Thawing the Ice (5 page)

“Down, boy, you two promised me a
good time.”

“I assure you, that’s what you’d
get at home,” Casey said.

“Holy shit, way to man up, little
brother,” Ryan said.

“Don’t change too much, Case. One
of him is hard enough to handle.”

Ryan steered them to the table in
the back, and they piled in, placing Lei in the middle. A few minutes later,
Becky, the bubbly brunette who usually worked weekends greeted them.

“Hey, guys, what can I get you
tonight?”

“Just a bucket of Blue Ribbon beer
for us, I think.” Ryan glanced at Lei, who nodded.

“All right, I’ll get it coming your
way,” Becky said.

“Thanks, Becky,” Casey and Lei
said.

A half a bucket later, the night
had turned around. Mary Jo kept her crazy over at the bar and limited her
disdain to dirty looks.

“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Jake
asked. He pulled his hand from his blue jeans and offered it to shake and Ryan
smiled at his friend They’d grown up together, and gotten into trouble a time
or two.

“Hey, man, not much,” Ryan said, as
they clasped hands in greeting.

“What are you up to tonight?” Case
said.

“Just killing some time with the
crew over there.” Jake nodded toward the bar at the local group he hung out
with.

“I hear that,” Lei said, smiling.

“I actually came over here to talk
to you, beautiful,” Jake said with a wink. A fringe of dark hair fell into his
eyes and Ryan tensed. The ladies liked Jake. He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, held
a good job, and had smooth pick-up lines.

“Always a flirt.” Lei rolled her
eyes.

Casey’s jaw tensed, and he shot
Ryan a look that said
Can you believe this guy?

“No, seriously. I have a wedding
coming up, and I need a date.” He flashed his perfect set of pearly whites, and
Ryan balled his fists.
If this guy doesn’t get the hint soon, I’m going to
lose my cool
. They hadn’t talked about telling anyone else besides Pop, but
Ryan couldn’t see going through this time and time again.

“She’s busy that weekend,” Ryan
said.

“What? I didn’t even say when,”
Jake said.

“I can guarantee you she won’t be
available,” Casey said.

“What’s going on with you guys? I
know you’re protective, but damn. You know me.”

“She’s taken.” Ryan wrapped an arm
around her shoulders.

“Very.” Casey added his arm around
her waist, and Jake’s eyes grew round.

“Oh…o-okay. My bad.” Jake held up
his hands.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ryan
relaxed. Word spread like wildfire here. It’d keep the others away.

“Jesus, way to cave man me, guys.
I’m sorry, Jake,” Lei said.

“No, I don’t blame them. They’re
lucky men. I’ll let you guys enjoy your evening.”

“Well, consider the news broken.”
Lei took a long draw from her bottle.

“Are you mad? I know we told Dad
tonight, but that’s a hell of a lot different from letting everyone in town
know,” Casey said.

“No, it’s better this way. Rip the
band-aid off all at once. Plus, I want that bitch to know everything she’s
imagining in her head is true. Jo’s been after both of you for as long as I can
remember. Hopefully this will throw her off your scent for good.”

“Our kitten has claws.” Ryan curled
up his hand.

“Shut up.” Lei punched his arm, and
Ryan laughed. They’d overcome the first major hurdle. It felt like the sky was
the limit.

THE END

About the Author

Told once ‘You have to be an
author, then your craziness becomes eccentricities,’ Shyla Colt has always been
in love with the written word and possessed a desire to write. Named after
Super Girl in the comics, she often mistakes her mortality for super hero
status. So, she holds many hats. Writing allows her to explore new venues, face
her demons, and touch others. A huge practitioner of paying it forward, and
putting in what you want to get out, she hopes to inspire, enlighten, move, and
entertain you with her work. Mixing humor, drama, and strong women, often with
a paranormal element, she continues to soldier ahead in the writing field. One
of her favorite things is talking to fans. If you’d like to learn more or just
drop a line, please check her out at http://www.shylacolt.com or email at
[email protected].