Where There Is a Will

By Kathryn Ashburn

Dex is a reformed bad boy, or so he thinks. He is haunted by his past and trying his best to live his life free of trouble. One weekend with Lyssa starts to change everything he thinks he wants. As he and Lyssa sort out their differences, his past returns with a vengeance. Can he deal with the drama and still hold on to Lyssa?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304891938

Book preview

Where There Is a Will

Where There Is A Will

Kathryn Ashburn

Copyright © 2014 Kathryn Ashburn

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-304-89193-8

One

The engraved silver nameplate read Dexter Collins, Manager. Dex’s perfect thin lips spread into a full wattage smile as he looked at the new name, his name, on the door to the office. Five years in the making, he’d finally reached his goal.

Are you going to stare at it all night or get out there and work? Show me I’m not making a mistake. Said Haley, the owner of Tipperary’s Irish Pub, as she approached from around a corner. Dex chuckled and turned to face her.

I think I’m entitled to a moment here, to enjoy this. You understand what this means to me right? I did it! We did it.

Haley had to grin as well. He looked like a little kid at Christmas. Haley could not have been more proud of him. He’d been an eighteen year old punk when he started working for her, on the brink of heading down the wrong path for good, he made a choice to get his act together and avoid a life of crime. Admittedly she’d been skeptical and nervous about hiring him given his history but she’d seen something in him. There was desperation, but there was also confidence and a particularly disarming charm about him. She’d given him one week to prove to her it wasn’t a mistake. He’d started out helping to clean up the place at closing, wash dishes, help with the orders. He’d shown a genuine interest in the business and everyone who worked there had taken to him, seemed real happy to have him around. So, Haley had kept him around and he’d basically worked his way up from there; wait staff, bartending license and on to college for small business management. Now, he’d graduated and she’d promoted him.

Haley opened her arms and gave him a great big hug. Dex wrapped his six-foot frame around her much smaller one. Haley was forty-four, divorced, and never had any kids of her own. She basically took Dex on as more than just an employee five years ago. He sort of became her surrogate son, she looked out for him, came down on him when it seemed like he might stray and start making horrible decisions again.

I am incredibly proud of you. She told him with a voice that cracked under emotion.

At that moment, they heard a bunch of feet heading down the corridor toward them, rounding the corner was his closest group of friends. Dex pulled away from Haley and started shaking hands and giving other people hugs.

Congratulations buddy! Said Jackson, best friend since high school. He grabbed Dex’s hand and pulled him in for a hearty slap on the back.

Long time in the making here. This was from Dani, his other good friend, and the one who turned him onto the whole college thing in the first place.

Congratulations Dex. Said Lyssa, with a shy quiet smile, but her eyes were sparkling with a little mist. You’re home! He exclaimed in reply and went in to hug her. She smelled like strawberries and she fit perfectly into his arms, her head coming just below his chin. Realizing what he’d done, Dex cleared his throat and stepped back from her. He looked into her sparkling blue eyes for a moment, held her gaze. Her smile spread more until he could see the little crinkles around her mouth.

In the background, Jackson and friends had been congratulating Haley as well. Jackson had his arm over her shoulder, and tapped Dex to grab his attention.

Let’s celebrate! Jackson yelled. This was quickly followed with some whistling and cheering as they headed out of the back area and into the club.

Lyssa hung back a moment on her own. Just to gather her wits about her. That was an unexpected hug from Dex. It left her feeling a little warm and breathy. She felt like a fool for having her body betray her. Dex, the bad boy from high school, the guy she avoided because of fear and something else she didn’t really understand. But it certainly seemed as though her body had ideas about what it wanted to do with him. Problem being, pretty well every other warm blooded female was thinking the same things about him and only a fool would even think of trying to compete with all that.

Lys! Are you lost? Let’s get our drink on! Having noticed her friend hadn’t rejoined the party by the bar, Dani had come back searching for her. Lyssa was startled out of her thoughts. She chuckled at her friend and grabbed on to Dani’s outstretched hand.

Out in the bar area, Dex, Haley and a couple other girls were behind the bar mixing up drinks. The DJ was spinning out the latest hits. Probably a hundred or so people were filling in the space, dancing.

The Club, located in downtown Toronto was actually below street level. Tipperary’s, located upstairs, served good old-fashioned Irish pub fare, plus had quite the lengthy selection of mostly European beers. Haley owned all of it. Dex was now the manager of all of it. Every week they tried to get in local bands for live music at the pub, but Friday and Saturday nights they hired local DJs to spin in the more club-like atmosphere downstairs.

The club area had a mix of black high bar tables and stools and low tables and chairs around the perimeter of the dance floor. The floor was a dark oak with some support pillars that had shelving around to hold up some drinks. The bar was solid wood with neon blue lighting just below the counter ledge. Usually Dex and a couple other bartenders kept the drinks moving steadily throughout the weekend nights. Now that he was manager, he had other tasks to do so it looked like he’d have to get someone else to move into his bartending role. Bit disappointing since Dex liked to be social with people and he was damn good at what he did. Maybe he’d just cut back a little but not out of it completely.

There were a lot of people congratulating him all night long. Several were trying to buy him shots along with themselves. Being behind the bar for five years, Dex had learned how to stay professional while still making it seem as though he was grateful for patrons sharing drinks with him.  Most of the fans were women, of course. He wasn’t ignorant to his appeal to the opposite sex, and sometimes to the same sex. He knew his charm had been the only thing to save his neck more than once in the younger days and even when he first started out with Haley.

Now, Haley pretty well treated him like a partner. This promotion to manager wasn’t just a title to him, it meant that she was recognizing how much work he put into this place and how invested he was into keeping it a thriving business. He caught her eye over on his left where she was busy serving up drinks just like him. She smiled back at him; poured 2 shots of whiskey and passed one of the glasses to him.

Sláinte She clinked her glass to his and they drank together. The DJ must have seen the moment and when there was a pause in the transition between songs, he announced into his mic the good news about Dex’s promotion. Cheers went up from the dancing crowd. He caught sight of his friends dancing at the periphery. Tracy’s boyfriend Rick had made an appearance – looked like he had just arrived. He was standing behind Tracy and roughly grabbed her hips and pulled her back into him. Initially she was startled then she turned in his arms to give him a quick kiss. Dex didn’t know him that well, the guy barely hung out with them, seemed to always be working, but there was something that just rubbed him the wrong way. Dani and Jackson were dancing together. Jackson didn’t exactly have great rhythm but he could swing his arms about and do some moves that were throwbacks to their high school days. Seemed to make the ladies around him laugh, so guess it still worked for him. Dex chuckled as he watched a lady in a tight red dress move between Dani and Jackson and throw in some of her own 90s moves. His gaze landed on Lyssa and held. She was fanning the neck of her top against her as she slithered between the crowds of people and made her way over to his side of the bar. She went straight for the pitcher of water they kept on the back corner. She poured a full glass and promptly swigged ¾ of it back in one gulp.

Hot out there? Dex winked at her. He was pulling glasses out of the clean tray and giving them a quick wipe before stocking them near the other bartenders as they continued to fill drink orders.

You going to get to celebrate with us out there tonight?

Dex shrugged. He didn’t usually get out to dance much, preferring to stay behind the bar. Lyssa looked over his shoulder and shouted for Haley.

Haley, you mind if I borrow him for a song? Haley waved her hand at them, which Lyssa took to mean go ahead, so she reached around the end of the bar and grabbed Dex’s arm, dragging him out to the dance area.

The DJ threw on the latest dance hit from Lady Gaga and the crowd went wild. Dex was quickly engulfed by a group of his friends. Drinks appeared in his hands, partly from Jackson and partly from other regular patrons who knew him well. The bar seemed to be under control and Haley was happy to work for the night and let Dex enjoy the celebration so she never went out there to pull him back to his job.

Dex was quickly engulfed in a group of young girls who were pretty forward with their dance moves. Lyssa wasn’t surprised but it always seemed to irk her that women were drawn to him like bugs in those zapper machines. More than once she’d wished some ill will toward some of these gals who pushed each other out of the way to get close to him. The cougars tended to be more viciously determined. Tonight, the girl that had been dancing with Jackson earlier, in the tight red dress had made her move over to Dex and was plastered to his front, shaking her breasts in his face. Dex didn’t seem to mind of course.

A long while later, Lyssa found a spot at the bar where she could catch her breath from all the dancing. She ordered up her tequila sunrise. A light touch at her elbow caught her attention and pulled her gaze to her left.

I’m Ryan. He was holding out a hand for her to shake.

Lyssa. She stated and grasped his warm soft hand in hers. Ryan looked to be her age, early twenties, built lean, with a disarming smile, brown eyes and light brown hair. He was wearing a nicely fitted black suit with crisp white shirt and a thin red tie. Sharp dresser, cute smile…don’t mind if I do, Lyssa thought to herself. She sipped on her drink carefully and engaged him in light flirty small talk. It wasn’t till last call that Lyssa realized how much time had gone by. She thoroughly enjoyed talking to this random person.

I didn’t realize how late it was. She looked up at Ryan with a warm smile. Tilting her head to the side she decided to be bold and ask him out. Would you maybe want to do this again sometime, over coffee?

Ryan straightened to his full 5’11 height and finished off the last bit of beer he had in his cup. He felt around in the breast pocket of his suit and came up with a pen. Lightly, he took hold of her fingers, pulled them from where they were grasping her cool glass. He used his left hand to slide her shirtsleeve up her arm. Lyssa felt a little tingle of awareness as his fingers lightly touched her bare arm. He was grinning when he looked at her.

I think that would be a good idea. I’m going to write my number here, you call me when you want to get together. And he proceeded to write his name and number on the inside of her arm with his pen.

Dex was three sheets to the wind having had shots placed in his hand all night. He was leaning heavily on the red dress woman at his side. She seemed to be there every time he turned around. At the moment it was a blessing because he wasn’t sure he could stand up straight all by himself. Her long painted fingernails were resting against his middle, while her other arm was wrapped around his waist. Dex glanced over his shoulder to see where Jackson had gone. It was past quitting time and he wanted to get home. Over his shoulder he caught sight of Lyssa at the bar with a guy in a suit leaning over her. They were grinning at each other and the guy was writing something on her arm. Looked like he was giving her his digits. Dex grumbled to himself not sure why his stomach was feeling a little tight. Probably just all the alcohol, he thought to himself.

Hey. Let’s get you home. The red dress lady purred to him and brought his attention back to her. Dex just nodded, not sure that he could form a proper sentence anymore. Deciding he didn’t want to wait for Jackson he walked out with the lady. Out on the street, she hailed a cab and somehow managed to get him into the back seat with her. Dex was yawning and rubbing his eyes; they were starting to feel gritty. He vaguely recalled the cabbie asking for an address. Before he could come up with a suitable reply, the lady was giving him one. Then she looked over at him and smiled wickedly before curling up against his side again. Soon they were on their way somewhere and the lady was putting her mouth to good use on his neck while her hands were playing with the buttons on his dress shirt. Dex pressed the button on the door to get his window open. Needed a little air in there.

The cabbie glanced in the rearview mirror and chuckled to himself, seeing the lady making her moves on the poor drunk bastard.

Two

The next morning, Dex was sprawled face down on cool white sheets. The sun was burning into his closed eyes, making his head hurt. He carefully opened one eye just a bit and noticed he was on sheets that weren’t his. There were white curtains billowing in a soft warm breeze coming through open windows that weren’t his either. Suddenly alarmed, he bolted into a sitting position on the bed. It was then he realized he was naked and his head felt like it was splitting in two. There was also a condom stuck to his dick. He scrubbed his face with his hands and pushed them through his unruly dark brown hair. At least he’d had some sense to use protection.

Hey gorgeous. A husky voice purred at him. Dex looked over his shoulder and recognized the red dress lady. She was leaning against the door to her bedroom, wearing a red silk robe and holding a steaming mug of coffee. You want some breakfast? You can get cleaned up in the bathroom over there first. Then come join me. She gave him a wink and walked away.

Dex felt a little off balance. Partly because he had the mother of all hangovers, and partly because he didn’t usually do sleepovers. This awkward morning after shit really sucked. Glancing around the bedroom he was in he noticed his pants on the floor and his shirt thrown over a chair. Getting off the bed he gathered up his things and hurried into the bathroom. Disposing of the condom first, he emptied his bladder and gave himself a quick wipe down then got dressed.

Out in the living room he found his mystery woman seated on the couch flipping through the morning paper. His feelings must have been plainly written on his face because she took one look at him and sighed heavily.

Really? It’s going to be like that, just run out the morning after. Don’t be silly, at least have some breakfast. She motioned toward the kitchen, which displayed quite a buffet of breakfast foods. She didn’t look like the type to have gotten up at some ungodly hour to start cooking all that. Dex glanced around the space and took notice of a few things: some large pieces of artwork on the walls, leather furniture, full kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, 2 ovens, 2 stoves, large chandelier in the foyer. Damn, who was this woman and what was he doing there? She was clearly from a different breed than him. He’d have to sell a kidney to be able to afford a place like this. And clearly some sort of servant/chef had been around to make that breakfast.

Ah forgive my manners. I think you have me at a disadvantage here. I was celebrating last night and had quite a bit to drink. You seem to know me and yet I don’t recall being introduced to you. Dex perched himself on the edge of the chair and faced the lady. He left his hand outstretched, hoping she would take the hint.

The lady chuckled a little to herself but placed her very smooth, baby soft hand in his. I am Catherine Winters. We met last night at your bar. I’ve heard quite a bit about you from some friends of mine.

Dex didn’t actually remember anything after getting into the cab with this lady.

What did you hear about me? Dex asked suspiciously. This was a bit of an odd morning after revelation.

You’re every bit as good as they claimed, don’t’ worry. She purred in that husky voice she had.

Thanks. I think. He replied suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable. He had no idea who she was or what friends she was referring to. Well, I need to get going.

Catherine regarded him rather coolly but she made no move to keep him there. In fact she didn’t even show him out, she just returned to her newspaper. Dex quietly sighed with relief and quickly made his way over the slate floor to the massive wood entry door.

Outside, Dex found himself standing on a stone walkway he didn’t recognize. Looking out at a street he didn’t recognize. Jesus, he had no idea where he was. What the hell had he got himself into this time? Not wanting to turn back around and ask the lady, he checked his pockets to make sure his wallet was still in his pants and headed out onto the sidewalk intending to flag down the next taxi that passed by.

Forty-five minutes later and fifty dollars poorer Dex walked into the lobby of his condominium. An older couple he didn’t recognize walked by him and seemed to sniff with distaste. Dex subtly sniffed at himself and then grimaced. He reeked of a brewery. He was wearing rumpled clothes from the night before; he hadn’t even bothered to tuck his shirt in properly. His hair had the unruly messed up quality that came from either rowdy sex or a less than fitful nights rest. In his case, it was probably both. Wanting nothing more than to forget about last night, Dex stabbed at the elevator ‘up’ button more times than was really necessary. It