Chapter 2
Chapter two
Before He Cheats
Cheyenne
You've gotta be kiddin' me.
Voices echoed in my trailer as I made my way towards the front door. Correction…moans. Yep, those were moans coming from my trailer, and they sure as hell weren’t mine.
Fury scorched through me, bubbling up from my stomach.
Really?
Nate had the audacity to sleep with someone in my trailer.
I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’d known his reputation and been stupid enough to sleep with him anyways.
We weren’t really official, but still…you’d think he’d at least have the decency to try and be discreet with his other lovers, instead of, you know, screwing them in my home.
I rolled my eyes as I paused under the awning. My Howdy Y’all wreath looked a little sad, the hot Texas sun washing out the color of the bright, fake flowers I’d arranged around the wreath. The trailer still creaked and swayed, the god-awful melody of moans and grunts making me want to throw up.
I’d been gone for an hour. One damn hour and he’d been stupid enough to bring someone here.
He deserved every bit of scorn I dredged up inside me, ready to unleash on him in just a moment.
But catching him in the act, yelling at him, maybe even throwing out his things just didn’t seem like enough for this bullshit.
No, this deserved something a bit more dramatic.
And Daddy always said I got my attitude from my mama… who was a petty bitch.
Turning on my heel, I strode for my truck, Brandy, my red Australian Cattle Dog, right on my heels.
At least I could depend on someone. She sat dutifully at my side as I rifled through my backseat.
After a moment, I found what I was looking for.
A sadistic smirk tugged on my mouth as I grabbed the cattle prod off the floor.
With fire in my eyes and ice in my heart, I stomped back toward my trailer, those moans rising, rising, rising.
I all but ripped the door open, cutting their little love making short.
Nate had some brunette bent over my kitchen table—eww, I’d have to deep clean literally every inch of this place now—as he plowed into her from behind. His horrified gaze met mine, all the desire dying in his eyes like embers fizzling out beneath a spray of water.
Good. Glad to know I’d ruined this moment for him. Just like he’d ruined my Saturday morning. The brunette’s brown eyes met mine, terror and guilt and confusion shining in the dark depths.
I crossed my arms over my chest, putting the cattle prod on full display as I leaned casually against the doorway. “Oh, don’t let me interrupt…please, continue,” I said with a calm I definitely didn’t feel. Not as pure, unbridled rage thrummed through my veins.
How I managed to not go absolutely bat-shit crazy was beyond me. I never had been the type to have a lot of restraint. But I managed, somehow.
Nate’s mouth bobbed open and closed like a fish gasping for air. “I…Chey…I—”
The girl’s horrified expression said everything I needed to know. She had no idea this wasn’t his trailer. “You weren’t expectin’ me, were ya?” I asked, meeting her gaze.
She moved in a flurry of motion, shoving Nate off her and trying and failing to cover herself with her shirt that she still wore. Tears shone in her eyes. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
“Get out of my trailer.” My voice held a steely resolve to it. “Now.”
Funny… On the inside I trembled with rage—pure, fucking rage. But on the outside, I was cold. Numb. My muscles felt frozen, or like someone had poured cement on me and it had started to dry.
“Chey…” Nate fumbled with his jeans, trying to pull them up around his hips. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Something snapped in me. One minute I was cool, the next, I was seeing red. Violent, blood red. I pressed the button on the cattle prod, letting it crackle and spark. The brunette let out a shriek, followed by a string of curses, something about me being a crazy bitch.
Right then, I felt crazy. But it also felt good—good to let it out.
A low, wicked chuckle rumbled in my chest. “Oh, I know exactly what it looks like. You have thirty seconds to get out of my fuckin’ trailer before I shove this cattle prod so far up your ass it’ll come out your mouth.”
His eyes widened, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he stopped fussing over his pants and stumbled for the doorway.
He nearly knocked over the brunette, who looked just as terrified.
They scurried past me and down the steps of my trailer as I moved out of the way.
Brandy snapped at Nate’s heels for good measure—she never had really liked him.
I smirked, taking three slow steps down the stairs and onto the concrete slab outside my trailer space.
“Cheyenne. Come on, let’s…let’s talk about this.”
“Fuck off, Nate,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest once more. “I ain’t playin’.”
“At least give me all my shit back!” he whined, buttoning up his pants. He was still shirtless. He must’ve left it somewhere in the trailer.
As if he deserved any of it. But after what he’d just done, I didn’t want a single thing of his in my space. Didn’t want any reminders of him. I doubted he’d like the way he got his things back though.
With a shrug, I stomped up the stairs, grabbing up anything that was his before tossing it all out onto the ground.
A crowd of nosy neighbors had gathered, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins from the spot next door right there with a front-row view.
They’d been nosy from the minute I’d pulled in beside them, but I didn’t mind much.
They were sweet, and Mrs. Perkins made the most delicious fried chicken I’d ever tasted.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Perkins.” I grinned, waving from my doorway.
“Everythin’ goin’ alright, sweetie?” Mrs. Perkins asked, her brows raised so high they disappeared beneath her grey bangs.
“Oh, you know, just takin’ out the trash,” I said sweetly, cattle prod still in hand.
Nate picked his clothes up off the floor while spewing out curses under his breath. The brunette had already gotten into her car, leaving his sorry ass behind as she all but peeled out of the trailer park.
“Cheyenne,” Nate huffed, a look of regret on his face.
Nope, it was too little too late for that. Way too damn late.
Tears pricked in my eyes. Not of devastation or sadness.
No… can’t say I was surprised this had happened.
A part of me was impressed that he’d gone this long without me catching him in the act.
No, these were tears of rage. Of embarrassment.
My anger coiled tight like a snake in my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Dear God, why did I have to be an angry crier? I hated that about myself. People never took you seriously when you cried.
I took a couple steps his way, pressing the button on the cattle prod once more. “Last chance, dickhead. Get your shit and leave.” I even went so far as to aim the prod his way. Not close enough to let it touch him, but enough to make shock and terror shine in his shit-brown eyes.
He let out the most pathetic yelp that stopped my tears in their unshed tracks, a laugh escaping me. “Maybe next time you’ll think before you sleep around in someone’s home.”
By the time he’d scrounged up the last of his things most of the trailer park watched from the street.
Mrs. Perkins had settled at my side, fussing over me like a mother hen.
I let her do it, smiling and thanking her for her kindness the whole time, but the truth was, I just wanted to be alone.
With each minute that passed, the adrenaline pumping through my veins trickled out.
I didn’t want anyone around when there was none left.
“You sure you’re okay, sweetie?” she asked, rubbing my shoulders reassuringly when Nate finally drove away.
I nodded. Truth is, I was fine. Okay, not fine—the betrayal stung even if we weren’t official—but I wasn’t going to go sob myself into a pile of mush either. To be honest, I was mad more than anything. Mad at him, but mostly mad at myself for being stupid enough to expect anything more from him.
Brandy fidgeted and whined at my side, sensing my mood. I’d owned quite a few dogs in my lifetime but this pretty girl… She just got me. Dutiful, loyal, obedient. Everyone deserved a dog like her.
I stretched out my hand and she brushed her head against it, leaning fully against my leg. I smiled at Mrs. Perkins. “I’m okay, Mrs. Perkins. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Her husband came up to us, his glassy blue eyes full of sympathy. “Let us know if you need anythin’.”
I nodded, thanking them again for their kindness, and reassuring them at least three more times that I’d be okay.
By the time I closed the door to my trailer, shutting myself securely inside, I was completely drained.
My social battery and patience for people was at a whopping zero.
I slid to the linoleum floor, cupping my head in my hands.
My temples pulsed with a dull ache that already started to radiate across my forehead.
Great. Another damn headache. They were becoming more and more common these days.
I’d had what…like five in the last week.
A familiar weight settled on my legs, followed by wet, slobbery kisses.
“Stop,” I grumbled half-heartedly, even as I pet Brandy, letting her calming energy soothe some of the chaos in me. “He was always a dumbass, wasn’t he, girl?”
She didn’t answer, because of course she didn’t, but her head tilted to the side in that way of hers that made me swear she knew what I was talking about.
I blew out a breath and stood. Maybe cleaning would clear my mind. It was one of those mindless activities that made me feel productive, but also didn’t take a lot of mind work. Finding a station on the radio, I blared something heavy and angry from the speakers and set to work.
Only my anger didn’t dissipate. It lingered like a damn cold that didn’t want to go away.
I’d scrubbed the counters, swept and mopped the floors, changed the bedding and tossed the old ones—who knew where all they’d been while doing the deed. But still, I couldn’t get rid of the knot of frustration cloying for purchase in my chest, my heart.
Maybe I needed a distraction.
With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my Instagram, my gaze landing on a photo of Charlie and Ryder posted from this morning.
Ooh, Ryder must be home.
Charlie had mentioned he was coming back soon the last time we’d talked. June had been busy for him now that he’d gotten sponsored, but they seemed to make it work so far.
She answered on the second ring, her soft, cheery voice warm and buttery. “Hello?”
“Hey girl, what are y’all doin’ tonight?”