Waking Hearts Read Free

really don’t have time for this. I’m working.”
    Allie could see table seven’s drinks sitting on the bar, and Jim was glaring at her customers. She was now losing tips dealing with these Mad Men wannabes. If Ollie had been there, one of them would have already come out and given the men a warning. But with Ollie out, Jim was stuck behind the bar.
    “Tell you what,” Allie said, leaning down to the arrogant man’s ear. “You can pick up my apron for me right now—” She heard the back door open and a moment later, Ollie walked down the back hall with a case of whiskey, Caleb Gilbert trailing behind. Finally . “You do that, and I’ll forget you’ve been a pain in my ass all night.” Allie looked up and glanced across the table at a younger man whose cheeks held a slight blush before she looked back at Ryan. “How’s that sound, sweetheart ? Trust me. This is Oliver Campbell’s bar. You don’t want to mess with his servers.”
    Ryan’s smile was tight. His eyes held hers. “Oh, I don’t think your thug boss wants to bother upstanding citizens like us.”
    Another one of the men at the table was starting to look embarrassed. “Ry, let it go. She’s busy, and I want to listen to the band.” He moved to bend over and pick up Allie’s apron, but Ryan stepped on the hand that reached out.
    “Ow! What the fuck, Ryan?”
    He was still staring at Allie, a smile on his lips. “She can pick it up.”
    Allie heard a thunk as the case of whiskey hit the bar. “I warned you,” she said, crossing her arms as she saw Ollie stride across the floor. There was a lull in the music, and the bar quieted as if just realizing something was going on in their midst.
    Ollie jerked his chin at the band and said, “Play.”
    Immediately the drummer picked up again, the guitarist stepped forward, and the singer raised his hands, drawing the attention of the crowd.
    Ryan had scooted back in his chair, crossing his arms and reaching for his drink as Ollie approached the table.
    Ollie snagged the shot glass from Ryan’s fingers and put it on the table. “You’re done.” He turned to Allie. “They paid up?”
    “Yeah. They settled up and then this guy pulled my apron off.”
    Ollie scowled. “What are you, twelve?”
    Ryan’s eyes flashed. “Hey—”
    “Pick her apron up and get out of here.”
    Ryan stood, deliberately kicking her apron under the table and scattering more of the cash.
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Allie said.
    Ollie didn’t say another word. He grabbed the man by the back of the suit and lifted him in the air.
    “What the fuck?” Ryan yelped. “Put me down! Andrew, call the cops. Your bar is mine, asshole. My lawyer is going to have a field day with this.”
    “Shut the hell up,” Ollie muttered, looking at the other men at the table with an impassive expression. “Any of you guys have manners? Pick up her apron while I go have a talk with your friend.”
    The whole bar watched as Ollie walked a puffing Ryan down the back hall, and the three men scrambled to pick up the money and stuff it back in Allie’s apron. The band, bless their hearts, continued to play.
    The blushing one handed Allie her apron with a nervous smile while the other two got out their phones. Caleb wandered over from the bar.
    “Allie, you okay?”
    “Yep.” She smiled. “These gentlemen were just leaving me a very nice tip for making their neighbors wait on their drinks.” She looked over at table seven. “Sorry, guys!”
    “No problem,” one shouted.
    Another said, “Almost as entertaining as the band.”
    One of Ryan’s silent friends was holding up his phone and glancing down the hall where Ollie and Ryan had disappeared. “Shouldn’t one of us call the cops? What’s that guy going to do to Ryan?”
    Caleb hooked his hands in his pockets, his thumb behind the badge at his waist. “I am the cops. And Ollie was going to have a chat with him. Didn’t you hear?”
    Allie didn’t have time for this.
    She