“You’re a smooth talker,” Hannah teased, poking his side. “We have to decide on a bartender first, though. We can’t keep putting off the decision. If I have to spend more than a few weeks behind this bar, I really am going to lose my mind.”
Sympathy washed over Cooper. He knew she felt trapped in the saloon. The most recent bartender they’d hired had turned out to be a monster — literally — and he’d killed the other bartender, which meant they were down two bartenders and Hannah couldn’t leave her position, no matter how much she wanted it.
“I’m sorry.” He stroked his hand over her flaxen hair. He understood better than anyone how much she wanted to try something new. “Maybe—” He broke off and licked his lips, glancing around the saloon. “Maybe I can take over at the bar for a few days this week to give you a little break.”
Hannah was touched by the offer, but she couldn’t allow it. “You’re head of security. I’m pretty sure you have other duties.”
“Yes, but you’re the owner. You’re allowed to designate jobs. I’m willing to help you get a break from this place.”
He was so earnest it made Hannah smile. “I know you are.” She brushed her soft fingertips over his cheek. “If you’re in here slinging drinks, though, that means I’m going to want to be in here with you. How is that a break?”
“Oh, so cute.” He turned his lips into the palm of her hand. “We’ll figure it out, Hannah.” He turned serious. “I know this is a lot for you to deal with — like, a lot — but it’s not always going to be like this. We’re just going through a rough patch.”
“Really? I thought things were perfect with you and me. You’re saying there’s a rough patch, though. Maybe I’m confused.”
He gave in and scowled at the teasing. “You and I are perfect,” he reassured her. “In fact, I never knew life could be so blissful. We’ve had weeks of quiet, which I appreciate because it means you and I can spend inordinate amounts of time together.”
“I like it, too.”
“Good.” He gave her another soft kiss and then tapped the stack of résumés. “You’re right about having to pick a bartender, though. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get this individual trained and you can start job hopping.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Hannah turned serious. “Who do you like?”
“Lorna.” Cooper saw no reason to lie. “She’s experienced and, as you said, she’s going to draw in the male crowd.”
“I kind of like Ray Simon,” Hannah hedged. “He’s thirty-two.”
“I’m not sure why that’s important,” Cooper hedged.
“Because that means he’s more settled and not as likely to be out partying every night. He’s looking for a career. He even said that. He’s all about the money because he wants to put it away for his retirement. When we explained about the head bartender position and training other people, he seemed excited.”
“That might be because he’s an egomaniac or something.”
“He didn’t seem like an egomaniac.”
Now it was Cooper’s turn to be suspicious. “You didn’t find him hot or anything, did you?”
The question, so out of the blue, made Hannah giggle. “Are you jealous?”
“No. I don’t get jealous.” Even as he said the words, Cooper wasn’t certain they were true. “I mean ... I just don’t get jealous.”
“Oh, so cute.” Hannah lightly pinched his cheek and gave it a jiggle. “I feel so appreciated.”
Cooper let loose a low growl. “I’m going to appreciate you until the wee hours of the morning if you keep it up.”
“That’s not much of a punishment.”
He smirked and leaned in to give her another kiss. He knew it was ridiculous — they were acting like teenagers for crying out loud — but he couldn’t stop himself. “You might be singing a different tune when I’m finished.”
“I doubt it.”
“Back to the bartenders.” Cooper tapped the stack of résumés again. “We really have to decide. Technically, I think any of the people who applied would be good for the job ... except that Chris Fletcher guy. I didn’t like him at all.”
“Ugh. The one with the beard?” Hannah made a face. “Yeah, I didn’t like him either. He actually claimed that his doctor said he can’t ever be called out on bad behavior because he has a legitimate mental problem where he can’t be wrong. I mean ... that’s not a real thing, right?”
“Not at all,” Cooper agreed. “He’s definitely out.” He searched through the stack until he found the résumé in question.
“Maybe instead of ruling people out, we should just pick our favorites and debate them,” Hannah suggested.
“Okay.” Cooper pulled out the résumés for Lorna and Ray. “Are these the only two we care about?”
Hannah chewed on the inside of her cheek and then shook her head. “I also liked the Nikki Dobbs girl. I know she was young but there was something about her.”
“There was,” Cooper agreed, finding the résumé in question. “So ... she’s twenty-three but she’s been on her own since she was seventeen and her parents died. She became an emancipated minor. She told that story about being able to hold onto her childhood house by herself and it was inspiring. She was really proud of what she’d been able to accomplish … and entirely on her own.”
“It was,” Hannah agreed. “I definitely liked her.”
Cooper ran his tongue over his teeth as he considered the three candidates. “You know, even though we ruled it out because it seemed rushed, if we picked two candidates right now we could train a manager and a regular bartender at the same time. That would also allow us to give jobs to two out of three.”
“And I would be
