Page 40 of Desert King

12

Amber

Three weeks later…

I’m plagued with dreams of him at night. Reliving the hours in his arms. Somehow the guilt slipped away leaving only memories behind. I’ve been hiding out in my new home for weeks. Only leaving to get supplies at the local garden and feed store or going to teach Evan every day. Jenny kept her mouth shut about it all. Her focus is on her son, not whatever beef the RBMC has with me. All I know is he’s gone. Left for Club business and hasn’t been back since. Jenny heard through her ex some big shit was going down at an MC meet.

I know I can’t hide out in my desert house forever. Someday I’ll face him. Make my stand that I’ve bought a house with no plans of leaving. But for now, just getting myself stronger has been the goal.

Hours of landscaping has turned my skin from ghostly to a light tan. I also got into pilates and yoga, using the wide-planked covered deck behind my house as a perfect spot.

Lifting heavy rocks and boulders to make a garden wall was a bitch. But doing it as well as hauling bags of soil for my new vegetable garden and eating Mexican takeout every night has given me more bulk.

“There,” I scoop the heated Earth pressing the last seed into the soil. By spring, desert blooms will line my front drive.

Cell signal was spotty this far out of town, so I had a dish installed on my roof with a cell signal booster. Tarak can kiss it. Besides, technically I’m not in his town. My home sits outside the city limits of Santa Fe. So, technically I wasn’t lying when I said I’d leave.

My cell buzzes from the back pocket of my jeans.

“Hey Jen.”

“What are you doing?”

“Right now?” I look at my dirt-covered hands. “Getting dirty.”

“Get your ass over to my place. Evan’s at my sister’s for the weekend. We’ve got a party to attend.”

“Oh?”

“The town hasn’t seen a party this big since the great re-opening.”

“I can’t show my face. You know that.”

“Relax. I figured it all out. It’s a coming of age party for my cousin’s daughter. It’s called a Quinceanera. She wanted it to be a costume party. A grand, over the top, hoop and ballgown, men in tuxedos kind of party. It was delayed a week and now it’s on. You can’t miss!”

“Really?” I can’t help but to be a bit excited. I never went to any proms, dances, or parties in my old life. Something like this is on my new life’s to-do list.

“I have nothing like that.”

“Girl, please. I’m a cosmetologist. Hair, makeup, and costumes are my thing. It’ll be more fun if I don’t go alone.”

“Fine. But I need to look different.”

“You already do. Your tan is flawless. And how much weight have you gained these past few weeks eight pounds?”

“Twelve. I found a doctor I really like he gave me a pill to help.”

“Damn. Does he have a reversal?”

“Har-har. What time should I come.”

“Four. I’ll have cocktails. The party starts at eight. That should be enough time to transform ourselves.”

“Can you transform a mouse into a Queen?”

“You’re already on your way to doing that Amber. You just can’t see it.”

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