A Reel Catch by Lorraine Bartlett

Author:Lorraine Bartlett
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940801490
Publisher: Polaris Press

16

Newton turned the conversation from decades before to the present and he and Tori started talking shop. It didn’t take long until shop talk became flirt talk and Kathy felt like a third wheel.

But it was Tori who put a halt to it by glancing at the digital clock behind the bar that gave the date and time and said that anyone born after the current day would not be sold liquor.

“I really need to get home. The phone could ring just after five and I might have to go to work substitute teaching.”

“You must be counting the days until the season starts,” Newton said, and Kathy was afraid he’d bend Tori’s ear for another twenty minutes, so she stood. “I’ve got that bedroom to paint in the morning, too. It was sure nice talking with you, Don.”

“Yes,” Tori agreed. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.” She smiled at the man. Kathy knew that look.

Newton stood. “I’d sure like that,” he said, his gaze riveted on Tori’s face.

Kathy paid their tab and grabbed her best friend’s arm. “See you soon,” she called cheerfully, dragging Tori along with her toward the exit.

“Hey, don’t be so pushy,” Tori admonished her. “Don shared a lot of good information with us.”

“Yes,” Kathy agreed as they ventured into the cold evening air. The noise level at The Pour House had not dropped one decibel and they had to wait until they were nearly to the municipal lot before they could hear each other speak.

“So what do you think about what Don said?” Tori asked.

A young jeans-clad couple stood under the glow of a lamppost, passing a joint back and forth, the heady aroma wafting their way. “Let’s talk about this in the truck,” Kathy advised.

Once inside the cab, Tori started the engine and pulled out of the lot. “Did you want to try that bar up the street?”

“I think it would be a waste of time. If we hadn’t run into Don, going to The Lakeside Grill would have been a waste.”

“Yeah, what were we thinking?” Tori asked, but in the wan light Kathy could see a smile quirking the corners of Tori’s mouth.

“You like him,” Kathy accused.

Tori shrugged, but kept her eyes on the dark road, “What’s not to like?”

“He’s old,” Kathy accused. “At least ten years older than you. And he’s a workaholic.”

“And we’re not?” Tori accused.

“We have goals.”

“Who’s to say Don doesn’t have goals? And he was out on a weeknight, just like us.”

“We don’t make it a habit,” Kathy said. “That bartender knew what he drank. He must go there on a regular basis—which means he’s probably looking to get laid.”

“Ya think?” Tori asked. “That place wasn’t exactly hopping. Wouldn’t his chances of finding a willing partner have been better at The Pour House?”

“How do I know? I don’t know anything about the local nightlife.”

“And maybe you ought to. Your guests might want to visit some of these places.”

Kathy frowned and turned her gaze to the road, which she could only see in the truck’s high beams.

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