Midnight Wrangler

by Cat Johnson

  He contemplated that. Maybe that was one of the reasons why he hadn’t moved on even after five years. Not until Bonnie had come back into his life. He could feel Lila everywhere, too. He’d clung to that shadow of her presence after her death.

  Now, he realized that comfort he’d depended on just to get through another day might be the very thing holding him back.

  “Okay. I understand.” He didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to hold her all night long, but she had yet to invite him back to her place. Not that it would be comfortable, both of them on that old sofa, since apparently there wasn’t even a mattress in the house anymore. Still, he’d do it to be with her.

  To be with Bonnie, he’d do just about anything.

  She got slowly, gradually heavier against him. Glancing down, he saw her eyes were closed. He could literally feel her fall into sleep. She obviously needed the rest even though she would never admit it and kept refusing his offer of a decent place to lay her head at night.

  Where her head lay right now felt perfect to him.

  They couldn’t stay all night. Maybe if she had something on below the waist they could get away with remaining just like this until morning. The dew would settle on them, but it was warm enough they wouldn’t get cold.

  Crazy that he’d willingly sleep in the bed of a pickup when he had a perfectly good house to go home to, but he’d rather be uncomfortable with Bonnie than have all the comforts and luxuries in the world without her.

  He’d wake her up eventually and drive her home, but the peace of sleep had settled over her features and he wasn’t about to disturb her yet. Besides, who knew when or if they’d ever be in this position again?

  Given that uncertainty, Rohn was in no rush to end this moment.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Bonnie had insisted he take her home instead of to his house, but that was fine with Rohn. As she’d slept, his mind had worked, forming a plan of action.

  When he did finally get home, he went right to work. Yes, it had been much too late at night to start such a massive project, but he’d waited long enough already. He wouldn’t delay longer.

  He figured once he’d finished with his plan, he’d see about wooing Bonnie back into his life full-time. Back where she belonged—in Oklahoma and in his world. If that had to start with getting her into his bed in his house, then so be it. The rest would fall into place later.

  The piles of household items around Rohn grew, expanding as if they were a living organism spreading out of control, invading all parts of the house and yard. But unlike a cancer, this growth was a good thing.

  He’d finally given in and lain down to sleep at about two in the morning. He was awake again by sunrise, but that was enough rest. He was running on caffeine and adrenaline.

  As the morning sun crept higher over the horizon, he took a moment to pause in his perpetual motion and evaluate all he’d done and what was left to do.

  After dropping off Bonnie at her place, with the sweet taste of her good-night kiss still fresh on his lips, he’d gone home and headed directly into the living room.

  The room had been like a shrine to Lila. In fact, the whole first floor was, except for his office, which had always been his domain, and the kitchen, which had slowly morphed into his personal space, changing to accommodate the way he liked to do things instead of how she’d always done them.

  He looked around the stately but unused living room. In the past he’d thought he’d needed all of these things to remain the same in order to remember her. To honor her. To not lose the little details about their lives together to the ravages of time.

  It had taken that one comment from Bonnie, that she didn’t feel comfortable in his home because Lila was so present there, for Rohn to realize his error.

  He would always remember Lila. She lived inside his heart and mind, not inside these dusty items. She was in every fiber of his being and that would never change.

  Rohn knew Lila and the kind of woman she’d been, and because of that, he could guess what she’d want him to do now. She had the sweetest most giving soul of anyone he’d ever met. He wasn’t honoring her by keeping things exactly the way she’d left them. She wouldn’t want him to stop time, freeze everything at the moment of her death like a museum he was honor-bound to live in until the day he died.

  She’d want him to live. To do that, he had to let go of the objects from their shared past and move forward.

  That’s what he’d done, starting last night. Of course, he kept the photos, but there was no need for them to cover every surface of the living room and dining room, not to mention his bedroom and office.

  He took his favorite photo of Lila and gave it a place of honor on one of the bookshelves in the living room. The rest, he put in a box for now. He’d get to the store when he had a chance and buy one of those nice leather-bound photo albums. He’d put the photos, which had begun to show the effects of time, safely away. It would preserve them from the sun’s rays, while still keeping them at hand so he could look at them whenever he wanted to.

  There was furniture in the room he hadn’t used in years. There were also items, if truth be told, that he’d never liked very much. He hadn’t said anything to Lila because this was her domain—the house, the decor. But now, it was his.

  Instead of having the room set up as a formal space with its stiff-backed sofa and fine wood coffee table, it would be a hell of a lot more comfortable—and useful—with casual furnishings.

  He’d love to have the boys over to watch a football game on TV once in a while. Or have Bonnie snuggled up next to him on a nice big sofa as they watched a movie—or made out during one.

  That idea was what led to the pile of small furnishings, whatever he could move alone, out on the lawn. It was all decent stuff that could go to the church for someone else to use.

  There were some really good items he decided he had to keep. One valuable antique desk that had been handed down from one of Lila’s ancestors was completely impractical for the room he was creating so he’d moved that upstairs to the guest room.

  It fit nicely in front of the window with the view out over the pastures. If he couldn’t convince Bonnie to come and sleep in his bedroom, perhaps sprucing up the guest room would get her to change her mind about sleeping in there.

  There was a set of wooden end tables that he knew had been handed down from Lila’s grandmother. He didn’t feel right just dumping them off at the church for strangers. It felt like they should remain in the family. He could store them in the attic to be handed down, to whom he didn’t know.

  It wasn’t as if he had kids of his own to pass things on to. Tyler had walked into Janie’s house, which was fully furnished, so he wouldn’t need anything. Maybe Justin or Colton would get married and need some nice tables. These boys were the closest thing he had to sons, anyway.

  Even the carpet had come up. He and Lila had bought it the year they’d gotten married, and it showed. The sun hadn’t been kind to the fibers. It hadn’t been kind to his face, either, so he shouldn’t expect the rug to survive any better than his skin had.

  He’d rolled that up, debating whether it should go to the dump or the church. By then it was well past midnight and he figured the decision could be made in the morning. Rohn would take a fresh look at the rug later and if it was in good enough condition that it wouldn’t insult the pastor, he’d let him decide whether he could use it for the church tag sale or the furniture warehouse for the needy.

  It was a good start but Rohn wasn’t done yet. He considered ordering new furniture online. Mostly because, all hyped up, he hadn’t wanted to wait for the stores to open in the morning. But common sense had prevailed and he realized he’d only have to wait longer for shipping, so he’d held off.

  Now that the sun was up and the boys would be here any moment, he could get down to serious work again.

  The world was finally waking up, and the businesses in town would open shortly. He’d send the boys to the church and
the dump. Then he’d head to the off-price furniture store and see what they had in stock for immediate pickup. He didn’t have the patience to order something. He wanted it now, today, so he could ask Bonnie over tonight and surprise her.

  Rohn glanced at his watch and wondered where the boys were just before he heard Tyler’s truck pulling into the driveway. About time, too. Tyler should be first to arrive. He was only driving from next door.

  Now that Ty was here, Rohn could do the rest of what he needed.

  Tyler ambled over from his parked truck and frowned. “What the hell?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Obviously. What, did you have a fire or something?” Tyler glanced around at the piles on the lawn.

  “Nope. Just redecorating. I need a second set of hands to help me with the big stuff. The sofa has to go first. We can put that right in the truck to go to the church.”

  “Is something going on I don’t know about? Is the church paying top dollar for old stuff or something?”

  “No, and I wouldn’t take the money even if they were.”

  “I was joking. Jeez. I’m just saying, first Miss Bonnie and now you.” Tyler’s eyes widened. “Oh. Never mind. I get it.”

  Rohn stifled a groan. Thinking he was probably going to hate what came out of Tyler’s mouth next, he still asked, “What do you get?”

  “You’re redecorating to impress Miss Bonnie.” Tyler grinned, looking satisfied with himself.

  “Yup. You guessed it.” Rohn could live with that assumption. It was better than the complete truth. That he was purging the house of his dead wife’s things so his new girlfriend would come over and sleep with him.

  “Wow. You’re going all out for her.”

  “I guess so.” God, was he an asshole for doing this? Was it a betrayal?

  He knew he was overtired and he hadn’t eaten since early yesterday evening. It was easy to feel overly emotional.

  This was the right thing to do. He knew it deep down. He’d always remember Lila, but he didn’t have to sit on her sofa to do it.

  “When the other guys get here, I’ll need you to go up to my bedroom and take out the bed and mattress.”

  Tyler’s brows rose. “You’re wanting to impress her in your bedroom, too? Dang, what happened that I don’t know about?”

  Rohn cocked a brow. “Your ability to carry my twenty-year-old mattress doesn’t depend on your knowing my personal shit, so enough with the questions.”

  “Yes, boss.” A cocky smile tipped up Tyler’s lips.

  Rohn smothered a sigh. “Come on. Let’s get that sofa out. Once that’s in the truck, the little stuff can get put in around it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He ignored Tyler’s attitude. He knew the kid only called him sir when he thought he was acting like an idiot, but at the moment Rohn didn’t care. He had to get to the Megamart in town.

  One of those big flat-screen televisions hanging above the fireplace would look really cool. It would modernize the room and be perfect for watching sports. Then he could grab something to eat and wait for the furniture store to open. Hopefully they had one of those wraparound sectional sofas. Nice and big in case he and Bonnie decided they didn’t want to adjourn to the bedroom for some sport of their own.

  Maybe he’d pick up a recliner to supplement the seating. That would be the way to kick back and watch a football game with the guys. A nice wide one so Bonnie could sit in his lap if he was feeling too far away from her.

  He was getting way ahead of himself, but he couldn’t help it. He hadn’t felt this good in years. And it wasn’t just because he’d had sex after a five-year dry spell, either. For the first time since Lila had died, Rohn was envisioning a bright and happy future instead of a lonely existence of just getting by.

  He’d hopped out of bed before dawn after getting barely any sleep for a good reason. He was ready to get on with his life.

  The sound of crunching gravel as another truck turned into the drive had Rohn glancing past Tyler. “Good. Justin’s here.”

  Tyler scowled. “Damn right it’s good he’s here. He can help with that sofa.”

  “It’s not that heavy.” Rohn shook his head. Tyler was built like a linebacker. He shouldn’t worry about lifting half a sofa. “Now, the king-size mattress up in the bedroom, that we might want his help with.”

  “You didn’t say it was king-size.”

  Rohn laughed when he saw Tyler’s eyes pop wide at that information. Redecorating was turning out to be a lot of fun.

  Chapter Twenty

  Bonnie’s house phone rang at ten in the morning. The only person who called the house was Rohn. She ran for the extension, having more energy than she should, given she’d spent the night tossing and turning on the uncomfortable sofa.

  Grabbing it, she was out of breath from the sprint when she answered. “Hello?”

  “Mmm. Good morning.”

  She laughed at Rohn’s purred greeting. “You sound frisky this morning.”

  “You’re the one who answered the phone breathless. Gives a man ideas, that does.”

  “I was at the other end of the house cleaning the linen closet. I’m not doing anything that should give you any ideas, believe me.” She smiled, even as she chastised him for his vivid imagination.

  “I can come over and distract you from your chores if you’d like.”

  “Like how I used to distract you from your chores?”

  “Oh, God, I remember that. You, prancing around in those short-shorts. Damn, I drove around on that tractor for a whole damn summer with a hard-on, thanks to you.”

  Her cheeks heated. “I wasn’t trying to do that. It was a hot summer.”

  “The hell you weren’t. You knew exactly what you did to me.”

  “No. Well, at least not in the beginning.”

  She’d never thought that Rohn, Mr. Popular, star football player, would notice her, but he had.

  “So what are you doing for the rest of the day, darlin’? Besides giving me ideas, I mean.”

  “Cleaning out. The usual. What else would I have to do?”

  “I’m sorry you have so much work. Can I send the boys over?”

  “No. Rohn, you have to stop doing that. They have work to do at your house. Besides, I have to sort through and decide what goes where first. They wouldn’t be any help right now, anyway.”

  “Well, you tell me when you need them again and I’ll send them round with the truck.”

  “Okay. Tyler gave me his cell number, too. In case I need something.”

  “Yeah, I know. You watch yourself around that young stud.” His voice dropped to a low growl.

  Bonnie giggled. “Rohn, don’t be ridiculous. I’m twice his age.”

  “And I already told you that you’re not.”

  Bonnie would have fought more, but she knew Rohn was only teasing her about Tyler.

  After last night, Rohn should know he had no worries her head would be turned by some young cowboy. Not when an older cowboy had left her with plenty of memories . . . and more. She’d noticed the bite mark on her neck this morning in the mirror. She’d never had a hickey before, not even when they’d been dating. He’d been too afraid then that her father would see any marks on her.

  Besides the bruise on her neck, her muscles ached from the hour spent in the truck bed, but it was a good kind of ache. It reminded her of their time together. A time she’d like to repeat.

  The damage was already done. After being together, leaving him again would hurt like hell whether they were together once, twice, or a dozen times. As long as she’d done something stupid, she might as well enjoy doing it a few more times.

  “What are you doing for the day?” she asked, hoping they’d get to see each other again later.

  “That is a secret.”

  She lifted her brow. “A secret?”

  “Yup. Wanna know what it is?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I do.”

  “Then be at my place
tonight.”

  “Rohn, is this your way of tricking me into coming over to your house?”

  “Bonnie Blue, I don’t need to lie to get you here. I can just drive over, throw you in my passenger seat, and bring you here.”

  “You would not.” She acted shocked but deep down that image excited her.

  “Oh yeah? Try me. I’d be happy to prove it.” Rohn’s determination was clear in his tone. “So, my place. Around six, I guess.”

  “Okay. What should I bring?”

  “Nothing. Just yourself. Clothing optional.”

  Her lips twitched with a smile. “Now, what challenge would that be?”

  “Playing hard to get, are we?” he asked.

  “Maybe.” She loved the playful side of Rohn. It had always been there, even in high school, but now in adulthood his playfulness was extra sexy.

  “That’s fine. I enjoy a challenge. Now let me go. I’ve got a week’s worth of work to accomplish and only eight hours to get it done before our date tonight.”

  “Our date? This is a date? I thought it was me coming over to see your big surprise.”

  “Oh, it is. But why not kill two birds with one stone?”

  She couldn’t argue. “Okay. See you tonight.”

  “Definitely.” He disconnected the call, leaving her perplexed with the phone still in her hand.

  The hours of the day couldn’t pass fast enough for Bonnie’s liking. She must have looked at the clock a hundred times. When she wasn’t doing that, she was checking the house phone to make sure it was working and she hadn’t missed any calls from Rohn. But he didn’t call again.

  He had said he’d be busy with whatever this big secret plan for his day was. She’d know soon, but six o’clock wasn’t coming fast enough.

  Concentration was futile. So was getting any work done around the house.

  She managed to finish the linen closet, at least, so she now had more piles stacked in the living room.

  It seemed her life was going to be dominated by piles for the near future.