Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) (25 page)

“
Wait
!” Twyla yelled and
left her sandwich on the sofa to follow Heather.

Heather stopped at the door, and turned back
toward her with her arms folded over her chest. “What? I have
things to do.”

“
What happened?” Twyla’s voice
shook, because she just couldn’t maintain her front any longer.
Especially when both Ryan and her brother were in jail. Probably
because they’d been fighting over her. But that wasn’t her fault.
They were grown men, stupid, but grown. Way past the age they
should be fighting over anything. But secretly she hoped Zack got a
few good blows in, because Ryan deserved everything he got for
telling her parents what he had.

Heather huffed out a breath. “You better sit
down, because this isn’t a short story.”

Fifteen minutes later, Twyla took a drink of
soda, because her heart was in her throat. “Ryan’s mother is in the
hospital?” she asked, swallowing again. Ryan had a rough childhood.
Zack didn’t tell her all of it, but he told her enough. His
stepfather liked to use his mother as a punching bag. “What’s wrong
with her?”

“
I don’t know but he was pretty
shook up after he got that call.”

“
And now he’s stuck in
jail?”

Heather nodded, her face grave, and Twyla’s
heart bounced back up to her throat. Ryan was in jail, because of
her damned brother, and because he had been beating up the man who
had assaulted her. As far as Twyla was concerned, that wasn’t a
crime.

In the police’s eyes though, she was sure it
was. But he and Heather would have gotten away with it, if her
brother hadn’t shown up there and attacked Ryan. Zack needed to
stay out of her business too, and she needed to tell him the same
thing she’d told her parents.

If she needed them, she would call them. Butt
out otherwise.

Twyla glanced at her new television, then back
at Heather. “How much is the bail?”

Heather shrugged. “I didn’t stop by the jail,
but if that cop was right, Ryan was getting charged with two counts
of assault. I tried to tell the bastard cop that Jared had
assaulted me, and Ryan had only defended me. I also told him that
Zack had attacked Ryan first, he had only been defending himself.
His response was that the judge would sort it out.”

Twyla stood and brushed the crumbs off of her
shirt. “Let’s go find out what his bail is and figure out how we
can scrape it up,” she said calmly. “We need to get his truck out
of impound too, because he might have some money in there. I’m not
letting him go to Houston by himself either, if he’s upset. That
situation isn’t good, and he could wind up in hot water down there
too if he goes by himself. Zack said Ryan’s stepdaddy has a
restraining order against him.”

“
Really? Girl, you just got out of
the hospital. You don’t need to be going anywhere. I just came by
here to tell you what was going on, since you don’t have a damned
phone. I can handle getting them, or at least Ryan, out of jail. I
found some pictures that Leon wants.”

“
I’m fine. I’ve had worse from
falling off my horse during a ride…” Twyla started, but her eyes
flew up. “What kind of pictures?”

“
Pictures of him and some woman
who isn’t his wife doing the nasty. Pictures that Jared has been
using to blackmail him for years. It took me a while to find them,
but that freezer had lots of other photos in it too. Awful,
degrading stuff. Most of the women looked to be drugged or
unconscious. They may have even been strippers at his club. I took
the ones I wanted and called the police to come and get the
rest.”

Anger and fear shot through Twyla, making her
knees weak. Those photos could have been of her, if she hadn’t
fought him, and succeeded in getting away. That is the bastard who
should be locked up in jail. Not Ryan. “Where’s Jared
now?”

Heather laughed. “Probably in the hospital
wishing he’d never met me or Ryan. He was in bad shape when they
hauled his sorry ass off.”

“
Good, I hope they arrest him as
soon as he opens his eyes. They sure grilled me for information
long enough after I was released.”

“
Could you tell them
anything?”

“
No, I can’t remember. The doctor
said it was from the drugs he gave me. He said I might remember
later, but as of right now, I just remember leaving the
bar.”

Heather’s eyes clouded, and she hugged Twyla,
then stepped back. “You’re damned lucky you’re a fighter. It
could’ve been bad.”

“
I know, and I’ll be smarter next
time. He told me he was an agent and had a big contract he was
thinking of recommending you for. I was trying to help.”

“
He’s an agent alright. An agent
of evil. I would rather sing in dives for the rest of my life than
ever have him on my team.” Heather put her hand on Twyla’s
shoulder. “Thanks for the thought, but I’ll make it when I make it.
You just stand back and watch.”

“
You work so damned hard. You
deserve it, and I can’t wait til it happens for you.”

“
We both work hard and deserve our
successes. Just remember don’t put your dreams on hold for a man. I
made that mistake once. If I hadn’t I might already be
there.”

“
Got it.” Twyla read between the
lines of what her friend was saying. Don’t give up her dreams to
chase Ryan, or put her life on hold for him. It was a good message,
because that’s exactly what Twyla had been doing for ten years. But
she was past that stage now. Her dream of doing cowboy mounted
shooting was delayed a couple of weeks, but it was going to
happen.

Twyla had a couple of weeks now though to help
Ryan with whatever problem he had with his mother to pay him back
for defending her. After that they’d be even, and Twyla was coming
back here to resume her new life without Ryan Easter.

“
Ryan came to my defense, now it’s
my turn to help him. I can’t dance or shoot right now anyway,” she
said with a laugh. “If I stay here and stare at the walls, I’ll go
nuts.”

Maybe those two weeks would give her time to
say goodbye too. Something she hadn’t done when she left the rodeo,
and him. That was the adult thing to do. Bury the hatchet, and
leave without regrets. Twyla thought she could do that now that her
initial anger was gone.

Yeah, she was mad at him again, because he
told her parents, but in reality Ryan had done her a favor. Ryan
had given her the opportunity to publicly claim her new life. If
anyone didn’t like what she was doing with that life, then it was
too damned bad. From here on out, Twyla would do what she pleased
and hold her chin up while she did it.

Helping Ryan would also give her the chance to
prove to him she was a grown woman capable of helping him for a
change. Maybe he’d finally realize she didn’t need him watching
over her shoulder, or bailing her out when she fell into a mess.
She was up to her knees in one now, and she was doing fine. She was
just fine. Without any of them.

She was the one bailing him out for a change,
and it felt damned good.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

“
Holy hell, girl. You were amazing
in there,” Twyla said, almost bouncing on the seat with excitement
as she recounted the thirty-five-hundred bucks Heather had gotten
from Leon. He had waffled, hedged and even tried to threaten to
fire her if she didn’t give him the photos. But she’d sat there in
his office cool-as-a-cucumber calm, and waited him out. It had paid
off.

Heather shrugged, but even in the dim interior
of the truck, Twyla saw the satisfied little smile that curved her
friends lips. “I know what buttons to push, and how Leon
works.”

“
Well you pushed those buttons
like a pro! We have enough money to get Ryan’s truck out and post
his bail.”

“
Yeah, if Leon’s wife got a hold
of those photos, she’d have cleaned that safe out for him. What we
asked for was a pittance compared to what Layla would’ve done. But
we didn’t get enough to bail both of them out. I didn’t want to
push my luck.”

“
Zack can rot in there, or my
parents can bail him out. I don’t really care. Maybe it’ll teach
him a lesson.” Twyla did care, she cared a lot. But Zack did need a
lesson about getting in her business. Maybe from here on out, he’d
mind his own.

Heather pulled into the driveway of the
impound lot and stopped in front of the brick building. They’d
pushed the envelope on getting here. The place was closing in five
minutes. If she didn’t hurry she’d miss the window to get Ryan out
of jail tonight too. Twyla leaned across the seat and kissed
Heather’s cheek. “Thanks for everything, Heather.”

“
Good luck,” Heather said, then
gave her a penetrating stare. “Remember what I said,
girl.”

“
I will,” Twyla said with a sigh.
Twyla just hoped that seeing Ryan again, especially if he was beat
up and hurting over the situation with his mother, didn’t make her
get weak and female. Fall in love with him again. She could not
afford to do that.

Ryan didn’t love her, and she’d be setting
herself up for more of the hurt he’d dished out to her for ten
years. They’d made love, but there hadn’t been anything warm and
fuzzy about it. There was just heat. Incredible heat. Twyla would
remember it always, but she had come to the conclusion that isn’t
what she wanted from a man.

She was a tough tomboy cowgirl, but she wanted
those soft feelings that came with being in love too. The same
feelings she’d nurtured for Ryan for so many years. Giddy, girly
and completely feminine, because she knew her man thought she was
the best thing since sliced bread. Adult feelings that came from
mutual respect, and didn’t get lost in her man trying to protect
her from living her life the way she wanted to live it.

Twyla had come to the conclusion that Ryan was
incapable of that kind of love. He would never be that man, and she
wasn’t accepting less than adult love. It was a crying damned
shame, but the truth about him nonetheless.

Stiffening her shoulders and her resolve,
Twyla stuffed the money into the paper sack Heather had gotten at
the Cowgirl. With a confident smile, she opened the door. “I’ll
call and let you know what happens.”

“
I’ll be waiting with baited
breath,” Heather said sarcastically, with a roll of her eyes. Twyla
hopped down, and was just closing the door when Heather spoke
again. “Tell Ryan I said to get his head out of his ass and do
something about it.”

“
What?” she asked.

“
Give Ryan a message for me…tell
him I said to get his head out of his ass and do something about
it. That’s all.” Heather repeated with a secretive smile. “Oh, and
here’s his cell phone.” She leaned over to toss it across the
seat.

Twyla was confused, but smiled back as she
reached for the phone. “Thanks, and I will,” she said with a laugh.
“Anyone ever told you you’re a weird chick?”

“
I’ve heard it plenty,” Heather
replied with another laugh. “Now get your ass out of my truck. I
have things to do tonight.”

Twyla shook her head and shut the door. She
shoved the phone into the pocket of her jean shorts, as she walked
to the front door. Her eyes fell on the neon sign on the door that
said Open and breathed a sigh of relief, as she twisted the knob.
She walked up to the counter, and turned her face when a musty old
wall unit blew smoke-tinged air into her face. She fumbled for the
bell on the counter and hit it several times.

A dirty-looking older man walked through the
doorway. “Yeah?” he said his eyes immediately fixing on her
breasts. They slid down to her waist, which was the only other part
of her body visible above the counter, and she felt like his eyes
left a mud trail on her body.

“
Eyes up here mister,” she said
with a wave of her hand in his line of vision. “I need to get a
truck out. It’s big and black. You picked it up from in front of
the hospital earlier today.”

“
Is it your truck?” he asked and
his words whistled through the gap left by his missing front
teeth.

“
No, it’s, um, my boyfriend’s
truck. He’s, ah, in the hospital and can’t come get to it. He sent
me to pick it up.”

“
Sorry, lady. Owner has to pick it
up and pay the fines, and my bill.”

“
I have the money to pay the
fines,” Twyla replied, her fist clenching on the brown paper sack
in her hand, making it crinkle.

“
Can’t do that. Has to be the
owner,” he said gruffly, turning his back to walk through the
doorway to leave her standing there.

“
Wait!” she shouted and he turned
back. Channeling the negotiation skills she’d seen Heather use
earlier, Twyla pasted on what she hoped was a sexy smile. “How bout
I give you double your fee, if you just let me have the
truck?”

“
Can’t do that,” he said, but
Twyla saw the interest in his eyes.

“
Triple?” she offered, counting up
in her mind what that was likely to be. He hadn’t given her a price
yet, so she dared not go any higher until she found out. She still
needed enough to bail Ryan out of jail.

“
Pay me a thousand dollars, and
I’ll forget it was ever here.”