Love After All

“I talked to Brady about Kurt,” Bash said as they took a slow ride along Hope’s main street.

“Yeah? How did that go?”

“About like you’d expect. I mainly asked about his parents, but I thought maybe he’d open up about his brother.”

Carter shook his head. “He doesn’t talk about it. To me, or to anyone, as far as I know. He’s a lot more animated now than he was when I hired him, but Kurt’s death really hit him hard.”

“It hit all of us hard. I think about him a lot, wishing there was something I could have done. I can’t even imagine what goes through Brady’s head.”

“Yeah, me, too. It has to be tough on him. I just wish he’d talk to somebody about it.”

“How do you know he hasn’t? He’s got friends, right?”

Carter shrugged. “He used to, but as far as I know, no one comes around the shop, and he mostly hangs out there, working or doing bike jobs at night and on the weekends.”

Bash nodded. “I’ve seen him at the bar a few times. Alone. I’ve tried to engage him, but I haven’t gotten very far. He needs friends. Someone to talk to.”

“He’ll talk to someone. When he’s ready. He’s obviously not ready yet.”

Bash hoped so. Holding that kind of shit inside of you only made it worse.

“So how are things going with Chelsea?” Carter asked, obviously needing a change of topic as much as Bash did.

“Good. I think. I don’t really know.”

Carter laughed. “That was a vague non-answer.”

“I guess it was. I don’t know what to think about her. She’s got some definite ideas about what she wants in a guy, and I’m not it.”

Carter turned the corner, giving Rhonda some gas. “Yet she seems to spend all her time with you.”

Carter had a point. “She does.”

“So maybe she likes being with you.”

“Well, yeah. Who wouldn’t?”

Carter laughed. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Bash. You’re so humble.”

“Right?”

“But seriously, about Chelsea, what do you think?”

“I don’t know. We’re just taking it day by day. Or at least I am. I don’t want to get in too deep with a woman who has a perfect-man list when I don’t meet the criteria.”

Carter pulled up in front of Bash’s house, then turned off the engine and turned to him. “Look, I’m not the best at giving advice, and if anyone could fuck up a relationship in the worst way, it’s me. But here’s the thing. The brain and the heart are two different organs. What one thinks it wants may not have anything to do with how the other feels. Molly and I spent a lot of years apart figuring that out.”

Bash nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”

“So if you’ve got feelings for her, then start working on her heart, and maybe her head will eventually fall in line.”

Bash got out of the car and shut the door, then leaned in and smiled. “Sometimes you surprise me with how smart you are.”

Carter frowned. “I’m going to have to think about whether that was an insult or a compliment.”

Bash laughed. “Thanks for the ride, buddy.”

“Anytime.”

By the time Bash drove to work that day, he was in a pensive mood. Fortunately, he had a goofy dog to help take his mind off whatever plagued him. A couple of the waitresses played ball with Lou before they opened, so she got to burn off some of her excess energy, which was good, since he wouldn’t have much time to play with her later. He was running a couple of drink specials tonight, and there were a few baseball games being played that were likely to bring in a big crowd.

Summer filled the air, it was Saturday night, and he hadn’t seen Chelsea in a week. She’d been busy with finals and graduation, so she told him she wouldn’t be available. They’d talked on the phone a few times, but he’d given her space. He knew what it was like to be busy, and he didn’t want to get in the middle of her schedule.

But it was still interesting how she filled the spaces in his head even when she wasn’t around. It was probably dangerous to let that happen, considering her state of mind about their relationship.

He shook off thoughts of Chelsea and dove into work. It got crowded early and stayed that way for the majority of the night. The baseball games, plus the drink specials, brought in a lot of people. Bash tried to glance at the game scores while he made drinks. His favorite team was ahead, so that made the night even better.

As usual, Lou wandered around, making friends at all the tables. She’d become a staple at the bar, especially drawing in the women, which made his male regulars damn happy. In turn, it made him damn happy, too. More women coming to the bar meant more guys buying drinks for them.

Lou was good for business. Maybe he should put her picture on one of the front windows. The thought of that made him laugh.

He had his hands full with making six fruity drinks for a table of women when a soft, sexy voice hit him.

“You look busy.”

He turned around to see Chelsea had taken a spot on one of the barstools.

He grinned, always gut-punched whenever he saw her. Tonight she wore a sexy, formfitting silver top.

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Megan, Sam, and I went to the movies earlier tonight, then over to Megan’s place for board games. I didn’t want to go home after, so I thought I’d stop here and check you out.”