Steve walked into the Cheating Heart and looked around. It appeared unchanged from the last time he had been there all those months ago. As he looked around the beat-up bar, he smiled. It was good to be back in a place that had once been like a second home to him.
"Patch!"
Steve turned towards the voice. It was Jimmy, the bartender who had served Steve more beers than he cared to remember.
"Jimmy!" Steve returned the call and walked to the bar. "How ya doin' man?"
"I'm doing fine," Jimmy said. "And you look awfully damn good for a dead man."
Steve laughed. "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
"So I heard." Jimmy stuck out his hand. "It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back." Steve shook Jimmy's hand. "Have you seen Bo Brady around here yet?"
"He's in the back by the pool tables with a pitcher of beer."
"Thanks, Jimmy."
Steve headed for the back of the bar and quickly spotted Bo. "Hey, man," he said as he took a seat.
"It's about time you got here," Bo said with a smile. "I thought I was going to have to drink this pitcher by myself."
"Like that's never happened before," Steve scoffed. "Besides, I was talking to your sister."
"Oh yeah? How did her hearing go?"
"She said it went fine." Steve sighed. "I just hope they come back with the right decision. It means a lot to Kayla."
"I hope so, too." Bo's voice was tinged with guilt. "She doesn't deserve any of this."
Steve nodded. The waitress approached and took their orders. After she left, Bo poured himself another beer and then said, "So how are things with you and Kayla anyway?" His voice was casual. Too casual.
"Fine," Steve said, eyeing Bo curiously.
"Good," Bo said, staring intently at his beer. "I'm sure it's been a little difficult to readjust after finding out about Kayla and Shane's relationship."
Steve tensed at Bo's mention of Kayla and Shane. That was the last thing he wanted to talk about tonight. "What's this about, Bo?"
Bo looked up at Steve. "I ran into Kayla at the pier yesterday. She seemed a little upset. She said something about you two having a fight after Jeannie's birthday party."
"So that's what's going on," Steve snapped. "Did you invite me out just to bust my chops about your sister?"
"Knock it off, Steve." Bo said in exasperation. "You're one of my best friends and Kayla is my sister. I just want the two of you to be happy."
Steve took a deep breath. He knew Bo meant well. "Sorry." He paused for a moment. "Look . . . if you want me to admit that Kayla and I have some things to deal with, than I admit it. But we'll deal with it and we'll be fine."
"I'm sure you will," Bo said. He stared down at his beer again as if he were thinking about something. Finally, he lifted his head again and began speaking in a soft voice. "You know, when I lost Hope, I thought I'd never get over it."
Steve looked up in surprise. He did not know where Bo was going with this, but figured he would let him speak his piece.
"Every day was just another reminder of what was missing in my life," Bo continued. "I had Shawn Douglas to think of and he kept me going, but I never stopped feeling like a part of me was missing."
"I remember," Steve said softly.
"Then I fell in love with Carly." Bo smiled. "God knows, I didn't make it easy for her. I felt guilty for feeling anything for anyone else and so I pushed her away. But somehow we managed to get through all that."
Steve shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Bo . . . if this is about Sha-"
"Just let me finish," Bo said, cutting Steve off. "The thing is that I love Carly. But I've never stopped loving Hope. I've never stopped missing Hope." He stared hard at Steve. "Hope is still with me every single day."
"Does Carly know that?" Steve asked, not quite able to stop himself.
"Yeah, she does." Bo shrugged. "We've talked about it, and she knows that Hope is still a part of my heart and a part of my life and always will be. What I feel for Carly is entirely separate from what I felt - what I still feel - for Hope. Carly hasn't replaced Hope in my life, in Shawn Douglas's life, or in our hearts." He looked at Steve again. "You understand what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, I hear what you're saying," Steve said.
"Good. Because you're a damn fool if you think that Kayla didn't miss you, didn't love you, while you were gone." Bo's voice dropped a notch. "I know she was with Shane, and I can't imagine how that must feel. But I was here, and I saw what she went through. I saw that sadness in her eyes that never really went away until you got back."
Before Steve could respond, the waitress arrived with their burgers. The next few minutes passed in relative silence as they down their meal. By the time they were finished, the conversation had shifted and Bo was asking why Caroline had commented about Steve not showing up on time. Steve sighed, not wanting to put Bo in the middle of his problems with Shane, but also not wanting to lie to his friend. He was trying to figure out what so say when, out of the corner of his eye, Steve saw a man approaching the table, carrying a pool cue.
"You must be Patch," the man said, eyeing Steve.
"Depends on who's asking," Steve replied.
"Jimmy says you used to be the best pool player in the joint," the man said.
"I've been known to win a game here and there." Steve caught Bo's smirk out of the corner of his eye.
The man gripped the cue with both hands and issued his challenge. "Well then, how about a game?"
"All right," Steve said. "What are the stakes?"
"Twenty bucks a game. Twenty more if somebody runs the table."
"Sounds good," Steve said, pulling out his pool cue. He opened the leather box and carefully pulled out the cue and put it together. He knew he was out of practice, but he could never turn down a challenge. He had made a decent living in the past by playing on the overconfidence of guys just like this one.
He walked over to the pool table with Bo trailing behind. The man handed him the cue and told Steve he could break.
Steve placed the cue ball on the table and began lining up his shot. But something did not feel right. What's going on? He could feel his heart start to pound and the pool cue suddenly felt like a foreign object in his hands.
He stood up and took a deep breath. His brain was telling him he wanted to be anywhere but at that pool table, but that did not make any sense. He leaned over the table again and tried to focus on the shot. He felt the sweat bead on his brow and could feel his hands shaking. It was no use.
"Hey, man? You okay?" That sounded like Bo, but he sounded distant and distorted.
Steve's breath coming faster and his heart seemed to race even faster.
"Steve?" It was Bo again.
Then he heard another voice and Steve turn his head to see the man who had issued the challenge. The man sneered. "Are you going to take a shot or not?"
Slowing his breath, Steve stood up. His heart rate also seemed to slow. Steve faced the man and shook his head. "I guess not. I'm just not feeling it tonight."
"Then I guess you owe me twenty bucks," the man said, smiling at his friends.
"Look, dude," Steve said, trying to maintain a friendly tone. "We didn't even start the game, so let's just call it off and move on."
"We didn't start the game because you chickened out." The man stood in front of Steve. "So, like I said, you owe me twenty bucks. Actually, make it forty since I was going to run the table on you anyway."
"I don't owe you anything," Steve said, forcing himself to remain calm as he eyed the man and his friends. He turned to walk to his table and gave Bo a look to be ready. Bo nodded.
"You aren't going anywhere until you pay me my money," the man said.
Then he grabbed Steve's wrist.