Colorado 03 Lady Luck (29 page)

“Celebration doesn’t say you cookin’ my
favorite meal and wine from a grocery store. Celebration says me
callin’ The Rooster and gettin’ us a table.”

I tipped my head to the side and asked, “The
Rooster?”

“Steak place up the mountain. Fuckin’ great
food. Top-notch.”

I smiled because that did, indeed, say
celebration.

“Excellent. Can I dress up?”

His arms gave me another squeeze, his face
dipped closer and his voice was low and super rumbly when he said,
“You can do whatever you want.”

“Awesome,” I whispered, his eyes smiled into
mine and I liked that so much, I leaned up and pressed my lips to
his.

When I moved back, his eyes went over my
shoulder and then started to come back to me but then they shot
back over my shoulder and I felt the entirety of his frame freeze
solid.

I didn’t like that or the expression on
his face… no, I
really
didn’t
like the expression on his face which almost looked like he was in
pain so I pressed closer but looked over my shoulder to see a dark
red SUV driving up to the office.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“The Keatons,” he rumbled low and that was
when my body froze so I was stuck in position as the SUV parked and
out of each side came a body.

Driver’s side was the man. Tall, straight,
lean, dark blonde hair. Good-looking if you didn’t happen to be
married to Ty Walker and Ty Walker didn’t happen to have friends
the likes of Tate and Wood. Jeans, heavy, silver, Western-style
belt buckle, cowboy boots, nice sports coat, chambray shirt.

Passenger side was the woman.

Misty.

Bitch-face
Misty.

My eyes narrowed on her as I vaguely noticed
Wood and a couple of other guys moving out of the bays and Stella
coming out of the office and if I hadn’t vaguely noticed this I
would have realized they did it because they knew cowboy guy and
Misty, they knew they’d fucked over Ty and they were positioning,
should something happen, to take Ty’s back.

But I only had eyes for and a mind to
bitch-face Misty.

She had lots of everything. Lots of leg.
Lots of tits. Lots of ass. Lots of hair.

Ty’s type, definitely.

She was wearing much what I was wearing.
Platform sandals (though not wedges). Short skirt. Three steps up
from a normal t-shirt.

But mine was better.

I wasn’t wearing a skirt but cream-colored,
tailored, low-rider, cuffed short-shorts. My tee was blousy, a soft
orchid color and one side hung off my shoulder. I’d sleeked out my
hair, my belt was awesome, my jewelry understated and even more
awesome than the belt. And, at that moment, I was really fucking
glad I spent extra time on my hair after cleaning the house and
before going into town.

Her stuff was good quality. What could I
say? I was a buyer. I could see it even from far away.

But her skirt was just on the wrong side
of too short, her top just on the wrong side of too clingy
and
way
the wrong
side of too much cleavage, her hair was massive and her sandals
leaped over the boundary of acceptable straight into the land of
slut shoes.

Looking at her, she didn’t work with Ty, no
way. And she also didn’t work with the fake straight-arrow (seeing
as he was a dirty cop) Colorado cowboy guy with his precise
haircut, jeans that weren’t faded even a little bit and, clearly
visible even through his clothes, a body fat count that stated he
spent almost as much time at the gym as Ty. And I felt I could say
this coming from Texas. I knew cowboys and I knew their women.

She was just a skanky, white ‘ho trying to
be something else.

This made me feel
way
better. Of course, I still hated her and wanted to
rush across the tarmac and rip her hair out. But Ty said I was
class and beauty and now I knew why. Because, in comparison to
Misty Keaton, I fucking was, top-to-toe.

I turned back to Ty, pressed deep and when I
did, I got his eyes.

“
Dude, I am
way
more that than her,” I informed him, he blinked then I felt
his body start shaking.

“
Think I already told you that, mama,” he
replied in his soft voice that was better than his normal soft
voice considering it was soft
and
amused.

Must be said, I was liking this mama
thing.

I held his eyes and asked quietly, “You
okay?”

He gave me a shallow chin dip of affirmative
before answering, “Pullin’ out my .38 and gunnin’ ‘em down in broad
daylight with witnesses kinda fucks with my grand plan o’
vengeance.”

I started giggling and slid my arms from
around his neck to rest them on the wide wall of his chest.

“Yeah, being present at the incident, I
probably wouldn’t be very convincing as an alibi.”

His lips tipped up. “Probably not.”

I allowed myself to enjoy his small grin.
Then I sighed.

Then I asked, “This the first time you’ve
seen them?”

“Yep.”

“Sorry, honey,” I whispered.

“Gonna happen.”

“Right,” I muttered, my eyes sliding to his
throat.

His arms gave me a squeeze and my eyes slid
back.

“Got work to do. I’ll call The Rooster, text
you with a time. You good with that?”

I smiled at him. “Way good, hubby.”

He shook his head once then dropped it to
touch his mouth to mine.

Then he murmured, “Go. See you later.”

“Later,” I agreed then I slid my hand up to
his neck and curled my fingers around, holding his eyes and giving
him something I hoped would carry him through having those two even
close to his space. “You’re far and away the most beautiful man
I’ve met and it isn’t just that you have the looks and the body but
it’s a whole lot more, Ty Walker.”

Then I got up on tiptoe, kissed his jaw and
avoided his eyes as I pulled out of his arms by turning and moving
away.

As I strolled to my car, I smiled at the two
gray-blue coverall covered men, my eyes moved to Wood and I called,
“Hey, Wood.”

“Lexie,” he said, jerked his chin up and
smiled at me.

I walked by him and to the car, my eyes on
Stella to see her head turned to the Keatons but her eyes slid to
the side more than once. Detective Chace Keaton was talking to her.
Misty Keaton’s head was shifting quickly back and forth and back
again between Ty and me, she had sunglasses on so I couldn’t see
her eyes but the rest of her face I didn’t get. Surprise, maybe.
Hesitation, definitely. But also I detected fear.

I hoped I detected right. I wanted the bitch
afraid. She deserved fear and lots of it.

I got to the driver’s side of the Charger
and Stella’s head turned my way so I smiled and waved.

“Hey, Stella!” I called.

“Hey, Lexie. How’s it goin’?”

“Awesome! Life is sweet,” I replied and she
grinned.

“Good to hear, babe.”

My eyes moved to the Keatons who were both
now looking at me and I gave them a friendly wave and a, “Hey!”

Chace Keaton’s eyes did a head-to-toe. Misty
didn’t move a muscle. Neither of them gave me a “hey�� back.

Whatever. So they were dirty,
skanky
and
rude. Not a
surprise.

I turned around, opened my door, looked over
the hood of the Charger and saw Ty disappearing into a bay. I got
in, fired my baby up, backed out and resisted the urge to run down
the Keatons. I might hit Stella and she was cool so that would be
uncool.

Then I drove to the entrance of the garage,
looked right then left then right again then something made me look
left and I saw Bubba’s, the bar Tate and Krystal owned a few blocks
down. I stared at it a second that slid to three. Then I turned
right and headed home. I had groceries in the car I needed to
unpack and put away because some of them needed the fridge.

But for some reason all I could think of was
Bubba’s, Tate, the Keatons and my man forced to endure painful,
bitter history delivering a sucker punch whenever Lady Luck was
feeling sassy.

I drove home, parked in the garage, lugged
up the groceries and put them away and still couldn’t quit thinking
of Bubba’s. So I looked at the clock on the microwave over the
stove and considered my wardrobe options, made a selection,
calculated the time I’d need to gussy up and made a decision.

It might be stupid. It might be smart. It
might piss off Lady Luck who’d make me pay the hard way.

But I had to try.

So I got in the car and drove back into town
straight to Bubba’s. I parked out front and saw a line of bikes,
about six of them and several other cars including a supremely beat
up pickup truck. It was after three in the afternoon, not prime
time drinking hours but Bubba’s looked relatively busy.

Good news for Tate and Krystal. Not so good
for me. If Tate was there I didn’t want him to be busy and if I got
an opening to do what I needed to do, I didn’t want anyone to
hear.

I walked through the door to Bubba’s for the
first time seeing immediately it was a biker bar. I knew this not
because I was intimately acquainted with biker bars, in fact, this
was the first one I’d ever been in. I knew this was because there
were a bevy of biker-looking dudes in it. There were also wood
floors, a long bar at the back surrounded by stools, tables and
chairs in front and two big rooms off either side with two pool
tables each. And I was correct, it was relatively busy.

Krystal was behind the bar, down at one end,
gabbing with some patrons. Tate was also behind the bar, down at
the other end, leaned into his hands on the bar and talking to
Jim-Billy who looked surgically attached to his stool and was
sitting at a corner and Deke who was standing at the opposite
corner to Jim-Billy.

All eyes came to me when I came in.

“Hey, y’all,” I called and got a bunch of
greetings back.

I moved to Tate’s side of the bar and slid
on the stool next to Jim-Billy, putting my purse on the stool
beside me.

“Good to see you, Lexie,” Tate said and I
smiled at him.

“Yeah, you too,” I replied then slid my eyes
around taking in Deke and Jim-Billy. “You guys been good?”

“Can’t complain,” Jim-Billy answered.

“Yeah, babe, things are good,” Tate
answered.

Deke just stared at me. Deke was a
communicator of the Taciturn Ty variety so I didn’t take
offense.

“You drinkin’?” Tate asked.

“Yeah, though I’ll be doing it tonight at
the celebration dinner Ty and I are having at The Rooster. I got a
job at Carnal Spa today.”

“Good news, darlin’,” Jim-Billy grinned at
me.

“Thanks,” I said to him then looked at Tate.
“So, how about a celebratory Diet Coke with cherries in and I’ll
buy the boys a round?”

“How about you let me cover your diet as a
congratulatory gesture?” Tate returned.

“How about you let me buy a round
considering you’ve already made a big gesture?” I suggested then
pointed out, “It’s my turn.”

“’Preciate that, Lexie, but I got a bar that
does a fuckload of turnover and this is a world where idiots jump
bond frequently. You and Ty are gettin’ your feet under you so I’ll
cover the round,” Tate rejected my suggestion and I knew this could
go on and on and in the end one person was going to get their way
and that would not be me.

“Do you guys take nice pills in the morning
or is this natural?” I asked at the same time giving in.

He knew I was giving in so he grabbed a
glass, dunked it in the ice, put it on the bar, aimed the soda gun
at it and let fly while saying, “It’s a pop, babe, not givin’ you
the deed to my house.”

“And a beer,” Jim-Billy put in.

“And a whiskey,” Deke added.

Tate’s eyes went to them in turn as they
spoke then came to me when he said, “And a beer and a whiskey.”

I grinned at him.

He tossed three cherries in my drink, shoved
in a thin, red straw, threw a bar mat in front of me and set the
drink on it. Then he opened a bottle of brew for Jim-Billy and
poured a measure of bourbon for Deke and himself.

When Deke got his drink, I lifted my glass
and toasted, “To me, the new receptionist at Carnal Spa.”

I got grins, a couple of glasses and a
bottle pointed my way then we all sucked back some beverage.

I put my glass down.

And, pleasantries and bullshit excuses for
showing at his bar over, fortunately, Tate took me off the hook and
went straight to it.

“How’re you settlin’ in?”

This had two meanings and I knew it. He and
Ty were tight and he was concerned about his friend. And he had
beautiful eyes but they were also intelligent. He knew I didn’t
mosey into his bar to share good news when I hadn’t seen any of
them since the party. He knew I had a reason to be there.

I took another sip and tried to suck up
courage.

Then my eyes locked with his and I told him,
“I love it here.”

“Good,” he muttered, his gaze not leaving
mine and him not missing I talked about me but didn’t mention my
husband then, “Ty?”

“He’s good,” I said slowly, took another sip
of drink to suck up more courage then went on, “Adjusting.”

“How’s that goin’?” Jim-Billy asked quietly
and I looked to him.

“He’s a very strong man,” I said softly. “If
he wasn’t…” I let that hang and looked to my glass. Then I tipped
my head back, looked right into Tate’s eyes and asked straight out,
“You know how I can get in touch with a guy named Tambo?”

The air around me went wired.

Tate leaned in. Jim-Billy leaned in. Deke’s
body went alert. And Krystal, maybe feeling the vibe, started to
drift down the bar.

But it was Tate who spoke. “Lexie –”