Chapter 37

Leila arrived early for her five p.m. shift at the bar the next evening to see if an extra pair of hands was needed to help get the bar up in running. But she soon saw that Ster had everything in tip-top shape, the window Gary Kline had busted was replaced, the food prep done for the night ahead, the place shiny clean, and even the band’s equipment was in tune for their eight p.m. set.

She still tried to make herself useful. Her boss grinned at her from behind the bar with a dazzling smile and came to meet her halfway when she walked in. But Sterling let Leila control how far they were willing to take this, especially with an audience present. Amos Fox was visible through the kitchen window as he readied for the dinner service. Leila didn’t know the fifty-something man well, but he always talked about his wife Glory. They’d been married longer than Leila had been alive and it was a long running joke around the bar that Glory couldn’t cook a lick and burned water.

Amos was a loving but