Divine Phoenix(Divine Creek Ranch 10)(101)

Summer said, “Say no more, babe. Off with the suit. Later we can make a voodoo doll of him and burn it. I say embrace your beauty, even the parts you plan to change. You know we’re not going to judge you, right?”

Lily looked around at their affirming expressions, and Grace nodded, silently encouraging her.

Lily suddenly found herself standing next to Teresa, and she slipped the straps from her shoulders. She glanced around as the girls backed away to give her room, and she allowed the suit to slip down her legs. She fought the urge to cover the mark with her hand before she jumped into the pool, which was nearly as warm as bathwater and very relaxing.

The girls came near, and Maya asked, “Can we see?” She didn’t mean in an ugly, nosy way. Her tone was more like she was asking to see her battle scars.

Lily propped her elbows behind her on the pool’s edge and pulled herself up. She’d never been overly modest before, so their scrutiny of her body didn’t bother her, merely the thought they were seeing the hideous tattoo.

Grace vehemently ground out, “That sadistic, cocksucking, motherfucking bastard!”

All the other girls’ eyes popped open and jaws dropped at her growling, angry tone of voice. Grace evidently didn’t crap rainbows all the time.

Rosemary chuckled and quipped, “Tell us how ya really feel, Grace.”

“I take it Clay and Del have seen this mark?” Summer asked. “They should contact Ace and Kemp to investigate that bastard.”

Lily replied, “Jack mentioned that to them. Del told me all he wants is thirty minutes alone with JT. He worked for a private military company overseas so I can imagine what he’d actually do if he ever got that time alone with JT.”

Grace scoffed. “Private military? There’s no telling. Your ex-husband doesn’t deserve to be breathing if this is the kind of thing he would do to somebody who trusted him. Good for absolutely nothing.”

LuAnn piped up. “Oh, no. He’s definitely good for something. All we’d need is chloroform, a chainsaw, and a wood chipper. He’d make excellent fertilizer, given time.”

Everyone laughed, including Lily. LuAnn described the perfect private location outside of the town she was from, Fort Stockton, Texas, where his remains could be put to use helping the sagebrush grow.

Rosemary asked, “Would you ever stand up to him if you had the chance?”

Shaking her head, Lily recalled the unholy gleam in his eyes the first time she got a look at the tattoo.

Maya patted her shoulder. “Sometimes it’s best to keep yourself safe. I know that for a fact. Some people are just crazy and no purpose is served by having contact at all.”

Grace said, “Lily, Maya was attacked last summer and shot by her deceased husband’s partner. He nearly killed her. We’re just glad you’re here with us, safe. We’re going to do our best to keep it that way.”

“What’s that noise?” Margot asked, treading water beside Lily.

“What noise?” LuAnn replied, pulling herself up onto the edge of the pool to sit with her feet dangling in the water.

Lily marveled at the pretty blonde as she sat there stark naked, leaning back on her hands as though she were sitting there fully clothed. Lily wished that she were that cool. She planned to grab one of the towels from the stack on a table near the pool’s edge just as soon as she left the water.

Rosemary whispered, “Shh. I hear it, too.”

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

“What in the world is that?” Grace moved to the edge of the pool closest to the back gate and called out, “Is somebody there?”

The back gate on the privacy fence swung open, and the source of the curious, flatulent sound suddenly appeared. Like gophers hiding from a hawk, the girls all ducked down in the water, with the exception of Teresa, who was clad in her suit, and LuAnn, who sat frozen, wide-eyed in horror.

Lily did a double take when she realized the person was dressed in clown garb. Clad in ratty, cutoff overalls, yellow tights, red thermal shirt, rainbow-striped leg warmers, a fuzzy orange wig, a beat-to-hell cowboy hat, and high-topped sneakers, with full makeup on, stood a decked-out rodeo clown.

“Oh, hey, Grace! I thought I heard noise—Oh, shit!”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!” The sound that erupted from LuAnn’s wide open mouth was enough to curdle the milk of all the cows in the nearby vicinity.

Grace reached the edge of the pool closest to him and said, “Maynard, I’m having a get-together with some—”

“Aaaaaahhhhh!”

The rodeo clown slapped his hand over his made-up face to cover his eyes. “Shit, Grace, I’m so—No! Don’t get out of the water!”