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“No worries. Who’s this?” The man’s tone is friendly, but I already hate him.
“Who am I?Who are you? You’re calling my phone.”
The man groans. “I told you. I’m the owner of The Barnyard. Who are you?”
“Atlas Laskin. I’m doing work on Peyton’s roof. What message can I relay?”
“Ah, you’re one of those Alaskan guys, huh? I grew up near Fairbanks. The people here warm up to you.” He clicks a pen as he talks. “Peyton is supposed to dance at the club tomorrow night. I told her to be here by eight, but I need her at seven. If you could let her know, that’d be great.”
I shouldn’t pry anymore because I don’t care. I really don’t. If this girl wants to strip off her clothes and show herself to half the mountain for some money, then so be it. Not my place to say otherwise. So, it confuses the hell out of me when my mouth keeps moving. “Dancing?What kind of dancing?”
Declan laughs. “You haven’t heard of us? We cater to all kinds of fun, but one weekend a month, we’re a strip club. We do both male and female revue. This weekend we’re female. You should come down, assuming that’s your thing.”
Is this guy talking shit to me or is this news incredibly shocking? I shouldn’t give two fucks what this woman does with her life. I need to be paid, and she figured a way to pay me.End of story.That said, my skin is on fire.
“Got it. Thanks.” I hang up the line aggressively and redirect my attention to the beer on the table.
“What the hell was all that about?” Dad stalks back in from the hallway like he’s got a personal bone to pick with me.
“You been to that club outside of town? The Barnyard or some shit.”
He stares at me like I was born with rocks in my head, then looks down at the map bundled in his hands. “I needall of youhere hunting this bear so we can get home. How am I not fucking clear on that?”
I stand from the table slowly and push in the chair.
My father is rattling off about something, but all I see is red.Bright, fucking, throbbing, red.
I grab my coat and hat before pushing open the door and jogging out toward my truck. Niko speaks of something, but I don’t pay him any mind. Right now, I need a long ass drive to remind myself why I’m alone… and then another to remind myself that women aren’t worth the trouble.
Chapter Three
Peyton
I set a homemade apple pie out on the windowsill to cool. It’s the first attempt I’ve made at baked goods in a while, and I think it turned out quite well. This is the wholesome energy I need to get through the day. So far, I’ve signed myself up to strip, lied to my parents about an extra shift at the diner so they’d take the kids for the weekend, and then lied to my kids about the whole thing.I’m officially an asshole.
That said, knowing I can afford all the hammering going on gives me peace of mind, which reduces my stress, which makes me a better mom. So, in reality, this is the right decision.
My friend Lainey stands in the front room, sheltering her ears from all the banging. She’s the only person on Earth that knows the truth. And if I hadn’t run into her yesterday after she talked to Declan, I don’t think I’d be as honest with her either.
“Okay… that pie looks like stress. You okay?” Her long blonde hair sits perfectly on her shoulders. We’ve talked a lot, but never about anything real. Some days it feels like I don’t know much about Lainey, other than how rich she is… or used to be.
“I think so. A little scared, but it’s fine.”
“What are you scared of?”
My eyes widen. “That the kids will find out their mother used sex to get money. That, and look at me. I know I’ve alwaysbeen curvy, but I don’t look the same after the kids. Besides that, I just found out Rick is in town this week. If he finds out I’m doing this, he’ll make my life a living hell.” I scrub my hands over my face and sit on the edge of the couch. “What am I doing?”
“First off, you look amazing, so stop with all that. You’ve got curves, and people like curves. Also, I know you don’t want me to offer you money, so I won’t, but you know…” She wraps her arm around me. “You’re doing what you think is best. No one will fault you for that. And really, what’s Rick going to do? Lots of strippers have kids.”
“He’ll probably use his fancy lawyers to say I’m a terrible mother. He’ll tell everyone I’m so broke. That I can’t care for them properly and I devolve into poor decision making to make it happen.”
“He’s the terrible father. Did he even ask to see the kids?”
I shake my head. “You know I had to hear from my mom he was in town? She said his mom told her.” I chew the inside of my cheek. “Apparently, a tattoo is more important than time with your kids. He’s a real piece of work.”
Lainey rolls her eyes and glances toward the front door as it swings open. Atlas is on the other side with a stoic look on his face.
“Can I help you?”
