Authors: Kristen Ashley
“Yeah, they are. But they don’t come and clean my house. Macy’s not an asshole. Macy also knows I planted a shitload of trees two years ago, adopted more horses and had a fuckload of problems. So I’ve been busy and one of the things I don’t have to get busy doin’ is cleanin’ my house. It’s cool she does it and I’m grateful. Though,” I turned my head to see he’d done the same to glance at me grinning before his eyes went back to the road, “she doesn’t leave flowers anymore.”
“Well, at least there’s that,” I muttered and Gray chuckled.
“By the way,” I began to note after he quit chuckling, “you leave your ashtray open like that with change in it, you’re practically begging for someone to break into this wreck.”
“They wanna make that kinda effort for four some odd dollars of change, they can have it.”
There you go.
We fell silent as the old girl’s wheels took us closer to Mustang.
Shit.
As if sensing my thoughts went back to my worries, Gray said softly, “No one thinks bad things about you, baby.”
Right.
“Gray, you wouldn’t know. If they did, they wouldn’t tell you but I’ll feel it.”
“They know we got played and they know what you did for me, for Gran, no one thinks shit about you.”
We would see.
I didn’t reply.
When I didn’t, Gray ordered, “Give me your hand, Ivey.”
I looked to him to see he had an arm extended to me, palm up. I put my hand in his and his fingers closed around tight.
Then he whispered, “No one thinks shit. They did, you think I’d put you in my truck and take you to town?”
He had a point there.
“No,” I said quietly.
“Then relax.”
I drew in breath.
Then I said, “Okay.”
His hand gave me a squeeze and he repeated my, “Okay.”
We drove to town, Gray holding my hand between us on the bench seat and me trying to be calm. The Gray I knew seven years ago would never make me endure something unpleasant. And, as far as I could tell, the Gray of now would be the same.
He parked, our doors creaked, we got out and Gray came around my side to claim me. He did this by sliding an arm around my shoulders and pointing me to the front doors of the VFW lodge. I slid my arm around his waist and let it pour over me, walking again with Gray, tucked to his side close, his arm around me.
So behind those doors might be good people who nevertheless held judgmental thoughts about me.
But I had Gray.
I’d be okay.
Gray pushed through the doors taking me with him.
Seven years hadn’t changed this either. The long tables with their benches were packed. Conversation hummed through the large space. And the smell of steak was in the air.
We took two steps in, me in my expensive dress and shoes, Gray in his jeans and tee.
Eyes came to us.
I should have changed. I was
way
overdressed.
More eyes came to us.
I definitely should have changed.
More eyes and conversation started dimming.
No greetings were called out to Gray as he led me down the aisle between the two sides of tables and it dawned on me maybe I
couldn’t
do this.
We hit a table where there were empty spaces across from each other three folks in and Gray stopped me but by this point the lodge was silent and I knew all eyes were on me.
I didn’t have my heavy makeup, my sequins or a spotlight to hide behind.
No, I couldn’t do this.
Gray’s arm tensed around my shoulders, my head started to tip back as my body curled close to his so I could whisper to him I wanted to leave when it happened.
Someone started clapping.
My head turned in that direction and I saw Sonny walking down the aisle toward us, his hands smacking against each other, the sound booming loud in the silence of the space and an intense expression on his face.
What on earth?
Someone else started clapping and I whipped my head around to see Janie’s man Danny was doing it and as my eyes hit him he rose to his feet.
Someone else started clapping and my eyes again turned to see Barry and Gene both rising from their seats, their eyes on me, their faces split in grins, their hands cracking together. Then someone else started clapping. Then another. Then another. Then suddenly everyone around us was getting to their feet, clapping, hooting, catcalling and someone shouted, “
Way to go, Ivey!
”
What on earth?
Suddenly, I was no longer held in the curve of Gray’s arm but tugged into a tight embrace, iron bands clamped around me and in my ear a man whispered, “Saved Mirry, saved Gray, saved Mustang. Welcome home, Ivey.”
I pulled my head back and saw Sonny had hold of me.
I stared in his still intense eyes as his arms gave me a tight squeeze and he said again, “Welcome home.”
That was when me, tough, badass, hard as nails ex-Vegas showgirl Ivey Larue burst out crying.
Publically.
Okay, evidence was suggesting that maybe Gray, Lash and Brutus were right. I wasn’t all that hard. Instead, I was a big softie.
Shit.
The iron bands released but I was shuffled into Gray’s embrace as everyone kept cheering.
For me.
I shoved my face in his chest and kept crying.
Gray’s body moved so his lips were at my ear where he muttered, “Told you they don’t think shit about you. Or, at least, not bad shit.”
“Shut up!” I snapped, this muffled by his tee since I snapped into it then my body jerked with a sob.
“Pipe down! Pipe down! You don’t shut up, I can’t get their orders and feed Ivey,” I heard Sonny shout.
My body was again shuffled and I heard Gray ask, “Can you shift? I want my girl sittin’ at my side.”
“No problem, Gray,” someone answered as the applause started to die then Gray came back to me.
“Dollface, you wanna unplant your face from my chest so we can sit down and eat?”
“Not really,” I told his chest.
“Honey –”
“I have a feeling my makeup is messed up.”
“First, they got a bathroom. Second, I don’t think you get it that these folks don’t give a shit. You’re Ivey, you saved my ass, you saved my land, we got ripped apart and now we’re back together and, bottom line, they like you.”
This appeared to be true on all counts. A standing ovation was hard to deny.
I shoved my hands up between us and swiped at my cheeks hoping I wasn’t doing more damage.
Then I tipped my head back and looked at Gray.
“Well?” I asked.
“Bathroom’s at the front, off to your right,” he answered.
Great. He gave that answer and he barely had to look.
He grinned and dipped his head to touch his mouth to mine.
He shouldn’t have done that. He really, really shouldn’t have.
Because when he did, the whole lodge again went crazy.
Great.
He lifted his head no longer grinning but smiling huge. I rolled my eyes, dashed my hand across my cheeks and pulled at his arms.
Gray let me go.
I walked to the bathroom lamely giving out waves to people who were clapping and shouting after me.
I hit the bathroom and tried to repair the damage.
And as I did, I stared into the mirror and saw Gray, Lash and Freddie were right.
There was no hard behind my eyes, no hard around my mouth.
I just looked happy.
“Welcome back to Mustang, Ivey,” I whispered to the mirror.
Then I grinned.
Then I went to go eat a fantastic steak.
* * * * *
An hour and a half later…
Gray’s arm around me, mine around him, he was walking me up the sidewalk toward The Rambler.
Three feet from the door I came to a dead halt in a way that Gray had no choice but to stop with me.
I looked up at him. “Okay, I could do the VFW, I can’t do this.”
Gray turned into me and curled his other arm around me.
“Honey, Janie can’t get away from the bar and she wants to see you. She feels shit for some things she said. You gotta give her that.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that.”
His eyes held mine. “Then what is it?”
I pressed my lips together. Then I looked to the door of The Rambler before turning my eyes back to Gray.
Then I whispered, “I was happy there.”
He closed his eyes.
I sucked in a deep breath.
Gray opened his eyes and his arms gave me a squeeze. “Ivey –”
“And not only that but this is…the VFW and now this. It’s our first date, Gray.”
“I know that, Ivey,” he replied instantly. So instantly, I blinked.
That was why we were here. Why he pushed me to go to the VFW. Why we were going to The Rambler.
He was giving me our first date again.
Oh my God.
How sweet was that!
“Gray,” I whispered, again feeling overwhelmed, this time in a good way and he grinned.
“No shittin’ you, dollface, I could have started our first date with you naked in my bed for hours, I woulda taken that. I could have that date knowin’ you’d end it in my bed, I’d take that too. That was the best date I ever had but, gotta say, this one’s better.”
I stared at him. Then I burst out laughing.
His arms gave me another squeeze and when I sobered I saw him smiling down at me.
Then he said gently, “Come on, Janie’s waitin’.”
I nodded, he let me go with one arm then turned me to the bar.
We entered and I braced. The applause was awesome and I liked it, I liked why I got it but I didn’t want to go through it again.
I didn’t.
Barry and Gene had transferred their asses from the benches at the VFW to their seats at Janie’s. Peg was at the bar as usual. It was Friday so the crowd was not heavy but it wasn’t light. And Janie was behind the bar.
Yep, God liked her. Seven years and she still looked great.
I saw her mouth move saying my name but I didn’t hear it. Then she moved to the near end of the bar.
Gray walked us toward her as Peg called out, “Hey, Ivey,” like the last time I saw her was yesterday.
I smiled at Peg. “Hey, Peg.”
She grinned semi-drunkenly back. It was early. She wasn’t sloshed. Not yet.
Jeez. Peg.
Well, at least she hadn’t died of liver damage.
I turned again to see Janie had cleared the bar and she was coming at me, smiling tentatively.
“Hey, Janie,” I said and her smile got bigger before it wobbled.
God, I hoped she didn’t cry. I didn’t have much makeup left. If she cried, I would and another bout would take the rest.
Then she made it to me and folded her arms around me.
I returned the favor.
I’d never hugged her and now I had proof that her breasts weren’t fake.
“Hey, Ivey,” she whispered.
My arms went tighter.
So did hers.
Neither of us moved.
Then her arms got tighter, her head turned and in my ear she started, “Years ago, I hung up on you when you were tryin’ to find Gray. And a month ago, I said some –”
“Don’t,” I cut her off and pulled my head back, keeping my arms around her and finding her eyes. Her head went back too. “It’s over. I get it. You do too. Don’t.” I grinned. “That’s done. Everyone’s moving on. I’m home.”
She studied me carefully, eyes moving over my face, they flicked up to Gray then back to me where she grinned and asked, “Wanna job?”
I started laughing.
She smiled bigger but she stated, “No joke, wanna job?”
I stopped laughing and stared at her.
She
wasn’t
joking.
Wow.
Could I go back to work at The Rambler after wearing thousands of dollars of dresses, jewelry and shoes every night at Lash’s club for years?
I didn’t know.
“Can I have a couple of weeks to settle in and think about it?”
“You can but job might not be there because, seriously, I need some help. But you think and even if that job goes, I’m sure you’ll find where you wanna be. It seems to happen that way, you hit Mustang.”
“Experienced that,” I muttered and she smiled again.
“Two beers, Janie,” Gray ordered, moving in to claim me. When he had me at his side with an arm around me, he went on, “Me and Ivey’re gonna play some pool.”
“You got it, Gray,” she murmured, grinned at me, I grinned back and Gray turned me to the pool tables.
He got the balls while I got the cues.
This felt weird, this felt good and this felt sad.
I decided to focus on the former two.
Gray racked the balls. I gave him a cue. Janie brought our beers.
“Flip to break?” I asked.
“What’s the point?” he asked back.
I grinned and walked to the head of the table, leaned over and set my cue to the ball.
“Go easy on me dollface,” Gray called and just my eyes tipped up to him.
“Not a chance.”
He smiled.
I looked at the table and let fly.
Balls scattered, two went down.
I hadn’t lost my touch.
Good to know.
* * * * *
Seven hours later…
I woke tucked in the curve of Gray’s body, his arm around me.
I didn’t know what time it was. I just knew, after Gray took me home, we had sex and, after, he cuddled into me in order to go to sleep at a time when it was way earlier than I was used to going to sleep. Lash and I didn’t hit his ivory sheets until two or three in the morning nearly every night.
It took me awhile to find sleep but now I was awake like I could face the day.
It would take awhile to get used to this.
But now, I had an idea and, lying there wide awake, I decided I was going to go with it.
I carefully slid out from under Gray’s arm only for it to tighten and bring me back.
“Where you goin’?” he rumbled in a sleepy growl.
Oh yes, I liked that. The growl and that he didn’t want to let go of me.
I liked them both.
A lot.
“Bathroom,” I lied. “Be back.” That wasn’t a lie.
He let me go.
I slid out of bed.
Then I moved through the house. Curtains open everywhere, moonlight shining in lighting my way. There was no one around to look through those windows, no need to shut the drapes.