Blaze was called away by an older patron who stated he had pack stuff to talk about. He grabbed two bottles of beer and led the man to a small booth that everyone steered clear of. It was a bit offset from the rest, and now Astra understood why.
On top of managing and running Gray Wolf, Blaze also conducted pack business in the bar during business hours. The man definitely needed to hire extra help or he’d be dead on his feet before he turned fifty, even with shifter genes.
Time went on, and Blaze kept being called away to listen to pack members’ grievances, and he was also running clean glasses from the kitchen to the bar. Every now and then, he’d deliver plates of food to waiting patrons. Without fail, every time he passed her, he gave her a wink, or a smile, or squeezed her arm. It was little things, but they managed to mean quite a lot to her.
Astra was wiping down an unfortunate incident where a glass of dark amber ale spilled when a shadow cast over her. She looked up to see a man in his sixties sit at one of the bar stools.
“You’re not Blaze,” the older man needlessly pointed out.
Astra gave him her best smile, not really knowing where this was going to go. “I’m not, no. I’m a friend of his, filling in behind the bar.”
“Never known Blaze to let anyone behind that bar. No one except Jett.”
From memory, Astra knew Jett was the pack’s enforcer. She could only guess that having an enforcer who also doubled as a bouncer and barback was good for business when running a shifter bar.
“I guess I’m lucky then,” she said to the older man. “I’ve always wanted to tend bar, and Blaze is just doing this as a favor for me.”
The man laughed and shook his head. “Oh, I bet he’s doing you a favor.”
“Rick, are you telling lies about me?” Blaze dropped a huge crate of fresh glasses onto the counter and immediately walked around to give the older man a manly one-armed hug.
“No, kid. I wasn’t. I was just stating that it would take a very special person to get behind that bar of yours.”
Blaze shrugged, clearly not wanting to draw more attention to Astra then necessary.
“Astra, this is my uncle Rick. He is my father’s brother.”
“Oh,” Astra’s entire face lit up. She was legitimately excited to meet one of Blaze’s relatives. “Hi, it’s so nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure is mine.” Rick gave her a nod before guzzling down nearly half his beer.
“You shifters sure can drink,” she wondered out loud, making Rick laugh.
“We aren't affected by it like humans. We have a fast metabolism. It takes more than a few cold ones to get me seeing double.”
“Fascinating,” she replied.
Rick shook his head. “Sure, but it can get expensive. I’m certainly not a cheap date.” He laughed at his own words. “Good thing Blaze lets me drink here for free. He’s a good kid like that.”
Astra leaned against the counter and she took her chance. Blaze was talking to a table all the way across the bar, and she was pretty sure the loud conversations and music would drown out her question to Rick.
“Tell me about Blaze.” She knew the uncle would likely give his nephew a glowing recommendation, but she wanted some kind of confirmation that what she was feeling was right. Blaze was a decent, sweet man.
“Are you asking me as a friend or an employee?” Rick was perceptive.
Astra shrugged as she scrubbed at the spotless bar top. “Both? Maybe something in between.”
Rick looked over his shoulder to where Blaze was still in a deep talk with some of his regulars. “He’s the best kind of man out there. You know, this place used to be mine.”
Astra balked, feeling her eyes widen.
“Yup, I took over this bar when I turned twenty-one. My great uncle ran it before me. It’s been in the family for generations. I was going to lose it, a little while ago. I was too old to stay up all night, and some of the rowdy crowds were making it hard for me. I wanted to be in bed by nine, and not have to break up fights between testosterone-filled pups.
"I was going to put Gray Wolf up for sale. Damn near broke my heart. But Blaze walked right in one day and he said to me, 'I’m buying the bar.' I was shocked. You see, his daddy and my big brother was the alpha. Blaze was set to take over for him in just a few years.
"I know Gerald wouldn’t be pleased with the idea of his kid running the pack and the shifter bar. But Blaze sat us all down and explained how it would be a benefit to the pack to have the head of the wolves be in charge of this place.”
Rick looked around the bar with pride in his eyes.
“The kid was right. Fights became less frequent. No one wants to piss off the alpha over dumb quarrels, you see? It also helped the rowdier pups fall into line. That’s how Blaze got close to Jett.”
“I haven’t met Jett yet. But that’s quite the story.” Astra’s eyes were completely locked onto Blaze. She couldn’t look away, mesmerized by his easy nature.
His entire body, a powerful mass of muscles, was relaxed as he went to another table to check in on his patrons. His smile was always there at the corner of his mouth.
“Gerald and Rita weren’t too happy about Blaze leaving college a year early to take over the bar, but that kid didn’t need a college degree. He has a head for business.”
“Is he close with them? His parents?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t they be close?”
“I don’t know,” she answered with a shrug. “Some people aren’t close to their family.”
Astra wasn’t one of those people. She loved her family, and her sister really was more like a best friend. Her cousins were, too, if she was being honest about it.
“It’s a shame when people aren’t close. Family is very important.”
“I agree,” a deep voice agreed from behind her. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Blaze. She could already recognize his voice. What did that say about her?
Blaze squeezed her shoulder before he mixed an intricate looking drink. Someone should film him, he really was like a work of art as he was working behind his bar.
It seemed like years had passed when the crowd was down to two small groups and a few stragglers sitting at the bar. Astra couldn’t believe it, but she had actually broken a sweat while tending. She knew she would have aches and pains in her arms and legs in the morning. This was hard work. She needed a treat to reward herself for her first successful night as a bartender.
She had even managed not to suspect that every guest wasn’t out to kill her. It helped that most of them seemed to know Blaze by name. She couldn’t be in a safer place, right in the alpha’s business.
“Give me that tall bottle of deliciousness, please.” She pointed to the high shelf and smiled sweetly at him.
“Any chance you’re talking about me?”
Astra licked her lips as she looked at his own, full ones.
She might as well have been talking about him.
Chapter Eleven
Blaze
Astra was watching him carefully, and he couldn’t quite believe how ballsy he had been. His joke had been lame anyway. It would have been better if she had said tall drink and not tall bottle. But it had been close enough that he thought he was being clever.