Dirty Cowboy

by Alycia Taylor

  “You’ll join the club? Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Oh man, you’re on!”

  I couldn’t believe it. I’d been badgering Chris about joining the club for years. There was no way I was going to let my father say no to me, although I was a little worried about the outcome. My father was even more stubborn than I was when he had made up his mind about something.

  I walked right in without knocking, and my father looked up in surprise.

  “Hi, Dad,” I said and sat down in front of him. “Before you say anything, there’s something that I want to talk to you about. Please hear me out.”

  My father looked at me strangely, and then nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “I love our family business. I love working at the shop and being around bikes all day. But I also love the community that we’ve been involved in since I was a little boy. I love that club. And I know you don’t like speaking ill of family, but I have four brothers and six cousins who are part of that club and who never do a damn thing for it. I have never missed a meeting. And sure, I messed up recently, but I would do it all over if I had to. Eliza is my girlfriend, and her ex-boyfriend was a scumbag who was harassing her. I punched him because I wanted to, and I’m not sorry for it. But what I am sorry about is that I didn’t stand up for this job. I’m sorry that I pretended like I didn’t care. Because I do care. I care a whole lot.”

  I took a deep breath and wished that I’d brought in a glass of water. My throat felt dry. But I continued regardless. I was on a roll, and I couldn’t stop before getting everything I needed to say out. I could see that my father was surprised. It wasn’t like me to talk this much. Usually I was just grunts and nods or shakes of my head.

  “And I did so well at the meeting the other day. I stood up there and held a meeting, just like you would’ve done. And people listened to me. They responded to me. And you know what? I really enjoyed it. I’ve always thought that I could never do what you do, but I was wrong. I can do it. And I have done it. And now you’re taking that all away from me? That’s not what you taught me. You taught me to stand up for myself. So this is me, standing up for myself. I want that job back, Dad. At least while you get better.”

  I looked at my father with defiance and waited for him to respond. For a while, he didn’t say anything to me. He just looked at me in surprise. Then he smiled.

  “Ian, I cannot tell you how long I’ve waited to hear that from you. I knew you had it in you. I knew this was the right job for you.”

  “Wait? What? You’re not mad?” I’d been gearing myself up to be thrown out of his office. Praise was the last thing that I had expected.

  “Mad? No. I’m not mad. The only reason I’ve been so hard on you all of these years is because I knew you had more potential than the other guys. And I’m not going to get upset with them for their lack of interest. It’s their life, and just because I love this lifestyle, doesn’t mean they have to. But I wanted to push you because I knew that one day you would take over for me. For now, I’m only looking for someone to help out while I’m in recovery. But one day, I’ll want that person to look after it for good. And you’re the right guy for the job.”

  “I am? But what about Patriot?”

  “Grant? Ah, he’s a good boy. But he doesn’t love this as much as you do. I wouldn’t mind if he did the job, but I’d way rather you did it. He’d be fine at it, but it wouldn’t be the same. And he knows it too. He’s not as bad as you think he is, Ian.”

  I laughed. “I seem to think everyone is bad until I give them a chance. It’s a terrible habit.”

  “You get it from me. Anyway, I just want to tell you that I’m proud of you.”

  It was the first time that I had ever heard my father say those words to me, and I wasn’t too sure what to do with the information. Was this really happening?

  “Proud of me?” I whispered.

  “I’ve always been proud of you. But never more than in this moment. And I’m going to need a lot more help from you then just at the club, my boy. You and Chris are going to have to run this shop for a while too. Can you handle that?”

  I grinned. “Of course we can. But, maybe we should get someone to come in and give us a helping hand too. You know, just while you’re away.”

  “Are you finally admitting that you need help?”

  I stood up. “I’m walking out this office now. I’m not admitting to anything.”

  I grinned and walked out his office with my father’s words still playing through my head. I’m proud of you. Then I walked into the shop and looked straight at Chris.

  “Looks like you’re joining the club!”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Eliza

  I practically skipped into work that morning. When Mae saw me, she burst out laughing.

  “What happened to your hair?” she asked.

  My hands flew to my head. “My hair? Why? What’s wrong with it? It was fine when I left for work this morning.”

  “Well, it’s not fine anymore. You need a brush. It’s all over the place.”

  I chuckled. “Oh, that’s probably because Ian took me to work this morning on his bike. It’s helmet hair.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Ian took you to work? Did I just hear that correctly?”

  I laughed. “Oh yeah, I have a lot to tell you. Is John here?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. He’s out this morning at some meeting, and he took Paul with him. So we have the office to ourselves. I’ll make the coffee.”

  Mae came back moments later holding two steaming cups of coffee and we both took a sip and sighed. I sat down at my desk and Mae pulled up a chair.

  “Right. Tell me everything.”

  I told her about how there was a place that I knew Ian went to when he wanted to clear his head.

  “I figured he’d come there eventually, but I wasn’t sure how often I would have to go. I mean, I needed to get both the day and the time just perfect. But, somehow, the stars were aligned in our favor. I was only there for probably less than half an hour when he pulled up.”

  “No freaking way!” Mae said and squealed with delight. She was a fantastic audience to have.

  “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it. He sat down, surprised to see me there. And before I knew it we were both apologizing. He said he didn’t blame me. He just thought I didn’t want to see him again. We talked it out, just like you suggested, and we made up.”

  “You made up?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Just kissing?”

  I shook my head and felt the color rising to my face.

  “Hang on a second! Are you telling me that the two of you had sex out there? Isn’t it out in the open?”

  I giggled. “Yeah, it’s sort of open. I mean, I don’t think anyone could see us, but there was a slight possibility that someone would walk past. But I don’t think either of us really cared at that moment.”

  “You did it out there? On the grass?”

  I laughed. “We sure did. And he officially asked me to be his girlfriend.”

  She put her mug down and leaned in to hug me. “Oh Eliza, I’m so happy for you. Did you spend the rest of the weekend with him?”

  “I sure did. I slept over there last night too, and he dropped me off this morning.”

  “I must say, you look happy. And I’m happy for you. This one is a keeper.”

  “I think so too.”

  “And John is going to be happy.”

  “John? Why?”

  Mae chuckled. “The poor guy felt so uncomfortable seeing you so sad. He’s such a guy.”

  I laughed. “So, come on now. When are the two of you going to finally admit to each other that you like one another? It’s so obvious. Even Ian said so, and he doesn’t even know you that well. He said the guy is hooked.”

  Mae grinned. She took a sip of her coffee and just smiled at me.

  “You guys finally told each other!”

  “Oh man, I’ve been dying t
o tell you.”

  “And you let me go on about Ian all this time! You should’ve told me.”

  “Nah, you had pretty big news too. I wanted to hear about Ian.”

  “Okay, but enough about that now. Tell me everything. How did it happen?”

  “Well, I was supposed to do a bit of work on the weekend, and on Sunday I realized that I’d left the file on my desk. So I made my way to the office, but then I couldn’t find the key anywhere. I called John to see if maybe there was a spare one hidden somewhere, like in a pot plant or something. He said he’d swing by and let me in. So he came by, and we went inside the office together to get my file. And while we were there we just ended up talking. I had made us a cup of coffee, and we were sitting in the conference room because it was the warmest place inside to be. We were just talking about random stuff, and suddenly he just blurted out that he liked me.”

  “Smooth,” I said.

  “Yeah,” she giggled. “It was so out of the blue that it took both of us by surprise. Then I told him that I liked him, too. And before I knew it, we were kissing.”

  “You kissed! Finally. How was it?” I had been waiting for this moment to happen ever since I knew that Mae liked him. I still couldn’t believe that it had taken this long.

  “I knew I had been waiting for John for a reason. I’ve kissed many guys before in my past, but it wasn’t like this. This was perfect. Fairy-tale perfect. I have never experienced anything like that in my life. I mean, I know what you experienced with Ian now. Like I just sort of sat there in shock afterward.”

  “Oh wow. I can’t believe it finally happened. I’m so excited for you.”

  “But that’s not all.”

  “It’s not?”

  “Oh, no. One kiss wasn’t enough.”

  “Oh yeah? I like where this story is going. Tell me more!”

  “There were a lot of pent up emotions that we’d gathered up over the year. I found out that he had liked me for a very long time. Even longer than I had liked him. We’ve both been keeping those feelings inside us the whole time, so the moment we kissed, it was obvious that we were going to do more.”

  “Are you about to tell me that you had sex with John in the conference room?” I asked. I couldn’t believe it. I decided not to tell her that Ian and I had beaten her to it. I didn’t want to take away from her big moment. I’d tell her one day when the whole thing had settled down a bit more.

  She chuckled. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to tell you. We did it on the conference room table. It was the most incredible thing ever. I mean, it sort of makes sense that our first time having sex would be at work, don’t you think? Seeing as though that’s where this whole love affair started.”

  “It is actually kind of perfect,” I admitted. “So, that was last night? What happened afterward?”

  “Well, nothing really. We laughed and talked, and everything sort of went back to normal, which was pretty incredible. I went back home, and he went back home. And then, this morning, at like six o’clock, he knocked on my door.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Well, he wanted to talk to me before work. He said he couldn’t sleep. And I had this sinking feeling that he was going to tell me that he can’t be with me. But next thing I knew we were kissing again. I know it’s going to sound clichéd, but last night we had sex on the table, and this morning we made love on my bed. Both pretty incredible moments.”

  “And, did you ever get to talk?”

  “We did. And we’ve decided to give it a go. We both know it might be awkward with working together, but we’re willing to try. And anyway, I don’t see it being all that different from how it was before. I mean, we both flirted shamelessly, anyway.”

  “That’s true. And it won’t be awkward. The two of you are meant to be together. Wow, this is big news, Mae. Is he coming in at all today?”

  “Yeah, he’ll be back later. He said he’s going to tell Paul while they are out, and I said I’d tell you. It will only be a bit weird today, and I’m sure after that it will be back to normal.”

  “Normal is overrated, anyway,” I said and grinned at her. Just then my phone rang, and I moaned. “Who is interrupting our gossip session? Ah, it’s my mother. Let me get it.”

  Mae pushed off back to her desk while I answered the phone.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said. I still hadn’t completely forgiven her for everything that had happened, but she was my mom, and I still loved her regardless. “How’s it going?”

  “Hi, darling. I’m fine. I just wanted to see how things were there.”

  “Things are great,” I said as I surveyed the room around me.

  “Have you spoken to Raymond at all?” she asked.

  “Nope. And I don’t think I will. Have you?”

  “I saw him at the store the other day, but he walked right by me,” she said.

  “That’s good. There’s no point pretending anymore.”

  “I guess you’re right. Well, I just wanted to know when you were coming home. I mean, now that the whole thing with Raymond is over, you don’t really have to be there. Do you?”

  I knew what my mom was getting at. She was asking me in a roundabout way whether or not I was still seeing Ian. She just didn’t know how to say it out loud.

  I looked at Mae, who had headphones in and was bobbing her head to whatever music she was listening to, and grinned. “I am home.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Ian

  One month later

  “Well, thanks for having me again, everyone. Before we start, I just wanted to update you on what is happening with my father. He’s doing a lot better, and he seems to be responding well to the treatment. I spoke to the doctor and he said that he’ll be up and running in no time. Well, maybe not running, but definitely riding,” I said, and everyone laughed.

  I looked around at the sea of familiar faces and smiled. Considering I hadn’t wanted to ever take over from my father, I was surprised at how good it felt to be up there. Having the responsibility seemed to have changed me too. I no longer felt the need to snap at people or to be rude to them. I was in charge of the club, so I had to be amicable and adaptable. And, as it turned out, I wasn’t half as bad as that as I had always thought I was.

  “Okay, I think that about wraps it up,” I said once the meeting was done. “Thank you all for coming. I’ll hang around for a while, so if you have any questions, please come and talk to me.”

  I walked down and saw Patriot walking my way. He’d been the only person that I’d felt a bit nervous about seeing. After all, not so long ago, my father had given him the job and then taken it away from him. And even though I kept meaning to talk to him about it, I didn’t. Then it felt as if it was too late to say anything, so I’d just left it.

  “You did good,” he said to me as I got nearer. “How about I buy you a beer?”

  “A beer sounds great. Thank you.”

  We walked over to the bar and ordered our beers. When it arrived, we touched glasses and cheered to our father. I took a sip and then looked at him.

  “So, you’re not upset?”

  “About what?” he said. He seemed genuinely unsure of what I was talking about.

  “Uh, about being in charge? I know Dad gave you the job after the whole mess-up with the media.”

  “Are you kidding me? I was so relieved when he called to tell me that you had demanded to have it back.”

  “Relieved? I thought you wanted to do this?”

  “Since when?”

  I thought about it. He hadn’t actually told me that he wanted the job. I’d just assumed. And apparently, I’d assumed wrong.

  “So, you never wanted to be in charge?”

  “Hell no. This is so not my thing. And it felt wrong considering I’ve been AWOL for quite some time. I know I’ve been hanging around more lately, but I’ve missed so many meetings, and I haven’t been nearly as involved as you are. I’d feel like a hypocrite standing up there in front of e
veryone. Especially when there are people that are far more deserving of the position.”

  “No kidding,” I said thoughtfully. “Well, I clearly got that one wrong.”

  “Yeah, you got a lot of things wrong. You were never really willing to give me a chance, were you?”

  “I’m sorry. I just always thought you were Dad’s favorite.”

  “He doesn’t have a favorite, and he never has. He just doesn’t push me for this stuff because he knows I don’t want to do it. That’s why he’s so hard on you: because he’s always wanted you to take over the business. We could all see that you’d be perfect for the job. Only you couldn’t see it. And trying to convince you of something is not easy, trust me.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I’m starting to see that now. Well, thanks for the support, Patriot. I appreciate. You’re a good brother.”

  “Whoa. You really have changed.”

  “I suppose I have.”

  We sat for an hour or so, just talking about old times. I’d forgotten what a funny guy Patriot was, and how much fun he was to be around when I wasn’t so annoyed at him. As I left, we made a promise to get together more often. I realized that we both knew very little about each other’s lives.

  When I got home, I smelled something amazing coming from the kitchen. I turned the corner and saw that Eliza was stirring the food, wearing an apron, a pair of blue sneakers, and nothing else. I only realized when she turned around and I saw her bare bottom.

  “Seriously? I get to come home to this? A naked woman cooking me dinner?”

  She untied the ribbon of the apron, and I watched as it fell to the floor.

  “Almost naked,” she said and pointed to her shoes.

  “Leave them on, Lashes.”

  We made love in the living room, away from the hot plates on the stove, and afterward, we sat in robes while we tucked into some Chinese food that she’d created.

  “This is amazing,” I said as I attempted to pick up the noodles with my chopsticks.

  She handed me a fork and laughed. “I’m glad you like it. I’m starting to get more creative in the kitchen. Mae made this for John the other day, and she said it was a big hit.”