Dirty Cowboy

by Alycia Taylor

  “Right, I think we should leave. I have a sudden urgency to get home,” I said.

  His eyes brightened. “Really?”

  “Oh yeah. Your duty here is done! And I have a lot to thank you for.”

  He took my arm and the two of us walked outside. I thought about saying goodbye to Mae but when I had gone to look for her, she was talking to John, and the two of them looked as if they wouldn’t want to be interrupted.

  “Ah, I left my bag inside,” I said suddenly. “Let me go and get it.”

  “No, I’ll get it for you. Do you know where it is?”

  “Yeah, I must’ve left it in that seat when I was changing my shoes. Are you sure?”

  “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

  I smiled as I watched him run back into the hall for me. He’d been so nice to me all night, even though the party was not his style. I appreciated that more than he would ever know. I turned back around, looking around to see if anyone else was leaving the party, when I suddenly saw a familiar figure coming toward me.

  “Raymond,” I whispered.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Ian

  I walked inside to look for Eliza’s bag but couldn’t find it anywhere. I started to panic as I looked around. Had someone stolen it? I started looking around frantically and then breathed a huge sigh of relief when I saw Mae at the other side of the room with it. She saw me, grinned, and held it up.

  “Eliza’s bag,” she said. “I saw it sitting there and thought you guys had gone home.”

  “We were about to leave. She . . . uh . . . didn’t want to interrupt you,” I said. I didn’t want Mae to think that Eliza had told me all about John. But Mae didn’t seem to mind. She just grinned.

  “Good thinking,” she said. “Listen, thanks for coming tonight. It meant a lot to Eliza.”

  “Really? Well, it was great. And you guys did an amazing job. I can’t believe you pulled this entire thing off so well. I think you know what your true calling in life is.”

  “No wonder Eliza is always telling me how nice you are. Thank you.”

  “She is?”

  Mae laughed. “Oh yeah. She thinks the world of you. And I really appreciate you being there for her. Especially during this tough time.”

  “Well, I can say the same about you. She loves you. Anyway, I better go. She’s waiting outside. It was nice seeing you again, Mae.”

  “You too. And hey, before you go, do you have any idea why Eliza’s heels are in this bag? I opened it to make sure it was hers. Is she walking around barefoot?”

  I laughed. “Nah, she’s wearing sneakers. She brought them to change into.”

  Mae burst out laughing. “That sounds like something she’d do. Okay, well, enjoy the rest of your evening,” she said and winked at me.

  I could see why Eliza was such good friends with her. The two of them were very similar. I was grateful to have found the bag and quickly made my way outside. I was itching to get home and be with Eliza. The twenty minutes in the coat room had been almost too much for me to handle.

  The last thing I expected to see when I walked out was a man grabbing Eliza by the arm. She jerked back, and he reached out for her again. I ran up to her.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Eliza.

  She looked terrified. “It’s Raymond.”

  “Raymond? What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. So this was Raymond. He looked like a clean-cut California guy with teeth that were far too white and perfect. The only thing that was running through my head was smashing them to pieces.

  “Excuse me? Who are you?” Raymond asked. He took a step closer to me, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

  I stepped back and regarded him. “I’m her boyfriend. And you are not welcome here.”

  Raymond looked at Eliza. “Boyfriend? Since when do you have a boyfriend? I thought I was your boyfriend? Is this why you moved to Arizona? So you can be with this guy?”

  It was the first time I’d used the term boyfriend, and I wasn’t sure if it was the best time. But there was no way I was going to let this idiot think he could get away with what he was doing. And anyway, we were practically going out. We just hadn’t labeled it yet.

  “No. I left California to get away from you. But I met Ian while I was here. And he’s everything that you’re not. But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that you came all the way here to harass me. We’re not even going out anymore. I told you that. I left you.”

  “And now you’re with this guy?” Raymond spat. He took a step toward me but stumbled.

  “Dude, you’re wasted,” I said.

  He turned away from Eliza to look at me. “What does it matter to you? She was my girlfriend before you showed up.”

  “No,” I said, moving toward him despite the stench. “She broke up with you because you hit her. How dare you hit a girl? Especially Eliza.”

  “Oh yeah? Should I hit a boy then? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Seriously? You really want to go there?”

  Raymond laughed. “You scared? Because I’ll hit you.”

  Then Raymond came forward and threw a punch my way. He would’ve gotten me if he hadn’t been so drunk. I saw his fist coming and stopped it in time. Then I punched him back. I hit him square in the mouth, just as I had wanted to. Then I did it again. He fell back when I hit in the nose.

  “Ian! Stop!” Eliza screamed next to me.

  I blinked. I’d forgotten that she was standing there. In my rage, the only thing that I had noticed was Raymond. And hitting him had felt good. But Eliza was staring at me in horror, and I suddenly realized that I’d taken it too far.

  “We should call the cops,” Eliza said.

  “Why? He’ll be fine. I just punched him.”

  “He’s passed out.”

  “Exactly. That’s all he is. But it’s mostly because he’s drunk. If he wasn’t drunk, he’d be trying to punch me right back now. You don’t need to call the cops.”

  A couple came out of the hall and gasped when they saw the scene in front of them. I groaned. All I wanted to do was to take Eliza’s hand and walk away. The last thing that I wanted to do was to make things worse, and to put the spotlight on me. Especially now that I was the president of the club while my father was ill. He wouldn’t take too kindly with this sort of publicity. And I knew that if the media found out, I wouldn’t just be Ian Maxwell. I’d be Ian Maxwell—president of the notorious motorcycle club. The media always had to make things juicier than they really were. I turned around when I heard the sound of Eliza’s voice. She’d just called the cops.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll tell them that you were protecting me. I just . . . well, I couldn’t just leave him here.”

  I didn’t say anything. I thought about running away, but I knew that would only make things worse. So I waited with Eliza in silence until the police showed up only moments later. The cop got out his car and shook his head when he saw me standing next to Raymond, who was only just starting to come around.

  “Have you boys been drinking?” a cop who looked like he had eaten way too many doughnuts over the years asked.

  I almost responded by asking him if he’d been eating, but thankfully realized how unwise that would be. I shook my head. “Not me, sir. But this guy has. He came to this party to harass his ex-girlfriend.”

  “And you decided to turn that into a fight,” the fat cop said. “Right, well, there’s no point standing here. Get in the back seat. I’ll get this idiot in the back with you.”

  “Wait!” Eliza said, but it was too late.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d been in the back of a cop car, and it wasn’t the first time that I’d gone to jail. Unfortunately the moment one of the other cops saw me, he decided that he wasn’t going to hear me out until the next day. Thankfully, he didn’t put me in with Raymond. I wondered briefly where they had put him, but I decided that I didn’t care. As long as he was f
ar from Eliza. I was sure that they could smell the alcohol on his breath, anyway.

  The following morning, I was woken up by doughnut cop telling me that I was free to go.

  “I am? Why?” I wasn’t sure why I was even asking that question. The only thing that I should have been saying was thank you and then running the hell out of there. But still, I was curious.

  “Well, someone posted your bail.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. You have some luck on your side this time.”

  “What happened to Raymond?”

  “Who?”

  “Raymond, the other guy that was with me. The drunk one.”

  “Oh, he’s still here. We’re going to make him stay the day and then send his ass right back to California. We’ve got no reason to keep him.”

  I smiled. That was one good thing, at least. I grabbed my things and headed out. There was nothing quite like the feeling of walking out of jail, even if I was only in there for one night. I wondered who had gotten me out so quickly.

  “Eliza,” I said when I saw her standing there. “You bailed me out?”

  She nodded. Her eyes were puffy, and I could see that she had been crying. It made me sad to see her like that, but I was too angry to go up to her and hug her.

  “Of course I did. I’m so sorry.”

  “You should’ve listened to me. I told you that Raymond was going to be fine. He was just drunk. And you know that I have a reputation with the cops that I’m desperately trying to get rid of. I was only sticking up for you, and yet you still went against what I asked for.”

  “I know. I know. That’s why I’m here. I’m really sorry. Come on, let’s go home,” she said.

  I shook my head. “No, I’m going home alone. Thanks for bailing me out.” Then I walked out the doors without looking back at her. I’d spent all night with her at a party that I didn’t even enjoy. I’d dressed up for her. And right when she needed me the most, I’d stuck up for her. And still, she got me arrested. I needed to get home and get my bike. The only thing that was going to help me at that moment was some fresh air and a very long bike ride.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Eliza

  I walked into work on Monday with a heavy heart. Monday should’ve been a day of huge celebration for the office, and now the last thing that I wanted to do was to go in and talk about the party. I also had no idea how much everyone knew about what had happened. At that time of the night, almost everyone was still inside. There was that one couple that had seen, but other than that, I wasn’t sure. I’d gone straight home and had spent a sleepless night trying to figure out what to do. I’d called Mae the following day and had begged her not to tell John. I didn’t want it to be the one thing that everyone spoke about that week.

  I walked up the stairs with huge trepidation, and the only thing that I could think about was Ian. I’d been so sure that he’d be happy to see me when I bailed him out that I’d been left speechless when he’d walked out on me. I’d gone straight to his house to talk to him, but he wasn’t there. When I didn’t see his bike, I knew that he’d gone out to clear his head. And I knew that could mean that he would be out for hours. It also meant that he hadn’t wanted me around. So I’d gone back home and tried everything to keep myself busy. I wondered what had happened to Raymond, but the thought of phoning him to find out had been even less pleasant. In the end, I spent the entire day just cleaning my apartment, which had been pretty clean to start off with.

  The moment I walked through the doors at work, Paul called me over.

  “Hey, I hear the party was a hit,” he said.

  My smile wobbled. “Uh, yeah, it was.”

  “Congrats, man. That’s cool. Listen John asked if you can go and see him as soon as you get in. Mae is already there.”

  “Oh. Any idea why?”

  Paul shrugged. “No idea. I’m assuming it’s about the party.”

  “Okay, great. Thanks,” I said with uncertainty.

  I dropped my bag onto my desk, took off my coat, and then headed off to John’s office. My heart sank. John was probably calling me in because he’d heard what had happened and wanted to fire me.

  “Eliza! Good morning. Come in,” he said as I walked through his office doors. Well, he didn’t sound mad at me. That was one good thing at least.

  I smiled nervously at him and Mae and sat down.

  “Morning. No coffee?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Uh, no. Paul said I should come right over.”

  John laughed. “I didn’t mean before you had your coffee.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll get some after. Is everything okay?”

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t it be? I just wanted to tell you both what a great job you did on that party. The owner called me this morning to tell me how happy she was. She told me on the night, as you know, but at least we now know she wasn’t just tipsy or something. She’s very happy, and I have both of you to thank.”

  “It was so much fun,” Mae gushed.

  I watched for a while as the two of them spoke, and I added my bit whenever I felt it was necessary. I couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them. Mae told me that they’d flirted all night, but neither one of them had made the move still. I knew that Mae was too nervous to be the one to say something first because John was her boss. And John was probably too nervous because Mae was his employee. But it would happen eventually. I just knew it. And something told me that it was going to be soon.

  “You know, I have a feeling that our company is going to be huge in Arizona. Apparently the paper is doing a big article on it for tomorrow. Isn’t that great?” John was saying.

  I’d been thinking about Ian and not really listening, and I was thankful when Mae butted in to say something back.

  “Well, I better leave the two of you to work. There’s not too much going on this week so far, so you should have a quiet day.”

  We thanked him and headed out. I went straight to my desk and started checking my emails, but Mae had other plans. She slid her chair over to me.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  I nodded my head and sighed. “I guess so.”

  “Have you spoken to Ian yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “Seriously? You haven’t heard from him at all?”

  “No. And it’s torture. Does John know what happened?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t say anything to him, and he didn’t ask. So I’m assuming he doesn’t. But maybe you should go and tell him the story before he hears it from someone else.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said.

  “Also . . . uh, have you seen the newspaper today?”

  “The newspaper? No, why? Oh no, it’s not in the newspaper, is it?”

  She nodded warily. “Yeah. Looks like Ian made the front page.”

  She went to get a copy and handed it to me. On the front page was a picture of Ian that looked like it had been taken years ago. He looked a lot rougher than he did now. And the headline read: BIKER GANG MEMBER ARRESTED. I read through the article and saw that they had not mentioned Raymond at all, other than as being the victim of a ‘gang member.’ They went on to mention Ian’s club and how the members were all terrible people. It was a horrible thing to read, especially because none of it was true.

  “How can they do something like this? It’s not even true. And the club is amazing. They’re not bad people. Ian isn’t a bad person. And they didn’t even mention the fact that he was defending me.”

  “I’m so sorry, Eliza. You know what the media is like. They’ll sensationalize anything for a story.”

  “I’m going to phone them and speak my mind. I know there’s nothing that I can do about it now. The damage has been done. But I want to at least have my say. Poor Ian. He’s going to freak when he sees this.”

  “It’s all Raymond’s fault. If he hadn’t come over like that, then none of this would’ve happened. Oh crap, my phone is ringing. Love you,” she said and push
ed her chair back to her desk.

  I looked at the paper again and shook my head. I couldn’t believe that they would do something like this. Ian had been right. They wanted to show the bike club in a bad light, and now they had a reason to do it. I shouldn’t have interfered the way that I did. I needed to talk to John about the whole thing too. I popped him an email and scheduled an appointment with him later that day.

  I was just about to attempt working again when my phone rang and I saw that it was my mother. I quickly rushed outside to speak to her so that the entire office didn’t overhear the conversation.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Darling. You’re finally talking to me.”

  I sighed. “Well, I’m not going to be angry at you forever. You’re my mom.”

  “Do you have some time to talk?”

  “I’m at work, but it’s a quiet day. So, yeah, I can talk. What’s going on?”

  “I want you to tell me all about what happened between you and Raymond.”

  “What? Why? So that you can tell me that I’m a liar again?”

  “No. So that I can listen to the truth.”

  “What made you change your mind?”

  “You’re my daughter. And I should’ve believed you from the start. Not some guy that just happens to have a charming smile.”

  I thought of Ian punching him in the face and chuckled slightly. “Not anymore,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, before I get to that, I need to tell you all about my relationship with Raymond. And, Mom, I promise you now, I’m not making any of this up. I wouldn’t lie about something like this. And I should’ve told you earlier. But I didn’t want to hurt you. And also, it was easier to sometimes pretend like it didn’t really happen at all.”

  After that, I launched into the entire story regarding my years with Raymond. How he’d been a gentleman at the start, and how he’d turned into an alcoholic who wanted to control me. I told her everything, even when it sometimes hurt to say it out loud. I told her things that I’d even battled to think about myself. And once I was done, I said,