “Hey.” I grin.

  “Hi. Oh my god.” Laughing, she covers her face while her cheeks turn red. “Can I get Tim a...beer. I don't remember what kind of beer. Shoot.” She wrenches to find the asshat, spotting him standing at their table pressed against the blonde and I see her brows dip. “Um.” Her eyes find mine and I actually feel bad for the girl. “Just a Bud Light, I guess,” she mumbles and glances back at her date on some other woman.

  “I think he's perfectly capable of grabbing his own beer, don't you, Ty?” I glance at her relative and after he observes her date, he shakes his head.

  “He's fine, Kay. Fuck him.”

  “Don't waste your money on an asshole like him.”

  “They're…friends.” She glances back at them before pushing a smile on her face and looking at me again. “It's okay. They're friends. And we're just dating.”

  “Come on.” Ty grabs her arm.

  “I'm going to the bathroom. I'll meet you at the table.”

  When she walks away my eyes fall to her ass then quickly back to the bar when I hear Ty clear his throat. I shrug and give him a grin before he walks away. Can't judge a man for looking.

  “Hey!” Someone yells from the other end of the bar and I roll my eyes. “Barkeep! We need alcohol!” I look up at the fuck that's bellowing so loud everyone out in the parking lot can probably hear him. Of course it's Tim.

  “Last call was five minute ago, buddy. Sorry 'bout that.” I shrug and continue to wipe down the bar, straightening shit up just to keep my hands busy. It's either stay busy, or punch this guy's lights out, and I'm too tired to fight tonight.

  “Hey.” He stumbles toward me with the blonde under his arm. “I said we need more alcohol. What'll you have?” He asks his new date and I roll my eyes while she orders a tequila sunrise. “And I'll have a shot of whiskey.” His hand snakes over her shoulder and rests on her tit.

  I raise my eyebrows at him, surprised at the boldness of this fuck that walked in here tonight with a different girl under his arm. In my opinion, he definitely downgraded with this blonde though.

  “Like I said. Last call's already over. Not serving any more tonight.” I stand my ground as the blonde under Tim's arm whines that she's still thirsty. No way in fucking hell I'm aiding this. Last call technically happens right about now, but I'm not serving these two anything else tonight.

  “It's not even two!” He gestures to the clock behind me. “Ya fucking asshole.”

  “Fuck him, we'll go back to my place.” The blonde starts sloppily pulling at his face.

  “Not tonight. Kay expects me to take her home tonight.”

  “Fuck that bitch too. You've only been dating a week,” she whines then attacks his face with her messy red lips.

  They're going at it like dogs fighting over a bone. I cringe and take a step away. They need to get the hell out of this bar. I try to ignore them but when I hear the bathroom door open and glance over at Kaydence, my gut drops for this poor girl. Her eyes hit the rabid dogs and Tim quickly pushes the blonde off him.

  “Took you so long?” he asks her and the look on her face makes me feel for her.

  “Tim,” she murmurs. “I thought we were dating?” Her timid voice barely carries.

  “We are.” He yanks her toward him.

  “But you were just kissing Felicia.”

  “No we weren't!”

  The fuckstick has red lipstick all over his face.

  “Yeah he was.” I shove a napkin at him. “You've got her lipstick all over your face, dude.”

  “Fuck you, asshole!” He rushes the bar and grabs my shirt, trying to take a swing, but he's too drunk. I yank my shirt out of his grasp and he stumbles into the bar.

  “You can leave now,” I growl at him, clenching my fists at my side.

  “You're an asshole! You need to be fired! Fuck you!” He tries to swing again and when I look where Kaydence was standing, the guy that's related to her is pulling her out of the bar.

  “Fuck you, you asshole!” the blonde screeches at me and I take a slap to the face, never seeing it coming.

  “Out!” I bark, rounding the bar and grabbing douche-head's shirt by his flipped collar. “Take your trash, and get the fuck out of my bar.”

  He struggles against me and takes a few more weak, unbalanced swings as I drag his ass to the door. Bitching all the way, he stumbles out and toward the group he's with. Before I go back in, trusting they'll all get lost, I watch him for a few minutes. The minute he finds Kaydence he grabs her arm and I have to stop myself from pouncing on the fucker.

  “Come on.” He grips her arm tight and tries to pull her away but the dude she's related to steps in.

  “Man, back the hell up off my sister before I roundhouse you!” Ty shoves him so hard he trips, bouncing his face off the cement and their group of friends start to laugh.

  A few people clean him up, carrying him away while Ty stands guard of his sister. Another girl is inspecting the finger marks from Tim on Kaydence's arm while she stays put behind her brother.

  Inhaling a deep breath, I walk over to her, touching her elbow to get her attention. “You okay?”

  “Me?” The same smile that's been on her face all night lifts those sexy lips. “I'm fine.”

  “You're not mad that asshole treated you like that? I mean, not that you should lose sleep over him. But he fuckin' came here with you.”

  “We were only dating. Everything happens for a reason. That probably saved me from a really embarrassing walk of shame in the morning.” She covers her laugh.

  I nod, shoving my hands in my pocket
. What girl can just shrug something like that off?

  “Okay then… Well, sorry I had to be a dick to your boyfriend…ex… Just, sorry. Hope it doesn't scare you away from comin' back here.”

  “Not at all! We'll be back. How long you worked here?”

  “While now.” I glance around at the crowd that's finally dispersing. “You new to town?” I feel like I'd remember someone like her.

  “Sorta. Been here a few months, but I'm new to this bar. You're all so nice here.” She starts playing with her hair and I move a little closer until her brother walks up and puts his arm between us.

  “We gotta go, Kaydence.” He gives me a glance.

  “Thanks for the great service all night.” She smiles at me and waves while her brother and another guy walk her away.

  I watch them leave before heading back inside to finish closing up for the night. Not every night at the bar is this exciting, but tonight's definitely one I'm going to remember. And only because I've never found a redhead so attractive before.

  Kaydence.

  I wonder what her story is.

  “Ma, I gotta go. I'm pullin' into the drive,” I say for the fourth time since this phone call started. If I know my mother, it's going to take me at least seven tries to actually end this call.

  “Don't forget my eggs!”

  “That's the whole reason I'm here, mom. I won't.” I roll my eyes. The woman hasn't changed a bit since I've been gone.

  When we end the call I hop out of the truck, scanning the grounds for Brandt Kenshaw. I texted him that I was heading over for another dozen eggs for my mom but he never replied, which means he's probably out in the fields, or with his family. With no one in sight, I huff and grab my boots from the back of the truck and pull them on. I fuckin' hate these things, but there's no way I'm walking around this ranch in the shoes I came in. Too much animal shit around and I'll be damned if I have to clean it off my expensive shoes.

  I round the corner of the horse barn and almost run into someone carrying a bag of feed three times the size of him or her. Brandt's wife is always tryin' to do shit she shouldn't be. Where the hell are the men on this ranch?

  “Whoa. Jo, that bag's way too big for you.” I laugh, pulling the bag from her arms.

  “Thanks! But I'm not Jo.” No…she's not. I know that smile, and those green eyes and red hair. “Hey! You work at Willies.” The bright smile on her cute face makes me grin.

  “That I do.” The blinding sunlight is hitting her perfectly and making her red hair and green eyes even brighter. “What're you doing here?”

  “I work here. What are you doing here?” Her fingers start messing with her hair, re-doing the messy braid.

  “I know the Kenshaws and I had texted Brandt. My momma needs some eggs.” Her smile's contagious and I don't even know what we're smiling about but she's cute as hell. “I can't seem to find him though,” I lie, only because I'd like to spend more time with her and I'm hoping maybe she'll help me.

  She stops messing with her braid. “Eggs? You need to borrow eggs? I can run inside and see if Donna has any.”

  I chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck. “Uh... We typically just get 'em from the chickens. I can go grab Brandt, doll. It's okay.” I nod out to the field but don't see him. Not that I don't want to be around this girl, but she's kinda clueless and as cute as she is, I really need to get back to the shop.

  She starts to giggle and her cheeks light up. “I didn't know they had eggs like that.” With an oblivious expression she glances around the ranch. I wonder what the hell she does here if she doesn't know that. “Brandt's all the way by the creek.” She points. “You want me to ride out and get him? Or you can. You can take a four-wheeler if you don't ride horses. I'm sorry. I don't know where they keep the eggs and I can't just steal them from the coop.”

  “Right,” I murmur, trying not to laugh at her expense but she seems a little scatterbrained. “How about I just head to the coop and grab a dozen or so? I've been doin' this practically my entire life. I think I can figure my way around. I'll let Brandt know I already grabbed them.” I wink at her and start my way toward the barn. I don't need Brandt here to grab eggs. They're fuckin' eggs. You literally pick them up from the coop, take them home, and eat them. How the hell do you work at a ranch and not know where the eggs are?

  “I ride,” her voice says as she follows me. When I glance back at her, her cheeks are still blazing in embarrassment. “What I mean is, I'm not an idiot, I just don't do much on the ranch but teach riding lessons.”

  Something about her makes me believe she's not always this dense so I feel like I should maybe give her another chance.

  “Come on, I'll show you the ropes.” I'm not sure why I'm doing this. She's gotta be at least five years younger than me, and the wide-eyed look she walks around with makes it seem like she hasn't seen much ugly in the world. Hell, probably not much of anything. Definitely not my type. I'm not at a shortage of women or anything, but this one... This one's different.

  “Jo's showed me around a few times, but I stick to the horse barn.” She points to the barn I found her in. “I'm Kaydence, by the way.”

  “I know,” I say, grinning at her. “Steel trap.” She giggles when I tap my temple and I like that sound. “I'm Chase. By the way.”

  “Chase,” she repeats like she's storing it then her eyes flick back to mine. “Did I tell you my name the other night?” There's the giggle again. She seems to do it a lot. Giggle and smile. That's her MO. “I'm sorry. I wasn't that drunk, but I don't remember.”

  “Nah. You were too busy downing those pumpkin ales. But a few of your friends said your name enough. It's a pretty name. Different. I guess it stuck.” When you get trapped in a girl's gaze, you should run, but I can't even walk away from this girl. “This real?” I ask, giving her braid a small tug.

  She laughs and looks away. “Yessss. I'm a natural redhead.”

  “Are you as crazy as they say redheads are?” I laugh.

  “Oh my god!” When she starts to laugh, I'm glad I didn't offend her. “That's not true. We're not our own breed. I don't think I'm crazy.” Her shrug is like she knows she is but would never admit it. “I guess that's for other people to decide.”

  I narrow my eyes at her before breaking away from whatever hold she's got on me. That laugh is beautiful...and fuckin' laughs shouldn't be beautiful.

  “Yeah so, here are the chickens.” Shoving the door open, I move aside to let her in. “Quick. I'm not helping you if you let these fuckers out.” The door shuts behind us and dims the coop. “And there are the eggs.” I nod toward the stalls.

  “I probably won't come in here much.” She covers her nose and chuckles.

  “You get used to it. The Kenshaws do a good job keeping their coops clean.” I grab a carton. “Wanna help?” Holding one out to her, she stares at it a few seconds, her hand still covering her nose.

  “I'll race you. I bet I can fill my carton before you.” Snatching the carton from my hand, she studies the eggs a minute like she's planning her route.

  I only need one dozen, but the grin on her face makes me accept the challenge. “Oh, it's on.” I grab another carton and count down. “On three, ready? One, two—” Before I get to three, she takes off, snatching eggs faster than I can blink. I bark out a laugh and grab an egg, getting to work. When I hear her laugh, I look over and she's reaching deep; my eyes go to her tight jeans and they stay on her nice ass.

  Well that's it. I'm fuckin' losing this battle.

  “You got that?” I can't help but laugh myself.

  “Oh, shit!” she blurts and turns toward me, her mouth gaping open. When I look at her hand, she has egg running down her arm. “I squeezed.” Her head throws back as laughter bellows from her and she almost stumbles into the wall.

  Before she can topple over, I grip her hip but keep my distance from her egg-soaked hand.

  “Careful. You fall in here and you'll be covered in more than just dripping egg,” I murmur as s
he rights herself.

  The smile stays on her lips and her eyes hit mine. Holy hell, she's fucking beautiful. I mean, naturally beautiful. The type of shit you don't ever see because girls are too addicted to makeup and shit. Not this girl. She's…wow.

  “I won.” She looks at her hand that's dripping egg. “Or maybe I lost.”

  “You killed Chicken Little,” I utter, trying not to show how being this close to her is affecting me. It's real fucking hard though, because if I keep thinking about her like I am I'm gonna be pitching a tent soon enough.

  “Oh no. I'm a baby chicken killer.” She grins at me and before I can react, her hand slides down my bicep and covers my arm in egg goo. “You're an accomplice now.”

  “I...” I pause and laugh. “Are we doing this? I've heard eggs are awesome for hair.” I grab an egg, holding it over her head and grinning stupidly.

  She gasps. “Chase...”

  “I like the way my name sounds on your lips,” I whisper. Before I can get another word out, the door to the coop swings open and my eyes fly to Brandt, who's standing there eyebrows creased, looking at us like we've lost our damn minds. “Hey, man.”

  “Hi, Brandt.” Kaydence waves her egg hand at him.

  “The hell's goin' on in here?” He almost laughs. “Kay, is that egg dripping down your arm?”

  “Um, yes?” She glances at her hand. “Chase was getting eggs for his mom.” She smiles at me and my sight stays on her lips a few seconds too long.

  “And one just exploded on you?” He laughs. “Chase, sorry. I just got your texts. I see my cousin here has you covered, though.” His eyes flick between the two of us before he nods. “Ok then.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and leans against the doorframe.