Winter Magic by Carol Wyatt

Author:Carol Wyatt [Wyatt, Carol]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2020-11-24T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Claire blew a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her eye as she crouched down behind the bar to get a new bottle of vodka. As much as she resented the fact that she was a bartender now, she was grateful for the money, and she was incredibly proud of her parents. Every night of the week, the bar had been crowded, and even more so tonight as they got closer to the weekend.

It was almost nine o’clock and just about every table was taken. A few bar stools remained, but all eyes were on the three big screens, focused on the football game.

Her parents had decided to start serving food since the last time Claire had been back home, and the smell of the buffalo chicken wings that went out from the kitchen to the table just in front of the bar had Claire’s mouthwatering.

Donovan breezed past her carrying three pints of beer to the other end of the bar and delivering them to a group of college students. Even though they’d been busy every night, with little down time, Claire had probably spoken to her brother more this week than she had in years.

She knew it was her fault for not staying in touch, for not coming home often enough, but it hadn’t taken them long to slip back into their old ways, comparing notes from last weekend’s football game or making playoff predictions.

Claire opened two bottles of beer for the couple sitting at the bar. Not for the first time this week, Claire wondered how different her life would have been if she’d stayed. She wouldn’t have gone to law school. She might have studied something that interested her at the community college a few miles from here, but this would have been her job.

The hum of people talking erupted into cheers as the home team scored a touchdown. Claire watched the replay, her arms folded across her chest, her eyes on the wide receiver’s feet, making sure they were both in bounds. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

She’d love to be back working at a law firm at some point, but this could be a nice break. Claire had noticed her unusually cynical view of life these past few weeks, and yes, she’d been dumped, but she really needed to get a grip. Things were not that bad. She had plenty of time to get her life back on track.

Someone cleared their throat, and Claire stepped towards the bar, her eyes leaving the TV on the wall across the room to focus on the customer. A slow smile came to her lips as she met Emma’s eyes.

“Hey,” Claire said, a fluttery feeling starting in her stomach as she held her gaze. She hadn’t seen or heard from Emma since they’d bumped into each other at the bake sale. She hadn’t been sure what to make of that. It had only been four days, and Claire didn’t get the impression Emma would want to see her during the week when she was working.

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