Wes' GPS signaled that he was at his destination and Wes turned in to a circular drive that was in front of a beautiful log home. Jo’s car was alone in the driveway and Wes breathed a sigh of relief. The dashboard clock told him it was after 11:00pm and although there was one light on in the cabin he questioned whether or not he should bother her at this late hour.
Finally he got up the courage and knocked on the door, there was no doorbell. Wes waited and knocked again when he didn’t hear anything. After knocking a third time Wes ran through the scenarios in his mind; one: she was asleep and didn’t hear him. Two: she wasn’t home and three: she saw who it was and refused to answer the door. His third scenario actually made his gut tighten.
Wes walked back to his truck and got in. After sitting inside for a few minutes Wes decided to go to the Candlelight where he could have a beer and think on his next step. He drove the half-mile to the quaint bar and parked. Wes was starting to feel the effects of no sleep, but he knew being this close to Jo would act as a stimulant and until he spoke to her there was no way he’d get any rest.
He entered the bar and saw that to the right was a restaurant area, but it was late and there were no people sitting at the tables. On his left was a large square bar packed with Friday night partiers. The atmosphere was similar to his bar; everyone knew everyone. There was music playing and the televisions all had different stations on.
Wes found an opening at the bar and just as the bartender caught his eye so did something else. At the far end of the bar sat Jo. She was bookended by two burly guys who were joking with her. She was smiling at them and it was apparent that they knew each other. Wes also noticed she had a bruise on her face and that her smile, the one he loved to see, didn’t reach her eyes.
He felt instantly guilty. He knew he hadn’t physically hurt her but he couldn’t help but think that had he been there she would have been safe. He also knew he had hurt her emotionally, well Ginger had, but he should have figured out what the witch had been up to long before it happened. Wes saw that his Jo was smiling but he knew it was all show.
Jo had arrived at her parents' lake house Friday afternoon after stopping at The Candlelight for a sandwich to take out. She put away the groceries that she’d bought and ate half her sandwich. She hadn’t slept in the hospital with the nurses coming in every two hours to check on her, so after she finished her sandwich she had tried to nap, but when she started to doze all she kept seeing was that kiss. That awful moment when Wes kissed Ginger Lola, Ginger freakin' Lola; one of the most beautiful actresses in modern day film. She had a body that men fantasized about and woman wanted to be her. She had perfect hair, teeth, and heart shaped lips. She oozed sex.
What Jo couldn’t figure out was why had Wes even bothered with her comparably insignificant self? After tossing on her parent's king sized bed for a few hours Jo gave up on sleep. The clocks luminescent numbers told her it was 10:00pm. Jo decided she needed a drink, maybe then she’d sleep. The Candlelight was only a half-mile down the dirt road and one of her favorite places to eat and drink. She’d grown up on the lake and she knew most of the regulars that frequented it.
Jo changed into a pair of cut off shorts, a clean tee shirt and a pair of sneakers and tied her hair up in a messy bun. She grabbed a helmet from the mudroom and fished the Cat’s keys off the hook board near the front door. Her parents owned two Cats, four wheel drive ATV’s, and when ever they went to the Candlelight they drove those instead of their cars.
Jo parked and took off her helmet. She saw that the place was hopping. She was glad the little establishment continued to pull in customers, she shuddered to think how awful it would be if their doors ever closed. The Candlelight had great food varying from burgers to seafood, and her personal favorite, the riblets. The homey rustic inn had a friendly laid back atmosphere that Jo loved.
The second Jo entered the bar area she was greeted with a few rousing greetings of “Jo!” Jo smiled and waved at the people she knew and then found a seat at the far end of the bar. She ordered a beer and made small talk with the owner. The jukebox was cranking out mostly country tunes with an occasional rock song mixed in.
Two of Jo’s friends, twins that she and Lou had spent many youthful hours with entered the bar and after spotting her, sat on either side of her. The two guys were great friends of the family and both she and Lou had remained in contact with them even during college and afterwards. Auggie and Griff were a year older than she and Lou. They were her and Lou’s first kiss, yet after that one exploratory night that had transpired because of too many beers and a friendly game of spin the bottle, neither she nor Lou ever became romantically involved with either of them again.
“Hey.” Jo said as the two beefy men nudged her from either side. Jo grimaced in pain and Auggie looked at her quizzically.
“Are you all right?”
“Um, yeah, just had a little accident and I hurt my shoulder and hip.” She tried to make light of her accident.
“And head.” Griff said grazing his finger along the bruise on her forehead.
“Yeah there too.” Jo joked.
The three friends caught up with each other. Auggie was a Physical Education teacher in New Jersey and Griff owned a Sporting Goods store a few towns away. They had each built A-frames on their parents' property that bordered the lake a few lots down from her parents place.
Jo was giggling at one of Griff’s dumb jokes when a shiver ran up her spine. She felt someone watching her. She looked up and across the bar she saw Wes. She blinked thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her. He was so handsome; his eyes were locked on her. She audibly gasped which caused Auggie and Griff to look to where she was looking.
Wes didn’t move he wasn’t sure what to do. Usually he was so decisive. He could analyze any situation and instinctively know what to do, but for some reason all his common and reasoning senses abandoned him. Jo couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He stood out in the small bar and she knew there were other females drinking him in. He was large and sexy, his green eyes, one sporting a bluish purple coloring around it, even more vibrant because of the dark green tee shirt he wore. His jeans hugged his athletic hips and of course he wore don’t-fuck-with-me combat boots.
The other thing that Jo noticed was that in one week he’d dropped weight and as sinfully handsome as he was she also could see he looked weary. His lips sported a small frown and Jo could tell he was stressed. Auggie and Griff looked back and forth between the two of them and then Griff asked if she knew who he was.
“Yeah, someone I know well thought I knew.” She said with a bite.
“You want us to get him to leave?” Auggie asked deadly serious.
Jo smiled at her two childhood friends. “Guys, I love you and thanks for the offer but I absolutely guarantee that man could take on every man in this bar and come out victorious.”
Auggie and Griff weren’t pleased that she’d basically dis'd their manhood, but when she put her hands on each of their arms, they didn’t argue.
Jo saw Wes’ eyes thin when she touched her two friends and although it shouldn’t have mattered, she was pleased that he looked pissed. He began the slow walk towards her and Jo kept her eyes on him. Her friends remained silent, but they stood from their stools as he neared them, and Jo knew that they were in full scale brotherly protecting mode. Wes stopped behind her and Jo swiveled on her stool to face him.
“Jo I’d like to talk to you if I can please? Alone.”
“I’m having a drink with my friends Wes.”
“I can see that, but I need to talk to you.”
Just then the bartender came over. She was over the top flirting wi