Page 4 of Rule the Roost

As she walked away from me, I heard her words echoing all the rest of the day. I waited on the mayor and his child, and his smile pointed at me was heart-flipping. Still, he left, after leaving me a great tip and didn’t so much ask for a number. Didn't flirt further, just paid his check and left.

When I got back to Joel’s, no one was in the house. That was rare. Someone was always around, either working in their offices or cooking. I got some coffee and went to the attic, where I slept while there. Alone, the sounds of the house were like heartbeats, the wind rattling the loose pane of glass in the small round window at the end of the attic. Then came the dog barking in the distance, and the sounds of men’s voices hollering good-naturedly.

It was home, for a while, but Claire was right. It wasn’t mine. The guys had been so sweet to me, so welcoming, but I needed my own space to feel real again.

I took out my phone and scrolled through the photos. No, I hadn’t deleted those of Jeffery yet. I had a hundred of them. His face, moving as I swiped, his smile, our faces pressed together for selfies at the beach, in the mountains, skiing, fishing, boating, enjoying life.

Then, there were a few of us at Chaps. Pictures weren’t allowed there if anyone could be caught on your camera except you. Well, we snuck a few of just us, and still, it felt against the rules. The dark wall behind us, all against his light skin. He was so beautiful, and yet, he’d taken me and thrown me away like I was so much trash.

Yes, my heart was broken, but I refused to let myself get so far down again like I had when my parents died. I’d gone through my preteen and teen years in a haze, stoned, drunk, and lost.

I had friends, good ones. I had a job that I liked. Sure, it wasn’t my dream job, but I hadn’t had one of those in a long time. A dream, that was. Jeffery had been my dream, but then I suddenly smiled, out of nowhere. If the mayor truly was interested in me, it made a guy that recently felt like no one would ever want again, feel much better.

Much, much better.

Chapter Two

Joelcameknockingatsix that evening, rushing in as soon as I called to enter, and he was overly excited. “Hey, Kan!”

Flushing from excitement, he was out of breath and grinning.

“Hey, Joel. What’s got you red in the cheeks?”

“We set a date for the next weekend at Cowpokes! Can ya? Can ya?”

“Can I…dance?”

“Well, sure!”

Joel was as pretty as any man I’ve ever seen, and even his thick accent and constant Western wear couldn’t take away from that. Thin, spindly, he called himself. But he was very handsome, had a sweet little goatee on his face, and bright eyes that shined with happiness all the time. He was happy, so happy that he was rarely seen without a huge grin.

It was contagious. Whenever Joel was around, I couldn’t help but feel happier. He took his cowboy hat into his hand and said, “Will ya?”

“Of course. Remember, Burke and Damon hired me for these weekends.”

“Oh, hell fire. I forgot.”

I waved a hand at the mattress on the floor, and we both sat. “It’s okay, Joel. I won’t always be working at Cowpokes, but it sure is helping to get my place. That wedding, well, the bachelor party, it gave me a nice bit of cash for my savings.”

“People’re real nice ‘round here. I was hopin’ they’d give ya lots o’ tips.”

“They did. I have almost enough to get an apartment now. There are some over the stationary store that are affordable.”

“Tucker and Dale? Those good ol’ boys that work fer Hud and Theo, they rented one with a couple other fellas. They’s nice ‘n all but cramped as all get-out with four big ol’ boys in ‘em.”

“I’ll be…I’ll be by myself.”

That sounded worse than it felt, but it did sound very lonely. “Well, would it be okay ta visit?”

“Joel, yes! I hope you visit a lot!”

He grinned, then shoulder-bumped me. “Good. I’d like that.”

“I’ll miss you guys. I just need my own space. I need to figure out a lot, and it’s hard when you’re worried about overstaying a generous and sweet welcome.”

“It ain’t like ‘at!”

“I know,” I assured him. “I promise, I know. It’s not you all that feel that way, just me. I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I want us to always be friends.”