Monsters
OLLIE
SEPTEMBER
I’d been to a few rodeos. One of the foster homes I stayed at was in some quiet, rural town in New Mexico. Not a movie theater for miles, but there sure as hell was a pristine rodeo grounds that got used quite a bit.
I’d never gotten to sit in the swanky boxed sections though. Turns out Cash’s parents had a reserved one for every rodeo they went to.
The indoor arena here was abuzz with commotion and activity.
The familiar sights and sounds washed over me—music blasting from the speakers, people milling about trying to find seats or chat with friends in the food lines, bulls and broncs knocking against the pipe stall, contestants heading to check in for their events.
I took a sip of my beer as Cash’s dad led Walker and I through the throng of people before stopping at a section of seats right front and center of the arena, directly opposite of the chutes across the way.
A perfect place to view the bulls and broncs, as well as see all the action when the timed events went on from the right side of the arena.
An older blonde woman bedecked in pink western wear sat in one of the seats, a little brown and white chihuahua tucked into the crook of her arm.
Her long, perfectly curled hair was a silvery blonde, reminding me of pearls, and with her curvy body I bet she turned more than a few heads back in her day.
She wasn’t tall, but there was a certain…
presence to her that made her feel larger than life in a way.
“Howdy, darlin,” Bad said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You remember Walker Rose, Dotty and Paul’s girl?” He didn’t pause to let her speak before adding, “And this is—”
Her gaze fell on me and sparked like a wildfire. The lovely smile on her face slipped into a scowl as she placed her hands on her hips. Right above the black and pink embellished gunbelt she wore, a polished revolver resting in the holster.
Jesus Christ… If looks could kill, I’d be dead.
“I know who you are,” she spat, the venom in her voice matching the fire in her eyes. “You’re that harlot girl who broke up my sweet boy and Jacie Lynn.”
Well, fuck me.
Anger brewed in my chest, sparking in my veins as if they’d turned into streaks of lightning. Wow, what a fucking welcome.
But I could be the bigger person. I didn’t like to be. It went against every petty bone in my body, but I doubted that Cash would approve of me telling off his mother.
“Hi, I’m Ollie.” I held out a hand to her.
And the bitch just looked at it. Looked at it like it was little more than trash on the ground.
“Violet.” Bad’s voice was a low warning.
“What? Why is she here?” She all but glared at me, her little chihuahua glaring at me just the same.
“I am right here, you know? You can talk to me.”
Was this how the entire night was going to go? I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t sign up for any of it.
Her gaze flicked up and down, as if weighing and measuring and finding me wanting. “I don’t speak buckle bunny.”
My eyes narrowed to slits, anger coiling in my veins, poised to strike out at any moment.
“Violet,” Bad warned once more.
Staring down Violet Mooney reminded me a lot of staring down a mountain. It was unmovable, unchanging. But if she was a mountain, I could be the fucking landslide that wrecked her.
Walker gripped my wrist—at least I think she did. Everything in me—every bone, every muscle, every nerve ending in my body—screamed to react. To lash right back at her with words that would cut just as deep.
But this was Cash’s fucking mom. And if his stupid pump up track was any indicator, Cash was a total mama’s boy. How would that look if I got into a fight with her?
So as much as I hated biting my tongue, as much as I fucking hated being the bigger person, I bit back the insult poised on my lips. Mustering up the fakest smile I could manage, I bit out in a sing-songy voice. “Well then, anyone need a drink? I’m getting a drink.”
Without waiting for a reply, I turned on my heel. Walker’s grip tightened on my wrist. “Want me to come wi—“
“No,” I snapped, then softer, “no, thank you though.”
Worry swam in her honey brown gaze and hung in the downward curve of her mouth, but she didn’t press further. Not that I gave her much of a chance to.
Without another backward glance, I stomped away, head held high as I aimed for the concessions stand.
I glanced down and noted the beer cup in my hand.
Well, shit. Oh well. I tossed the drink back and downed it in a few gulps.
I sure as fuck needed something stronger if I was going to get through the night.
The main entrance came into view and an ache settled in me.
Just leave. The words were a haunting whisper from the devil on my shoulders.
I should leave. Why the fuck was I wasting my time here anyway?
I wasn’t his girlfriend. I hadn’t even fucked him yet.
And not that his mother’s opinion of me mattered all that much, but I wasn’t about to be judged for something I didn’t even do.
I didn’t break Cash and his girlfriend up. He did that all on his own.
“You run, she’ll chase ya.” Bad Mooney’s voice was little more than gravel at my back, breaking the inward battle I found myself in.
“What? Why would she chase me?” I snapped, turning to face Cash’s dad. What the hell did that even mean?
He simply shrugged, completely unbothered by my harsh tone or the scowl I aimed his way. “You know…figuratively. You run, the memory of her’ll be chasin’ after you for the rest of forever. It’s what she wants. You run, she wins. Simple as that.”
“Well, tell her congratulations,” I said, waving a dismissive hand before resting on the metal push bar on the door. All I needed was to push a bit harder and I’d be free of this hellhole.
“You outta here already?” He shoveled a handful of popcorn into his mouth. “Just like that?”
“I’m thinkin’ about it.” I grumbled.
One of the corners of his mouth crooked upward, not into a full fledged smile but the ghost of one.“Want a little advice?”
I didn’t want anything at this point other than to get the fuck out of here. This had been a stupid, massive mistake coming today, and I had no desire to sit here and watch how it panned out. Cash Mooney was hot as hell, but not worth this. Of that I was sure. “Not rea—”
Bad cut me off before I could even finish my reply. “Think about somethin’ else.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “What should I think about?”
He didn’t answer though, well, not in the way I expected.
Popping a few more pieces of popcorn into his mouth, he replied, “She’s just an overprotective mama bear.
You rode here with Cash, I’m sure you heard his fuckin’ pump up tape.
You think a woman that does somethin’ like that for her baby boy is gonna let him go without a fight? ”
“I don’t want to fight her,” I snapped. “I didn’t come here to fight anyone. I—”
“Why did you come here then?” There was no malice in his question. Just curiosity.
What a fucking question. One I kept asking myself again and again the longer I stayed here.
“I… I don’t know. Cash kidnapped me.” I blew out a frustrated breath and slapped my hands down against my sides.
“He showed up out of nowhere in this truck and told me to get in, we’re goin’ to a rodeo, but he didn’t say anything about me having to deal with Norma Bates out there. ”
“Cash knew what was gonna happen if he brought you here with him.” Bad offered me a crooked smile. “He knew his mama would have somethin’ to say.”
“Well, I didn’t sign up for this,” I insisted.
This was the opposite of what I signed up for. A week into this little arrangement and I felt like I was treading into deeper waters than I intended. I told him not to fall in love with me. He told me he didn’t catch feelings. And yet here I was at a rodeo with his fucking parents.
“Sure you did.” He beamed at me, and in that moment there was no denying that he and Cash were related. The power in that smile was enough to light up this entire arena. “You got in the truck.”
“I…” Fuck. He had a point. Exhaling a breath, I growled out, “What was I supposed to do? Tell him to fuck off?”
Bad shrugged, grabbing another handful of popcorn. “Might’ve worked.”
“You know him. He’s so stubborn.”
Bad nodded. “Just like his mama.”
Something told me though that stubbornness was a shared family trait. “So what? Am I supposed to sit here and let her talk to me like that?”
“No.” Bad shook his head, then seemed to ponder the thought a moment. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “That’s fucking helpful.
” A mother and her child passed by, her brows pinched together in a frown as she looked at me.
From the tight crop top to the cut offs, to the tattoos and curses out of my mouth, I’m sure I just looked like the picture perfect role model.
Narrowing my gaze, I scowled in her direction before aiming it at Bad.
His smile didn’t even falter. Most people were scared of me, that lady was scared of me as she hurried her child along, but he seemed to find me amusing if the glint in his hazel eyes was any indicator.
“Look, Violet didn’t like Jacie Lynn cuz she was good for Cash. She liked Jacie Lynn cuz she wasn’t a threat to Violet.”
I stared at him waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t.
“Meaning?” I pressed, moving out of the way of the door as a family nearly walked into me trying to come through.
“Meanin’, Violet sees you as a threat. Somethin’ she’s gotta protect her baby boy from.
She didn’t have to protect him from Jacie, cuz she’d be the one to get her heart broken, just like all the other girls.
Violet sees the potential in you to be the one to break Cash’s heart.
And she ain’t gonna allow that. She’d rather he spend the rest of his life chasin’ every skirt that blows by, than one night in pain over some woman. ”
Oh for fuck’s sake. “What makes her think I’m going to break his precious little heart? We aren’t even dating.”
And it was going to stay that way. I should go.
This was already turning into more trouble than it was worth.
Walker would understand…hopefully. Or maybe I could text her really quick and have her meet me outside.
We could catch an Uber back, or maybe I could get Wyatt or Brooks, or hell, even Quinn to come get us.
I probably wouldn’t have to deal with as many questions if she picked us up.
But Bad’s next words gave me pause. “Maybe you remind Violet of her when she was younger.” He started walking away before glancing over his shoulder and shouting, “You remind me of her.”
Hold up… What the hell did he just—
“Oh no!” I rushed past him before barring his path. “What is wrong with you? You don’t…just say something like that, and then…then walk away!”
“I was done talkin’,” he replied, a shit-eating smirk tugging on his mouth.
Of fucking course he was. “Well I’m not!”
He laughed and made a calming gesture with his right hand.
“Look.” He sobered a bit, eyes locking with mine.
“It’s like this. Cash likes you, we all see that.
You like him, we all see that too.” I opened my mouth but he plowed right on.
“Don’t shake your head at me, just listen now, so you can understand what I’m sayin’ to ya.
He knows you aren’t like Jacie, or any of them girls he usually goes with.
But if you’re gonna stick around, you’re gonna have to find a way to get along with Violet.
He won’t choose between the two of you, so y’all are gonna have to figure somethin’ out.
He put a blindfold on you and sat you on a buckin’ bull in a chute.
And before you even knew what was goin’ on, he opened the gate.
Now, you make your choice… Stick the ride, or run. ”
I didn’t want any of this. This was all way too fucking fast and overwhelming for my liking. And again…I hadn’t even fucked him. Roadtrips. Meeting his parents. What fucking next? Was he going to ask me to move in?
Time to go.
“What an asshole,” I grumbled out. Cash Mooney might look like a god, but no amount of attractiveness was worth this.
Bad laughed. “It gets worse, darlin’. But I’ll give you some more free advice that you’re likely to ignore. If you let her bully you, you’ll never get the power back. If you snap at her, Cash’ll turn on you.”
I tried and failed to stop another eyeroll. “So what the fuck are you saying I should do?”
He fished out another handful of popcorn, popping piece after piece into his mouth as he replied, “Don’t run, and stay on the high road.
She thinks you’re a buckle bunny. She’s wrong.
It’s gonna take her a little while to see that.
But you can do a lot of damage to any future relationship by tryin’ to fight fire with fire. Understand?”
I snorted. “Cash and I are not in a relationship. We don’t do them. This is strictly business.”
“That so?” His brow quirked up.
I nodded, holding his heated gaze.
He stared me down for a long moment before another chuckle escaped him. “Well, either way. You don’t get Cash without his mama. All of us really. Family’s kinda a big deal here, darlin’. You wanna leave…” He nodded back over his shoulder. “You know where the door is.”
Oh, I knew. Every flighty nerve in my body was poised to run.
To flee as far from here as possible. And yet it’s like my feet were stuck in cement as I thought of the logistics.
I was three hours away from home. While, yes, I’d definitely come here to hook up with Cash, I’d also come to learn something.
And Bad Mooney was apparently some rodeo legend.
When life gives you lemons.
I shook my head and blew out a sigh. “So, you want me to be nice, but still stand my ground. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Somethin’ like that.” His lips crooked up into a sly smirk. “You wanna drink?”
I nodded. “Two… Actually, make it three.”
His chuckle reminded me of thunder off in the distance—muted, quiet. “Good, come on. I’ll buy ya three if you promise to play nice.”
I smirked. I couldn’t help it. The comment was so very Cash-like. Like father, like son, I guess. “And I want some popcorn too.”
Another chuckle. “Yes ma’am.”