My Coyote Ugly Life

by Jessica Spoon

  “You have a boat?” Kota asks him.

  “Yeah, a pontoon,” he answers her.

  “Awesome! I’m in!” she grins at me with wide eyes.

  “Then I’ll definitely be there,” Chance smiles at her, a smile that oozes sex and promises of good times.

  I look at Ryder, his eyes flash and his nostrils flare before he looks away.

  “Baby,” Chance’s date comes over to the group, “When are we going?”

  I realized about point two five seconds after meeting this broad that she was his date just for the night and he probably met her last night. Maybe the week before.

  She lives in the next town over in Madrid. She’s got bleach blonde hair (clearly dyed), massive breasts (clearly surgical), a tiny waist with plenty of hips and ass to give her the hourglass figure she spent a mint on.

  Also, she’s dumber than a box of rocks.

  And she’s got a voice so annoying I’d rather listen to Kota run her nails down a chalkboard like she did in middle school to get the teacher’s attention because she was about to pee her pants.

  “I’ll be here awhile, Kandy,” he answers, not looking at her while he takes a drink of his beer.

  Yeah. That’s her name.

  “It’s short for Kandice,” she explained when I asked (that was hard to keep a straight face for), “with a ‘K’,” she added, helpfully.

  I could tell Chance was annoyed (not to mention probably kicking himself in the ass for even bringing her) about fifteen minutes after they were here. She immediately began complaining about everything.

  The heat.

  The wind.

  (These were messing with her hair.)

  That everyone here looked ‘low class’. (Kota really had to restrain me for that one.)

  That she was tired.

  That there were better things they could be doing.

  Her only positive thought about the day must have had to do with Chance’s friends. (Given the way that she kept looking at them like she wanted to take a bite out of them.)

  Particularly Grayson.

  Things did not bode well for this bitch’s future.

  “Chance,” she lowers her voice, thinking we can’t hear, but anyone could hear that squeaky fucking voice (I feel like a dog having one of those special whistles blown in my ear). “let’s go,” she runs her fingers up and down his chest in an effort to entice him by hoping to embody her inner sex kitten. Kota looks at me and rolls her eyes. Tess curls a lip up at her, making me grin. “You’re better than these people,” she tells Chance quietly, for the one hundredth time tonight.

  “We can hear you, you stupid cow,” Tess snaps.

  She turns and looks at all of us staring daggers at her.

  “If you want to go, just fucking go,” Kota adds.

  “Look…” she begins, “I don’t want to offend anyone-”

  “Seriously?” I cut her off. “You’ve done nothing but bitch about how we’re all beneath you all day.”

  “Well, it’s obvious,” she sneers. “Look at how you all dress.”

  I look down at my faded jean shorts and distressed black American Rebel shirt.

  What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?

  “And?” Kota replies to her.

  “What? Just because we cover our bodies with clothing rather than expecting a tube top to cover up double d’s and wearing shorts that give away the whole show, you think you’re better than us?” Tess asks her. “You look like the whore that you are.”

  My eyes pop wide, my hand fists in Grayson’s shirt and I pull my lips between my teeth to hold back my laughter.

  “Chance,” Grayson says, voice deep and ringing with authority.

  Chance looks at him for a few minutes, having some kind of macho man silent discussion, before he says, “You need to go, Kandy.”

  “Wh… what?!” she sputters out.

  Chance finally looks at her, “Bitch, you begged to come here and meet my friends. I brought you. You treated everyone like shit. We brought your car,” he reaches in his pocket and pulls a set of keys out before handing them to her, “so go.”

  “I can’t believe you!” she screeches, making me wince. “After all we had together! And you’re just going to kick me aside for a group of hillbilly country bitches!?”

  Tess, Kota and I breathe in a collective gasp and ready ourselves to throw down.

  “Woman,” Blaine barks, making all of us look at him. (Eek!) His face looks like it’s been chiseled from stone and he is…not… happy. “Go…” he growls out.

  Wisely, Kandy shuts up and scurries out of the back yard.

  “I think I love you…” Kota breathes out looking up at Blaine.

  His lip twitches and he shakes his head before walking away.

  I hit Kota in the arm to get her attention, “Dude. You almost made him smile.”

  “I know…” her eyes track him, “He’s fucking hot.” I nod my head in agreement.

  “Babe,” Grayson says to me.

  Oops.

  “Not as hot as you Chief, don’t worry,” I look up at him innocently.

  “Definitely not as hot as you,” Kota defends me.

  See? Best. Friends.

  “You’re both nuts,” he shakes his head smiling.

  “And way hotter when you smile,” Kota adds.

  “Take it down a notch. Don’t overdo it,” I stage whisper to her and wink at Grayson.

  He bends his head and presses his lips lightly to mine.

  “Goof,” he whispers against my mouth.

  “Maybe…” I concede, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head on his chest.

  “Well now that I’m all alone,” Chance comes up and stands next to Kota, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to keep me company?”

  “I could maybe do that,” she shrugs smiling.

  My eyes slide to Ryder and if this was a cartoon there would be so much steam coming out of his ears it would blind us all.

  “Excellent,” Chance practically purrs back to Kota.

  Ryder finishes his beer and heads into the house when Chance leads Kota off to get another drink.

  “Be right back,” I say to Grayson quietly.

  “Okay,” he says and kisses the top of my head.

  I walk into the house and head for the kitchen. Ryder is leaning against the counter opening a beer.

  “Hey, Ry,” I say, heading for the fridge.

  He starts at hearing my old nickname for him.

  “Ree,” he jerks his chin at me.

  “It’s just a game for your benefit, you know?” I say to him.

  “What?” he looks at me confused.

  “Kota,” I tip my head toward the backyard.

  His jaw clenches, “Not your business, Ree.”

  “Seriously?” I look at him like he has a few screws loose. “That’s one of my best friends. You’ve known us long enough to know how the Girl Code works. She is my business. And everything about her is my business.”

  “Yeah,” he looks away from me.

  “Look,” I hop up to sit on the island facing him and take a drink of my beer, “I’m sorry for being such a bitch. I didn’t realize you were still in love with her.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh puh-lease! The way you watch her? Your reaction to her walking off with Chance?” He stares at me without answering. “Ry, I know you still love her. So… the question is what do you plan to do to get her back?”

  He studies me for a moment, “I don’t think the feelings are mutual.”

  Well, at least he didn’t argue with me about his feelings for her. He should know me well enough to know that I know him well enough to figure out what he’s feeling. Especially when it comes to Kota.

  “That’s just to get something from you,” I tell him.

  “What is?”

  “Her walking off with Chance. She wants a reaction. She wants to know how you feel. If you care.”

  “Su
ch a girl thing to do,” he shakes his head angrily.

  “Yeah, it is. But, Ry,” he looks at me, “that’s her way of figuring out if she needs to finally move on from you or not. If she needs to let everything from her past go. If you don’t care, which she thinks that you don’t, then she has permission to give up on the two of you.” He looks away from me, a muscle in his jaw ticking. “Does she? Or are you going to fight for her?”

  “I don’t know…” he answers after a long moment of silence.

  “Well, you’d better figure it out.” The doorbell rings and I jump off the counter to answer it. “And quick,” I pat his arm before heading to the door.

  “Delivery for Azaria Gable,” the man says. He’s wearing a blue ball cap and dark blue slacks with a light blue button down short sleeved shirt, clearly from the post office.

  “Uh… that’s me,” I answer.

  “Sign here,” he says, holding out a clipboard.

  I sign.

  He hands me a thick cardboard envelope.

  “Thanks,” I say. He turns around and walks away. “Would it kill you to learn some manners, jerk,” I mumble to myself as I close the door.

  I open the envelope while walking into the living room. I pull out a bunch of pictures and a note.

  The note reads:

  He can’t protect you.

  I can.

  I pull out the pictures and look at them. Frozen in shock.

  “Oh my god…” I breathe out.

  There is a picture of Grayson and I at The Grind.

  A picture of us at Mandore.

  One of us on my back deck when we were having coffee.

  Then there’s the ones of just me.

  At the salon.

  At Josie’s.

  At Grayson’s.

  At home.

  The last picture I look at it is me dancing in my living room in just a tank and my underwear.

  From last night.

  “Oh my god…” I choke back everything that is trying to expel itself from my stomach.

  “Ree,” I look up and see Ryder standing in the entryway between the dining room and the living room.

  “Ry…” I whisper.

  “What is it?” he comes over to me and pulls the pictures from my hands. “Shit,” he spits out. “Chief,” he barks making me jump. He wraps an arm around me, “It’s okay, Ree. We’ll explain it to you.”

  “Wha… Who… I don’t…” I look up at him and realize tears are pooled in my eyes.

  “I know sweetheart,” Ryder tells me, wiping away my tears and pulling me close.

  “What the hell?” Grayson growls when he comes into the living room.

  “Chief…” I whisper.

  “Here,” Ryder hands him the contents of the envelope, not letting go of me.

  “Fuck,” Grayson clips and closes his eyes before slowly opening them and looking at me, “Babe,” he says softly.

  “Chief… What… what is that?” I ask.

  He comes over to us and Ryder lets go of me so that Grayson can hold me. I wind my arms around him and hold on tight. He feels safe. I don’t care what that letter says, Chief Cole is safe for me.

  I bury my face in his chest and breathe in his amazing scent.

  I figured out earlier in the week that it’s his body wash, Molton Brown. It’s got a woodsy-like scent to it that smells amazing. Especially on Grayson’s skin.

  Grayson pulls me over to his massive couch and sets me down, sitting across from me on the coffee table.

  “Ree, I need to know where you got these?” he asks me, his hands rest on my legs.

  “What’s going on?”

  I turn and see Blaine, Jer, Declan and Koby all looking at Grayson and I with severe and worried expressions.

  “Ree found these,” Ryder explains handing over the contents of the envelope. I notice how the guys are careful to hold the photos by the edges… probably so they don’t leave fingerprints.

  “I didn’t hold the pictures by the edges,” I tell them.

  “It’s okay, honey,” Declan tells me softly.

  “Where did these come from?” Blaine asks me, his expression angry, but like he’s trying to adjust it to not be so severe.

  “A… a guy…” I look at the door.

  “What guy? What did he look like, baby?” Grayson asks me.

  I look at him, “Like he worked at the post office,” I shrug. “He had the uniform, except now that I think about it, I didn’t notice a USPS logo on his shirt or hat.”

  “What else?” Jer asks.

  “It was hard to tell… I didn’t look at him very closely. He was just here… then gone. And he seemed agitated.”

  “How so?” Koby hands the photos back to Blaine.

  I look up at him, “He was really fidgety… and rude. He just said there was a package for Azaria Gable, I said ‘That’s me’ and he said, ‘Sign here,’ and then walked away.”

  All the guys exchange long looks.

  “What?” I ask them. “What is it!?”

  “Ree…”Grayson reaches for my hands but I pull away.

  “You tell me right now, Chief Cole, what the hell is going on!” I point my finger at him. “And why do you all seem to know about it already?” I look at everyone in the room. “And what in the hell does it have to do with me?” I demand.

  “Ree,” he pauses again. I raise my eyebrow at him letting him know that he’d better fucking spit it out! “There’s someone that’s been watching you.”

  “Ya think?” I give him my best ‘You’re an idiot’ face.

  “Well, he’s also left a note at the station, warning me to stay away from you,” he runs his hand through his hair, looking at the floor.

  My face pales, “What…?”

  He looks back at me, “You’re safe, Ree. I’ll make sure of it. But this guy is dangerous. We think he may be connected to the McGee woman who died.”

  “Wha…?” I choke out, eyes wide.

  “I’m sorry baby,” he takes my hands and I let him. I stare at him in a complete shock. This guy killed someone. An innocent woman. Dear God, why? “I’m sorry, but we’re going to need you,” Grayson says.

  “Why?” my eyes widen even more (if that’s possible).

  “Because this is most likely someone from your past,” he tells me, his eyes sliding to the side.

  “Oh my god…”

  “Maybe from Des Moines,” he adds, looking back at me.

  “Well that’s just great!” I huff. “Some psycho crazy chainsaw massacre guy is killing people and it’s because of me?”

  “Ree…” Grayson sighs and looks at me with a patient expression. “You’re safe. We will keep you safe. I will keep you safe.”

  My face softens as I look into his beautiful caramel eyes. His perfect face is drawn with worry and it breaks my heart a little bit.

  I smile at him and place my hand on his jaw pulling him closer to me. I place my mouth next to his ear, “Keeping me safe could be quite a challenge,” I whisper so only he hears me. “But I’ll try to make it up to you in any way possible,” I pull away and smile at him.

  “Challenge. Accepted,” he whispers back to me with a smile.

  ChapterTwelve

  Kittens

  “Take care of my girl,” Dad tells Grayson at the door, his voice stern and concerned.

  The guys cleared everyone out shortly after the revelation of me having a stalker.

  Everyone but my family, that is.

  Then they proceeded to explain why they thought that poor McGee woman had something to do with me.

  Apparently she looked a lot like me. Close enough that we could have been sisters, according to Ryder.

  This made me sick for a variety of reasons.

  First, this woman died, brutally murdered, simply for looking like a person she’d never met.

  Second, I have a stalker!

  Third, I have a stalker who kills people!

  I think that is reason enough to feel sick ab
out the situation.

  After my dad found out, to say he became upset would be a massive understatement.

  He blamed Grayson, saying that he brought this on me.

  It took Mom to point out that this guy had probably known me for a while.

  Declan and Ryder said that Grayson and I dating was just a ‘stressor’ for this guy. The thing that made him snap and decide that he couldn’t let anyone have me. And apparently in his demented mind, killing Donna McGee was his way of getting Grayson’s attention and letting him know that I had already been ‘claimed’. This was from Koby, who, it turns out, has experience with profiling people. Grayson told me it’s kind of what he did in the military.

  Everyone debated and talked and dissected everything this guy has done and who he could possibly be until they were blue in the face.

  I’d had enough so I laid my head on Grayson’s shoulder (who was sitting next to me on the couch) and promptly passed out. I was exhausted and done with hearing about this psycho.

  I woke up a few minutes ago when everyone got up to leave, but I decided to just pretend to be asleep so I didn’t have to deal with every sibling of mine and their spouses and my parents saying goodbye to me with worry and concern coloring their actions and expressions.

  Grayson got up to walk everyone to the door, gently laying me down on the couch.

  “I will,” Grayson promises my dad.

  “Good,” he says and Grayson closes the door behind him.

  The back of the couch depresses and I feel Grayson’s presence above me.

  I open my eyes and look at him, “They gone?” I whisper.

  “Yeah, baby,” he reaches over and smoothes my hair out of my face, “everyone’s gone. Just you and me.” His eyes go lazy and his lips turn up.

  “Oh yeah?” I grin back.

  “Yeah…” He climbs over the back of the couch and lays down beside me, turning and pulling me to lay on top of him.

  “So what do you want to do now?” I fold my hands together on his chest and rest my chin on them.

  “All the doors are locked,” he runs his hands up my back and under my shirt. Shivers run across my skin. “All the blinds and curtains are closed…”

  “Yeah…” I move my hands up his chest.

  “And I haven’t had you for days…” his rough hands softly run up my back, gently pulling me up and my face closer to his.