“I’ll take pictures,” Grady says, “for the report and the insurance agent.” He takes out his phone and starts taking the pictures.

“Are you okay?” Jacob asks from beside me.

“Between last night and this?” I say. “It might just be the thing that makes me walk away.”

“You don’t mean that,” he says. “After everything that this town put you through, you would walk away now?”

“There are only so many times I can be kicked and then stand back up,” I say, and Grady comes over.

“I got off the phone with the alarm company. According to them, your alarm is still armed, and there has been no activity.”

The front door opens, and I cringe when I see who comes in. Chase Patterson, the man who I went on one date with and the man who just kept showing up at my bar. He was new in town and had just started a construction company. If truth be told, I only went out with him because he asked me in front of Beau. It was right after Beau went out with Melody from the bank, and I had to listen to her go on and on about how big he was and how he didn’t fit properly.

“Hey there,” I say. He looks around, putting his hands to his mouth. He’s dressed in blue Levi’s, a white T-shirt with the logo of his construction company on the right side, and construction boots. “We aren’t open for business.” I try to make a joke, and he gives me a blank stare.

“Are you okay?” he asks, sounding concerned, and I suddenly feel bad for agreeing to go out on a date with him. For sure, I shouldn’t have gone on that second date.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, looking around. “The rest of it is just superficial.”

“What can I do to help?” he asks.

“Nothing really.” I don’t want to ask him for anything. “I just have to call the insurance, and then I can start to get things cleaned up.”

“Okay,” he says. “Give me a call if you need anything.” I nod and smile at him. “Maybe I can take you out next week once you get everything settled.”

I take a deep inhale. “You’re a really nice guy,” I start. He puts his hand up, but I ignore it and continue talking. “But I don’t really have time to date.”

“Well,” he says with a smile, and I look at his brown eyes and blondish brown hair. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I will,” I say, and he turns and walks out. I look up at the ceiling and then look down.

“FYI,” Jacob says, “it really sucks when you start with you’re a really nice guy.”