Chapter 27
LENNON
“Cheers to the end of a shitastic day.” Emma raised her plastic cup of sauvignon blanc.
I tapped my cup to hers and drank even though my day had been pretty lovely, actually. On the other hand, with my postcard stalker on the loose, maybe every day was a teeny tiny bit shitty. Although it was hard to complain when having a stalker meant I got to curl up with a warm cowboy every night.
A cowboy who still refused to put his virgin dick in me.
Maybe I had something to complain about, after all.
Emma had gathered the three of us—Tamilee, Cecily, and me—to decompress over a glass of wine so she could go home to Blair in a good mood.
We’d set up lawn chairs in the horse pasture to enjoy the view.
Sunset wasn’t for another few hours—June days were long and bright in Wyoming—but the mellow evening light cast everything in a warm golden glow.
Mountains and horses nibbling on pasture stretched out before us.
Behind us, my favorite cowboy was practicing roping in the ring.
It was tempting to turn my chair around and watch.
“Are you going to tell us what Liam did to piss you off?” Tamilee asked.
“How do you know it was something Liam did?”
Tamilee raised her eyebrows. “Mmhmm.”
Emma huffed. “I met someone last week. We were going to have a lunch date today, but he called and cancelled at the last minute. Said he had an emergency. So of course I said that was fine, and we could reschedule anytime. He said no, he was moving to Canada. Where in Canada? I asked. He went completely silent. Like, are you fucking kidding me? You can’t name a single province or city in Canada?
” She snorted and took another gulp of wine.
“Fucking Liam. I know he had something to do with it. He never thinks anyone is good enough to be Blair’s stepfather.
I’m not looking for a new husband!” Frustration seeped into her voice. “I just want to get laid!”
Cecily rubbed her back in soothing circles. “Honestly, Liam probably did you a favor. If the man couldn’t name a single province or city in Canada, do you really think he can find your clit?”
Laughter made wine shoot out my nose. “She has a point, Emma.”
“Yeah, probably.” Still looking disgruntled, she swirled the wine in her cup. “What about you, Lennon? I heard you had a terrible time at the gymkhana the other day.”
I growled into my wine. “I know it was you, Holly!” I shook my fist at the sky, like she was watching me from the clouds.
Tamilee shook her head. “What did I tell you about that? Don’t let her get under your skin.”
“She didn’t get under my skin. She got egg all over my skin. Egg and manure.”
All three of my new friends reeled back like I like I was still covered in it with a collective “Ew!”
“I mean, I can’t prove it. But I know it was her.”
Cecily leaned toward me. “Want me to kill her?”
She looked so deadly serious that I cracked up. “Thank you, but I was thinking more along the lines of humiliations galore.”
“Got it.” Cecily bobbed her head. “We can Carrie her.”
“Carry her where?” I asked.
“No, Carrie her like Stephen King’s Carrie.
We don’t have a prom, but we have karaoke night, which she always makes a big deal of because she’s so damn good it’s honestly sickening.
We could pour a bucket of pig blood on her while she’s singing.
Or”—Cecily snapped her fingers—“chicken blood. That’s poetic justice, don’t you think? ”
My eyes went wide. “Jesus, Cecily. That’s dark.”
“I’m kidding.” She gave my shoulder a playful shove.
“Of course we’re not going to pour blood on anybody.
That’s gross. Anyway, that movie didn’t end well for Carrie’s tormentors, and Holly would go absolutely apeshit on our asses.
But you know what we could do? We could team up and do a karaoke song together.
” The bright fervor in her eyes looked almost manic. Too much wine. “That would be so fun.”
“Um, maybe.” Truthfully, I couldn’t sing to save my life. But karaoke night sounded like fun, anyway. Even if it did mean watching everyone clap for Holly. Ugh.
“This has been fun, but it’s time for me to head out.” Tamilee stood and stretched, making her back crack. She squinted at the stables behind us. “What is that man still doing here? He’s usually turned in by now.”
I glanced over my shoulder to where Jeremiah was roping a fence post. “He’s waiting for me. I’m staying in his sister’s room while my cabin is getting fixed, remember?”
Cecily frowned. “That doesn’t explain why he’s waiting for you. You can walk the fifty feet back to the lodge alone.”
She didn’t know that Jeremiah didn’t let me go even one foot alone.
My postcard stalker was almost certainly someone here at the ranch.
Of course it wasn’t Cecily, Emma, or Tamilee, but the more people who knew, the more likely it was that the stalker would go into hiding before we could find him—or worse, do something rash.
So I just hummed and shrugged as I took another sip of wine.
“Hmm.” Emma studied me with a thoughtful tilt of her head. “I’m beginning to think that kiss outside Sundown wasn’t a drunk one-off. Spill, Lennon. What’s going on with you two?”
“How could something be going on when I’m leaving next month?” God, I hoped I didn’t sound as wistful as I felt. Look at him standing there, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows like he knew his forearms gave me impure thoughts. And that mustache. Christ. “We’re friends.”
Friends who kissed. I giggled because I had also had a little too much wine. “Jeremiah is a good friend of mine, who happens to be a bullfrog. Like the song.” For some reason, that struck me as hilarious and I dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Emma laughed. “Okay, goofy girl. I think it’s time for us to pack it in.” She pushed to her feet, then helped me up too.
Jeremiah must have been watching us, because he immediately started walking toward us, rolling his rope as he came.
“Here comes your bullfrog,” Emma murmured with a low laugh.
Ohhhhh.
That gave me an idea.
“Did you order something?” Jeremiah entered the apartment carrying a big gray poly mailer three days later.
“Sure did.” I swung my legs off the sofa and excitedly rolled to my feet. I wasn’t sure it would get here in time. “Give me that.”
He stepped back from my reaching arms, eyeing me suspiciously. “Why are you making that face?”
“What face?”
“The evil genius face. Like a villain who’s cackling and stroking a cat while plotting the destruction of her enemy. That’s the face you’re making.”
“Maybe because I am plotting the destruction of my enemy.” I leaned forward like I had a secret. “I’m going to win karaoke tonight. Now, give me my package.”
He handed it over. “Karaoke is not a competition. It’s a fun, casual bonding experience.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jeremiah. Everything is a competition. I’m going to win, and you’re going to help me. You owe me.”
He crossed his arms. “What do you mean, I owe you? What do I owe you for?”
“Lots of things. For snooping on me instead of asking me for the truth. Figuring out I shouldn’t be here and then not telling me. Leaving me with Holly.” I flicked my wrist. “Pick one.”
“I left you with Liam.”
“So you have two other perfectly good options to choose from.”
With a deep sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lennon, honey. You’re talking about a suicide mission. Holly loves karaoke, and she’s not going to take kindly to being knocked out of the spotlight. Trust me, whatever you’re planning, you don’t want to do it.”
“I do. I really, really do.” I squeezed the package to my chest giddily.
“Tell me why this is so important to you.”
I chewed my cheek, searching for the right words.
“I told the sheriff that I don’t have enemies, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that’s not really true.
I have enemies. The trolls who harass me online.
The postcard stalker. They know how to hit me right where it hurts.
But I can’t hit back. I don’t know who they are.
They’re ghosts. But Holly…she’s not some anonymous troll typing mean shit at three a.m. She’s flesh and blood.
She has feelings. I can finally hit back. ”
“Dammit.” Jeremiah planted his hands on his hips, staring at me. “All right. What do you need? You want me to sneak the machine up here for extra practice time?”
I laughed. “So I can make the squirrels out our window regret their life choices? No, thank you.”
He tilted his head in obvious confusion. “What do you mean? You can’t sing?”
“Not a single note,” I admitted cheerfully. “Female cats in heat have better vocals than I do.”
He blinked slowly. “Are you telling me you’re willing to humiliate yourself just to piss off Holly? You understand there’s no real winning here.”
My grin widened. “Oh, it’s much worse than that, I’m afraid. See, I’m not only willing to humiliate myself. I’m willing to humiliate you, too.” I ripped open the seal and pulled out the shrink wrapped bag inside. “I need scissors.”
Shaking his head, he moved to the efficiency kitchen and rummaged through a drawer. He pulled out the scissors, stared at them for a moment, then shook his head. “Like falling on my own sword,” he muttered, but he handed them over anyway. “I don’t know why I’m helping you. This is a terrible idea.”
“Men do all kinds of silly things for sex.”
He cleared his throat. “I was under the impression I was going to get sex anyway.”
I looked up. There was something about his expression that made me want to throw aside my evil karaoke plans and drag him to bed.
Maybe it was the heat that made his blue eyes darken to twilight.
Or the way his cheeks flushed whenever the subject of sex came up.
“We could do that right now, if you want.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Keep wooing me, then.”
He grabbed the hand that was closed around the scissors blades and lifted it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the inside of my wrist. “All right.”
I rolled my eyes despite the swoop of butterflies in my stomach. “Can I have my hand back, please? I have a nemesis to overthrow.”
“I still don’t understand how singing badly is going to do anything but make everyone feel sorry for you. Is that it? Are you going for the pity vote? You do understand that there isn’t actual voting involved, right?”
“But there’s applause, isn’t there? And she’ll be able to tell that people clapped louder for me than for her.”
“She has a really good voice, Lennon. What makes you think they’ll clap louder for you?”
“Two reasons. One, it’s not quite a pity vote, but people really do love watching hot people be bad at things.
” I snipped open the shrink wrap and pulled out the fuzzy green thing inside.
“And two, I have a secret weapon.” I gave the fuzzy green thing a couple big shakes to bring it back to life. It unfolded down to my ankles.
“Lennon.” Jeremiah’s voice held the smallest tinge of fear. “What the fuck is that?”