Bourbon Neat
The evening began like a normal Friday night. Many regulars cozied up to the bar, nursing their beverage of choice. A group of women drinking fancy cocktails and white wines flirted with a group of men drinking draft beers with whiskey chasers. A new guy sat at the end of the bar drinking bourbon neat while his eyes scrutinized every noise and person.
Maggie thrived on nights like this. She enjoyed catching up on family news with her regulars and the excitement of new business crossing her bar's threshold. Casting a knowing gaze over new groups, she gauged whether they were safe or threatening. She relied on her cousin, Danny, for security and as her second set of eyes.
A rowdy group of four men entered, slinging disgusting comments at customers on their way to a table in a back corner. Maggie waved off Lisa, her waitress, from approaching the men and decided to size up the group herself.
"Hi, guys. Welcome to The Grainery. What can I get you?"
"Drafts all around." The obvious leader of the group spoke for them all. His eyes traveled over her body.
She fought a responding shiver. "How about a pitcher? It's the best value." She wore a practiced, fake smile.
"If I wanted a fucking pitcher, I'd order one." The man shot her a hostile glare.
She matched his glare and, between gritted teeth, said, "Four drafts coming up."
As she turned away, he growled, "The darkest you have, bitch."
She stopped and swung around, fixing her stare on the uncouth leader. "That was uncalled for."
"I don't care. The customer, that's me, is always right. Step on it…bitch." He laughed.
"That's it. You're out of here. Danny, these guys are leaving."
"No way. We just got here." When he jumped up, his chair toppled over.
Strong hands on his shoulders stopped him from lunging in Maggie's direction.
"The lady owns this bar and doesn't care. Out with you. Your choice. You can leave the easy way or the hard way."
The guy spun around and collided with Danny's solid chest. His eyes trailed up the chest, and he swallowed. The man behind him was a giant.
"Fine. We don't want to drink in this dump anyway." The men departed, slamming the door behind them.
When Maggie returned behind the bar, she toyed with the towel she'd flipped over her shoulder while confronting the crass leader of the group she'd kicked out. Her hands shook as she fiddled with the towel.
"Miss, another, please." The single guy at the end of the bar held up his glass.
His order forced her to focus on a customer, a welcome distraction from the previous nerve-wracking confrontation.
"One bourbon neat." She slid the filled glass in place and removed his empty one.
"Thank you. I'm impressed with your efficient ousting of those unpleasant men. I can't abide disrespectful people." He saluted her with his glass and sipped the amber liquid.
His deep voice soothed her frazzled nerves. She glanced at the man's face. Dark eyes held hers. She reciprocated his smile with one of her own.
"I don't recall seeing you in here before." She busied herself by wiping a nonexistent spill from the bar surface.
"This is my first time here. I recently moved to the neighborhood."
"Welcome to The Grainery. I hope to see you here again." Why did her heartbeat accelerate at the look he cast her way?
"Do you work here most nights?"
An older man farther down the bar laughed. "She's always here, laddie."
"Sean, be nice. He's new here."
"Well, you should tell the man you own this fine establishment, Maggie. And you're our favorite bartender with generous pours and quality spirits."
"You own this bar?" Bourbon Neat asked.
"Yes. It's a dream come true most days."
"And the others?"
"A nightmare at best. Don't get me wrong, I love this place, and my regulars like Sean here."
"And we love you, Maggie. I'll have one more before I'm off to home."
***
After Sean walked out, the door burst open. The four men tossed out earlier rushed in. The leader brandished a handgun and bashed Danny on the head with the butt.
"Hey, bitch! Gonna toss us out again?" He fired the gun. A bottle behind the bar shattered. "I want those beers, now." Another shot, and a second bottle shattered to pieces.
The other patrons shifted away from the men and the bar. Bourbon Neat remained in his chair, presenting a nonchalant attitude toward the intruders. Lisa slipped away to the ladies' room with a cell phone in her hand.
Maggie stared at the man waving his gun in her direction. A stupid man with a handgun was a threat, but with anger thrown in, the possibility of worse violence rose to a higher level.
"Fine. You said dark, right?" She reached for a chilled mug.
"Good memory. Not so picky now are you, bitch?" He waved the gun in her face.
Her back straightened, and the knuckles of her hand clenching the mug turned white.
The leader leaned on the bar. "Make it snappy. I'm thirsty."
When she slammed the filled mug on the bar, beer sloshed over the side, dousing his hand and the gun.
"Damn you." He dropped the soaked gun on the bar and backed away, shaking beer from his hand.
The cold metal of a gun barrel prodded the leader's ear.
"That's no way to speak to a lady. You should apologize." Bourbon Neat, holding a dark gun in his hand, stood beside the man.
"The hell I will."
"Which are you, stubborn or stupid?"
"Go to hell." The man reached for his gun.
"You, first."
Bourbon Neat's gun flashed up and crashed down on the man's skull, who collapsed to the floor. After the incapacitation of their leader, his buddies raced out of the bar.
Sirens sounded in the distance. Soon, lights flashed through the front windows.
"What the heck did you do?" Maggie asked, staring at Bourbon Neat.
"Stopped him from terrorizing your customers. Maybe taught him some manners."
His smile and confident demeanor sent tremors throughout her body.
"But he had a gun."
"So did I, or did you forget that?" His smile was filled with cockiness.