Chapter Four

Dinner was slightly awkward as they each did their own thing, not talking to the other. Tatum ate on the go as she was checking out the bar and making sure things were clean and ready. Sue was stood behind the bar, munching on her sandwich as she read one of her magazines. And Isabella stayed in the office, figuring this was the safest place to be right now.

"Sue, you wanna open up?" Tatum said when she realised it was coming up for 7pm. The regulars would be expecting the bar open as always, despite the brawl that had apparently taken place last night.

"You got it boss," the blonde said as she put the magazine away and headed to the front door. "Here we go," she called back, flicked all the light switches on and made to push the door open, getting a helping hand from their first customer. "Well howdy boys, come on in," Sue smiled her best smile and waved them on to the bar, where Isabella and Tatum had both taken up their post.

"Well now, who have we got here?" one of the regulars, old Murphy, asked jovially as he took up his post at the bar for the night.

"My name is Tatum and this is my sister Isabella," the redhead smiled as happily as she could, her sister doing the same.

"I do believe I know those names. Ain't you Grayson's girls?" his pal Billy said, taking them both in. He was pretty sure Grayson had flashed their photos around often enough. They would've been taken a good few years ago now, but he remembered the names and that one of them had red hair and the other brown.

"Yeah, that'd be us," Isabella nodded slowly, not really wanting to be too open about their association, but figuring it couldn't really be helped now.

"I'll be damned," Murphy said, almost in awe. Like the Millers, he hadn't believed that they would actually show up. Grayson had been fairly open about his history, mostly because most people in town already knew. As much as their father had hoped that he would see them again, even he couldn't be sure he would actually get the opportunity.

"I'd rather you weren't, at least not in my bar. What's your poison?" Tatum asked now. "First one's on me," she added, giving both men a jovial wink.

"You don't need to tell me that twice," Billy chuckled, getting an agreeing nod from his friend. "Two pints of beer, love," he ordered for them.

"You got it," Isabella now got in on the relationship-building and started pouring.

The two men were starting to like their favourite hangout even better by the second. They made sure to let their buddies know and within no time the bar was heaving.