Return of the Bad Girl by Codi Gary

find Gabe standing next to Shelby, his hand clasping her arm in a tight grip.
    “Maybe you should get her out of here before she does something stupid.”
    Gabe’s suggestion was directed at Marcus, who almost looked like he was going to argue, but in the end, he took Shelby’s arm from Gabe, saying, “Come on.”
    Shelby hurled insults at Gabe and tried to pull away from Marcus, who finally dumped the drunken wildcat over his shoulder and pushed through the crowd. As the crowd that had gathered dispersed, Caroline was left facing Gabe, hating the fact that he had saved her from a disastrous situation.
    “Thanks, but I could have handled it.”
    “I figured, but now you don’t have to.”
    His cool answer pissed her off. Did he think he’d done her some huge favor? That she wouldn’t have to deal with Marcus and Shelby again?
    “Do you always jump into tense situations? Is that what gets you off? Saving the poor, defenseless, wronged woman?” Caroline said, sneering. “Don’t worry about me, hero. I deserve everything they throw at me and more. If you don’t believe me, just ask around. I’m sure someone would love to give you all the sordid details.”
    “Regardless of what you’ve done in the past, she was out of line. I could tell you were trying to take the high road, and I know what that’s like. You try not to fight back, ’cause you figure they’ll back off if you don’t play their game, but that’s not always true.”
    His observation hit home for Caroline, and a small part of her wanted to ask him about his story, about what he was trying to atone for, but that might give the impression that she cared.
    Which she didn’t. At all.
    “Well, again, thanks. At least now I can do what I came to do,” she said, catching sight of Eric behind the bar.
    “Yeah, what’s that?”
    “I’ve come to see a man about a bar,” Caroline said, smiling at her own joke.
    “Well, I’ll let you get to it,” Gabe said, leaning over to whisper close to her ear. “I’ll see you at home, princess.”
    Caroline fought the shiver that the heat of his breath caused across her neck and down her back. As he went back to playing pool with Kirsten, she told herself that the irritation churning in her abdomen was because of Shelby’s causing a scene and had nothing to do with the way the stacked blonde slid her hand possessively over Gabe’s bicep.
    Turning her back on them, she walked straight up to Eric and said, “Well, hey there, handsome.”
    Eric looked over his shoulder from filling the beer fridge, his forehead furrowed for a minute before he recognized her with a whoop. “T-R-O-U-B-L-E!”
    Caroline laughed as the big man came around the bar and wrapped her in a bear hug that lifted her up off the ground. It was good to know that not everyone in Rock Canyon thought she was scum. Being called trouble was the friendliest thing she’d heard since arriving back in town.
    When Eric set her down, he gave her a smacking kiss on the mouth that startled her, considering he had never done anything like it before. Eric had worked on their yard every summer for years, and after her mom died, she had followed him around and helped out when she could. She’d always nursed a bit of a crush on Eric, but he’d never treated her like anything other than a kid sister. As she’d gotten older, he used to tease her about all the trouble she got into, but it was always playful.
    When he caught her surprised look, he leaned over and said loud enough to be heard over the music, “We’re being watched.”
    Caroline pulled away, her eyebrow raised as he gave a subtle nod to the left. Caroline glanced toward the end of the bar and saw a pretty blonde with shoulder-length hair glaring at them. Gemma and Callie, who were next to the woman, waved at Caroline.
    Waving back, Caroline tried to place the blonde. “Are you using me to make her jealous or to make her leave you alone?”
    Eric’s smile was wide and sheepish.