Chet
“You got a job and you’re starting today?” I stared at Arya.
“Yep. I got a job.” She beamed at me.
“What’s the name of the place you got a job at?”
“You don’t know it.”
“Try me.”
“It’s called St. Rose’s Exclusive Club. I’m going to be a bartender.” She smiled triumphantly. I knew she was daring me to say something about the job. I cursed under my breath. This was the last thing that I needed.
“St. Rose’s? That’s ages away. I thought you were going to look for a job in Horseshoe Valley.”
“Yeah, well, the economy in Horseshoe Valley is doing really bad. No one’s hiring because they’re not getting much business.”
“That’s part of the reason why me and my brothers want to bring tourists to town,” I said. “Once we bring tourists, they’ll shop in town and then—”
“Well, I can’t wait on that,” she cut me off. “I mean, I think it’s admirable that you and your brothers are trying to help Horseshoe Valley as well as Horseshoe Ranch, but I need a job now.”
“Okay, so you’re going to be working as a bartender and you start tonight.”
“Yep. That’s what I said, Chet.”
“But how can they expect you to start today? You literally just went in.”
She ignored me. “I already spoke to your mom, and she says she doesn’t mind watching Eloise tonight. So,” she shrugged, “I need to go and get ready.”
“What are you going to wear?”
“Chet, seriously?”
“I’m just asking. I don’t want you to go dress in all slutty, and then those guys going to think they got a chance.”
“‘Dressing all slutty’?” She raised an eyebrow at me. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. Wearing some slutty dress with no bra and no panties.”
“Chet, I’m not trying to seduce every man at the bar. I’m going to wear a bra and I’m going to wear panties. Don’t worry.”
“Hmm,” I said. “Are you sure about this, Arya?”
“I’m sure about this. The last girl that was bartending there made five hundred dollars in one night.”
“Five hundred dollars in one night at St. Rose’s Exclusive Club? Really? Isn’t that place a shithole?”
“No, it’s not a shithole.” She paused. “Well, I mean it didn’t look like the nicest bar in the world, but obviously it’s not a shithole if the bartenders are making that much money.”
“I guess.” I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know,” I said again. “I really do not like the sound of this, Arya.”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter what you think, Chet.”
“Oh, yeah?” I pulled her close and gave her a big kiss on the mouth.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“You can’t just kiss me when and whenever you feel like it.”
“Oh, yeah? Why is that?”
“Because we already agreed that we’re not going to be a thing. You and me,” she pushed her hands against my chest, “are not a thing.”
“Well, I’d beg to differ. I think we are a thing.”
“We’re not a thing, Chet. I already told you I’m not going to pretend—”
“I don’t want you to pretend,” I said.
“What?” she said, surprised.
“I don’t want you to pretend to be my fake fiancée.”
“Okay, well you certainly wanted me to yesterday.”
“I was in shock at the newspaper article that my mom had printed up and I wasn’t thinking. It was a stupid idea. There’s no way we could pretend to be engaged and then call the engagement off. My mom wouldn’t let that happen.”
“Okay, so then why are we still talking about this?”
“That doesn’t mean that we can’t still have a thing,” I said softly.
“What thing, Chet? You already told me that your—” Her phone started beeping. “That’s my alarm. I have to grab a shower and get ready.”
“But we were just talking about you and me.”
“There is no you and me, but there is a me in this job, and I need to make money. So this is all we’re going to say on the matter right now.” She gave me a pointed look and then walked away, leaving me to fume.
* * *
“Hey, Wyatt, what you up to tonight?” I asked my brother as he entered the kitchen, looking for something to eat.
“Not much.” He opened the door of the refrigerator and studied the contents. “Sadie said she’s going out with the girls, so I guess I’m left to do whatever I want. What about you?”
“I was thinking about going into St. Roses.”
“St. Roses?” He looked up at me. “Why?”
“Well, I’m not sure if you heard, but Arya got a job—”
“You’re not going to get her fired from another job, are you?”
“No, I’m not going to get her fired from a job. I just want to make sure that everything’s on the up and up.”
“What do you mean? What’s her job?”
“She’s working at the St. Roses Exclusive Club.”
“That bar?” He looked surprised. “She really wants to be a bartender, huh?”
“I guess so. I don’t know why she just won’t accept a job working here at the ranch.”
“Maybe because she doesn’t want to feel beholden to you.”
“Why would she beholden to me? Just because—”
“Dude, would you want to work for someone you’re sleeping with?”
“It’s not like we’re sleeping together actively. I mean, it’s not like I’m her Richard Gere or anything.”
“Her what?”
“Pretty Woman?”
“Yeah. She is a pretty woman. So?”
“No, I’m talking about the movie Pretty Woman.”
“Never heard of it,” Wyatt opened the fridge again.
I stared at him in surprise. “You’ve never heard of Pretty Woman with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts?”
“When did it come out, last year?”
“No, I think it came out in the ’80s or the ’90s,” I shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure when.”
“So then why do you think I would’ve seen it?”
“Well, anyway, in Pretty Woman Richard Gere is this rich businessman and Julia Roberts is a lady of the night.”
“A lady of the night?” Wyatt looked confused. “Dude, just speak in plain English, please.”
“She was a prostitute.”
“Oh, you mean like a ho?”
“We call them whores, Wyatt.”
“Whores, hoes, prostitutes, whatever.” He started laughing.
“What’s so funny, Wyatt?”
“It just reminds me of that song.”
“What song?”
“You know, there’s some prostitutes in this house. There’s some prostitutes in this house,” he sang loudly.
“Is that how the song goes?”
“No, but you know what I mean.”
“Oh my God, Wyatt. We’re getting sidetracked. I don’t care about your prostitute song. I just want to go and make sure that Arya is going to be okay.”
He looked at me through narrowed eyes. “So…she knows we’re coming?”
“No, she doesn’t know.”
“And you don’t think she’s going to be upset when we just show up at her new job?”
“Well, we’re not just going to show up at her new job as us.”
“Um, what do you mean?”
“We’re going to put on disguises.”
“Oh, hell no.” He put his hands up and took a step back. “I’m not dressing up as a drag queen.”
“Wyatt, sometimes I really think you’ve lost your marbles.” I was getting increasingly annoyed.
“What?” he said. “What do you mean?”
“Of course you’re not going to dress up as a drag queen. We’re going to go as old men.”
“Oh, and that’s better?”
“Are you coming with me or not?”
“I guess, seeing as I have nothing better to do, but if Arya finds out and she’s mad, you’re taking all the blame.”
“Yeah, yeah, and she’s not going to find out.”
“Really? You think we’re going to have that good of a disguise?”
“Yep,” I nodded. “I got some fake mustaches, and we’re going to wear dark glasses.”
“We’re going to wear dark glasses in a club?”
“Well, it’s a bar, and yeah, you know there are lots of weirdos in St. Roses.”
“That is true,” he laughed. “Okay, fine. When are we leaving?”
“Well, she left about an hour ago, so I think we should leave as soon as possible.”
“Okay, and you have the disguises ready? What are we wearing?”
“I figured we could wear overalls.”
“Overalls?” He shook his head. “No way, man. I know we live in Montana, but—”
“But what?”
“I ain’t no country dude.”
“Oh my God, Wyatt,” I laughed. “You’re too much.”
“I know. That’s what Sadie tells me all the time.”
I groaned at him. “Come on. Let’s go and put on the outfits I’ve got ready for us.”
“You’ve already got outfits ready for us? You just asked me if I was going to go.”
“Well, I had a feeling I could persuade you.”
“Uh-huh. Why do I think this is not going to be a good idea?”
“Trust me. It’s going to be fine.”
We pulled up outside the club about an hour later. I looked up and down the street. “This place already is giving me bad vibes,” I said to Wyatt as we got out of my truck.
“Why? We haven’t even gotten inside yet.”
“It just looks seedy.”
“I guess. So exactly how are we going to do this?”
He looked at me and I looked back at him and we both laughed. We had on big cowboy hats, fake mustaches, sunglasses, and overalls with cowboy boots. I didn’t recognize him and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have recognized me.
“Let’s just go in and we’ll see if she’s behind the bar or if she’s waitressing or whatever. We just want to keep an eye on her. We’ll sit in the corner.”
“Okay. Whatever you say, Chet.”
“Just follow me,” I said, as I took the lead and walked inside the bar. I looked around and saw about ten different groups of men. It was pretty packed here. I couldn’t lie, a lot more packed than 12 Point Buck Bar usually was. I didn’t see Arya, though. I sighed as I looked back at Wyatt, who was fiddling with his mustache.
“Don’t touch it, dude. It’ll fall off.”
“Okay,” he said rolling his eyes. “So where should we sit?”
“Let’s go over there,” I nodded to a table at the back. We headed to the back where a couple of older women stared at us.
“Hey, there cowboy,” a woman with long red hair said to me. “You want to join us?”
She gave me a wink and I shook my head. “No, thanks.”
I hurried back and took a seat. Wyatt followed behind me.
“Well, I think one of us is going to have to go up to the bar,” Wyatt said, “because I don’t see any waitresses in here.”
“Yeah, me either. I also don’t see Arya.” I pulled out my phone to see if she’d called or texted me about something being wrong but I had no missed messages from her. “Something doesn’t feel right,” I said.
I was about to jump up and head over to the bar when a tall man walked into the middle of the room with a megaphone.
“Good evening, everyone!” he shouted, the noise reverberating across the room. “I’m glad I’ve got y’all’s attention. Tonight is a very special night. Tonight is gentleman’s night and I’m pleased to announce that we have for you a very special guest all the way from da da da da …” He paused for dramatic effect.
“From where?” an old guy at a table next to us shouted.
“Texas,” he said. “We got a good old cowgirl from Texas and she’s about to show y’all how it’s done.”
“How what’s done?” another guy called out.
“You’ll see. Now, head on up to the back room, make sure you got plenty of singles. We can make change for you at the bar.”
I looked at Wyatt and he looked at me and I could feel my stomach sinking. “Oh, shit,” I said. “Please do not tell me that Arya took a job as a stripper. Did she really need a job that badly?”
Wyatt shook his head. “I don’t know what to say, bro. I mean, I would’ve said no, but now I’m not sure. It’s not looking good.”
“Come on, let’s go to the back,” I said, shaking my head. I was starting to get angry.
We followed a group of men into a darkly lit room. There was a stage in the center and a spotlight next to a microphone. There was no one on the stage and there was no one else in the room. Wyatt and I took a seat towards the back and we watched as the room got crowded. I looked at Wyatt and he looked at me.
“I can’t see shit, man,” he said.
“Take off your glasses, then,” I said, as I took my own glasses off. I was about to speak when Guns’n’Roses poured through the speakers.
“Okay, then. This is some odd music for a strip club,” Wyatt said with a grin.
“Wyatt, this is not funny.”
“I didn’t say it was funny. I just—”
“Shut up, bro.” Abruptly the music changed to “Sweet Home Alabama,” and I looked around the room wondering what was going on. The old man jumped on the stage and took the microphone.
“Welcome, everyone. Introducing all the way from Mesquite, Texas, we have Lady Two Guns. Come on, Lady Two Guns, get out here.”
And then before I knew what was happening, a nervous-looking Arya walked out onto the stage, wearing a long skirt, cowboy boots, a bikini top, a cowboy hat, and two guns in her hand. She looked absolutely mortified, and I just wanted to run up to the stage to help her.
I was about to jump up when Wyatt grabbed my arm. “Don’t do it, bro.”
“What? She’s obviously not comfortable up there.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t leave, so you need to let her finish what she started.”
“What? Are you joking? Look at these dirty old men. They—”
“Dude, she’s not going to appreciate it if you ruin another job for her.”
“I’m not ruining a job for her. I’m trying to save her.”
“She didn’t ask you to save her. Trust me. Be there to catch her when she falls, but don’t stop her from jumping, okay?”
“Fine,” I sighed. “When did you get to be so smart, Wyatt?”
“I’ve always been smart, big bro. You’ve only just started listening.”