Dirty Tricks: One Up On You
by Myla Jackson
Published by Myla Jackson at Smashwords
Copyright © 2011 Myla Jackson. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Editor: Layla Chase
Cover artist: Myla Jackson
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
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One Up On You
Charli Sutton sighed and swiped the surface of the bar, her hand moving in slow, listless circles, her gaze following Kendall Mason and Ed Judson as they spun and laughed around the dance floor.
"What's wrong, Charli?" Audrey, the owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon, relieved Charli of the rag and tossed it into the sink behind the counter. "You haven't been yourself lately."
"I don't know." Charli heaved another sigh. "I think I'm missing Austin." She filled an order for a cowboy in a black T-shirt, sitting at a barstool and turned back to Audrey.
Audrey shook her head. "I don't miss Austin. That's where Randy and Jason live. I've never been happier getting as far away from the city as I could."
"Yeah, I don't miss them, but I miss the nightlife and the variety of people you met there. I've been here with you at the Ugly Stick from the start, but I'm...well..." She flung her hand in the air. "I don't know."
"Bored? Lonely? Need to get laid?" Audrey chuckled. "I can understand that. Been feeling a little that way myself."
"You?" Charli blinked hard and stared at her boss, noting the beautiful strawberry blond hair and light blue eyes. "How could you be bored or lonely? You're gorgeous."
"And driven to make this place work. I don't have time to date. But you," she waived a hand in her direction, "have no excuse. You should be out there dating."
"Yeah, but it's been so long, what do I do? I'm starting to feel itchy. Wanderlust is tugging at me, making me want to leave or do something different." Charli pulled a beer mug from the shelf above her and filled it halfway from the tap, swallowing a healthy slug before she set it on the counter. The cool beer slid down her throat but did nothing to take the edge off her twitchiness.
"Are you unhappy being the assistant manager of the Ugly Stick?" Audrey asked.
"No, don't get me wrong." Charli leaned on the counter and sighed again. "I love my job."
Libby Hammons, with silky brown hair and deep cleavage flashing out of her low-cut blouse, slid her tray on the bar and offloaded the empties.
Even Libby managed to find dates in this little corner of Texas.
"Need 5 whiskey shooters, you choose the whiskey, a pitcher of Bud Light, a fruity wine cooler and five mugs for table twelve." She pushed her curly blond hair behind her ears and glanced over at Audrey. "I could use a hand with the tables in the far corner. Tia picked a bad night to be sick."
"I'll take care of them." Audrey grabbed an empty tray and hurried to the corner where the waiting customers were getting restless.
After Charli filled Libby's order and sent her on her way, she sighed for the hundredth time and slumped a hip against the bar.
"That's a mighty big sigh for such a pretty little lady."
Charli glanced at the man sliding onto the stool to her left. "What can I get you?"
"Guinness." He leaned both elbows on the counter, the movement stretching his blue chambray shirt over broad shoulders.
A tug of latent awareness pulled at Charli's gut. "Need a mug?"
"No, I like it straight from the bottle."
That tug blossomed into full-fledged attraction—the first she'd felt for a male in at least four months. Charli popped the top off the bottle and plunked it on the counter in front of the stranger. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Actually, I am." He downed a healthy swallow and turned halfway around to watch the crowd on the dance floor.
Charli's brows dipped. "I haven't seen you in the saloon."
"Just back from a tour in Afghanistan. Before that, I was too busy preparing for deployment to stop in."
"Oh." Charli's interest perked and she looked closer. She should have known he was in the service. Hair cut short on the sides, his face angular, tanned and lean, the man reeked of military, his movements confident, strong and proud. Not a bad looking guy.
He faced her again, a smile lifting his lips, his teeth shining white in the semi-darkness of the saloon. "I'm Connor Mason, Kendall's older brother." He held out his hand.
Her brows lifted and she shook the man's hand, a jolt of awareness shimmying through her body. "Ah yes, Kendall talks about you all the time. Nice to finally meet you."
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Audrey."
"It's nothin'”. Charli shrugged. “I like moving around. I grew up in a family that moved every two years. I'm hitting the two-year mark here."
"Thinkin' about leavin' then?" He swirled the beer in the bottle of Guinness, his attention there.
Not on Charli, as if he didn't really care what her answer was. A stab of disappointment made her reply short, "Yeah. I think so."
His chin came up and his lips twisted. "Be a cryin' shame. I was hoping to get to know you. To me, you're a fresh face to Hole In The Wall, Texas."
"Thanks, but I live in Temptation." The blue funk she was in lifted slightly, a glimmer of hope making her smile.