“You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m being selfish. There’s a part of me that wants to demand you find a day-shift job. However, there’s a bigger part of me that knows you’re a grown woman who can make her own choices. I won’t take that away from you like they did. I might be pissy about it, but I would never demand that of you. No matter how bad I want to.”
“I miss you too,” I confess. “I’ve been thinking a lot about how I could use my degree. Well, just about what I want to do for the rest of my life. The Willow Tavern isn’t forever.”
“As long as I’m still in the forever column, we’re all good,” he assures me.
He has no idea that his words set off an explosive tidal wave of emotions in my chest. He just basically told me he wanted me forever.
“Eat up. You have to go back to work soon. Unless you’re willing to let me tell them that you have food poisoning from my awful cooking and need to take the rest of the night off,” he offers.
“Stop. We both know you’re an excellent cook, and they already know that because this isn’t the first meal you’ve brought me while I’m working.”
“Damnit. Why do I have to be one of the nice guys?” he teases.
“I’m glad you’re one of the good ones, Deacon. I’m also glad you’re in my life.”
“Me too, baby. Me too.” He presses his lips to my cheek and moves to sit beside me on the tailgate while I finish my dinner.
Six hours later, we finally lock the doors and call it a night. My feet are killing me, and I’ve been distracted by my conversation with Deacon earlier. It bothers me too that we only have two weeknights that we can go out, and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. When I first accepted this position, I was fine with the nights. The tips were better, and if Palmer was busy, I just sat at home alone anyway. Now I have someone other than my best friend in my life who I want to spend time with. I used to spend Sundays at my aunt and uncle’s, and I’ve been missing that lately too. Every spare minute I spend with Deacon and it’s not enough.
I’m not sure that any amount of time with him will ever be enough.
“Hey, Ramsey, can you grab some napkins from the supply closet?” Tabitha asks.
“Sure.” I drop the dirty glasses I just collected off at the bar and head down the hallway to the supply closet. I pass Hank’s office, and instead of passing it like I would any other time, I knock on the door frame.
“Ramsey. Come on in.” He smiles kindly. “What’s up?”
“Well,” I say, wringing my hands together, “I was wondering if we could talk about my schedule.”
“Sure, you need a day off?”
“Kind of. I was hoping I could have fewer nights on the weekends. I know that I said I could work with them when you hired me, but my situation has changed.”
“Deacon.” He smiles.
I nod. “I work every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. That doesn’t leave much time to grow a relationship.”
“Trust me, I know.” He nods. “So what are you thinking?”
“Maybe one weekend night a week? Out of those three days?”
“That’s a big ask. That’s going to disrupt the entire schedule.”
“I know. I’m sorry for asking.” I turn to walk out of his office.
“Ramsey,” he calls out to me.
“Yes?” I turn to look over my shoulder.
“Let me see what I can do. You’re a hard worker and very dependable. I’d hate to lose you. I’ve been thinking of adding another employee anyway. It’s always nice when someone calls off to have options. It would take some time to get them trained.”
I try to hide my smile, but I can’t. “Yes. Of course. I’m happy to help and pick up shifts during the day, whatever I need to do to help train them.”
He chuckles. “All right. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thank you, Hank.” He waves, ending the conversation. I quickly grab a couple of packs of bar napkins from the supply closet and take them back to Tabitha.
“I thought you got lost,” she teases.
“No. I was talking to Hank.”
“Well, we’re all set here. Are you cashed out?”
“Not yet. Give me five.” I move toward the register and quickly count my drawer before taking it to Hank, where he’s still sitting behind his desk. “We’re ready to go.”
“Good deal. I’m beat. You ladies grab your things and meet me by the back door.”
“Hank’s meeting us at the back door,” I tell Tabitha.
“My feet are killing me,” she groans.
“Tell me about it. It wasn’t even that busy tonight. We’ve had worse.”
“I know. Maybe it’s because we did more standing, and when we’re moving, it’s not as bad?” she suggests.
“Possibly.” Grabbing my purse from underneath the counter, I turn off the lights and follow her down the hall.
“Have I told you I love you for hiring a cleaning crew permanently?” Tabitha asks our boss.
“You have, but you can keep telling me. I like getting out of here at a decent hour. I was here early anyway to let them in, so the cleaning crew made sense.”
“Good call, boss man.” Tabitha pats him on the back as he pushes open the back door.
“Where do I find me one of those?” Tabitha asks.
I look to where she’s nodding and see Deacon sitting on his tailgate. He’s casually scrolling through his phone as if he’s not sitting in a parking lot at nearly two in the morning waiting for me to get off work. My heart does a somersault in my chest. He’s here for me.
I don’t reply to Tabitha. I manage to lift my hand in the air to wave at the two of them, but I can’t be sure if they see me, and right now, I don’t care. All I want to do is hug him. I need Deacon’s arms around me. Even more so, I need my arms around him.
I don’t know what I did to have this incredible man come into my life, but I’m grateful, and I just pray that he’s always here with me. He jumps off the tailgate, and he must read the expression on my face. He opens his arms wide, and I walk straight into them.
“I don’t know why you’re still here, but I needed this,” I tell him after a few minutes of clinging to him.
“I’m here for you, Ramsey.”
I open my mouth to thank him, but the words that come out of my mouth are different than what I intended. “Stay with me tonight.” Four words that are sure to move our relationship to a new level, and I do not regret them.
Deacon frames my face with his large hands and studies me for what feels like hours but is only seconds. “My place or yours?”
“Yours.” It’s not because I don’t like my place. I do. It’s more that Deacon’s house feels more like home than my tiny one-bedroom apartment. Right now, I need him and the comfort that his place brings me.
“I’ll follow you.” He kisses me quickly and then leads me to my car. Like the gentleman he is, he opens the door for me and waits for me to be settled before closing it.
My gaze follows him as he climbs into his truck and flashes his lights, letting me know he’s ready to go. This isn’t the first time he’s followed me home. However, it is the first time he’s followed me to his. It’s the first time either of us has ever mentioned spending the night with the other. Prior to meeting Deacon, I never imagined asking this of a man. Ever. He makes me feel strong and beautiful, and I need more of that tonight. I needed his hug.