He shook his head.

That woman was a piece of work. A hot, sexy, redheaded piece of work.

He knew he had to steer clear of women like Chelsea. She was not the type of woman for him.

No woman was. Easy, no-strings relationships were perfect. They’d satisfied him for years, and he saw no reason they couldn’t continue to keep him …

Maybe happy wasn’t the right word. He hadn’t been happy since the day he’d gotten married. Even that happiness had been short-lived.

Content. That worked. Nothing wrong with content.

He shifted his attention as Luke McCormack came in. Luke wore a T-shirt and jeans instead of his Hope police officer uniform, so he must be off duty. Bash grabbed a bottle of Luke’s favorite beer from the cooler and popped the top off, sliding it across the bar while Emma, Luke’s wife, came over and gave him a kiss. Then Jane and Chelsea moved over as well.

“Just get off work?” he asked Luke.

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for showing up, man. You know I hate these lonely Friday afternoons.”

Luke took a long pull of his beer, then set it down and looked around. “You’re never lonely, Bash. Besides, the place is picking up. You’ve always got a crowd in here.”

“Business is looking great.”

Luke nodded. “You should consider offering food.”

Bash leaned against the bar and nodded. “Funny you should mention that. I’m thinking of expanding the back of the bar on the east side and adding a kitchen.”

“How hard would that be?” Chelsea asked. “Because if you serve food, you could really draw in a lot more people.”

He cocked a brow. “I bring in a good-sized crowd already, and I don’t want to offer a big menu. Just bar-type food.”

Chelsea wrinkled her nose. “You mean like burgers or wings and stuff.”

He grinned. “Something like that. I’ve had the plans drawn up for a while. I just need to pull the trigger on it, get the permits, and start the project.”

“Great idea, Bash,” Luke said.

Chelsea sighed and sipped her soda. “What Hope really needs is a place that offers fine dining.”

Bash shook his head. “You can go into Tulsa for that. We’re too small a town for a fine-dining restaurant. It wouldn’t get the draw. Folks here like their small-town restaurants, bars, and easy comfort food.”

“I agree,” Jane said. “Tulsa’s just a short drive, and there are lots of restaurants to eat at there.”

Chelsea played with her straw. “I suppose.”

“You could always move to Tulsa,” Bash said. “Then you’d be near all that fine dining and culture.”

She cocked a brow. “Trying to get rid of me, Bash?”

“Nope. I like you just fine right where you’re sitting.”

She gave him a confused look, and he smiled at her.

He loved teasing her, maybe because she made it so easy. He was about to say something, but then there was a commotion at the front door. A woman had walked in with a dog, drawing everyone’s attention.

Oh, shit. Gerri.

“Aww, who’s the cute brunette with the Chihuahua?” Emma asked.

“I’ll be right back,” Bash said.

He moved around the bar and caught Gerri by the arm as she stalked her way in. He could tell by the look on her face that she was ready to do battle.

He pulled her to the side of the room.

“Hey, Gerri. What brings you here?”

She handed Lulu to him. “Here. You take her.”

He barely had time to catch the poor dog before it went tumbling to the floor.

“Hang on. What am I supposed to do with your dog?”

Gerri wagged her finger at him. “No. Now she’s your dog. I only got her to impress you, which apparently was an epic fail, since you broke up with me.”

The poor dog trembled against his chest. He wrapped both arms around her to comfort her. The dog, that is. Not the obviously batshit-crazy woman currently glaring at him.

“Wait. You bought this dog to impress a guy? What the hell, Gerri. I never asked you to get a dog. I thought you wanted this dog.”

She shrugged and affected a pout, her full lips glossed to the max.

“She pees. Like … everywhere. And barks at everything. And shakes. She’s a pain and I can’t deal. I travel all the time, and do you have any idea what it costs to board that thing?”

Yeah, he knew. Apparently, though, Gerri hadn’t done her homework. “You can’t just give her away like some purse you decided you didn’t like.”

She gave him a bitchy smile. “Sure I can. She’s all yours now. I’m done with her as quickly as you were done with me. See you, Bash.”

Before he had a chance to object, Gerri pivoted and was out the door, leaving him holding a very scared little dog.

Jesus. That had been fast. Kind of like his relationship with Gerri had been.

The dog lifted her soulful, dark eyes up to his. He swept his hand over Lulu’s back. “Trust me. You’re better off without her, honey.”

When he turned around, the entire bar was staring at him.

Great.

He went back around the bar, still holding Lulu in his arms.

“Who was that?” Chelsea asked.

“That was Gerri. We … uh … sort of dated for about a month. She was a little high-strung at times, so I broke it off.”

“And who is this?” Emma asked, reaching across the bar to take Lulu from Bash.