by Tia Souders
She felt terrible. This man clearly didn’t have much, yet she ruined his food. There was no way she could let him leave without making amends.
“Clarence,” she called out, and he paused, craning his neck toward her in acknowledgment. It was the closest he came to looking her in the eye.
She hurried forward, taking advantage while she had his attention as she remembered Brenda saying he lived near the resort. “Actually, maybe you could help me. I could use some company on my way home, or not home exactly, but I’m staying at Montana Wild Dude Ranch, and I probably shouldn’t be walking back alone. Would you mind walking me?”
He stared at the ground, biting his lip. “People ‘round here call me Bones.”
“Okay,” Danny said, warily. “Do you want to be called Bones?”
“I don’t mind it none.”
Danny nodded. “Okay, Bones. Well, I’m new in town,” she said, stretching her hand out to his. “My name is Danielle Roberts. Friends call me Danny.”
Tentatively, he took it in his own. His hands were rough, the skin dry like shoe leather, and they shook like a leaf inside her own. “Hello, Miss Roberts.”
Danny paused, debating on insisting he call her Danny, then decided she’d let it go and motioned for him to follow.
By the time they reached the resort property, Danny knew very little else about the man who was Bones. He hadn’t spoken more than three words during the two-mile trek.
He listened though. She’d give him that. Danny filled the silence with anecdotes about her time thus far in Montana and about her previous life in Pittsburgh. The entire time, he nodded and grunted his acknowledgment. Occasionally he would muster a smile. At least, she thought it was a smile. It was hard to tell with all that hair.
When they reached the entrance to the resort, she turned to him. “Could I convince you to have lunch with me? It’s the least I could do considering you escorted me back here safely,” she said, hoping he didn’t see through her thinly veiled attempt at replacing his lunch once again.
“I-I-I don’t know,” he said, shuffling his feet.
Every once in a while, he’d glance up at the resort, then back to his feet. “Folks don’t like me hangin’ ‘round.”
“It’s okay. You’ll be with me, my guest. We’ll have a sandwich out on my porch, and then you can go if you like.”
She was no fool. Even though Brenda said he was harmless, she’d ensure they stayed outside, within earshot of other visitors at the resort in case Bones turned out not to be as harmless as Brenda claimed.
Another wary glance toward the entrance.
Danny ducked her head, trying to meet his eye, surprised to find them a startling shade of green. “Come on. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Waving him on, Danny entered the resort property, only pausing a moment to check and make sure Bones was still following, which he was, albeit slowly.
They passed the lodge, heading toward her cabin when a familiar form left the creamery. Tess paused when she saw Danny, and her gaze shifted to her unlikely companion, then back again before she made a beeline for her.
“Danny,” she called out, then hurried over, pulling her aside and out of earshot. “What are you doing?”
“It’s—”
“I know who he is,” Tess hissed.
Danny straightened, surprised by the tone of Tess’s voice.
Tess must’ve noticed her reaction because she lowered her voice to a soft whisper, then said, “He can’t be here.”
“I’m inviting him to have a sandwich with me after I accidentally ruined his lunch in town. Is that not allowed?” Danny asked, wide-eyed. Tess’s reaction was making her second guess herself. “Is he not safe?”
Tess sighed and placed her hands on her hips. “No. It’s just . . .” She shook her head as if at a loss for words. “Don’t let Rhett see him here, alright?”
“Rhett?” Danny narrowed her eyes. It would be just like him to be one of those people Brenda referred to about not wanting Bones around for fear of scaring off tourists. “Why not?”
“Listen, it’s not my story to tell. If you want to know, you’ll have to ask him yourself.” Tess’s gaze drifted to the unkempt man behind her. “Please, give him some lunch and then usher him out without being seen.”
“Shouldn’t Rhett be off? It’s Saturday?”
Tess snorted. “That man’s never off. He works in his sleep. If he even sleeps, that is.”
“Okay, I’ll be careful.” Danny smiled, but it felt forced. “Thanks for the warning.”
Tess nodded, then turned and headed toward the lodge parking lot.
When Danny faced Bones again, he said, “I don’t want no trouble. I’ll just be on my way, Miss Roberts. But I thank you for your kindness.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Danny said as she motioned for him to follow. “You’re coming with me.”
Once inside her cabin, she moved quickly about the kitchen, putting her perishables away and fixing two sandwiches, then poured two glasses of lemonade and set them on a tray she found in one of the cupboards.
Stepping out onto the porch, she found Bones exactly where she left him, hands in the pockets of his ratty pants, staring off into the distance.
“Bones?”
He turned around.
“Why don’t you join me over here,” she said, then headed toward two rocking chairs on the small porch and set the tray on the little table in between them.
She sank down, getting comfortable, and grabbed a plate, motioning for him to do the same. “Help yourself.”
As he made his way to the other rocker, she couldn’t help but think he moved like a ghost—neither here nor there—too scared to stay, too scared to go.
Danny watched as he slowly sat, then grabbed his plate with trembling hands and took a small bite. “Can I ask you a question?”
He didn’t say anything but looked up.
“Why do they call you Bones?”
He chewed as if thinking of his answer before he said, “There was a fire once when I was a kid. Nobody lived but me. There was a lot of rumors back then, and I got these scars,” he said, trailing a finger over his mottled skin. “Anyway, kids started calling me that after a while. I s’pose I scare ‘em.”
Danny swallowed, sorry she asked as the bite of sandwich sunk like lead in her gut.
To her astonishment, Bones took a sip of his lemonade, and still staring at the glass, he continued, “A long time ago, I owned a landscaping business. Used to love working in the dirt, tending to plants, and making things pretty.”
Danny set her food back on its plate. “We’re not so different, you know.”
“I doubt that.”
“I used to be a hairdresser. I, too, worked with my hands and know what it’s like to take something and make it more beautiful, put a smile on someone’s face. The two things aren’t all that dissimilar.”
Bones nodded. “Except one day I got injured. After that, I was in a lot of pain. I refused the pills doctors wanted to give me because I was scared I’d get hooked. My daddy liked pills . . . Turns out, I didn’t need pills when I had booze.” His eyes slid to his sandwich. “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Danny murmured. “I guess it is.”
Bones took another bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed, then said, “In the end, that was that.”
“Did you ever try to get help?”
He shook his head. “But I been sober almost one year now. Most folks don’t know. But then, most folks don’t know much of anything. They think my shakin’ is because I’m still drinkin’, but it’s not. I’ve got a disease.”
“Parkinson’s?”
He nodded.
Danny wasn’t sure what to say to that. Everything about this man seemed . . . sad, lonely. “Well, that’s great you quit, amazing, in fact.”
Bones grunted and set his sandwich down, then pushed it aside. “Some things you can’t recover from. Some things, you can’t get b
ack.”
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who lost her appetite.
“YOU SURE ‘BOUT THIS, Miss Daniels?” Bones asked, staring up at her.
“I’m sure. Just relax,” Danny said, though he seemed to stiffen up even more at her word, and she remembered the way he flinched at the prospect of her touch merely hours ago outside the grocer. She couldn’t imagine the last time someone had even come close enough to touch Bones, let alone cut his hair. But she felt inexplicably drawn to him, and if she could offer him this kindness, it was the least she could do.
Danny stood on the little porch in front of her makeshift salon chair, which was nothing more than the rocking chair, tipped slightly back so that Bone’s head hovered over an empty dish basin with several pitchers of fresh, clean water on a table beside her.
When she’d packed her scissors and clippers, she never imagined she’d actually used them. But now she wondered if the action hadn’t been slightly prophetic, or maybe she knew deep down eventually she’d turn back to what she loved.
“No going back once I start,” Danny warned, but he just nodded, lips tight.
Danny took the scissors to the tangled mass of hair she tied back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck and hacked through the thick tail, then let it fall to the floor.
Though the edges were jagged and uneven, already the difference was dramatic, which made her all the more excited to get on with his transformation.
Danny washed Bone’s hair, taking her time to scrub through the dirt and grease. Clearly he’d mistreated his hair over the years, and after what she’d assumed to be a rough life, she wasn’t so surprised his hair hadn’t seen a comb in ages.
Danny gave him a short, clean cut with a fade, using both clippers and scissors. It wasn’t fancy or trendy but a simple masculine cut that would give him room between trims, which she intended on offering to him.
As she worked, tears rolled down Bone’s face. Her stomach squeezed, but she continued, saying nothing.
How long had it been since someone had shown him kindness or paid enough attention to care?
After she finished his hair, she trimmed his facial hair into a neat beard on the hunch that it brought him some measure of comfort as if he could hide behind his hair. Which made her think of Rhett.
Is that what he was doing?
His hair might not be dirty and tangled, but it was certainly unkempt, and combined with his beard, he wasn’t all that far off from looking like a younger, slightly less hardened version of Bones.
“You ready to see yourself?” she asked, beaming because he was like a new man.
“Ready,” he said with a nod, a tremble to his voice.
Danny grabbed the handheld mirror from the table beside her and held it out in front of him. His reflection smiled, revealing slightly crooked but surprisingly white teeth.
Trembling hands and fingers crooked with arthritis moved over his face and hovered over his hair before he ran his fingers through it. His eyes glistened as they caught hers in the mirror. “If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t think it was me.”
The haircut and shave took at least twenty years off his face, which made Danny wonder just how old he really was.
“I do say, you’re a miracle worker, Miss Roberts. I don’t know how I’ll thank you.”
Danny smiled, her throat thick. How long had it been since she was able to make someone this happy? “I’m glad you like it.”
CHAPTER 9
The chink of glasses, music, and buzz of patrons filled the monstrous bar and tavern, The Water Hole. Rhett shuffled toward the counter, hat in hand, as he waved to Tandy across the room, then slid into a stool.
His youngest brother Colton, tipped his chin toward him in greeting, slinging his bar towel over his shoulder as he went back to flirting with a pretty little blond Rhett didn’t recognize.
“That boy has the work ethic of a sloth,” Silas said, glancing in Colton’s direction as he retrieved a glass from under the bar and filled it slowly with a local draft.
It was true. Silas had drawn the short straw for sibling employees.
He slid it toward Rhett, sloshing a bit of foam over the rim, then braced his hands on the bar in front of him. “Can I get you a burger or something to eat?”
Rhett picked up the glass and took a long drink, relishing the bitter bite of the brew before he shook his head. “This’ll do. I had something at the lodge before I came. Thanks, though.”
Silas nodded. “Just the check, then?”
“Actually,” Rhett picked at the damp bar napkin, “just keep a tab.”
Silas arched a brow. “You’re staying?”
Rhett nodded.
Silas picked up a clean bar towel from a shelf under the bar, then eyed him as he dried a couple glasses. “It’s been a while since you’ve stayed for more than a quick drink.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Working yourself to death over there, is what I hear.”
Rhett rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, Tess?”
Silas grinned. “Says you’re working her to death, too.”
Rhett snorted. “She loves the work just as much as I do.”
“True.” Silas arched a brow. “But at least she gets out. Nearly every night, in fact. Then again, she’s not an old bachelor looking to settle down.”
“Who says I’m looking to settle down?” Rhett rolled his eyes.
“Tess,” they said in unison and laughed.
“I heard Mindy Beaumont’s sweet on you,” Silas said, then glanced up at the sound of a woman’s heels clacking on the floor. “Speak of the devil,” he murmured from the corner of his mouth.
“Why, Rhett Montgomery,” Mindy purred, “if I didn’t just get my eyes examined last week, I’d think I’m seeing things.”
Silas snickered, while Rhett flashed him a dirty look before turning toward Mindy.
Her hips swayed as she walked, and she oozed sex appeal. Some men might find her ensemble of red stilettos, tight black skinny jeans, and cleavage-revealing leopard print top, enticing, but Rhett thought it just looked like she was trying too hard. Even if he wanted a relationship—which he didn’t—he’d never go for someone as ostentatious and vocal as Mindy. He’d long preferred understated and quiet to bold.
“Nope. It’s me.” Rhett turned back to his beer, rethinking his decision to stay a while. Maybe it wasn’t too late to slip out the back?
“And to what do we owe this pleasure?”
Rhett shrugged. He could all but feel his brother’s gaze on the side of his face. No doubt he wanted an answer to that question himself. It wasn’t unusual for Rhett to stop by The Water Hole. In fact, he did so quite often, but rarely for more than a beer and takeout. Socializing wasn’t exactly on his list of priorities these days. He much preferred working himself to death, as his siblings so often claimed.
How long had it been since he’d stayed a couple hours, listened to the band, ate his meal with some company, or had more than one drink?
Not since Mae Beth.
So why now?
Rhett took another pull of his beer as he contemplated the question and frowned at the answer he found. He’d heard from more than one person that afternoon on the ranch that a certain blue-eyed, recent resident of Cedar Falls would be there. And he could tell himself all he wanted that he simply wanted to apologize, to tell Danny in passing that he was sorry for poking fun about the “wolf at Montana Wild,” but it was more than that. It had to be. After all, he could’ve easily wandered over to the cabin if atonement was all he sought.
“Just needed a change of scenery,” he finally said as if saying it out loud might make it true.
Mindy took a seat in the stool beside him, angling her body toward his and crossing her legs. “Well, it’s about time. I haven’t seen you out since Tess drug you to Tandy’s Memorial Day bash last month. Since then, you’ve been like a ghost.”
Yes, Rhett remembered the Memorial Day party all too well. Tes
s did drag him there, and he was none too pleased to discover Tess insisted he go in an effort to set him up. What exactly she thought he’d see in Mindy, he had no idea. She was the furthest thing from his type. But maybe that was the point. She’d tried setting him up with his typical type and it failed. She even tried setting sparks between him and Tandy, and no matter how many times Rhett insisted he was fine on his own and wanted nothing to do with a relationship, Tess pushed. Which is why he knew she was scheming to get him to spend more time with Danny. Yet here he was.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Rhett said noncommittally, trying for a smile. Then he turned back to Silas with a pointed look and said, “Why don’t you get Mindy, here, a drink?”
Maybe if he bought her a drink, she’d excuse him ignoring her for the next hour.
“Sure thing.” Silas grinned, and Rhett stifled an inward groan. No doubt, Silas loved Rhett’s discomfort.
As Silas settled Mindy’s drink order, Rhett’s gaze drifted toward the door.
“Waiting for someone?” Mindy asked, accepting her gin and tonic from Silas before turning his way.
“What?” Rhett blinked. “Uh, no.”
“You’ve kept your eyes on that door from the moment I saw you sitting there.”
Had he?
“At first, I thought you might be waiting on me,” she said, rattling the ice in her glass.
“I’m not . . .” He trailed off, the words, I’m not waiting for anyone, lost on his lips as the heavy wood doors opened and in walked Tess, ever-confidant with her long blonde hair slung over her shoulders in braids, donning cowboy boots and a smile as she met Rhett’s eye.
He scowled at her smug expression, irritated with himself when his gaze immediately shifted to the woman beside her. Danny’s dark mahogany locks were swept back from one side of her face, held firmly in place with a jeweled clasp, revealing her sharp cheekbones and the soft curve of her jaw. She wore an emerald green tank top and dark jeans. A bracelet glittered at her wrist. And when her eyes met his, he immediately glanced away to find his own brother’s gaze inextricably locked on the same woman.
