Page 45 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)
NO SEAS COMEMIERDA
I’ve spent every morning sobbing at that godforsaken barn.
I know it’ll be worth it when it’s finished, to have a place that’s all my own, something no one can take from me.
As much as I miss Karmella and Yanet, I have no desire to go back to Texas, to leave Mayte, Isabela, Ryder, or my parents.
The circumstances suck, but I think everything I’ve ever needed is finally falling into place.
I stretch out on Mayte’s couch, my body humming with an undercurrent of pain that gets worse with each day that I overexert myself to get that barn ready for classes.
I’ve started to spread the word about my first class, knowing there’s not a chance the studio will be completely ready by then, but having a grand opening with a few people from town might raise the rest of the money I need to perfect it.
“Are you sure it’s all Lemmon? Any chance Russ might be behind some of this stuff?” Mayte asks, closing her eyes and breathing in the hot steam from her coffee mug.
I glance around Grind , our favorite coffee shop in town, ensuring there aren’t any prying eyes or ears in the vicinity.
“The permitting situation was all Lemmon. Ryder spoke with Todd on Monday, who confirmed she’d tried to blackmail him into fining Ryder.
When he refused and said he’d call her father for even suggesting such a thing, she clearly decided to take matters into her own hands. ”
“And everything else? The texts, the razor blades, and feeling like you’re being watched?”
I shake my head, shrugging my shoulders.
“I’m not sure.” I sigh. “The text messages seem childish enough to be Russ, but I can’t imagine him playing the long game.
If he were in town, hours away from home, he wouldn’t have just left.
He’d have stayed behind and waited until we got home to make his move, whatever that may be.
That, and for all that man's faults, he loved dogs. I can’t imagine him ever hurting one. ”
“Lemmon probably wouldn’t think twice about hurting a dog. It’s totally her,” Mayte grumbles, humming into her mug.
“What about her friends? You think they might be involved?”
She scoffs and dismisses the suggestion with a hand flick. “You mean Dumb and Dumber? Definitely not. They’re both sweet but misguided. She probably pays them to stick around.”
That almost makes me feel bad for her, but not quite.
Movement to our right steals my attention.
Sebastian dances around the counter, lifting the glass dome off the tray of pastries and plucking a couple, placing them onto a plate.
My eyes follow his movements as he sways his hips to the music from the speakers; he twirls until he’s standing beside our small rainbow-painted table.
He places the plate down, winking at us, and says, “On the house for my favorite ladies.”
“Quit flirting with me, Sebby!” Mayte says, fanning herself with one hand as she snatches one of the flaky pastries and brings it to her lips. She takes a bite, moaning loudly. Her eyes roll back, and Sebastian swats at her arm.
“You quit that moaning, Mayte. I don’t want the single ladies in this town to get the wrong impression! I don’t need that kind of pressure,” he jokes, bending to press a quick kiss to her cheek before sauntering off behind the counter.
“You’re the best, Seb,” Mayte says, blowing him a kiss that he grabs from the air, twisting his body to press his palm to his ass, as if placing her kiss there.
We both chuckle, loving the way his lighthearted antics momentarily rid us of the tense topic we’d been discussing.
“Okay, where were we?” Mayte asks.
I glance around for good measure, knowing no one has entered the small shop in several minutes. “Maybe if we lie low, it’ll all blow over, and whoever it is will go away.”
Mayte rolls her eyes, taking another massive bite of her pastry. She mumbles around the flaky dough, “ No seas comemierda. ”
“I’m not,” I groan. “I’m being optimistic.”
“All I’m saying is that you need to keep a good head on your shoulders.”
The weight of her words, and the insinuations that follow them, settles like a loaf of stale bread in my gut. Like Ryder, I never loved horror movies, but I’m afraid I might be living one.