Disclaimer: As always, I do not own any of the names or likenesses you may or may not recognize.

Rating: Just to be on the safe side, I'm gonna call this an M if for no other reason than language. However, I have no way of knowing what depths of perversion my brain may take this into. We'll see...

Author's Note: Yep, another story. I apologize to everyone who has read my other contributions to the site and are digging at me to write more. This is what happens when I end up with writer's block. I start something new. I'll get back to them, I PROMISE! lol At any rate, I hope ya like this one too.


He looked up from his half empty glass as the door swung in on its rusty old hinges. It wasn't who he thought it would be. Apparently she'd taken the hint this time. The crazy girl had finally realized when he said "leave me alone", he meant it.

What had walked in though, captured his attention nicely. There was no face to be seen just yet, the setting sun outside the place made sure of that. All he could see was long hair and longer legs, incased in leather.

"Hey Mark?" He heard from behind him.

"Yeah..." He answered, half drunk, without taking his eyes off the woman seating herself alone at a table toward the back.

"You still runnin a tab or what?" Mark didn't answer. "Because, at this rate, you're gonna have to sign all those pretty bikes over to me, big guy."

Big guy... Mark hated it when Denny called him that. As far as he could tell, the bartender called everyone big guy and for as long as he'd been sitting on the same stool, he figured he deserved something better.

"Denny..." He started, swiveling around on his stool to face his old friend. "I'll settle up when I'm damned good and ready. You just keep pouring. Okay?" The bartender chuckled good-naturedly and scratched at his salt and pepper beard.

"Yeah, that's what I figured." He refilled the big man's glass.

"Hey Den, you know that little girl over there?" Mark finally asked his face coloring slightly to match his hair. The old bartender glanced up from the bottles he was marrying and raised an eyebrow.

"What about what's her name?" He asked.

"What's her name?" Mark laughed. "You mean Kristy? My guess is she's half way back to Buffalo by now."

"That was quick. You know, since you left Sara..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Don't say it." Mark waved a tattooed arm over the bar. Denny laughed shaking his head. "So do you know her or not?"

"She's been in here a few times lately." The bartender said noncommittally.

"Well that is so helpful..." Mark grumbled and tipped back his glass before motioning to Denny to fill it up again.

"Jesus Mark, if you're that interested why don't you just go talk to her." The big man made a face like he'd eaten something rancid.

"Nah... I'm not up to being shot down today. I've had enough of that lately..."

"Well, there was Kristy..."

"Would you just shut up?" Mark grumbled and tossed a twenty down on the bar as he got up and headed over to a vacant pool table.


Cassie spoke briefly to the tired looking waitress as she took her order. It had been a long day. Too much time spent on the road and not on the right transportation. She hated moving. More to the point however, she hated losing her life. Once again she'd trusted the wrong person and gotten hurt. Texas wasn't so bad though. She could get used to it here.

She took a deep breath, slowly undid the braid she'd been wearing, and let her head roll back. Her dark hair cascaded down nearly to the floor over her rickety old chair. Yeah, Texas was okay. She'd managed to obtain a little piece of land outside Houston without much problem. Money wasn't ever an issue.

The waitress returned with her drink. Cassie smiled. She'd been in this town maybe two weeks and they already knew how she liked it. She grinned; this place was definitely okay.

"Hey there darlin..." The bartender chirped when she finally made eye contact. She waved comfortably and flashed him her nicest smile. Cassie loved to watch him blush. If she knew one thing, she knew people, and this guy was okay. He was probably a redneck, and a pervert, hell, he was a bartender, but he was all right.

Slowly, she swirled her rum and coke and stretched as she scanned the rest of the bar. Cassie had been in this place maybe five times since she gotten into her new house and every single one of the patrons had been here every time she'd come in. It made her feel welcome in a strange sort of way. She always knew what to expect here, it had become a welcome part of her daily rituals.

"Could you toss that back here?" She glanced up over the book she had just started reading, then down to the white cue ball resting comfortably in a divot in the floor directly under her table.

Cassie stretched down and picked it up before climbing out of her chair and walking it over to the tall man standing, leaned comfortably on a pool cue, near a table.

"There ya go." She grinned and set the ball down against a rail.

"Thank you." He said simply. She was momentarily caught in his green eyes. Cassie nodded and headed back to her table and waiting book to catch her breath.

"Where did that come from?" She whispered to herself as she watched the huge red headed man reach for a shot over the table. Cassie couldn't believe she missed him when she came in. How could you miss him? He had to be seven feet tall!

The brunette shook herself out of her daydream and tried to go back to her book.


Mark leaned further over his table than necessary to make his shot. The damned support pillar was blocking his view. From here, all he could see was a big black boot planted on the chair across from her. He rolled his eyes and eased his cue back to make the shot. There was a slight click as the cue glanced off the white ball and sent it rolling feebly out into the green.

"Damn it..." He growled to himself, cursing his lack of concentration. "Keep your eye on the game old man..." He finished and set himself up another shot. Mark leaned in again and aimed. Glancing over his shoulder he could see the side of her face. She was watching him. Mark smiled to himself and let the cue slide smoothly before letting it go. The cue ball smacked neatly into the eight and sent it rolling into the corner pocket. The big red head stood up and knocked all the rest of the balls back into the pockets.

"Denny, set me up another one would ya?" He called over to the bartender as he leaned his cue against the wall with the rest of them.

"You better give me your keys there Deadman..." Denny chuckled and slid a beer down the bar.

"No, you will not get my keys and what the hell is this?" He asked pointing at the bottle.

"This is my way of getting you home safely." The bartender grinned. Mark muttered something derogatory at his old friend but drank it anyway.

"Speaking of getting me home..." Mark started looking down at his watch. "I'd better do that before it gets too late. I've got to leave early in the morning."

"How long are you gone for this time?"

"Just overnight. We've got a show in Amarillo tomorrow. I'm probably just going to come home for the night after." Mark said as he stretched and yawned.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow then, eh big guy?" Mark grimaced visibly when he called him big guy.

"Unless the crazy bitch hasn't gotten out of my house yet, then I'll be back to borrow the cot in the back again." He laughed. Denny rolled his eyes and waved him off.

"Just get home safe. I'll see ya tomorrow." Denny called out as his friend shuffled toward the door. "Oh hey, am I supposed to put this on your tab too?" He said waggling the empty beer bottle toward Mark.

"Hey Den, you can shove that up yer ass." He laughed. "I'll see ya tomorrow." Mark was chuckling as he pushed through the door.

Denny shook his head and ran some water to wash his dishes.

"Oh and Den?" He heard Mark's voice.

"I thought you left." He said without turning around.

"Find out what you can find out about..." He trailed off.

"Hey Mark, shove that up yer ass old man."

"I ain't old." He smirked knowing his friend would do what he could about the strange brunette and finally let the door swing shut behind him.


Cassie bit her lip as the big red head walked out the front door. She lost her chance to make contact. Normally, she wasn't like that. The brunette was fresh out of a relationship but she found herself nearly compelled to talk to him. Silently, she berated herself for not making her move and got up, almost nervously and walked over to the bar.

"Hey there beautiful, somethin I can do for ya?" Denny said in his best bartender voice when she tapped her glass on the smooth wood.

"Oh, uh... no I'm alright." She responded.

"New in town are ya?" Cassie nodded. "Yeah, I figured. People around here tend to stay around here, so when someone new shows up we notice." He chuckled. Cassie laughed good-naturedly with him. "So, where'd you come from?" He said after a long and slightly uncomfortable silence.

"I came here from New Mexico." Denny nodded as if he'd heard it all a thousand times.

"Yeah, it's nice there but Texas is always Texas. Stay here for a while darlin, you'll call it home too."

"I hope so. I've moved around too much lately." She said wistfully.

"I can guess you ain't from the south. You've got an accent." Cassie nearly choked as she sipped her drink.

"I've got an accent?"

"Yeah, ya do. Midwestern I'd have to say."

"Good guess." She smiled and accepted a second drink. "I'm from Detroit originally."

"A bad girl eh?" He teased and rested his elbows on the bar. Cassie blushed and shook her long dark mane.

"Hardly. Just a girl from the city trying to get out."

"Well, this sure ain't Detroit."

"You can say that again. You've got trees here."

"So what brought you here?" Denny finally asked, trying to dig for Mark.

"Oh, that's a long story…" She answered with a note of dread in her voice.

"Men trouble eh?"

"What are you psychic?" She laughed.

"Could be, I'm a bartender." Cassie nodded softly unable, for some reason, to argue with the logic of it.

"Let's just say, we had a difference of opinion. He thought he could handle two girlfriends, and I thought he was an asshole." She smiled wryly. "So I pulled out my map, pointed to a spot, and ended up here. I don't even know if he knows I'm gone yet."

"My guess is he knows by now."

"I doubt it…" Cassie said shaking her head. "He disappears for a couple of weeks at a time."

"I guess it's a good thing you got out of there then." Cassie downed half her drink and tapped the glass against the bar in agreement.

"So here I am, in a new place with my bike and my little trailer in the middle of nowhere, and well, that's about it."

"Lookin for a job?" He asked. Cassie shook her head.

"Money isn't really an issue." She said absently. "But I might find a job if I get bored."

"Well then…" Denny said, his eyes wide. "Sounds to me like you've got it all figured out."

Cassie opened her mouth to say something but was cut short by the ringing phone. Denny muttered an apology and hurried over to answer it.

"Damn it girl…" She sighed to herself. Why couldn't she just get up the nerve to ask about that big red head? It wasn't a big deal; she just wanted to know… Well, she didn't quite know what she wanted.

"I'm sorry little darlin, I don't know what he'd do without me." Denny was chuckling as he walked back over to her.

"A friend of yours?" She asked taking her newly refilled glass.

"Oh yeah, a long time customer. He thinks I'm his surrogate father or something." He smiled. "… Now you think you have relationship problems, you haven't seen Mark's track record." Cassie raised an eyebrow. "Since he found his ex wife in bed with someone else, well I shouldn't go airing his dirty laundry. Besides, he'll be here shortly to borrow my back room again. You can ask him yourself." He giggled.

"You let him sleep here?"

"Oh yeah. Anytime he has a falling out with whoever he's with he'll show up here a little before closing time with a bag packed and that 'I screwed up' look on his face." Cassie laughed out loud in spite of herself.

"Okay…" She started taking a deep breath before changing the subject completely. "Now that I've had a couple of drinks I can ask you this." She was blushing again. "Who was that big guy that was in here a little earlier?" Denny nearly dropped the glass he was wiping.

"Big guy?"

"The one you were talking to before I came up here." She pressed again feeling horribly childish for prodding his friend for information.

"Really tall…red hair…all kinds of tattoos?" He asked.

"That would be the one."

"Well, you could ask him yourself. He'll be here in a few minutes." Denny smiled.

"He's the one coming to sleep in your back room?" Cassie blurted. "Leave it to me to find the one with more baggage than me."

"He's not so bad." Denny started. "He's out of town a lot, most women can't deal with that. I think that's most of his problem." Cassie nodded and rested her elbow on the bar.

"Just…forget I said anything." She grumbled and emptied her glass. "I guess I should get going anyway. I've still got lots of unpacking to do." She said fumbling for an excuse to leave. The old bartender nodded stoically and smiled.

"Do what you got to do darlin. I'll see you tomorrow I'm sure."

"Yeah, thanks…uh…"

"Denny." The older bartender smiled.

"Denny. I'm Cassie." She smiled back.

"Good to finally meet ya darlin." Cassie nodded and dropped a ten on the bar.
"Keep the change…"

"I thank ya. Don't be a stranger. Now that I know you're name you're a regular." He chuckled as he turned back to washing out the glasses. Cassie gave him an awkward 'thumbs up' and hurried out of the bar.

"Yeah, leave it to you Cassie…" She chided herself. "Always have to find the ones that are trouble."

"Careful!" Cassie snapped her head up at the word. There stood the big redhead with a duffel bag over his shoulder inches from her face.

"Uh…Sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was going." She stammered as he stared down silently at her.

"No problem." His green eyes were still locked on her.

"Well, bye." She blurted and hurried past him to her bike.

"That's a hell of a bike you've got there." He said as she threw her leg over her black and red Night train.

"Uh… Thanks." She blushed and hoped to God it was dark enough that he didn't notice. The big man nodded and after another long look at her, turned toward the bar and went inside.

"Oh my God…" Cassis grumbled to herself and crossed her arms over her handlebars. "Could that have gone any worse?" She finished putting her head down. "Probably." She told herself before kicking over the bike and tearing out of the gravel parking lot and onto the road.


"You let her leave?" Mark chuckled as the door swung shut behind him.

"You didn't say kidnap her Deadman." Denny teased back.

"Den, you've known me long enough to know my type."

"Oh please, your 'type' consists of whoever happens to be standing closest at the time. I don't want to hear about your 'type', Taker." Denny finished making little quotes in the air.

"Do me a favor." Mark asked. "Shut up." He chuckled and wandered around to the back of the bar.

"What the hell do you think your doin'?" Denny asked indignantly.

"Makin myself a drink. I figure this is the only way it won't get watered down." Mark laughed and poured a healthy double shot of Jack Daniels.

"You know, if you ever decide not to wrestle anymore, you could come back and take this place over for me when I retire."

"I thought that was already written into our friendship old man." Denny laughed and tossed his bar towel down under the sink.

"The only problem is, you'll drink more than you sell. When was the last time you saw me have a drink?" Mark was quiet for a long moment.

"You had a drink with me when I left Sara." He said quietly. Denny nodded.

"Yeah, I had that one drink sitting in front of me while you polished off a fifth and a half." He chuckled.

"You know Den, I never did nothing but treat her right." Mark said wistfully.

"I know Mark, it wasn't your fault." Denny tried to reassure him as he patted the big man on the arm.

"I guess she just couldn't handle it." Mark had a faraway look in his eyes. Denny hated that look. Anytime someone brought up Sara he'd get that look and it'd be hours before he'd act like himself again.

"Mark, it'd take a hell of a woman to put up with what you do for a living." Denny said. "One hell of a woman." The big man nodded.

"I'm only home maybe two months out of the year." He started. "How could I expect her not to feel neglected?"

"Mark… Don't do this to yourself again. It's been two years. It's time for you to let her go." The big man waved off his friend's advice and poured himself another shot.

"Don't worry; I'm not brooding, just thinking." He downed the shot.

"Good. Now don't wreck the place before morning." Denny said grabbing his keys from under the bar and heading toward the door. "And replace what you drink!" Mark chuckled and waved off his friend's stern look.

"Don't I always?" He grinned. Denny rolled his eyes and walked out the door.