“Just showed up and acted like he owned the place, I bet.”
“Yeah, he damned sure did,” Cy nodded. “Nessy and I were sitting at the lunch counter of the new diner Bonnie Sampson and her twin, Maggie Mae, had just opened, talking about getting some steaks and having dinner at her house, when Aamon threw open the door, marched into the diner, and yelled, “Is this the only place to get food in this one-horse town?”
“Of course, Bonnie walked out of the back, was as sweet as she could be, and welcomed him to opening day. When he ignored her, she just kept smiling and talking. Grabbing a menu, she tried to show him to the first booth, but the asshole wasn’t having it.”
“Oh, my Goddess,” Luke huffed. “I can only imagine.”
“Yeah, the asshole snatched the menu right out of her hand and made a beeline for the stool on the other side of Vanessa. As he sat down, he hollered, “How about you make yourself useful, Waitress? I need a beer.”
“Holy shit,” the Black Bear growled. “I’m gonna skin that runt myself.”
“Yeah, well, everybody in the diner wanted the same thing, but Bonnie and Maggie don’t stand for any fighting in any of their businesses. Of course, that didn’t stop every single person in there from getting to their feet.”
“Bonnie stopped ‘em, right?”
“Yeah, she did,” Cy nodded. “Sadly, that only made Aamon act out more.” Sighing, the Dragon leaned against a huge stump and went on. “He started laughing. Then he said, ‘Oh, you’re the big boss lady, are ya’?’ Bonnie smiled, let the Alpha She-Wolf she shares her soul with shine in her eyes, and nodded, ‘Yes, sir, we are.”
“Did he settle down?”
“No,” Cyrus flatly replied. “He acted like he wasn’t scared shitless and started trying to show off. He leaned over, slid his arm alongside Nessy’s, and whispered, ‘How about we get outta here, Hot Stuff?’’
“And you kicked his ass, right?”
“Who’s telling this story?”
“You are,” Luke chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop commentating.”
“Great.”
“Now, come on.” Luke motioned with his hands. “Don’t leave me hangin’.”
“Why not?” Cy grumbled. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”
“See there,” Luke beamed. “That’s the right attitude.”
“Okay. So, Aamon was messing with Nessy, and it pissed me right off. Of course, my sweet Mate grabbed my hand when I started to get up and throw the asshole out on his ear. She gave me the sign that she could handle it, and even though I thought it was a bad idea, I did it for her.”
“Of course.” Nodding, Luke added, “’Cause you coulda beat that boy black and blue with one hand tied behind your back and a blindfold on.”
“See?” Cyrus emphatically agreed, getting into telling his story because his new friend was into it too. “That’s what I thought, and for a while it worked.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah, oh, shit,” Cyrus scoffed. “And by ‘for a while’, I mean, until we saw him two days later when we were in Valentine.”
“Now, how did that boy, who I know has never been off this mountain, get to not one, but two, small towns in the whole big old state of Texas?”
“See? That’s what I said.” Cyrus was nodding and talking. “Truly, I pretty much said exactly that to Nessy when he came walking up.”
“And I bet she told you not to worry ‘cause she loved you.”
“Do you know her?”
“No, but I know Tamsyn, and the more you talk, the more I am sure those two came out of the same mold.”
“Well, then you know how frustrating it can be.”
“I do.”
