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“I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I’d rather see a slamming door. Way less scary, even if it does knock me off my feet sometimes.”
He looked over at Caden who had been keeping an eye on Hallie throughout his conversation with Garrett. Luke and Orly had joined in on their discussion, and while it was a little too loud to hear what they were saying, the four of them seemed to be in good spirits.
The music over the speaker system stopped and Skyla took to the stage, grabbing the microphone off the stand. She looked radiant and excited. “Thank you all so much for coming out tonight! We have raised a lot of money for a very good cause, and to show our appreciation, I’ve invited a very special musical guest to join us tonight. Please help me welcome, the one and only, Sailor Hawkins!”
Blake’s jaw dropped at hearing the name of the country music turned pop star musical sensation. Madigan’s erupted with shouts and applause as the Grammy winner took to the stage with her white and rose gold sequined guitar. The bar roared to life, getting so loud, the music and first few lines of the song Sailor opened with couldn’t even be heard over the roar of the crowd. Then people settled down, singing along and dancing to the hit songs Blake sometimes heard on the radio.
Pride filled his chest for Skyla. He wasn’t privy to the details of how she managed to pull off something like this. He knew it had probably taken a lot of hard work, but she’d made it happen.
This was going to be an unforgettable night. And while Sailor Hawkins had an incredible and magnetic stage presence with her signature long blonde locks, ocean blue eyes, and million-dollar smile, it was the dark haired, whiskey-colored eyes, beauty that stood behind the bar now, that Blake couldn’t tear his gaze away from.
He watched Skyla say something to the bartender, then retreat to the back hallway. This could be the perfect opportunity to talk to her and clear the air. If for no other reason than she was a possible person of interest. He needed to stay in her life, at least until the case was closed. Despite his feelings about her, or that damn kiss, he still had a job to do, and he was done acting like a schoolboy and avoiding her at all costs. Damn, he hated when his mom was right.
Blake stood and made his way to the bar, as if ordering another drink for himself. His friends already suspected something going on between them, and the last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to that fire. No matter how much it had already burned him.
After a few seconds at the bar, he beelined to the back, and headed straight for Skyla’s office. He strode past the line to the restrooms, and turned the corner into the small hallway.
Her office door was slightly ajar, and there were voices coming from her office. He thought he recognized the man’s voice, so instead of knocking or making his presence known, he just pushed open the door.
His vision filled with Skyla, her whiskey-colored eyes drowning in something that looked like fear, and then a hint of metal danced across his peripheral, immediately followed by a sound distorted by the loud music and the roaring and singing of the crowd.
A sharp burning sensation consumed his gut. He staggered, gravity pulling him to his knees. His head hit something that looked like the floor, but that didn’t make any sense, because he didn’t remember falling.
And then it didn’t matter anymore. The pain in his gut bloomed to epic proportions, nearly matching the throbbing in his head. His eyes grew heavy, closing too easily, until he felt - nothing.
Chapter 15
Skyla was beyond thrilled. It was going to be a record-breaking night for Madigan’s, and The Mystic Cow had been packed when she stopped by earlier. She’d purposely kept tonight’s musical guest under wraps because she wanted people to be drawn in by the mystery. If word had gotten out that Sailor Hawkins was going to be here tonight, Skyla would’ve had a riot on her hands and would’ve had to shut the whole thing down.
No, this was perfect, and her loyal customers were getting the treat they’d earned after showing up and supporting Madigan’s, year after year. She loved seeing all the familiar faces, the couples who’d practically grown up here, and the younger ones who were starting to make this their regular Friday or Saturday night hangout spot.
But as much as she loved being a business owner, it was the community aspect of it all that Skyla thrived on. Being a part of all this was what made her happy, and being able to bring Hallie into it was just the cherry on top.
The only thing that had even come close to rattling her was seeing Blake. She hadn’t expected him to show up tonight, even though she’d badly wanted to see him. There was no explanation for the conflicting feelings warring inside her. One second, she was telling herself she never wanted to see the guy again, and the next he was touching her, sending delicious jolts of electricity up her arm and directly into the region of her body she’d been ignoring for years. How dare he affect her like that? Who the hell did he think he was, looking at her like she was… beautiful? Talking to her like he cared what she had to say? It was those very feelings that had her doing crazy things like making this weekend’s event dedicated to local veterans. The way he’d talked about James. He hadn’t said much, but the emotion in his voice, his love for that man had shimmered in his eyes. And it made Skyla think of all the veterans who never found someone like his mom, never got to have a family of their own, through no fault of their own. And then she’d stayed up late one night, researching what she could do to help them, and that was when she’d found out about the halfway house being built, and it just felt like the perfect way to give back.
James might not have been Blake’s biological father, but he’d been his dad in every way that mattered, and maybe in some small way, she could help Blake honor the man who helped make Blake who he was today.
Her gaze slid over to where Blake sat with his friends. Their gaze connected for a hot, electric moment, but then he averted his eyes, leaving Skyla with a cold, empty feeling. He laughed at something Garrett said, then his baby blues lingered on the beautiful Sailor Hawkins.
A sour bout of jealousy crawled into Skyla’s gut, consuming her for a long moment before she huffed out a breath and reminded herself that Blake O’Connell didn’t owe her a damn thing.
With a shake of her head, she reached into her back pocket for her phone. She should capture some photos and videos of Sailor’s performance to post on Madigan’s social media accounts and blog. But her phone wasn’t there. Dang, she’d probably left it on her desk along with her purse. “I left my phone in my office. I’ll be right back,” she told the bartender.
She stared out at the crowd for another second, taking in the sheer joy and excitement of the crowd. Sailor Hawkins was performing at Madigan’s and everyone was singing along.
God, she’d really done it. After weeks of emails and phone calls, Skyla had finally got a hold of the one person who could get Sailor Hawkins into Madigan’s. Her one-time high school sweetheart, Richie Hammond, who was now Sailor’s agent. As soon as Richie heard about Skyla’s plight to raise money for a halfway house for veterans, he was on board, and it hadn’t taken much to convince Sailor.
Richie’s father and Sailor’s uncles were veterans. Skyla had read an interview Sailor gave last year about how she’d first connected with Richie over their family’s history in themilitary, so this event likely met just as much to her as it did to Skyla.
She’d mentioned the event to her dad, but Royce hadn’t bothered to show up. Not that Skyla expected him to. He could call her a glorified bartender and whatever else he thought of when she angered him with her desire for independence, but there was no way in hell she’d ever let him take this from her. And the Books and Booze event wasn’t even over yet. Tomorrow was day two, and anyone who shopped at The Mystic Cow with their ticket stub from tonight’s show, would get twenty percent off their entire purchase. It was a brilliant cross promotional marketing plan, and since tomorrow was Sunday, she hoped more people would go to The Mystic Cow, especially those who hadn’t made it there today.
With her head held high and her heart pounding to the beat of the music with excitement, Skyla walked past the short line to the ladies’ room and turned the corner to go into her office. “Skyla,” one of her bartenders chased after her. “Here.” She turned in time for him to hand her the phone she thought she’d left on her desk.
She smiled, taking the phone from him. “Where did you find it?”
“Behind the bar,” he said, before rushing back out to serve customers.
