“I have news for you, even if you don’t have to wear that uniform for work, you’re still going to keep it for private games upstairs.”
She pinched his flank and laughed. “You have a dirty mind.”
“Only where you’re concerned.” He caught her hand and squeezed before sobering. “I think it’s a good idea. We have solid candidates here and we can move this along faster than we anticipated. What’s not to like about that?”
“I ... don’t know.” Honestly, even though she thought she had solid reasons for hiring by position when the search first started, she was starting to wonder if he was right. “Who would you want for the positions?”
“Lorna and Nikki,” he answered, not missing a beat. “Lorna should definitely be the head bartender but Nikki has a ton of potential. She could be here a really long time, maybe even transition to other jobs along the way.”
“Yeah.” Hannah rubbed her chin. “What if I like Ray and Nikki, though?”
Cooper frowned. “What’s your deal with Lorna? I don’t understand why you don’t like her.”
“It’s not that I don’t like her,” Hannah reassured him quickly. “It’s just that ... I liked Ray better.”
“Because he’s hot?”
She laughed. “No. Is that why you like Lorna better?”
“No.”
They stared at each other for a long beat.
“You’re the boss,” Cooper said finally, heaving out a sigh as he started tapping on his computer. “This is your decision. If you want Ray, then it should be Ray.”
“I asked you to be part of this for a reason. You know Casper Creek better than I do. I’m still a newbie. If you think Lorna would be better ... .” She trailed off and chewed on her lip.
“I don’t think Ray will be bad,” Cooper reassured her quickly. He kept having to remind himself that, despite what looked to be relatively healthy self-esteem at times, Hannah was still finding solid footing in life. Her previous boyfriend — actually her fiancé, but he didn’t like to think about it — had cheated on her left and right, leaving her ego in shambles. Cooper wanted to nurture her faith in herself, and if she gave in to his wants and needs, that wasn’t going to happen.
“I think we should go with the people you want,” he prodded gently, returning to his typing. “You’re in charge. You get to decide.”
“But what if I’m wrong?”
Cooper swallowed a sigh. “I don’t think you are. I think, in truth, all three of these people are going to be great. Whatever combination we settle on, it’s going to work out. In fact ... .” He trailed off at the sound of raised voices outside, his attention drifting to the double doors. “What’s that?”
Hannah shook her head, uncertain. “I don’t know. It sounds like someone is fighting out there.”
“It does.” He extended his hand and stood. “Come on. We’ll pick up this conversation in a few minutes. I think we could both use a breather.”
Hannah linked her fingers with his. “That sounds like a good idea.”
2
Two
A small group of people were clumped together on the street when they exited the building. It took Cooper a moment to figure out what was going on, but when he did, he quickly released Hannah’s hand and flew headlong into the melee.
“Knock it off,” he growled, grabbing a man who looked to be in his thirties by the front of his shirt and dragging him away from another man.
The second man looked annoyed about the fight being broken up and moved to attack Cooper from behind. Hannah found herself drawn into the brawl without even realizing what was happening.
“Hey!” She stepped directly in front of the attacker, who had both hands clenched into fists, and searched his face for a hint of reason. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Cooper released the first man and turned quickly, frowning when he realized how Hannah had positioned herself. “What are you doing?” His frustration came out to play as he gently nudged Hannah to the side, giving the aggressive individual a pointed stare as he tried to move his girlfriend to safety. “Don’t jump between two men who are about to throw punches.”
She made a face. “You did.”
“I’m the security chief.”
“And he’s trained,” another voice offered from the sidelines, causing Hannah to snap her head in that direction.
Tyler James, Casper Creek’s animal wrangler and resident veterinarian, had joined the party at some point. Hannah was certain he hadn’t initially been out there when they exited the saloon, but she guessed he’d been drawn to the location by the noise too.
“I don’t need both of you ganging up on me,” Hannah groused, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m perfectly fine.”
Under different circumstances, Cooper might’ve found the obstinate tilt of her chin adorable. This situation was fluid, though, and the last thing he wanted was to worry about her. “Can you do me a favor and step up there?” He used his most reasonable tone as he indicated the front porch of the saloon, which was still in the middle of things but got her out of harm’s way ... at least mostly.
“Ugh.” Hannah made a grumbling sound deep in her throat but did as he asked. She recognized that he had a job to do and she was getting in the way. That didn’t mean she liked being treated like glass. She wasn’t breakable, and she was fairly certain she’d proven that more than once over the past several weeks. “Happy?”
“Thrilled,” Cooper replied, not missing a beat. “I appreciate your cooperation.”
Hannah worked her jaw and flicked her attention to Tyler, who looked amused by the show. Rather than give voice to her displeasure, though, she sucked it up and decided to let them handle the problem ... at least for the time being.
“Tell me what’s going on here,” Cooper prodded, turning his attention back to the men. “Who started what?”
“He picked a fight with me for no reason,” the
