“Where’s your uncle?” Mac asked.
“He’s back at the campground playing cards with Chester and Natalie’s grandparents, and I think Claire’s mom.”
Right, the big euchre tournament Mac had caught wind of before heading to The Shaft. “You ready for a refill?”
Coop held out his glass. “Make it another neat, please.”
While Mac refilled Coop’s whiskey, he scouted the bar, looking for trouble. He found her lickety-split, barging through the sea of bodies, coming right for him with her sister in tow.
After both Ronnie and Claire had given him their drink orders, Claire leaned her elbows on the bar at the wait station and scowled at her sister. “What makes you think you can just go around inviting any Tom, Dick, or Harry to join our posse?”
Oh, jeez. Not this posse business again. Mac filled a mug of beer from the tap.
“Penny is not just anybody.” Ronnie took the beer Mac handed her. “She’s Grady’s sister.”
Claire smacked her forehead. “That’s even worse, Rufus McDoofus. What in the hell is it with you snuggling up to the law? You have some kind of fetish for badges?”
Mac aimed a wrinkled brow at Claire, who seemed to have forgotten that an off-duty cop was sitting next to her.
“We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” Natalie said, leaning on the bar on the other side of Coop. “Two mojitos and a Moscow mule, please, Mac.” She turned to Coop. “Hey, digger. How do you feel about playing a game of pool with me in about ten minutes? Butch is going to spell me for the rest of the night.”
Coop raised one eyebrow. “You looking to get schooled tonight, little girl?”
Natalie hooted. “Hey, Claire, did you hear that? Coop thinks he can beat me at pool.”
Claire grinned. “I’ll bet Ronnie’s tips from tonight that you bury him the first game and plant flowers over top of him the second.”
“Bet Katie the preggo monster’s tips instead of mine,” Ronnie said. “That will guarantee Natalie doesn’t feel sorry for Coop midway through and let him win.”
Kate’s tip jar had the words Baby Clothes written on it, which she told Mac might help keep tips coming in even though she was slowly blowing up into a “hot air balloon,” as she put it.
Ronnie took the second beer Mac handed her. “For your information, Claire, Penny is a lot different than Grady.”
Claire scoffed. “Oh, yeah? How? And having a uterus doesn’t count.”
“Well, for one thing, she’s not as bossy as Sheriff Hardass.”
“Cops are not bossy,” Coop said, defending his band of brothers and sisters in blue. “We’re trained to take control of a situation.”
Natalie snorted. “Please. You’re bossy as hell, Coop.”
“What are you talking about, woman? I let you tell me what to do all morning and afternoon today.”
“And you were a big help, Coop,” Claire said. “But I’m not buying that you’re not bossy. I saw you in action at the bar in Deadwood, remember? There was definitely some barking going on when you broke up the fight.”
“That was your sister doing the barking, not me.”
Mac chuckled. “Kate could give a German shepherd a run for its money.”
Ronnie took the third beer from Mac, saying to Claire, “Penny needs to be in the posse. She’ll make a good spy, trust me. She can grill her customers, plus she’s better at telling a stranger from a local than any of us.”
Claire pursed her lips. “We could use an ear on the ground.”
“Why?” Mac glanced her way while filling the last of Ronnie’s order. “What are you guys planning?”
“Nothing,” Claire and Ronnie said at the same time.
Bullshit. He handed Ronnie the last drink.
“You can check out Penny for yourself,” Ronnie said. “She’ll be here any minute. Grady is bringing her.”
“What?” Claire glared at Ronnie’s back as her sister walked away with her tray of drinks held high. She turned back to Mac, grumbling, “That’s Ronnie for you. Drop a bomb and then walk away.”
“Why do you need an ear to the ground, Slugger?”
Claire glanced at Coop and Natalie, who were both watching her with wrinkled brows.
“No reason. It’s probably a good idea, is all.” She smiled too wide. “How’s it going back there tonight?”
“You are such a lousy liar.” He grabbed the drink mixer cup and poured a shot of tequila into it. “I’ll have to torture you for the truth later.”
Claire wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m a sucker for your kind of pain.”
“I hear electric shocks are quite titillating.” Coop lifted his glass of whiskey. “You could give that a whirl.”
“I thought you were into thumb screws,” Natalie said, flirting.
Coop smiled at her over the rim of his glass. “Sure. Among other types of screws.” Then he took a slow sip, watching her the whole time.
“Snakes alive!” Natalie’s chuckle sounded nervous. “Who are you and what have you done with Detective Cooper?”
“When the walls come tumblin’ down,” Claire sang John Mellencamp’s “Crumblin’ Down” lyrics out of the blue.
While he was mixing margaritas, Mac saw Natalie elbow Claire in the ribs and shoot her a knock-it-off glare.
“I wonder if that song is on the jukebox,” Claire said, laughing, rubbing her side. “I’ll have to check later.”
“Hey, Mac,” Kate said, sliding into the space Ronnie had left. “There’s a hottie at one of my tables who wants your number.”
Claire gaped, spinning around to frown out over the bar. “That’s it! I’m getting tired of drunk broads hitting on my man. Which one?”
“I’m not telling you, because you’ll go start a fight and Butch said there was no monkey business allowed tonight.”
“I’ll start a fight? What about you, Queen Kong?” Claire turned back to her sister. “Did you tell the harlot that Mac is taken?”
“Not yet. I’m trying to get him a good tip, dang it. Excuse me for looking out for your man’s best interest.”
Mac chuckled. He handed Claire the margaritas and grabbed the vodka from the shelf behind him. “Tell the drunk hottie I’m not interested,” he said to Kate while looking at Claire. “I’m too busy trying to convince my girlfriend to make an
