"Alright Den… Set'em up." Mark said as he threw open the door to the bar.
"Bad night big guy?" Denny raised an eyebrow from behind the bar. Mark shook his head and tossed his bag down on a barstool.
"Nah, just a long drive. I'm thirsty." Mark chuckled as Denny poured him a beer and slid it across the bar.
"So…" Denny started, Mark knew the look in his eyes all too well.
"You've got something for me don't you?" He grinned. Denny laughed and pointed to the back of the bar.
"She's been here most of the day." Mark's eyes followed his friend's gesture. He frowned.
"She doesn't look so good." The big man noticed. Cassie was sitting at a table back against the wall staring down into a book with an untouched glass in front of her.
"I know… She showed up here about three o'clock looking like she'd seen a ghost. I can't get her to talk to me." The old bartender said gravely. "Maybe you should try and talk to her big man."
"Me? Why the hell would she talk to me?" Mark laughed.
"Because she wanted to talk to you last time you were here." Denny grinned. Mark's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh she did, did she?" Denny nodded.
"After you left she was asking me all kinds of questions about you."
"And you still let her leave?" Mark had the urge to hit his old friend.
"What was I supposed to do? Stamp her property of the Undertaker and haul her down to the basement until you were ready for her?" Denny was laughing.
"Just…shut up would you old man?" Mark grimaced at him. "I'm not that bad, am I?" Denny let out a low whistle.
"Why don't you go over there and see if there's anything you can do." His friend prodded.
"Doesn't it seem to you, that if she wanted to talk she'd come over here and do it?" Mark asked him pointedly as he swiveled his stool around to see her better. From what the two men could tell, she hadn't seen him come in. The brunette looked haggard, that was for sure but she was still beautiful. She sat with her booted foot hooked in the rung at the bottom of her chair leaned back with a book in front of her. Mark couldn't tell if she was reading it or just staring at the pages.
He watched as she picked up her obviously diluted drink and took a drink of it. She made a face at it and set down the book before getting up and walking toward the bar. Mark quickly turned back toward his friend.
"Hey Denny? Is there any way I could get another one of these? I guess I let this one get all melty."
"Sure thing Darlin…" Denny smiled and dumped her old drink before mixing her another one. "Are you okay?" He cautioned to ask as he slid the fresh drink over to her.
"Huh? Oh…uh…yeah, I'm alright." She stuttered without making eye contact.
"You sure? You don't look yourself today." The old bartender asked again. Cassie nodded and pounded half her drink. "Hell that doesn't say 'I'm okay' but if you say so." He shot a glance over at Mark. He was listening intently but for some reason Cassie hadn't noticed him yet.
She was standing right next to him, her back slightly angled in his direction but how could she not see him? She was almost on top of him.
"Mark? You need a refill?" Denny asked his friend.
"Yeah, why not."
Cassie's stomach dropped when she heard his voice.
"Well, thanks Denny. I'm gonna go finish unpacking I think." She said abruptly downing the rest of her drink and tossing a twenty down on the bar.
"See ya later darlin." He smiled. "Don't be a stranger." Mark watched as Cassie nodded and hurried out the door.
"What the hell as that about?" Denny asked his big friend. Mark shook his head. "First she didn't see ya at all, and then when she did, she disappeared like a virgin on prom night."
"I thought you said she wanted to talk to me."
"She did! She was pumping me for all kinds of information. I swear." Denny laughed.
"Ah hell, I guess she changed her mind."
"I doubt that. She looked like something was wrong big man." Denny raised an eyebrow toward the door then narrowed his eyes at his long time friend. He could already see the thought brewing in Mark's mind.
With a short nod, the big man stood up and hurried out the door. Denny could only chuckle to himself as he watched it slam shut behind him.
Mark pulled his sunglasses off his head when he walked through the door. The orange evening light was almost more than he could bear after the dark interior of the little bar.
Quickly, his eyes flew over the small parking lot and grinned softly to himself. She was still there all right, fumbling with her saddlebags and looking extremely irritated.
"You need a hand with that little girl?" He called over to her. She stopped dead.
"Uh…no, I've got it. Thank you." She responded without looking back. She tried desperately to sound airy and not at all as unnerved as she felt.
Mark sighed heavily and shook his head as he walked over to her.
"My name's Mark." He said after a few moments and held out his hand. Cassie glanced up at him and flinched, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
"Cassie." She returned and shook his hand before turning directly back to the buckle that had been giving her trouble.
"So…" Mark tried again somewhat self-consciously. The brunette flicked a glance up at him, her cheeks heating slightly for a second time. "I take it you're new in town?"
"Yep, just got here."
"Where'd you come from?" He pressed. She stopped fumbling with the buckle and stood up, wiping her hands on the back of her jeans.
"New Mexico most recently." She said quickly and edged around him before kneeling to attack the other buckle as well.
"New Mexico's nice." He said and immediately wished he hadn't. She was pointedly not looking at him but Mark could see enough of her face to see her eyebrow rise slightly.
"Yeah, it's nice." She responded, still refusing to look in his direction. Mark sucked in a deep breath and sighed heavily, looking up to the sky for strength.
"So what're ya doin here?"
"I was having a drink. Now, I'm going home." She said standing up and throwing her leg over her bike.
"I meant, what are you doing in Texas?" He rephrased his question trying desperately to hold back the irritation he could feel inching slowly to the surface. For a woman who Denny was sure wanted to talk to him, she sure didn't act like she wanted anything.
"Just trying to get by." She continued her answer just as clipped as all the others.
"Look, I came out here because you look like you could use an ear. Den and I agree you look like you saw a ghost or something. So I came out to see if there was anything I could do. Forget I bothered. It's pretty damned obvious you're not one for talking." Mark snapped and turned heading back toward the bar before she could respond.
Cassie sat on her bike with her mouth half opened as he walked away. She knew she was being rude but she just couldn't handle the whole 'knight in shining armor' routine today. All she wanted was a place she could get away from all her trouble and she thought she'd finally had it. Unfortunately, she was tremendously wrong. However, that didn't give her the right to take it out on perfectly nice guys trying to do the right thing and help a woman in obvious distress.
Suddenly very embarrassed, Cassie let her head drop into her hands. The last time she was in Denny's place she had all but fallen over herself for information on the big red head. What had he told her his name was? Mark? Yeah, that was him and in her infinite wisdom, Cassie had run him off.
"Nice job… Very nice." She groaned and swung her leg back over the bike to the gravel below it. Cassie took a deep breath and, perhaps a little slower than usual, made her way back to the bar.
"…Den, I'm telling ya, she don't want nothing to do with me." Cassie could hear Mark saying as she walked up behind him. Denny's eyes had flicked briefly up to her as she came in but the big man's back was to the door. He hadn't seen a thing.
"I don't know about all that big guy. I'd be willing to bet she'll be back." The bartender said to him, a slight grin playing on his weathered face.
"No, you didn't hear her out there. I might as well have been some creep off the street tryin to steal her purse." He moped, slouching down on his stool.
"You wanna make a bet of it?" Denny egged him on. Cassie couldn't help but smile as she stood behind the big man watching it all unfold.
"Hell yes. I'll buy you dinner if she walks back through that door." Mark said emphatically spinning on his stool to point at the door as he spoke.
"Hi." Cassie said gently moving his arm out of her face as he stared at her.
"Den you sneaky bastard." Mark grinned without taking his eyes off of Cassie. "You can take that dinner and shove it up your ass."
"Not to worry, it was worth it for the look on your face." Denny chuckled and turned away, walking through a double swinging door to the left.
"Well, well…" Mark said smiling in spite of himself. "Is there something I can do for you?" Cassie's face heated at his words and she found herself looking away.
"Alright…here it goes." She began more to herself than to him. "I was extremely rude out there and I apologize. I'm just not up to the playing the damsel in distress today."
"That's alright darlin; I suppose I should take a hint once in a while." He chuckled wryly and ran a hand through his long red hair.
"No, that's okay." Cassie blurted. "Under normal circumstances, I'd have been happy to talk."
"But these aren't normal circumstances." Mark finished her thought for her. Cassie took a deep breath and shook her head. "Well darlin, no harm no foul I guess. I take it I'll be seein you around then." He said and nodded curtly before turning back to his drink on the bar. Cassie's stomach knotted tight as she found herself staring at his back for the second time today.
"Yeah…" She finally managed but couldn't seem to make herself walk away. "I'll see you around. The town's not that big." Mark glanced over his shoulder and gave her a brief smile. The brunette let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and walked over to the bar to lean against it.
Cassie glanced around but Denny was nowhere in sight. She frowned slightly and plopped down on a stool three away from the big man.
Mark glanced over at her. The poor girl looked a little lost. He shook his head and cursed himself under his breath before heaving himself off of his stool and wandering back behind the bar.
"Den's doing…whatever it is Denny does. He could be gone a little while." He said grabbing a mug and filling it from the tap. Cassie glanced up at him and nodded but he could tell she wasn't really paying attention. "Did you want a beer?" He continued. Mark couldn't help but smile when he saw the confusion finally cross her face.
"Do you just help yourself when he's not around?"
"Mostly. I keep tellin' him that I'm gonna run this place someday." He chatted filling a second mug and sliding it over to her. Cassie took it gingerly and nodded a thanks.
"That's a pretty good deal if you asked me." She grinned sipping the amber brew. Mark shrugged and wandered back to the other side of the bar, taking a seat next to her.
"It's got its moments. However, sometimes he cuts out altogether and leaves me here to run the place. I can pour a beer but that's about it. I don't know jack about all those fancy girlie drinks."
"This doesn't seem like the girlie drink kind of place."
"Nah, not really, but every once in a while you get tourists wandering in here and they want all that crazy stuff." Mark chuckled as he spoke. "I remember on night, I had just come in off the road and I wandered in here for a drink. Poor Cindy was running ragged." He smiled and waved to the petite blonde that was wiping tables in the back. Cassie watched her blush and smile as big as she was able before going back to the task at hand. "The place was packed and Denny had just sort of taken off early. Cindy begged me and I stepped behind the bar and took care of the place. Since then, I just sort of help myself when I feel like it."
"I don't think I've ever stayed in one place long enough to build that kind of rapport with anyone." Cassie mused staring down into her mug.
"Wandering spirit?" Mark pressed gently. He couldn't be sure but he had a feeling that her wanderlust might just be part of her problem.
"Not exactly no. Sometimes…" She stopped searching for the right words. "Sometimes, you've just got to go." Cassie finished, her gaze still focused on the bottom of her glass. Mark swung around on his stool to see her better. He couldn't help but wonder if she knew the pain on her face was visible, almost tangible.
"What are you runnin from darlin?" He asked on a whim. Cassie's head shot up and she looked at him like he'd stabbed her straight in the chest.
"Why would you ask that? I mean, why would you think I was running from anything?" She stammered, still looking for all intents and purposes like a deer in headlights.
"Well…" Mark began softly. He'd rattled her and he hadn't meant to. He finally got her to talk to him; the last thing he wanted was her bolting now. "You're new in town. You told me you're from New Mexico but your accent is definitely not from this part of the country. You've got that city girl, Midwestern sound to you, so I know this isn't your first move and at your age, you shouldn't have to move that often. In other words, you could call it an educated guess." He grinned softly at the astonished look on her face.
"For starters, have you ever thought of police work as a vocation?" She laughed. Now it was Mark's turn to blush.
"Nah, my job keeps me pretty busy as it is. I don't think I'd have time for the academy and all that." Cassie raised an eyebrow and took a long drink, finishing off her mug. Mark glanced at her, sensing the next obvious question and stood up snagging her glass as he did so and hurried back behind the bar.
"So what is your job Mark?" She asked as he slid her glass back to her freshly filled. Mark's head dropped slightly but he didn't speak. "If I knew you at all, which I don't, I'd say you were embarrassed to tell me." The big man shook his head and waved her off as he filled his own glass and walked back around to sit down.
"I wouldn't say embarrassed exactly, no. Some people do get very put off by what I do so I don't generally tell people if they don't recognize me."
"Should I recognize you?" She asked, leaning her elbow on the bar as she turned to face him.
"It does happen." He grinned and played with the rim of his mug.
"You mean to tell me I've been sitting here talking to a famous person and I had no idea?" Now she was laughing outright.
"I don't know if I'd call it famous…" Mark said non-commitally. He wanted desperately to change the subject but couldn't figure out how to do it gracefully.
"Well now I've got to know, Mr. Famous person. What do you do for a living that you'd be recognized on the streets?" Mark glanced over at her and she could have sworn his face was just a bit redder than it should have been as he waved her off and let his head drop into his hand. "I'd say by the size of you that you're an athlete of some sort. Let me think, football? No, that's not it."
"No, not even in college." He laughed.
"Alright, not football but you are an athlete, right?" She continued, a playful and curious light sparkling in her dark eyes. The big man nodded without looking at her and took a long drink of his beer. "An athlete…" She muttered out loud as she wracked her brain to find the answer. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. "I give up. What do you do?"
Mark sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes then turned to her slowly.
"I am a professional wrestler." He said simply and almost cringed. Cassie stared at him, her mouth agape. Mark wilted slightly under her gaze. "Well say somethin darlin. You're staring at me like I just grew another head."
"You're a professional wrestler?"
"Yeah."
"And you're famous?"
"Yup. So they tell me." He muttered and turned back to his beer unable to stomach the depreciating comments that he knew were coming.
"That's pretty damned cool." She nodded and patted him on the arm. "Is this where I'm supposed to ask you for your autograph?"
"Oh lord." He sighed and let his head fall into his folded arms. "This is exactly why I don't tell people." He said but his massive tattooed arms muffled it.
"No, no, no. Don't be embarrassed! I meant it when I said that was pretty cool." She laughed and tried to turn his head so he was facing her. He shrugged her off and continued hiding his face. "Okay, what's your deal then?" Mark lifted his head and raised a pale eyebrow at her.
"My deal? What do you mean my deal?" He asked skeptically.
"You're…character. What's your character?" She reached for the correct wording.
"You mean my gimmick?" He asked finally sitting upright again.
"Yeah, that." Cassie laughed. Mark couldn't be sure but she seemed genuinely interested. Mark opened his mouth but hesitated.
"Have you ever heard of the Undertaker?" He asked after a long silence.
"Yeah. Wrestling fan or not, there aren't a whole lot of people who haven't heard that name before…" She rambled as the realization came over her. "Jesus… You're the Undertaker?" Mark nodded slowly.
"That'd be me."
"Wow…" Cassie giggled. Mark made a sour face at her and slid her beer toward her. "I had a friend growing up that was obsessed with you!"
"Oh really now?"
"But you looked…different then…" Cassie smiled. Mark tried to smile back but suddenly her eyes were picking him apart. It was making him just the tiniest bit uncomfortable.
"Let me guess, big black hat, long black coat. My hair was shorter then and I wasn't nearly in the shape I'm in now." He said rolling his eyes like he'd had the same conversation a thousand times.
"I see it now." She said squinting at him as she spoke. "Your eyes, I should have recognized your eyes." Mark nearly spit his beer on the counter.
"My eyes? What's wrong with my eyes?" He asked wiping his mouth on a napkin.
"There's nothing wrong with your eyes. I used to sit with her in her bedroom after school and I'd stare at these posters she had all over her walls. I never really followed wrestling but she loved it so I'd listen when she talked about it and I'd try to remember names and things. Regardless, I'd look at the posters on her walls and I remember the green eyes that looked so focused, so driven, so…evil even and I always wanted to know what made them tick." Mark was smiling openly as she talked about her past. "I was sure there was more to it than the purple gloves and the fat guy."
"Paul Bearer." Mark grinned. "He was the fat guy." Cassie laughed and clapped her hands in recognition.
"You didn't have so many tattoos then." She pointed out and traced one of the designs with her finger.
"No, I didn't." He chuckled. "But enough about me." Mark said happily turning the focus away from himself. "What's your deal?"
"I don't talk about myself." Cassie said quietly and wrapped both hands around her mug as she lapsed back to staring into it.
"That's not fair."
"Why isn't it fair? I just don't like to talk about myself."
"I already told you about myself, now it's your turn." Mark said teasingly and nudged her with his elbow. Cassie swayed slowly and braced herself on the bar.
"I think I'm done drinking tonight." She giggled but finished off her beer before pushing the glass away. "Weird, I had one drink and two beers and I'm positively giddy."
"You didn't eat today did you little girl?" He asked his voice calm but concerned. Cassie thought on it for a long moment then shook her head.
"No, I guess I didn't." She frowned. "No wonder I'm a lightweight tonight."
"Well…" Mark began. "Would you want to get a bite to eat? I haven't eaten since I left the arena."
For a long moment, Cassie just looked at him.
"What? You're giving me that look again."
"What look?" She asked, the beginnings of a grin turning up the corners of her perfect mouth.
"The look like I grew another head."
"No…not at all. I was just trying to decide if it was safe to go eat with a man I barely know in a town where no one knows me at all." She said raising a playful eyebrow.
"I assure you darlin, nothing but dinner and conversation with an old fart who would love to be seen in the company of a beautiful younger woman." Mark teased and slid off his stool, holding a hand out to her.
"From what Denny tells me, beautiful younger women aren't a problem for you." Cassie teased back as she took his hand and hopped down to stand next to him.
"What in the hell has that old man been tellin' you?" Mark sputtered and turned back to glare at the swinging doors that hadn't so much as budged since the old bartender had disappeared behind them. Cassie giggled and put her hands up to cover her mouth. The discomfiture seemed sorely out of place on the big man at her side.
"Let's just say, I know about the cot in the back room."
"Oh good Lord…" He muttered under his breath and stood looking at the floor with his hands on his hips. "It's not as bad as it sounds…"
"Even if it is, it's none of my business. What am I?" She tried to placate him. "I'm just some girl you met in a bar."
"I doubt that little girl…" He said more seriously than Cassie had expected as he raised his head and caught her full on with his green eyes. "Something tells me there's a lot more to you than bars and bikes." Cassie felt the heat rise in her cheeks under his gaze and turned to face the door, teetering slightly as she did so.
"So are we going to eat or what?" She said a little breathlessly. Her stomach was in the process of tying itself into another painful knot.
"Most definitely. Just let me find that old bastard and settle up for the beers."
"Don't worry about it…" Denny called from behind the double doors. "I'll cover you tonight Deadman." There was a faint hint of laughter in his voice. Mark rolled his eyes and glanced back at Cassie.
"Been listening the whole time…" He grumbled at her. Cassie couldn't help but laugh. "You're damn right you're covering it now." He called back toward the doors. "Ya sneaky bastard."
Neither of them could keep a straight face as the older man's laughter carried to them.
"You kids just have a good time." He grinned happily and stuck his head out to wave good bye.
"Blow it out your ass Den." Mark said sweetly through gritted teeth. Denny just waved off his friend's irritation and disappeared back into the back of the bar. "You about ready little girl?" He asked sighing heavily and turning back to Cassie. The brunette nodded as she braided her hair and swung it like a dark rope back over her shoulder.
"After you Taker." She grinned playfully and motioned toward the door. Mark rolled his eyes and walked past her.
"G'night Cindy." He called to the little blonde waitress as he pushed through the door. She smiled and walked over to hug him good-bye before picking up a tray of glasses and ducking behind the bar.
