"It's fucking sick is what it is," Jodi insisted.
"My husband says he doesn't want them hitting on him," another woman added.
"Why would they hit on your husband?" I asked. "Does he have a lot of women hitting on him all the time or something? Just running around slutting it up, making everyone think he's single and available?"
"No!"
I held out my hands as if that should say enough. "So?"
The woman just looked at the people around her as if begging for help. "But... They're sick."
I leaned over my knees and flopped my hands before me. "Let me make this very clear. We will treat all of you the same way you treat us. You want to tear us down? Then hold on. You want to be rude and crass?" I looked at the woman who'd called my best friends sick. "Well, then I have no problem talking about your cheap as shit clothes, tacky makeup, or fried as fuck hair. I mean, since we're laying it all out there, right? But you don't like that much, do you?" My eyes raked across the room. "So why wouldwe? I love those two men like my family. They're good men who've stood beside me through more than any of you can imagine."
"Violet, we're not trying to pick a fight," Bev said gently.
"Youaren't," I agreed. "Luke says my problem is that I don't wave money around before me, making people want to be nice. Thing is, I don't believe money means much. Oh, it makes life a lot easier, but it doesn'tmeanmuch. It doesn't make me better than anyone else here. We all fought for what we have. We all just want to be happy. I also don't want to bethatperson. I want to talk about beautiful clothes and get tips on how to do an ombre lip like she has." I flicked my finger at the woman I meant. "I want to talk to a female who isn't in middle school! I live in a house with three men. Do any of you know how sick I am of hearing about power tools?"
Someone laughed at that. "My husband's the same way. Add in a few friends and a few beers, and it's like nothing else matters."
"I know!" I told her. "Cy and Luke get in the barn and start going off on upgrading the tractor or something. Let's not even talk about soccer."
"Soccer?" Bev asked.
I nodded. "Ash learned to love it in Europe. World Cup, or something. I don't know. The guys look pretty good, though."
And that broke the ice. Ignoring Jodi, a few others began to pull in, and we all just kept talking. Then someone asked about my hair. Someone else wanted to know about the billboard in town. Slowly, bit by bit - thanks to Bev sitting beside me - these women began to talk to me.
It didn't quite feel like they'd accepted me, but they were talking to me, and that was a start. And yet, from across the room, Jodi just glared. I had a feeling that all of this would get back to Meredith soon enough, and yet I didn't care at all. I'd been careful with what I'd said. Had I been mad? Yes. I still was, but I hadn't become successful by always pissing everyone off.
No, I knew how to teach them I was powerful, and then how to make it clear that my side was the right one. It seemed to be working once again. What would be even nicer would be if I could honestly make a friend.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Violet came home that night and let us know that Cats Peak hated us. Not everyone, but as a general rule. Granted, none of us were surprised, not even Faith. Interestingly, Violet had also made a little progress. From the sounds of it, she'd had a bit of a tantrum, put her foot down, and then forced herself to show a little vulnerability. Now, she was trying to come up with a way to win the women in town over to our side.
We tossed around a few ideas, but mostly it all came back to her needing to socialize more. And us, but that was safest for Luke and Faith. Naturally, that little girl said she'd make it clear that we were good people. Damn, but I loved that kid. I felt bad watching her innocence slip away each time she learned just how cruel people could be, but she did it with the kind of grace that would help her eventually rise above it.
And then I fell into bed that night with my boyfriend. It still felt good to think that, but when I tried to seduce him, Cy put me off. He said we needed to talk, and for a split second, I knew true fear. "Needing to talk" was the kind of phrase that came right before everything blew up.
"What?" I asked, not trying to hide how worried I was.
He rolled to face me, but kept his hands to himself. "This morning..." He paused, then shook his head against the pillow before starting again. "Luke caught me in the cabins, and..." Another pause. "We slept together."
Oh, thank fuck! My heart started beating again and I rolled onto my back to let out a breath of relief. "Yeah? Was it bad?"
Cy huffed what was supposed to be a laugh. "No. Um, but he said he loves me."
"Saw that one coming," I teased. "So, he declared his love and you let him have your ass, huh?"
"No, um... He..." Cy groaned. "I fucked him, Ash. I also, um, may have said it back."
Now that had my complete attention. I turned to see him, unable to hide my smile, and then pulled him closer. "You fell in love with the cowboy?"
"I tried not to," he mumbled.
I couldn't help but kiss him. "That's perfect," I said softly against his lips. "Love him, Cy. Love that man hard, and I think he'll love you back even harder."
"Yeah, but I wanted to be friends first," he admitted, leaning back to put a bit of space between us. "I'm just worried that I'm going to screw things up. You know how I get. I'll cross a line somewhere, and - "
