Chaste (McCullough Mountain) (4 page)

After
sitting on the side of the road for some time, he finally looked around. He was
in his Aunt Colleen
’
s
neck of the woods, close to her bar, O
’
Malley
’
s. He glanced at the clock. It
was still early. She was probably just opening up. Throwing his truck in drive,
he headed that way.

When
he reached the pub, the lot was empty aside from his aunt
’
s car. He parked in the back and
used the kitchen entrance. His aunt came into the kitchen, appearing startled,
with an empty pitcher in her hand. “Kelly love, what are you doing here? I was
about to brain you like a burglar.”

“Sorry,
Aunt Col.”

She
tipped her head to the side. “Why
aren
’
t you in school? Is everything
all right?”

He
shrugged.

She
placed the pitcher on the large cook counter and said, “Come along. I
’
ll
get you a soda and you can tell
me what
’
s
going on in my favorite nephew’s life.”

“You
can get shot for making a comment like that. You have other nephews.”

“
You
won
’
t
tell, and if you do I
’
ll
deny it.”

He
smiled and followed her to the bar. They used the pub for family parties, but
other than that none of the younger McCulloughs were allowed to hang out there.
“When do the customers start showing up?”

“The
regulars will be shuffling in shortly. Tell me what
’
s going on.” She placed a soda on
a napkin and came around the bar to sit beside him.

“I
had a bit of a wakeup call this morning.”

“Did
something bad happen? Were you in an accident?”

“No,
nothing so dramatic. It
’
s
about a girl.”

“From
what my kids tell me, you have quite a few female admirers, Kelly.”

“Yeah.
Well, things sort of spun out of control.”

His
aunt pinched his cheek. “
Breakin
’
hearts left and right, I bet.”
She hummed happily. “Such a wee rogue, you are.”

He
arched a brow. “Nothin
’
wee
about me, Aunt Col. I
’
m
a McCullough after all.”

Her
hand slapped his cheek as she giggled. “Smartass.”

They
laughed for a moment and then he sobered. “
I don’
t know what I
’m
doing
.
”

“You
’
re seventeen, love. What
’
s there to know? Seems to me you
’
re
doing
just
fine.
”

“I
am. For now. But what happens next year when I graduate? Everyone thinks I
’
m something great, but soon they
’
ll
all go off to college and become
doctors and other important things and I
’
ll
still be here, only there will
be nothing impressive about me then.”

“You
’
ll
always be impressive, Kelly.
There
’
s
something special in you. You just have to find it yourself. A lassie can try
to show you how great you are, but unless you
’
re ready to open your eyes and
see what you have to offer in this world, you
’
ll
never believe it
’
s in you.”

“
I
don’
t want to be a
logger,” he blurted.

“So
don
’
t.”

“But
what else is there?”

“Well,
what do you fancy? What are you good at?”

“Nothing
that means anything.”

She
tsked. “That
’
s
not true. You have a wonderful sense of humor, a big heart, you
’
re loyal, and people feel special
when you look at them. Not everyone can do that to others.”

“Yeah,
but where does that get me as far as a future?”

“You
need a job that requires people skills, Kelly, because you
’
re a people person.”

“What
sort of job
’
s
that? I can
’
t
get into a decent college and, honestly, I have no desire to continue with
school after graduation. I
’
ve
never been good at it.”

“Well,
we all can
’
t
be like your sister, Sheilagh. The world is an extraordinary place because
ordinary people keep coming, Kelly. If there were only lawyers, doctors, and
teachers, who would do the plumbing? Who would fix the electric when it went
out? Who would plow the roads when the blizzards come so the surgeons can make
it to the hospitals to save lives?”

“Are
you suggesting I become a plumber or buy a snow plow?”

“No,
I
’
m suggesting
you not worry about being successful, but worry about being happy. Find
something that makes you happy and success will come easily enough.”

“All
my friends are going off to college. Luke
’
s gone. Bray
’
s leaving. Colin
’
s been gone. We all know Sheilagh
’
s on her way.”

“No
one said you
couldn
’
t join them, Kelly. There
’
s always a way. What about your
art?”

He
shook his head. “That
’
s
private. It
’
s
something that
’s mine. I don’
t
share it and there
’
s
no way I can make a career out of it.”

“I
think you need to get out of your fishbowl. Living up on that mountain, you
’
re only surrounded by
McCulloughs. Then you head off to school and see everyone following the tide.
It
’
s okay to move
on without them before they leave you behind.”

“What
do you mean?”

She
spread out her fingers over the bar. “You see these hands? I remember when they
were young and beautiful. I don
’
t
remember them getting freckled with age or wrinkled by time. I just looked down
one day and there they were, old and ugly.

“I
’
ve
been working in this bar since
Paul and I rented the apartment upstairs right after we got married. We
couldn
’
t
afford a house until Italian Mary came to live with us and helped us with the
down payment. It was a struggle and everyone thought we were crazy, but we
loved the atmosphere, and over time O
’
Malley
’
s became the place to be.

“We
could afford several houses now and I think we
’
re going to buy one in Outer
Banks soon for summer vacations. The problem is, this damn bar demands so much
of my time I can
’
t
take off for weeks at a time. The locals would rally. Sooner or later I
’
ll
need to sell it.”

“
You
can
’
t
sell the bar. We haven
’
t
even had a chance to enjoy it.”

She
smiled. “I know, love. So my only other option is to find someone to run it for
me. They
’
d
have to be someone easygoing, trustworthy, and good with people.” She gave him
a sidelong glance.

Kelly
’
s expression flattened. “Me?”

“Why
not? You could do it, Kelly. You could even move upstairs eventually, if you
fixed it up a bit.”

“How…how
would that work?”

“Well,
you
wouldn
’
t be able to serve until you were eighteen, but if
you wanted to learn the ropes you could start out bussing tables. I could teach
you the things I don
’
t
normally show the other employees, like how I manage the suppliers and the
bookkeeping. Once you
’
re
an adult, I
’
ll
teach you how to tend bar. Give
it a year after you graduate. Let this be your job and see how you like it. If
you like it and you
’
re
interested in taking over, we
’
ll
talk about getting your name on
the mortgage.”

“Are
you serious?”

“As
serious as a rodeo clown in a red speedo.”

He
laughed. “Not very serious then.”

“Oh,
I think once that bull came
chargin
’
out of the
shute
that clown would be pretty serious. Life can be serious
and
funny. Yes, I
’
m
serious, Kelly. If you want the job, it
’
s yours.”

This
was unbelievable. O
’
Malley
’
s was legend. It was the number
one place to be in their town. He
couldn
’
t believe she was actually
offering it to him. “I
’
ll
take it.”

“Good.
This weekend you can start by cleaning the toilets, because no doubt my sister
will punish you when she finds out you skipped school again.”

He
nodded, glad to clean to toilets. Holy shit, he
’
d just been handed a future.

“And,
Kelly?”

“Yeah.”

“Whatever
that lassie said to you, she was wrong. Just because you
aren
’
t running off to college with the
rest of them,
doesn
’
t mean your future
’
s any less bright. The trick is
to find someone who sees the light in you even during life
’
s darkest moments. That
’
s what real love is.”

He
didn
’
t
want love. He just wanted to know someone saw potential in him. It hurt being
told he
wasn
’
t good enough. If he could, he
’
d rewind the day and go back to
when he thought everyone loved him. But that would mean missing out on the
opportunity his aunt just presented.

It
had started as an ordinary day, but changed the rest of his life. He finally
knew what he was doing with his future. He also learned a valuable lesson about
girls. If he never expected anything more and gave them exactly what they
expected from him, everyone wound up happy. That was the trick,
wasn
’
t
it? Find happiness and the success and everything else would eventually come.

Chapter One

“Your
girlfriend’s stalking you again.”

Kelly
tipped the bottle of Patron over the highball packed with ice and glanced
across the bar. Ashlynn Fisher sat in the shadows nursing a diet cola. Behind
the pointed corners of her black rimmed glasses her eyes followed his every
move.

“Not
my girlfriend,” Kelly commented over his shoulder to Sue, the other bartender
at O’Malley’s.

Sue
chuckled, a teasing ring to her voice. “She’s showing up more and more. Why
don’t you go talk to her?”

Kelly
delivered the tequila sunrise to his customer and took the money to the
register. “Ashlynn Fisher is
not
the kind of girl I diddle.”

“Why,
because she isn’t all done up like the rest of the bar flies you take home? I
think she’s pretty.”

Kelly
returned the change to the patron and took an order from a group of preening
women who were freshly twenty-one and offering him more than tips. As he lined
up their shots he told Sue, “You haven’t lived around here long enough to
understand. There are certain women a guy like me doesn’t do.”

Sue’s
full mouth formed a lopsided smirk, her dark eyes taking on a sarcastic glint.
“Oh, and here I thought you’d do a hole in the ground if it let you.”