Learning to Love Again: This Time a Billionaire

Chapter 5: Teach Me

ABIGAIL'S POV

I arrived at the local saloon, which was run by a man named Thomas. He had opened it up in the seventies and it hadn't changed much since then. Carved wooden bears, made by a local shop, stood out front on either side of the wooden stairs that led up to the front door. One of the parked vehicles didn't fit in with the rest. It was a rental car and an old silver car that lacked four-wheel drive of all things. It didn't take any brainpower to know that was John's car. I shook my head and sighed. There was no escaping big trouble.

The loud clanking of glasses and conversations surrounded me when I stepped inside. A few men sat at the bar, hollering loudly at a game playing on the television. But I paid them no mind because the one person who drew all my attention was the man sitting in dark grey slacks and a navy button-down shirt with his sleeves rolled up.

My mama would say he stood out like a sore thumb. I quietly laughed and watched him give Thomas a kind smile, one that reminded me of the person I had trusted back in the city.

A shiver ran through me, and goosebumps prickled my skin. I cleared my throat, took a deep breath like my old therapist had told me to, and walked up to greet Thomas.

“Hey, Abigail." Thomas's face lit up as much as his bright honey-hued eyes. “Been a while since I've seen you. Where have you been hiding? I heard your sister and her husband came into town."

“Hey, Thomas." I shook my finger at him with an awkward smile, “You never did miss anything."

Thomas leaned on the bar with a towel in his hand, “Perks of owning a bar. I hear all the juicy gossip in this town." He winked and smacked the bar with the white towel, “So! What's your poison, Abigail?"

I tapped the bar with my hands in an offbeat way and tried to ignore the way that John was looking at me with interest. “Jack and coke?"

“Coming right up." Thomas grabbed bottles from beneath the bar and began to make my drink. “How's your sister and her husband anyway? Heard she has a bun in the oven."

The question wavered in the air, floating and waiting for me to catch it. Everyone wanted to know about my baby sister. She always was the golden ray of sunshine in the town, while I was the clouds in a thunderstorm. I brought darkness, chaos, and forest fires, while she washed away the rain with her beaming personality.

I could feel John searching me, and from the corner of my eye I could see him tracing the rim of his glass with his index finger. Beer. Aaron liked to drink beer. Another shiver ran through me, my stomach flipped, as the scene from New York in the bar replayed in my head like a broken reverberating record. My feet and whole body tingled like it wanted to book it out of the bar or to the bathroom to hide. My breathing picked up and in the discombobulated noise of the bar with Thomas's question dangling in the air like a carrot, I heard John's voice.

“Can I get an ice water?" John raised two fingers from the bar, and I watched Thomas fill a glass with ice and water from the bar and slide it to him. John turned towards me with a kind smile and slid the water to me, “Care to dance?"

His question took over Thomas's and the thoughts of New York slowly faded away until I was left with John and the water in front of me. “What?"

John peered down and softly laughed before looking at me with a smile and pushed the glass of cold water towards me, “Take a few sips for me."

My lips parted and he gave a short nod towards the water. My hand trembled as I reached for the glass, and his eyes shot to it so fast that I knew he hadn't missed it. I picked up the glass and took a sip, closing my eyes and savoring the way the icy water felt. It was refreshing and something about it felt like it was cleansing all the bad thoughts away.

I slowly opened my eyes and John was standing with his hand out for me, “C'mon, show this city boy how to line dance. It'll be fun."

I rolled my eyes and set my jaw, thinking for a moment. I looked behind the bar and pointed to a cowboy hat hanging on the wall, “May we borrow that, Thomas?"

Thomas turned around and grabbed it from the bar, tossing it at me. John raised an eyebrow at me, and I shoved it onto his perfectly gelled hair. “Gonna need that, city boy." I winked at him.

I hopped off the bar stool and took his hand, taking him out to the dance floor where everyone was in rows. I pointed to my boots and watched him stare at them.

I pat my right thigh through my jeans, “Follow me. Start with your right foot, grapevine right." I watched him stumble at the start and step to the right. I stepped to the right, crossing my left foot behind my right one. “Stomp your right and clap real loud." I stomped my boot hard and clapped.

John kept up with me, as we stepped forward once and took two steps back. I tapped my heel and toe before kicking out to turn. I smiled at him, as he looked around and followed the men by placing his thumbs in his pockets. He got the hang of it and soon we moved from the 'Electric Slide' line dance to the 'Texas Stomp'.

He faced me and I let my guard down enough to smile at him, at this point I was having too much fun with him. He was laughing real good, as he followed everyone.

“Tip your hat at me, big trouble," I teased him and watched him lean forward touching the rim of his hat, while I curtseyed.

He laughed and bit the tip of his tongue, getting the hang of it. The next time he came in to hit my hand he let the words fall from his mouth, “So, glad you danced with me?" He walked past me.

When I walked back to hit his hand again, I smirked, “Don't get too cocky, city boy."

He laughed harder as he continued to dance before stepping closer to tip his hat again, “Not being cocky. Just having fun dancing with you is all."

“Mmhm…" I didn't believe him.

He came in to smack my hand but grabbed my hand instead to spin me and walk me off to the side, causing me to gasp. He danced me over to a table and helped me onto a tall chair. I was amazed he could lift me so easily. It wasn't like I was the skinniest of women in this bar.

He sat across from me, “Let me grab us some waters and then I'd like to talk more with you, if that's okay?"

I nodded, “Okay."

He smiled his stupid charming smile and smacked the table before standing up to go back to Thomas. He passed him back his hat and ordered waters. I watched him carry them back to me, running his hand through his brown hair before setting one in front of me. “There you go."

“Why do you care so much about me? You're new here, but for some reason you have this interest in me." I brought my water to my lips and took a sip. “Why me?"

“Well, everyone is so welcoming here and you're different. You've seen some sh*t." John took a drink.

I rolled my eyes, “C'mon, big trouble. You know I'm not any different than any woman in this saloon."

“Nope, nope." He gestured towards me with his glass, “Not from what Betty and everyone else in this town has told me. You're really something."

“Why are you asking around about me?" I looked at him with an exasperated expression and fallen shoulders. Who would go to the lengths to ask around about me? What crazy man—I looked down at my water, as if it would give me the answers I was searching for. “You must be crazier than I thought."

John snorted and downed his water, “Nah, just curious." He slowly peered up at me through his long lashes with his daring blue eyes. “Can't blame a man for being curious about a pretty girl like you."

“Oooh, a real.... 'cowboy' Casanova right here." I chuckled and took another sip, “I think this town is already rubbing off on you."

“I'm serious," John sat back and spun his glass. “Alright, tell me about this town. What does Heber-Overgaard look like to Abigail?"

“Seriously?" I raised my eyebrows at him like he was out of his loving mind.

“Seriously," John nodded.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, “Heber isn't very big, and you can tell everyone knows everyone's business. If you want anything beyond a mom-and-pop shop, then you have to drive an hour out to Show Low. It's quiet, quaint, and everyone here is nice."

“Do you miss it?" John searched my gaze.

“Miss what?" I was confused by his question.

“Miss the city," John kept his voice soft like he was stepping on glass and knew it.

“Mmm… sometimes I miss the city. But… when I was there, I missed Heber. I grew up on Abigail Farms with six siblings, but they're all doing their own thing now." I waved my hand around in the air and shrugged. “Married, kids, careers, and all that. Most of them live in big cities now or in the Midwest. My family comes from Indiana so—" I shrugged. “I'm the only one home after taking off to the big city." I scoffed and tried to hide my shame and sadness, “Look how I failed."

“You didn't fail," John reached across to touch my hand, making me flinch. He let my hand go, “Sorry."

“No, no, it's alright." I gave him a fake smile. “Anyway, mama wasn't too upset when I came home and neither was father, but I felt guilty stepping through that door again."

“Why'd you come back?" John tried again.

“Like I said, current job didn't work out, and I missed my little town." I didn't want to show that a man had taken control over me. I didn't want to admit that I had been weak or hadn't fought back. We were brought up to know how to fight and defend ourselves, yet I had frozen up in that situation. My thoughts had gone blank, and any knowledge of self-defense had flown out the window.

John gestured towards me with his index finger, “I don't believe you, but I'm going to let it go."

“What do you mean you don't believe me?" I looked at him, insulted.

He searched my eyes for too long, sending a shiver through me. He was reading me and doing a damn fine job of it. “There is so much pain behind those gorgeous emerald eyes. You've been through hell, and one day I hope you feel comfortable enough to talk to me about it. I won't push you to. I know how hard it can be to talk about certain things but know I'm a safe place. I won't judge you or hurt you."

“Thanks," I swallowed hard and nodded, searching my water again. The ice cubes bounced around and I pressed my lips into a thin line for a moment before speaking again, “I wanted to thank you back there for taking me away when Thomas asked me about my sister."

“No problem, I could tell it wasn't something you wanted to talk about." John warmly smiled.

I shook my head, “Nope."

“My baby bro also gets the spotlight often. Can do no wrong," John laughed.

“Right?" I shouted a little too loud, as I became more animated. I relaxed and blushed, “Sorry."

He laughed harder, “It's alright. It feels good when someone gets it."

I nodded, “I should go. It's been fun. Thanks."

“You're welcome. Anytime." John reached into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card, passing me it. “If you ever want to show me around the town or talk? You can reach me here."

I slid the white card towards myself and read it, “John Miller of Miller Investments." I scoffed, “Of course, you're big money."

“So, you've heard of me." John smirked like I had won some prize.

“No, but anyone who shares a name with a company must have some money. You being from New York City only makes me think you have more. People around here who are well-off own old land." I shrugged and pocketed his card.

“My father handed me it since I'm the oldest," John shrugged.

“CEO then?" I smirked.

“Yep, afraid so. Billionaire too and one of the Top Fortune 100, if you really care. Honestly, every woman seems to only care about that," John rolled his eyes.

I nodded, “Can see why. Alright, I said I'd leave so I'm going. See you around, city boy." I saluted him and walked away.

He nodded and let me leave. I half expected him to grab my wrist and bring me back, but he didn't. My heart throbbed in my chest, and I left more confused than I had been when I had arrived.