The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town

by Riley Moreno

  “Oh really?”

  “Mm, well, I am used to following orders,” he said, giving her a deep kiss and laying his body on top of hers. They kissed deeply for a while.

  “What are your plans anyway? Are you going to do another tour?” she asked. He stopped kissing her and rolled back onto his side.

  “I don't know. I don't think so but I don't know what else I'm going to do. Its all well and good taking some time off but I don't want to be a bum. I'm going to look around; maybe I can get into some security work or something. I'd rather not leave again if I can help it, I like being around you too much.”

  Jenna's heart swelled as she looked at him with adoration, and clung onto him tightly. She pressed her head against his chest, and she could feel his powerful heart beating.

  “You know, if you have to leave I won't blame you. I love the fact that you're a hero and I know you have your duty. There are some things bigger than me and you. Of course, I'd rather you stayed because I've gotten really used to having you around...”

  “Jenna...I've done my time. I think I've served the marines, and my country, well. From what I've seen over there I want to have something to cherish. That's what I was fighting for, and I don't want to have to be in that war zone again. I've seen enough of that for one lifetime.”

  “You know, you never talk about your experiences over there.”

  “There's a reason for that. I...I saw so many things and it's hard. It's like a whole different world over there. Coming back here and sleeping in this bed in this small town, it's so strange to me. Part of me is still getting used to it and sometimes it feels like a dream that I'm going to wake up from at any moment.” As he said this Jenna hugged him tightly and kissed him deeply.

  “This is no dream, I'm no dream,” she said, and as they lay in bed she persuaded him that it was real.

  “How's soldier boy?” Emily asked as she laid out the cakes for the day.

  “Oh, he's fine,” Jenna said. She was sitting in Emily's cake shop while keeping an eye on her own general store. The early mornings were always slow, especially on a Tuesday, so Jenna and Emily always took the opportunity to have a chat. They'd already seen Mr. Johnson, who owned the hardware store in between the two of them. It was still odd for Jenna to see him and Emily together as a couple, not only because of the stark age difference between them but also because for a long time they had been her friends. But the two of them were getting on well together and she was glad that they had found happiness with each other.

  “Whenever you say things are fine they never are,” Emily said, narrowing her eyes at Jenna.

  “It's nothing serious; it's just that he never talks about his time in the marines.”

  “Can you blame him? He probably just wants to forget about it and move on. I know I would.”

  “Do you think that's all it is? You hear all these stories about soldiers returning from war and dealing with PTSD and things like that...I just worry about him. I want to know that he's okay.”

  “Well, has he shown any symptoms of that? Has he been having any nightmares or anything?”

  “No, not that I can tell.”

  “Then you're probably just worrying over nothing.”

  “Probably. I guess I'm just worried that things are somehow going to be messed up. Sometimes I'm convinced that the universe doesn't want me to be happy,” Jenna said, half-jokingly.

  “Do you really think that the universe has picked you out of everyone else to make miserable? Face it Jenna, you've met your perfect match and you're going to be together forever. You're just going to have to deal with that,” Emily said as she marched over to Jenna and placed a cupcake in front of her. Jenna tilted her head and picked up the cupcake. She took a big bite and was overwhelmed with the tasty sweetness, then licked the remaining frosting off her lips.

  “How are things you are Mr. Johnson?”

  “It sounds weird calling him that now. He's so sweet! And so just...I don't know, he just takes care of me, you know? I feel safe with him, like I don't have to worry about anything. He’s so different from every other guy I've ever dated as well. He buys me flowers and always opens doors for me. It's really different from what I'm used to.”

  “I'm glad; it's good that you're happy. Maybe we should double date sometime.”

  “That's a great idea!”

  They chatted for a little bit more and then Jenna noticed that a customer went into her store, so she excused herself. She stayed in her store for the rest of the morning, but in the early afternoon the door swung open and a tall giant of a man walked in. He was wearing jeans and a jacket, with a faded t-shirt underneath, and had a rucksack slung over his shoulder. He picked up a few packets of chips and a drink, and ordered some cigarettes. When he swung the rucksack onto the counter some dog tags became visible.

  “Can you tell me how to get into town?” he asked. She gave him directions, and watched him leave the store, wondering if it would have been rude to ask him about his dog tags. The town was small and she thought she knew everyone in it. Riley had been a surprise because he had been visiting his mother after coming back from his tour, but she didn't know of anyone else that had served in the military. Was there just a sudden influx of people?

  Later on in the day Riley came to surprise her, just before she was closing up.

  “I thought we could go out for dinner tonight,” he said, and she gladly accepted the offer. There weren't too many options in town but they went to Diego's, which was a small Italian place. Riley had a big pizza while Jenna had some pasta. While they chatted Jenna idly mentioned the soldier who had come into the store that day but she was so into her meal that she didn't notice Riley tense and stiffen. The conversation moved on, but for the rest of the night he was distracted and she didn't understand why.

  “You know, I've been thinking about what you could do. Maybe you could write a book about your experiences? There are a lot of biographies out there, and maybe you could even get a movie made out of it one day! I was thinking about who could play you and I think Ryan Gosling would be perfect,” she said excitedly.

  “I'm not much of a writer,” Riley said, looking downcast.

  “You don't have to be nowadays. All people care about is the story. As long as they can understand what's being written that's all you need! And I'm sure you must have some good stories to tell, and you can talk about why you went into the marines in the first place, and what your life is like now. People eat that stuff up, and it'd give you something to do in the day while I'm at work.”

  “I don't think my experiences are that great. I just did my job, that's all,” he said.

  “Don't be so modest, I really think there could be something here.”

  “I said I don't want to.” He spoke tersely, and Jenna was taken aback. Tension rose between them and they looked awkwardly at the people around them.

  “I'm sorry,” he said, “I just...I'd rather not relive that time, that's all. I want to move forward with my life, with you. Please, can we just forget about my past?” he asked earnestly.

  “I'm sorry too, I guess it's just hard for me to picture you in that environment, and it's such a big part of your life I feel like I'm missing out on it,” she said, but agreed to his request. However, her mind was still plagued with curiosity and no matter how hard she tried she continued to wonder about his past in the marines. For the rest of the evening they spoke about idle things before they descended into silence. They could both feel the tension as they walked to the car.

  “Are you mad at me?” he asked, eventually breaking the silence.

  “No, at least, I don't think so. I guess I just...I don't know,” she sighed, “I want to be a part of your life and at the moment it feels like there's a big void. I know you were in the marines but other than that I don't know anything about it. I want to know, I want to share this with you.” They stopped as they reached the car. Riley turned to her and took her hands in his.

  “Jenna, please, I'm not
keeping this from you because I'm trying to be secretive. That time...it changes a man, you know? I saw things, I did things that no-one should have to do and it made me question myself and my beliefs. I'm proud that I served my country but there are some things I'd just rather forget. And I'm afraid that if I share this with you then it'll change the way you feel about me. I want you to know the Riley that I am today, not the one that was in the war. Please don't ask this of me again. I really don't feel comfortable sharing that part of my life. It happened and it’s in the past, and that's where I'd like to leave it. All I want is to focus on my future here, with you.” From the tone of his voice and the look on his face Jenna could tell that he was deadly serious and if she was going to get the information she wanted she was going to have to push him in a direction that he didn't want to go, and she was mature enough to know that it was selfish of her. However, the way he spoke only made her more curious, and as they got in the car to drive home she found herself chewing on her lip, trying her hardest not to think about what he did in the marines.

  When they pulled up at her house they got out of the car and stopped instantly. There was a man sitting by the front door. In the dim light of the night it was difficult to make out his features. Riley stepped in front of Jenna and held out his arm, gesturing for her to stay back. He walked forward slowly and braced himself, ready to defend the woman he loved. As he approached the man stood up, and as Riley got closer his expression changed. The man walked forward. Jenna watched, afraid of what might happen.

  “Riley!” the man said, and came up to Riley, flinging his arms around him. Riley looked surprised but returned the gesture, and as Jenna looked at the man under the illumination of the streetlights she saw, to her surprise, that it was the same man she had served earlier in the store.

  3

  “What are you doing here?” Riley said flatly. The other man stepped backwards, still wearing a wide grin on his face. The two of them were of similar heights and ages, and Jenna felt dwarfed by them.

  “I was in the area, thought I'd come and say hi to all my buddies, well, all the ones that I knew the addresses for anyway. I just came back from visiting Stevie. He's doing really well for himself, you were next on my list! I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this I just thought it would be nice to catch up.”

  Riley didn't reply, he just kind of looked at his friend in an annoyed way. Jenna, feeling a little left out, prodded Riley in the ribs. He winced, and then introduced them. “Jenna, this is my old squad buddy Liam, Liam, this is Jenna.”

  “It's nice to meet you Liam, please, come in,” she said, and led Liam into the house. Her father was already in bed but they kept to the kitchen, where Jenna made them all drinks. Riley glared at her and seemed distracted, but she wasn't sure why.

  “So what have you been doing with yourself since you got out?” Liam asked, thanking Jenna for the drink when she handed it to him.

  “Oh, you know, just came here with my mom and then I met Jenna. I've been helping her out with the store and then I've just been enjoying being at home really.”

  “That's right,” Liam said, snapping his fingers, “you're the girl from the store!”

  Riley looked at Jenna quizzically.

  “He came in this afternoon,” Jenna explained, “Yeah, it's actually my father's store but he just had a stroke so I've been taking care of it. How long have you been out of the army?” she asked.

  “Only a few weeks. I came back and realized that I didn't want to go back home I mean, leaving that place was why I got into the army in the first place. So I figured that it'd be nice to catch up with my old squad so yeah, and I'm going to see Buzz after this.”

  “Buzz?” Riley questioned, looking surprised.

  “Oh yeah. I felt bad about what happened and I wanted to go and see him, just to make sure there are no hard feelings.”

  “Are you sure that's a good idea?” Riley asked.

  “I have to try. I hate that there was bad blood between us. I just, I want to know that we're cool. Life's too short to hold grudges.”

  “What happened? Who is Buzz?” Jenna asked.

  “You mean he hasn't told you?” Liam asked, glancing between Jenna and Riley.

  “He hasn't told me much of anything, I didn't even know about you,” she said. Liam looked shocked and ran his hand over his head.

  “Oh my God, so when you saw me out there...damn, I'm sorry I didn't mean to come across as some creepy guy waiting for you. I just went to your place Riley and your mom told me that you'd probably be here. Didn't see that any of the lights were on so I just waited outside.”

  “Yeah, my dad goes to bed pretty early now, he has to rest a lot. I'd love to hear more about you though, and your time with Riley.” As she said this Riley scowled. Liam seemed friendly though, and was about ready to launch into some tales of his and Riley's time together in the marines. However, just before he could Riley pulled at his arm and took him to the next room. Jenna went to listen but she couldn't hear anything, and was disappointed when Riley told her that he was going to take Liam back to his place where he could stay. Jenna bid them farewell and told Liam that they would have to get together again soon.

  *

  Once outside, Riley rounded on Liam.

  “I don't know what your game is by coming here but don't think this changes anything between us. I want you gone soon.”

  “Whoa, Riley, what's all this about?”

  “You know very well what this is about. Stop your games Liam, I'm not in the mood for them.”

  “Look, I just wanted to get together with the guys and relive some old times, that's all, it's nothing bad.”

  “Well not all of us are interested in reliving those times. Not me, and certainly not Buzz, if you think he's going to be happy to see you then you're going to be in for a surprise.”

  “We'll see. Seems like you have a nice life for yourself here. Got a pretty thing as well, does she know?”

  “Of course she doesn't. And I plan to keep it that way so if you even try anything I will end you,” Riley said, jabbing a finger into Liam's chest. Liam merely stood there, wearing a smug smirk.

  “You know I'd never do anything bad to you Riley. You're my friend. I don't hurt my friends. All I want is to spend some time with you. Is that such a bad thing?”

  Riley bristled and growled.

  “You can stay for a few days but then you're gone, you hear me? I want you to leave this town and never come back.”

  “There's no need for such hostility Riley, don't you worry about a thing,” Liam said. The two of them got in the car and drove away.

  *Jenna was about to get to sleep when she got a call from Riley. His relationship with Liam had been on her mind ever since they had left. She thought it was strange that Riley would treat an old friend that way, and she was surprised at how he had basically dragged Liam away. It only planted seeds of doubt about his past for it seemed like he was determined to hide things from her. Curiosity burned within and it was difficult to extinguish the flame, and when Riley called her she was feeling like she didn't want to talk to him. It was the first time since the two of them had met that this happened. But she still answered the phone and lay on her side with her eyes closed.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” she replied. Then all she could hear was his breathing for a while.

  “Look I...I'm sorry about what happened earlier with Liam. He shouldn't have been there.”

  “It's okay. I think it's nice that you have a friend that wants to visit you. Maybe it'd be good for you to hang out with him.”

  “Liam is...Liam's an odd one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I can't tell you now, but he won't be staying for very long. Just a few days, then he'll be gone and we can get back to normal.”

  “Riley, what is this about? Is he dangerous?”

  “No, it's nothing like that. I just want you to know that it's under control and you don't have to worr
y about anything.” She wasn't worried before but now she was. Riley was acting strange, and Jenna didn't like it one bit.

  4

  During the following day, Jenna called up Riley and basically demanded that the two of them take Liam to dinner.

  “This man has come all this way to visit you and you're just going to keep him hidden from me? He's your friend, and when you're in a relationship you get to meet each others' friends. That's just the way it works. Unless you can give me a solid reason why we shouldn't all have dinner together then it's going ahead. You're acting really oddly and I don't know why. I thought you would have liked to see an old friend.” Riley hadn't been able to give her a good reason, so he and Liam came to pick her up after work and they all went out to dinner together. Riley was on edge, and kept glancing to Liam. Riley winced whenever Liam spoke, but still Jenna couldn't figure out why. From what she could tell, Liam was a normal person, perhaps a little too quick to laugh and make stupid jokes, but there was nothing about him that set her alarm bells ringing.