“In that dress, I’m worried about something else running off with you.”
“You’re cute,” I said, leaning in. A momentary pain flared in my chest when he leaned away and turned his face.
“We’re in a bar,” he warned.
“Oh, shit,” I said, covering my mouth and darting a glance around. Even though my lips hadn’t connected, it would have been pretty obvious what I was going for. I didn’t see anyone looking, but I still cursed my recklessness.
“I’ll cool off out there,” I said. “Sober up a little.”
“You’ll do that just as well with a man beside you.”
“Yeah, but I want to talk about you,” I said with a grin.
Waylon scowled. “And if some man sees you standing in the parking lot wearing that dress?”
“There barely anyone in Wyoming,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
“There are some people.”
“I’ll stand right outside the window,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Now sit down and drink a beer. Relax for once in your life.”
I took my phone and stepped outside, my skin instantly burning from the icy temperature. I waited for Haley to accept my Skype call.
“Finally,” I said when she answered. “I thought I’d never talk to you again. It’s been days.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Oh my God, where are you? That looks so sketch.”
“I think I’m at a honky tonk,” I said, turning the phone to show her the signage. “I’m not actually sure what that is, but I feel like I’m in one.”
“Are you drinking beer?” Haley asked when I sipped from my mug.
“Yup. I’m a real Wyomingite now.”
“Damn,” she said. “You are changing. It’s like I don’t even know you.” She grinned to show she was kidding, but my heart twisted.
“What about you?” I asked. “Haven’t come around to the cerveza yet?”
“Ew, no,” she said. “But I did meet a cute boy, and I think he asked me out. Actually, I don’t know what he asked me, but I said yes. It’s possible he asked if I wanted to fuck. Or fuck off? I’m not really sure. I’ll have to brush up on my Spanish.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, and things started to feel more normal. “I’m so glad we can still talk,” I said. “I actually had to Google my vag problems the other day, and it’s just so much more fun to tell you about them.”
Haley laughed and shifted in her chair. “No way. Never look that shit up on the internet, you’ll die of fear-induced sweating.”
“Oh, good, now we’re talking about sweating and vaginas in the same sentence.”
“What happened, did you get a urinary tract infection? I hear that’s common if you have multiple partners injecting their unfamiliar junk up there too close together. It’s like your vag’s natural defense against sluttiness. So unfair. Guys don’t get that.”
“No, I just wanted to know if I could break it from overuse.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” she said. “Just rest up a couple days. Although I’ve heard you actually can break a penis, so I guess it evens out. I’d take a little stinging when I pee over a broken dick any day.”
“You’re so wise,” I said, nodding. “They should call you Guru Haley.”
“Guru Hales has a nicer ring,” she said. “But it’s true. I have all kinds of solutions to your vag problems. Usually I just call my gyno and say, Yo, my lady biz smells like parmesan, what’s up with that? And she’ll tell me what to do.”
“Annnnd I’ll be avoiding Italian food for the next year.”
Haley rolled her eyes. “Girl, if you wanted to be friends with someone who had a filter, you would have ditched me years ago.”
Suddenly, tears filled my eyes, and I had to blink back the sting of sadness. “Hales, I’m so glad we can still talk. I know it’s not the same but…don’t replace me, okay? I promise you’ll always be my bestie, even if you run off to colonize Mars or something.”
“Don’t be dumb,” she said. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. Just because you have a boyfriend or three doesn’t mean I’m not still a needy bitch who requires care and attention.”
“Me, too,” I said, laughing through my tears. “You better not get too busy for my first world problems, even if you are off dealing with real, third world problems.”
“You better stop that blubbering right now. I’m not going anywhere that I can’t at least talk to you on the phone.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. Now don’t make me come up there and slap some sense into you. I’m not one of those convenient friends who gets you through high school and then disappears. I’m like herpes, baby. This shit is for life.”
“You’re right, I’m having an insecurity bout. Sorry. So much is changing. It freaks me out.”
“Things are supposed to change this year,” she said. “You just graduated. We can’t go to poli-prep school forever. Everyone’s life is going to be different. And so is yours. Next time you start thinking other people are moving on without you, ask your vag how much has changed since high school.”
“Fair point,” I said.
We talked a few minutes longer. When I hung up and went back in, I was at least halfway frozen, but I felt better than I had since deciding to stay in Wyoming.
I had a new friend, my bestie had pledged her eternal love, and by the time I’d finished my fourth beer, it was definitely growing on me. Either that, or I was drunk enough not to taste it anymore.
As I stumbled my drunk ass onto the dance floor, my eyes landed on Millie. Her tiny little jean skirt and cowboy boots weren’t hard to miss. Nearly every cowboy in the room was watching her, but I wasn’t worried about them. I was worried about Holden, my gentle giant, who was dancing with her. I wasn’t about to let her get her claws into him, too.
I marched right over to them, my heels clicking on the floor so loudly that I could hear them over the music and the cowboy boots stomping.
“Hey,” I said, grabbing Holden’s elbow.
They turned towards me as one, but not to see who was there. Their arms were still locked together in that stiff-armed dance posture. Suddenly, Millie’s hair was in my mouth, and then her whole body was swinging into mine. I screamed and pinwheeled my arms, planting my feet wide and clutching at her, at Holden, trying to stay upright.
But it was a futile battle. The force of her body being spun into mine knocked me backwards, and I went sprawling.
I even slid a few feet across the polished wood.
And then, to add insult to injury, the couple who had been right behind Holden and Millie either didn’t see me or couldn’t stop, and the man danced his woman backwards right over me. I screamed, and she screamed, and then she lost her balance and fell on her ass, too. Her dance partner, the old bow-legged cowboy, stood gaping. That’s when I realized my very tiny dress had ridden up, and that I was giving the entire bar an eyeful of the very tiny thong I’d chosen to wear with the dress.
In my defense, I’d only planned on three people in the bar seeing it that night.
Millie had managed to hang onto Holden, clinging to him while she got her balance. Now she stood looking at me with horror. And then she laughed.
Holden let her go like he’d just realized he was holding a snake. Which he was.
I scrambled to climb to my feet, only to have one of my heels tip, and I fell on my ass for the second time in as many minutes. Holden reached for my hands, and Sawyer strode over and grabbed me under the arms, and together, the three of us heaved me to my feet.
“I think it’s time to go home,” Holden said.
I didn’t want to spend another minute in that place, not after everyone in there had seen my twat with just a string covering it.
“Are you okay?” Natalie asked, rushing over.
“She’s fine,” Sawyer said, still holding my elbow.
“Don’t worry, it happens to all of us,” Natalie said, which was obviously a bald-faced lie, but I appreciated th
e support.
“I think we’re done here,” I said.
“Already?” Her face fell, and it struck me that she might be awfully lonely, too. If all she had was Millie, her situation was even more dire than mine.
“We’ll do it again,” I promised. “When I’m more modestly attired.”
“No one will even remember,” she said, another lie.
“Thanks,” I said, relieved when another song started and Sawyer pulled me off the dance floor. I waved to Natalie and made the universal sign to indicate that I’d call her.
Millie stood at the edge of the dance floor covering her mouth and staring at us as we passed.
“Excuse us,” I said. “Dance party’s over. I guess I’ll be taking my boys home now.”
“That was quite a show,” she said, uncovering her mouth. That’s when I realized she wasn’t dumbstruck with horror. She was choking back laughter. “Looks like somebody came down here looking for some action. Too bad you can’t hold your liquor and your brothers have to take you home before you find a man.”
“I’ve got three men,” I said, smirking right back at the smug bitch.
“Yeah—your brothers,” she said, bursting out laughing. “That must suck, knowing you can never have them.”
“You have no idea,” I said, and I tossed my hair back and walked away. Let her keep right on thinking that. I wasn’t going to clear things up for her. She didn’t deserve to know anything about my life. She could stay all night, but I was walking out of there with the three hottest men in the place.
“I’d say that went pretty well,” Sawyer said cheerfully as we crossed the parking lot.
I shot him a death glare as we climbed into the truck, Holden holding me around the waist and helping me up into the back seat. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder and go to sleep so I could forget this night, and he must have wanted to be next to me, too, because he climbed in, wrapped my jacket around me, and held me close all the way home. I was grateful for the comfort that his gentle presence brought. Flirting and dirty talk were usually appreciated, but I just wanted to disappear right now.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the stars for me. When we pulled into the driveway at the ranch twenty minutes later, an unfamiliar black sedan sat parked in front of the lodge.
17
Amber
“Rental plates,” Sawyer said, nodding to the unfamiliar license plate on the car.
“Maybe it’s a renter,” I said hopefully. “We still have four cabins empty.”
“Were we expecting another renter?” Waylon asked.
“No,” I admitted. “Not until next week.” A funny feeling had started up in my belly, though, and I wasn’t in a hurry to get out of the truck. Sawyer swung his door open and hopped out onto the crust of snow beside the drive. The moonlight shone off the snow, lighting up the night around us with an eerie glow. I held onto Holden, dread making me edgy. I wanted to grab Sawyer and pull him back in, back to safety.
“What’s wrong?” Holden asked, not moving to get out, either.
Waylon stepped down from the truck and approached the car, looking as wary as I felt.
Suddenly, the back door of the sedan swung open, and a woman stepped out. A very familiar woman.
“Mom,” I whispered in horror.
“That’s your mama?”
“I don’t think she’d appreciate it if I called her that.” Untangling myself from Holden’s arms, I opened the door and rushed to rescue my stepbrothers.
“Mom,” I cried, lurching towards her. Maybe she’d appreciate my excitement if I acted the way Sawyer always did around his mother.
“What in God’s name are you wearing?” she asked, looking down at my bare legs and heels. And let me just say, she should have given me a lot more respect for walking in four-inch heels in the snow. It was not an easy task.
But I barreled on, determined not to let her upset me. “It’s so good to see you,” I said, throwing my arms around her.
She wore a long, black, quilted coat pulled tightly closed around her. I decided to pretend that was the reason she didn’t return my embrace. The coat was obviously too puffy to allow her the range of motion needed to hug her daughter.
“I’m sorry I can’t say the same for you,” she said. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting here for hours.”
“We went out.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I can see that.”
“But it was just dancing, Mom. I swear…” I broke off, unable to finish that sentence. What was I swearing to? Suddenly, I realized how bad this all looked. Here I was, half-drunk and stinking of a bar, wearing next to nothing, coming home late. She must think I hadn’t changed at all, that I’d only found even more ways to get in trouble. The second I started protesting, telling her that it was the first time since I came to Wyoming that I’d gone out, she’d shut me down. And what was the point of arguing? She’d never believe me.
In her mind, I was always guilty. There was no way to prove my innocence. All the proof she needed was right in front of her. And in truth, I was a bit tipsy. In truth, I was doing exactly what she imagined.
And I had every right to.
“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice coming out completely flat, like Waylon’s.
“I thought about what you said, and perhaps you’re right,” she said, pulling her coat tight around herself. “I haven’t always been available when you needed me. I lead a busy life. But I’m willing to work on that. I thought flying out here would be a good way to show you that I’m not too busy for our relationship.”
“Okay,” I said slowly, not daring to hope that she’d changed. “This really could have been done over the phone. You didn’t have to fly out here.”
“I wanted to,” she said. “I can see my husband’s ranch, this investment he made. In fact, he sent along a little something for your brothers. With apologies that he couldn’t clear his schedule on such short notice.”
None of them stepped forward as she fished in her pockets.
“What’s with the short notice?” I asked. “You wanted to surprise me?”
“I just decided to hop on a plane at the last minute. You know me. Always impulsive.” She forced a laugh that made her sound a little unhinged. “That’s what my opponents are saying.”
“I know,” I said. “I saw that. But they’re full of shit, Mom. You know that.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” she asked, finally pulling an envelope from her inside pocket and turning to the guys. “My husband talks about you all the time. He said you’d do the right thing here.”
Sawyer stepped forward and shook her hand, introducing the three of them in turn.
“Thank you for your hospitality in letting my daughter stay,” she said, handing Sawyer the envelope. “We truly appreciate it. I hope that covers what we owe you.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” Waylon said, his fingers skimming my back.
“Nonsense,” Mom said. “We agreed to loan you some money if you kept Amber safe for a few months. You fulfilled your end of the bargain. Now it’s done.”
“Mom…” I said.
“I know, Amber,” she said, turning to me. “I should have realized what you needed was more time with me, not to go out here and be completely cut off. I apologize for that. We haven’t spent a lot of time together these last few years , but that will all change.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I said. “And it never does. Sure, we go to the gym together, where you spend the whole time emailing, or we go to the spa where you answer phone calls. It was always the same. After the next election, you’d have more time for me. But you never did. There was always another election on the horizon. I’m not a kid anymore, Mom. I grew up while you were busy answering emails.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, taking my hands in hers. “But it’s not too late to have a relationship. I do miss you. I’m sorry I didn’t say that on the phone the other day.”
“I
miss you, too,” I said, tears pooling in my eyes.
“Can we give it another go?” she asked, squeezing my hands.
I swallowed the salty ache in my throat. This was what I’d always wanted from her, but now it felt…empty. I wanted to shake her and tell her it was too little too late.
“Your friends will be so excited to see you,” she said, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “No one needs to know about this little incident. If we put a stop to it now, it doesn’t have to come to light.”
“Mom, no,” I said, stumbling back. Holden’s warm hand steadied me, but he didn’t interrupt.
“Your father and I still think this can be covered up,” Mom said. “You’ll go to a good school in the fall, and until then, we’ll take care of that trip to Europe with your friend. Maybe I’ll even join you. Make it a girls’ trip.”
I shook my head, pain shimmering through me. “That’s why you came?” I whispered.
“No, of course not,” she said, smiling that watery smile again. “I came to apologize. To show you that I’m not too busy to spend time with my daughter.”
She’d shown her true motives, though. I’d been through this too many times to be fooled this easily. The distance from her these last few months, learning to live on my own—it had made me see things in a new light. An objective light.
“That’s awfully convenient,” I said stiffly, stepping back between my stepbrothers.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mom asked, her eyes widening.
“I know you make promises and tell me what I want to hear so I’ll go along with you, but once you get what you want, you never follow through. I mean, that’s what all politicians do, right? See, I’m not so hopeless after all.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, and I could actually see her schooling her face into complete neutrality.
“Sure you do,” I said. “You’re not here to visit me and spend time with me. You’re here to convince me to go back to New York with you.”
Wreck Me, Cowboys: A Reverse Harem Forbidden Romance (Coyote Ranch Book 4) Page 8
