“Good, then I won’t worry about you too much, KyKy.”
Kierra loved Brock and the two of them bickered like an old married couple. It was highly entertaining, and Kyra almost asked her sister to come to the Ranch early, but she had things she needed to work out first and she didn’t want the extra distraction just yet.
“You don’t need to worry at all, I’ll be fine. I just need to figure some stuff out.”
“You’re amazing and strong and I know you got this. I love you, little sis.”
Kyra rolled her eyes at the last little dig, but she didn’t argue. “Love you too, KeeKee. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
She hung up and went back to rocking as she finished her breakfast. She probably needed more than a coffee and pastry, but no one would be keeping tabs on her. She could do whatever the hell she wanted, for once.
Throwing her trash away, Kyra went back inside and looked around. A few people milled about, but she stayed close to the edge of the giant room and tried not to draw attention to herself.
She paused in her escape long enough to take in the grand lobby. Like the rest of the main lodge, it was all wood-paneled walls with enormous windows looking out at the view of the pastures and the mountains in the distance. There was a massive, double-sided stone fireplace in the middle of the room that looked like it could really warm up the place in the winter with seating all around it. She wasn’t sure how the folks who ran this place managed to make such a huge place so cozy, but they did.
There were so many things she wanted to see and do at the Ranch, but she wasn’t quite ready to people. Making her way back to her suite, she passed the Ranch store, surprised to see the door open so early.
“Retail therapy!” she announced with a little clap of her hands.
The store was amazing. There were sex toys and fetish wear on one side and regular convenience items on the other. Past that was a large toy section. She was immediately drawn to one of the big displays of stuffies dressed for the upcoming holiday in red, white and blue. She walked from one end of the long shelf to the other, stopping to admire the cute, fuzzy animals. There were teddies, of course, plus puppies, kittens, bunnies, cute little squirrels with fluffy tails, and even a giraffe with an American flag bandanna tied around its long neck. But she kept going back to an adorable little white pony, its braided mane and tail in red and blue.
“You’re perfect,” she told it. “You’re coming home with me, little guy.”
Walking further into the store with her new stuffy in her arms, Kyra spotted a small salon section across from the large fitting room area.
She caught her reflection in one of the full-length mirrors. She wasn’t super vain, but she was proud of how she looked. She loved the natural look of her body and the shape of her face. She loved the tan glow of her skin that showed her love of everything outdoors. Then there was her hair. People spent hundreds of dollars to get the high and low lights that naturally ran through her golden locks. Richard had always said he liked it long, so it was almost down to her butt at this point, but she didn’t have to do what Richard wanted anymore, did she? And just then she decided she wanted it gone.
She walked to the single salon station and jumped into the chair, smiling hugely at the woman who approached.
“Hi, I’m Jackie, how can I help you?”
“Yes, please. I need a change. Let’s chop it all off. Maybe we can do some spikes like an OG P!nk, except I’m thinking I’d like blue or purple instead of pink. Yeah, that’s what I want.”
The cute and curvy Ranch hair stylist nibbled the side of her lip as Kyra explained to her how she wanted her hair done.
“Do you think you might want to discuss this change with someone? Your Mommy or Daddy maybe?” Jackie asked, obviously uncomfortable with the drastic change Kyra was requesting.
“I don’t have a Daddy anymore; he cheated on me. And I’m never having a Daddy again.” Kyra shrugged like her entire world hadn’t been turned upside down.
“I’m sorry to hear that. If he did that to you, then he’s not a real Daddy, in my opinion.” Jackie brushed out Kyra’s long blonde hair. “Can I ask when that happened?” Jackie inquired.
“Yesterday. We were supposed to come here together, but I called him and heard another woman’s voice so I’m moving on.”
Kyra’s voice sounded oddly void of emotion, even to herself, but she was determined to close herself off for good. She would never let another man hurt her again. She was in control of her life, her future, and most of all, her body. It belonged to her now, and no one else.
“Okay, let me grab some things and I’ll be right back.”
Jackie scurried off and Kyra pulled out her phone to pass the time. She scrolled through social media, getting joy from all of the people trying to figure out where her “Big Fourth of July Bash” was being held, but outside of the people at the Ranch, no one would know until after it was over. If it even happened. She honestly didn’t know if she even wanted to be a singer anymore. Maybe she’d give it all up and just start over. After all, if she’d never become a singer, she would have never met Richard and all his big plans. Plans that included using her to get what he wanted: a big contract and all the money that came with it so he could spend it on that bimbo.
Maybe it was the music business that did this to people. She’d heard plenty of stories about how this kind of career could corrupt someone. Too many people drank too much, and Richard wasn’t the first man in this industry to cheat. Yeah, maybe she needed to do something different with her life.
Just as that idea started to take root, a large man in a cowboy hat came into the Ranch store/salon. He had an air about him that said he was someone important, someone in charge.
“Hi, Master Derek,” Jackie greeted him.
Master Derek, the owner of the Ranch. Great.
“Howdy, darlin’. Erika said you called.”