text: The woman at his bar with her head resting on her folded arms drew him as no other had. Jack glanced from Blaine's closed eyes to her feet. One canvas shoe sat on the floor with a bunched sock shoved inside the opening. Tangled knotted laces dangled from her other shoe still on her foot, a battle she'd obviously decided not to fight.
  
  Jack focused on the slow, even breaths that lifted her chest. She'd fallen asleep in the ten minutes it had taken him to lock up the register and see his employees to their cars.
  
  He went to Blaine and laid a hand on her back. "Angel, time to wake up."
  
  Blaine made an annoyed sound. Her eyelids fluttered before opening. "I'm not sleeping."
  
  "Just resting, right?"
  
  "Mm-hmm." She grinned. Her eyes closed again. "Come back tomorrow morning. I should be done resting by then."
  
  Jack shook his head. He loved how she could amuse him without even trying. He'd miss this power she wielded over him. "Can't. If I let you sleep like this, you'll wake up with a crick in your neck. That'll be cruel considering you're already going to be on a plane for half a day."
  
  "More like twenty hours with the layover."
  
  "Even worse." He patted her bottom. "Come on. Get your shoe on. We'll get you into a bed." His bed to be exact.
  
  Blaine sat up gingerly. Her hand settled at her lower back. She held out her bare foot and wiggled her toes. "I don't know if I'll be able to get my foot back into my shoe."
  
  Jack ran his hand over her foot and ankle. Both had swelled. Those shoes she'd worn weren't designed for someone who'd be on their feet all night. They were the cute kind of shoe women chose to complement their outfit. "Do you still think waitressing is easy?"
  
  "No." Blaine spun the barstool and stretched out her other leg. "I will now be tipping extra too." Features scrunched, she wriggled her nose. "And if you hadn't saved me from that grabby-handed old man, I'd be spending the night in the police station. My tray and his face were meant to be together."
  
  Jack laughed. He dropped to his knees and grabbed the knotted laces of her shoe. "I know it's no excuse, but he's harmless."
  
  Blaine planted her hands on her hips. "Anyone who smacks my ass and calls me sugar is not harmless."
  
  "I smacked your ass a couple of minutes ago." Jack looked up the length of her body. "But I do call you angel, not sugar. I guess the devil is in the details."
  
  "You're allowed to smack my ass and call me angel. Or sugar. We're together." She narrowed her eyes. "Dirty old men who slur their words are not. You shouldn't even allow creeps like that in your bar."
  
  We're together.
  
  What exactly did that mean? Or, more importantly, why did those words excite him? Best he not go there. Blaine was leaving the country tomorrow. Their togetherness would end the moment she got on that plane.
  
  Jack bent his head. He didn't know what showed in his expression, misery or hope. Blaine was leaving, but he did have a passport. He just had to get it renewed. It'd been years since he'd taken a vacation. Possibilities teased his mind. He pushed them aside and focused on this moment. Blaine was waiting for his answer. "He lost his wife of fifty years a couple of months back. He's not taking it well."
  
  Blaine huffed. "Apparently, those years meant little to him to be touching other women already."
  
  "He's lonely." Jack worked the knot out and wiggled the shoe off her swollen foot. "But you're right. He shouldn't be touching the staff. I'll warn him that if he does so again, he won't be welcome back."
  
  "Thank you."
  
  He peeled her sock off and shoved it in the shoe, then tied the laces together. "You did well tonight. Really well. I got a few compliments on my new employee. How friendly and efficient you were."
  
  Blaine's beaming smile greeted him when he raised his head. "I've been in a lot of restaurants and pubs in my day. I know what makes a good waitress and what doesn't. I just didn't realize how hard it'd be to serve drinks. I swear people in this valley must inhale their beers."
  
  He hooked the tied laces over his forearm and lifted Blaine.
  
  She let out a gasp and stared wide-eyed at him. "You're carrying me?"
  
  "Yeah." He took a couple of steps, then stopped. "Unless you want to walk barefoot outside."
  
  "No. My luck, I'd step in something gross. Like spit." She scrunched her nose. "You had several customers with wads of chew and black teeth."
  
  "Some people like their chew. It was never my thing, so I can't say I understand the draw, but that's the kind of thing you get at a place like this. We have college kids, miners, businessmen, and just about everything in between. Now that school's in, it'll be packed here almost every night. The weekends will be worse. We end up turning people away so we don't go over our occupancy limit."
  
  She hooked her arms around his neck. "And you don't want to expand this place because…?"
  
  Jack swept his gaze over the bar before closing and locking the door behind him. "I never meant to be a pub owner. Not sure this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. The moment I agree to bring in a third owner and commit to renovating this place, I'll be stuck for life."
  
  "How did you accidently end up buying a business?"
  
  Jack jerked his head to the worn sign hanging above the door. "I came here on leave after I turned twenty-one. Then every time I came home, me, my brothers, and our cousins drank here before I shipped back out. It was tradition. Until it closed. Seeing that 'for sale' sign on it messed with my head. Especially after leaving my mama crying at home 'cause I told her I was thinking about staying on longer."
  
  He sighed and headed to where he'd parked his car behind Brenna's place. "Gave Levi my account number to put a deposit down. He went and got paperwork drawn up with both our names on it. All I had to do was sign. So I did and got out of the Marines as soon as I could. Wasn't going to stick my twin with that mortgage. Even with our combined down payments, we'll be paying for this place for years."
  
  "You know, I love hearing you call Eliza 'mama.' It's adorable."
  
  No comment on the intimate details he'd shared? He'd never told a lover about his motivations. Or the real reason he'd left the Marines. "I love my mother. I'm not ashamed of it."
  
  "You're a good man, Jack Sander. I'm sure you make your mama proud."
  
  "I'm not so sure about that. She complains her gray hair is me and my brothers' doing." Jack shifted Blaine's body and dug his keys out, then hit the button, unlocking the doors. He set Blaine on the passenger seat, then tossed her shoes in the back. "What about your mom? Are you close?"
  
  "Eh…" Blaine buckled. "Not really. She'd be a lot happier if I claimed my trust fund and stopped acting so wild, as she calls my singing."
  
  He rounded the car and got in the driver's seat. "How old do you have to be to claim it?"
  
  Silence descended. Blaine drew her bottom lip into her mouth. He started the car while she wrestled with her answer. Once they hit the stretch of road leading to Sander's Lake and Farm, she sighed and glanced out the window. "Forty-five, unless I meet the conditions set by my parents."
  
  "And those are?"
  
  "To claim half, I need to produce an heir. To claim all of it, I need to marry my baby's father."
  
  And boyfriends had no place in her life. She'd said as much herself. "The way Eliot talked, he made it seem easier."
  
  "It's not hard." Blaine rested her head against the glass. "I just have to put two other people before my own wants."
  
  He slid his hand over the steering wheel. No words of comfort or advice came to him. He'd hate to be in such a predicament too. "So you're waiting until you're forty-five?"
  
  Blaine didn't answer for a long time. Finally, she cleared her throat. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I agree with Levi. If you could buy the buildings next to yours, tear them down, and expand, you'd do very, very well. Open a microbrewery on one side and expand the stage area on the other side to include an area for dancing or outdoor tables."
  
  Apparently, she wasn't going to respond to his question. Of course, what did it matter? Blaine would go off and do whatever she wanted, including falling in love with some guy and having his baby if that was what she chose. "That would need major funds. Even with a third partner, I don't know if we'd be able to pull it off. It's better if we keep things status quo or sell and call it an experience."
  
  More silence. The turn for the road leading to the cabin where Blaine had been staying came into view. He drove past it. Blaine would sleep in his bed—in his arms—tonight.
  
  "If you decide to expand, I might be able to put you in touch with someone who'd love the challenge your pub poses. Turning it into a success would be right up my friend's alley."
  
  "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind." He had no plans on asking for a name, though. Some serious soul-searching had to be done before he committed to anything. That wouldn't happen tonight. Or any time soon.
  
  Levi wouldn't bring up his idea for another month or two anyway. He'd want to give Jack time to think about the plans lying on their desk that detailed gutting the apartments upstairs and adding a dance area. Buying their neighboring buildings never made it into Levi's plans. Likely because he knew they'd never be able to swing such a mortgage.
  
  "Good. Remind me to give you my cell number before I leave tomorrow. Call anytime."
  
  Jack stole a quick glance at Blaine. Their reality hit him like a splash of cold water in the face. Come tomorrow night, she'd be gone. He tightened his grip on the wheel. "I'll give you mine too. Just in case you can't get ahold of Iona or something. Wouldn't want you to worry about her or anything."
  
  "That's thoughtful of you. I don't know when I'm going to be able to sneak a trip away again. Maybe next summer. I don't know."
  
  "That long, huh?" Jack forced the words out. Something had to be said. Him sitting here in a miserable silence wouldn't be appropriate.
  
  "Yes. I'm supposed to record another album. I have shows planned. Appearances come Christmas. A major New Year's party." Blaine shrugged. "My life's busy."
  
  Minutes passed. He couldn't come up with anything to say when her statement kept repeating in his head. It'd be close to a year until he'd get to look into Blaine's blue eyes again. Or kiss her. Hold her. If she allowed such a thing to happen again. Who knew what would happen in a year's time?
  
  Jack turned down the road leading to the lake. "How do you feel about stargazing tonight? The view off my deck is gorgeous."
  
  No answer.
  
  He glanced at Blaine. Leaning against the window, she'd pillowed her head on her hands and fallen asleep. So much for squeezing in some extra quality time together before she left.
  
  Jack parked the car in his driveway, got out, and opened her car door. She jerked with the loss of the window supporting her. He settled his hand on her shoulder. "I got you, angel."
  
  Blaine glanced at him and smiled, then settled into his embrace once he lifted her into his arms. Carrying Blaine over the threshold of his house felt good. Right. As if he'd been waiting for this woman to be the first in his home. In his bed.
  
  And he was pretty sure that meant he was screwed. All he had to do was ask Wyn. He'd experienced the same thing not long ago.