Chapter Twenty-Four
Aaron flexed his arm muscles as he tried to come up with a plan. He'd seen David and Isabella in the park and on their sentimental little carriage ride earlier today, and he didn't like it one bit. They were supposed to be drifting apart, not finding each other. He would have to move earlier on spreading rumours about Tatum than he wanted.
First things first, he'd tell some of his buddies who did go to the bar about some of the practices that Tatum might be engaging in. He knew most of them were enough of a scoundrel to make a move on her to enlist her 'services' and he was pretty sure he knew her well enough to know what her reaction might be. If they asked him about Isabella, he may have to insinuate that she may not be wholly innocent either, if only to make sure it got back to David. He didn't want to hurt her but having already planted the seed with him that she lapped up her customers' attentions, the boyfriend would believe it only too easily.
"Hey Aaron, we're headin' over to Bellum tonight, wanna join us?" one of his employees, Kevin, asked in a hushed voice as he happened to pass behind him to check how he was getting on with his work.
"You should know better than that," Aaron answered with a soft chuckle, not able to believe his luck that the topic was being raised for him.
"True, but I figured you'd see it as an opportunity," Kevin responded honestly, knowing that his boss was one of those who seemed to enjoy living out the feud. At this, he got a clap on the shoulder as the oldest Miller grandson gave a hearty chuckle.
"Fair enough," the town's bully conceded. "But it's still just a dive, there are better places."
"Are you kiddin'? Have you not seen Isabella and Tatum?" one of the others, Tommy, spoke up now and gave a low whistle of appreciation, which was met by chuckles from his co-workers. With those two behind the bar, it was anything but a dive. Sue wasn't bad looking either, but they were used to her by now.
"Sure, I have. As has half the town, if you know what I'm sayin'," Aaron started implementing his plan, getting a couple of confused looks back. "Well you know, Tatum's been awfully friendly with her customers," he explained, giving them a big wink. "Why else would the bar have become so popular again?" He watched them process this piece of information, trying not to look too pleased with himself. He was hoping that their lack of girlfriends would encourage them to flirt with Tatum, maybe even try it on with her, preferably in front of Isabella and David. Hopefully they'd come to their own conclusions, so he could never actually be linked to having started the rumour about her being a bit of a loose woman or worse, a prostitute. Aaron gave himself an imaginary pat on the back as he left them to discuss it amongst themselves. Maybe he could find someone else's feathers to ruffle.
Austin sighed deeply as he got out of his police truck and looked at the bar in front of him. He knew he was neglecting certain other duties to see how the sisters were getting on, but he couldn't help himself. Having seen how roughly David had handled Isabella and then her leaving with him willingly; it left him with a bad feeling. And as a Sheriff, he'd learnt to trust his gut. That meant it was worth his time. He ran his hand through his hair before putting his hat back on as he headed in, noting that some of the regulars had already parked up. He'd be keeping an eye on them later to make sure they didn't drink and drive home.
The bar was already quite busy, so it would be harder to get a word in with Isabella. Luckily, Austin wasn't a man to give up easily, so he headed in and sat down in his favourite spot on the edge of the bar. He gave Tatum and Sue a wave, but both were already serving other customers. Grudgingly Isabella made her way over to him. He might not be likely to buy any alcohol, but he was still a customer. "Howdy beautiful," Austin said with a warm smile, taking his hat off with a wink. She gave him the smallest smile she could muster in response.
"What can I do you for?" the brunette asked.
"Just a water and lime," the Sheriff ordered. "And maybe a smile," he added, missing seeing her smile. He couldn't help wondering if she'd had much to smile about in her life, hoping it hadn't all been like what he'd seen with David.
"So just the water and lime then," Isabella said pointedly and set about getting a pint glass and filling it with ice.
"Bella..." he started, to say what even he wasn't sure.
"Don't..." Call me that, is what she started to say until she was interrupted by hearing her sister's raised voice. And it sounded like she was in trouble.
"You need to leave," Tatum told her customer, who, a second ago, had not only asked her out but tried to lean over the bar to kiss her. It was Kevin from the factory, who had been enjoying the banter and smiles she'd been sending his way. He'd asked her how to get on her good side and get her to agree to a date with him, to which she'd teasingly responded 'that's gonna cost ya'. Remembering what Aaron had said about her, he'd jumped to conclusions and asked her if she had a special quiet place they could go.
"Oh, come on, don't be a tease. I know you want to," Kevin tried his luck again as he tried to pull her closer, not having seen the Sheriff get up from his seat... or one of his bosses stalking over angrily. He was used to seeing Aaron and old Malcolm angry, and he would usually try to avoid a repeat, but he'd never seen Sean angry.
"The lady said no," the younger Miller told his employee as he pulled him away from the bar.
"Sean!" Kevin tried the comradely approach with a big grin. "I was just having a laugh. I'm sure Tatum knows that," he said innocently to his boss. "And let's be honest, I'm sure I wouldn't be the first," he aimed a wink back at the redhead.
"You little scum..." Tatum started cussing him out after she'd regained her voice after the shock of seeing Sean stand up for her.
"I'd stop talkin' if I were you, or you'll be out of a job," Sean told him as he cut her off and started pushing him towards the door.
"What? For what?" Kevin asked incredulously, "I'm not on the clock!"
"No, but you're becomin' a public nuisance," Austin flexed his authoritative muscles now, backing his friend up. "Let's take this outside okay?" he added and started guiding him out of the bar. Sean followed as a sort of back up, not seeing that Tatum was following them too; she hadn't finished speaking her mind yet.
"This is bogus," Kevin objected once they'd made their way outside. "I was only having a laugh," he tried to reason with both men.
"Yeah, but see, it just wasn't funny," Austin said, crossing his arms as he gave his friend a look. "Sean?"
"Totally not funny," the Miller agreed, trying to dial down his reaction and play it more casual like his friend was. He was about to add another warning to his employee when Tatum pulled him back.
"Not that I don't appreciate it," the redhead started by way of apology and thanking him, "but I didn't need you to do that."
"I know but..." Sean started as he placed his hand on her arm, to try to say something akin to wanting to protect her, to make up for what his brother had previously put her through.
"Oh, I get it, even with the hussies you Millers get preferential treatment," Kevin blurted out when he saw this before he could stop himself. Before anyone had realised what was going on, Sean made his way over and decked him. "Asshole! Sheriff, did you see that?" he swore as he held his hand to his eye. Austin looked up innocently.
"Hm? Sorry, I was inspectin' my badge," he had his friend's back.
"Fucking corrupt...." Kevin started swearing, not realising he was digging himself into an even deeper hole.
"Alright, that does it. Let's take you down to the station to cool off," Austin said firmly, not taking kindly to the accusation or the use of language. He grabbed hold of the troublemaker's arm and started pulling him over to his truck. "In," he instructed strictly, opening the door and starting to help him in.