Midnight Wrangler

by Cat Johnson

  There was a massive lump on the floor of worn sheets and towels destined for the trash if the local animal shelter didn’t want to take them for bedding. Then she had a much neater folded pile of linens—tablecloths and bedspreads—that looked barely used and could be donated to the church.

  Inside the linen closet was the bare minimum that she would need while she was there. Just some clean towels, and one set of bed linens she used on the sofa where she’d been sleeping.

  She probably should have listened to Rohn’s guys and kept one mattress here temporarily, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Anyway, it was too late now to change her mind. They were already gone. She’d made her bed—or sofa—and now she had to lie in it.

  Bonnie glanced at her cell phone and checked the time once more. It was still nearly three hours until she was supposed to be at Rohn’s. She needed to shower and get herself ready.

  That really didn’t leave her enough time to dive into another big project. It did, however, leave her enough time to head to the salon in town and get her nails done.

  It was crazy. This wasn’t a real date, but she wanted to look pretty for it.

  Maybe she had time to go shopping, too. She’d exhausted the limited choices in her suitcase.

  Decision made, Bonnie showered quickly. She threw on clean shorts and a tank top that wouldn’t embarrass her until she bought something new. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter, tossed her phone inside, and opened the door.

  The salon might be able to do something with her hair, too. Once she bought something new to wear, and got her hair and nails done, it would be like a total makeover. She had better buy some nice lingerie, too.

  As she got into the car, she realized she was acting crazy. Maybe it was about time she did. For too long she’d been acting as if someone had pushed the pause button on her life. She was done living like that.

  In town she was impressed again with how much it had changed over the last twenty-five years. There was now a strip mall filled with shops. That was a good thing since she had a lot to do and not much time to do it.

  Bonnie ran into the clothing store first. They were having a sale, so she didn’t feel guilty picking up two new sundresses. They even had a pair of pretty summer sandals with a cork wedge heel that would match her new dresses. And, luckily for her, they had a small selection of underwear and bras. She picked up a matching set in pink and, feeling the need to be a little bit sexy, a black pair, too.

  Feeling lighter than she had in a long time, she paid for her new purchases and headed directly for the salon.

  She’d just cleared the door when she heard, “Bonnie Martin? Is that you?”

  Bonnie turned to the woman sitting in a chair near the door. It took a moment for her to make the connection and recognize the woman, but when she did, her eyes widened. “Melody? Oh, my God. Hi.”

  “I can’t believe it’s you. When did you get back to town?” Melody asked, standing and coming toward Bonnie.

  “Just a few days ago.” She accepted the warm hug Melody enveloped her within. “You look great.”

  Melody pulled back and frowned. “Pfft. I’m twenty pounds heavier and twenty-five years older. You’re the one who looks great.”

  “Me?” Bonnie laughed. “I’m here because I’m falling apart. I haven’t had a haircut in close to a year and I’ve been cleaning out the house and I’m afraid it’s starting to show.”

  As proof Bonnie held up her hands, nails out.

  “That’s nothing. Nails and hair can be fixed easily enough.” Melody dismissed her protest with a flick of one wrist. “So tell me. What are you doing now? Are you married? Do you have kids?”

  “No.” Bonnie shook her head and left it at that. “You?”

  “Twenty years married and we’ve got an eighteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing. Congratulations. Did you marry anyone I know?”

  Melody smiled. “Remember the guy who volunteered in the audiovisual department?”

  “Phil?” Bonnie remembered the skinny, geeky guy from the AV department who would come and set up the projector in the classroom.

  “Yup. I married him.”

  “Wow.” Bonnie couldn’t help the surprise in her tone.

  Melody laughed and took out her phone. “He matured late, but he turned out pretty good, I think.”

  Bonnie looked at a family picture and there was Phil, smiling with his arm around Melody. She was right. He’d turned into a handsome man. “You two look so happy together.”

  “Thanks. There’s something to be said for marrying a nerd. He’s a computer programmer now. He designs networks—heck, I’m not even sure how to describe what he does, but he works from home and makes good money doing it so we are really happy. What do you do?”

  “I’m a teacher.”

  Melody smiled wide. “You always said you wanted to be a teacher. Good for you. I’m glad you made your dreams come true.”

  “Thanks.” Bonnie wasn’t sure it was exactly a dream come true but she enjoyed her job.

  It was Melody’s life that had Bonnie feeling a little green with envy. The way she’d described it, the kids, the husband, all together all the time as one big happy family, it made Bonnie’s life feel like an empty shell—it looked okay from the outside, but inside there was nothing.

  “So where do you teach? Around here?” Melody asked.

  “No. I’m in Phoenix with my mom.”

  Melody nodded. “Where you got that scholarship to college.”

  “Yup.” Bonnie smiled. “You have a very good memory.”

  She shrugged. “We were friends. Of course, I’d remember.”

  They had been friends. Sometimes it was hard for Bonnie to remember that since she’d never invited anyone over after school. She’d always been afraid her father would do or say something horrible to embarrass her.

  Bonnie had always felt like a loner, but all those lunch periods together she and Melody had talked and shared their dreams . . . all while Bonnie tried to get a glimpse at Rohn.

  Melody smiled. “Remember how many days we sat in the cafeteria and stared at the football players?”

  Bonnie let out a burst of a laugh. “I was just thinking the exact same thing. Whatever happened to your dream man, Brian?”

  “He married some trophy wife, as I always figured he would. I haven’t seen him since the twenty-year reunion.” Melody’s eyes widened. “You are coming to the twenty-five-year, right?”

  “Maybe. If I’m still in town.”

  “You have to come. You missed the ten-year and the twenty-year.” Melody got a devilish gleam in her eyes. “Besides, don’t you want to see how Rohn turned out? He’s single again, you know. Well, widowed, actually. Poor guy. It was pretty tragic. He wasn’t at the twenty-year because that’s right about the time his wife died. But that was five years ago. Maybe he’s ready to start dating again.”

  Bonnie felt completely torn between keeping things between Rohn and herself secret, or spilling the truth. Melody didn’t even know she’d been secretly dating Rohn that summer. She definitely didn’t know how Bonnie had spent her evening last night.

  “Um, actually, that’s why I’m here hoping to get my hair and nails done. I’m seeing Rohn tonight.” It felt good to confide that to someone, even as her cheeks heated with the confession.

  Melody reacted about as Bonnie assumed she would. Her eyes popped open wide. “Oh my God. How did that happen?”

  “Well, believe it or not, the day I arrived I stopped to grab something to eat and there he was.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  Bonnie smiled. “Yeah. It is pretty amazing.”

  “It’s fate. Serendipity. You two were meant to be together.”

  Bonnie rolled her eyes. “I don’t know if I believe all that . . .”

  “I do believe in it. Trust me. The universe put you two together here and now. Maybe you weren’t ready to be together before, but
now it’s the right time.”

  It sounded crazy, all this universe stuff, but even so, it made Bonnie feel good inside. Maybe they hadn’t been ready to be together twenty-five years ago but they were ready now.

  If that were true, then she had a decision to make. If she was going to let herself be with Rohn, she’d have to come clean about the past.

  If she did, she could lose him. But if she didn’t, she’d lose a part of herself. Keeping a secret that huge from someone she was pretty sure she was falling back into love with wasn’t healthy.

  Neither was living a life alone, without love.

  It was all too much to think about. Bonnie wanted to enjoy today.

  “I think the receptionist is trying to get your attention.” Melody interrupted Bonnie’s internal debate.

  She turned to see the smiling receptionist headed her way. Bonnie turned to Melody. “I guess I’d better get this appointment going. It was good talking to you.”

  “You too, but you’re not getting away from me that easily. I want to hear more so call me and we’ll get together.” Melody grabbed a business card from the holder on the table by the front door and scribbled her number on the back. “I mean it.”

  Bonnie took the card. “Okay. I will.”

  This town was starting to feel like home again. She’d stopped by the church to drop off a few bags of clothes that morning, and found the same old pastor still there. And now she’d run into Melody, the one person she’d called friend.

  Bonnie had come back feeling like a stranger, oddly out of place in the town she’d spent the first eighteen years of her life in. But every reconnection made her feel more and more like she was still a part of this community. Time and distance hadn’t broken the ties, only stretched them a bit.

  The receptionist stood nearby. “Is there something we can help you with today?”

  Bonnie smiled. “I hope so.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rohn looked around him. It was an amazing transformation. The sectional sofa in dark brown suede would be the perfect place to sit back and snuggle with Bonnie in front of the big flat-screen television that Tyler was currently hooking up to the cable.

  An old wooden trunk that had been in the barn collecting dust looked great cleaned up and placed in front of the sofa. Rustic and practical, it was the perfect place for him to kick up his feet or put down his beer. He’d never done either on the glossy surface of the formal coffee table that Lila had in the room.

  Colton came into the room. The motion caught Rohn’s eye. So did what Colton was carrying—an old clay jug filled with brown spikes.

  “What the hell do you have there?” Rohn laughed, knowing full well what it was, but not getting why Colton had it.

  “I saw these cattails growing along the creek by the highway. I thought they’d look cool in here so I went out and cut a few. They match the color of the sofa.”

  Remote control in hand, Tyler turned from his work on the television to frown at Colton. “Match the color of the sofa? You know, sometimes you really scare me.”

  Colton screwed up his face. “Aw, shut up. You’re the one who was telling us about Rohn’s blue shirt that matched his eyes, dickhead.”

  Justin laughed. “I have to say, between Tyler obsessing about Rohn’s shirt and you whipping out your pocket knife to cut cattails along the highway . . . You’re both just weird.”

  Colton scowled. “Jesus, I’m not out there picking flowers and catching butterflies and shit. They’re cattails. They’re totally manly. Right, Rohn?”

  “Yes, they are. Very manly.” Rohn grinned.

  The cattails actually did match the new sofa. He couldn’t say much more because he had been out picking flowers the other day for Bonnie. Hell, if it would make her happy he’d catch butterflies for her, too.

  “See? You guys are idiots.” Colton frowned and shook his head.

  The room was coming together nicely. He’d picked up a throw rug in a colorful Mexican pattern. He’d even bought the one thing he’d always wanted in this room but had never gotten to have—a recliner.

  A big fat one that would tilt almost horizontal if he chose to take a nap in it. And the best part was that it had a cup holder in the armrest.

  He shook his head, smiling. A cup holder in the living room chair. Lila would have never gone for that.

  Picking out furniture only a man could love was one benefit of bachelor life he should have taken advantage of long ago, but never had. Since he’d been sex-deprived and lonely for five years, at least he could have had a holder for his beer while doing it.

  Of course, he hadn’t been deprived last night, and he wouldn’t be lonely tonight. He glanced at the time on the grandfather clock in the corner.

  The old clock had been allowed to stay in the room. It was one of the few things he’d brought to the marriage. It had belonged to his grandparents. He loved that old thing, even if it did tick too loudly and require he wind it every week.

  He’d neglected that duty for the last five years, but today, he’d done it. Amazingly, it still worked. Now that the clock was operating again, he found he’d missed the steady tick-tick-tick and the hourly chimes. And now the hands on that clock were telling him that Bonnie would be arriving very shortly.

  “Okay, you boys about done here?”

  Three sets of eyes turned to him.

  “Why?” Justin asked.

  “Because it’s getting late and I figure you’d want to get going home.”

  Tyler looked a little too interested. “I don’t have to be anywhere. In fact, I think we should run out, pick up some beer and pizzas, watch a movie and break in your new room.”

  He’d never once considered they’d want to stay. Rohn’s expression must have reflected that thought.

  Tyler broke out in a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m teasing you.”

  “Jeez, did you see the look on his face? He really thought we were fixin’ to stay.” Colton shook his head.

  Justin moved a step closer and slapped Rohn on the back. “We’re going. Don’t worry.”

  “I didn’t mean you had to—” Crap, he didn’t want them to think he wanted them to go, but he sure as hell didn’t want them to stay.

  “Rohn, we know you didn’t do all this for yourself.” Justin grinned. “When a man goes to this kind of trouble, it’s got to be for a woman, and I figure the way you keep checking that there clock and your cell phone, that you’re expecting her any minute.”

  “I—”

  Justin held up one hand to stop Rohn’s protest. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Say hi to Miss Bonnie for us.” Colton grinned as he headed out the door with Justin directly behind him.

  Rohn could try to deny it, but he knew it was pointless. Justin and Colton had already left and there was no denying what he had planned anyway. He let his chin drop and blew out a breath. Finally, he’d gathered his composure enough to look back and meet Tyler’s gaze.

  Tyler was sporting a wide grin as he strode across the room toward Rohn. He handed Rohn the remote control for the television and then leaned in closer. “You need any condoms?”

  Good Lord, that was the last thing he’d expected to hear from this kid. “No, thanks. I’m good.” He somehow managed to keep his voice steady so as to not let the horror he felt over this conversation show.

  “A’ight. ’Cause you know, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Rohn nodded, doing his best to keep a straight face while being torn between amusement and embarrassment that this kid, nearly half his age, was lecturing him.

  Tyler evaluated Rohn for a few seconds, as if deciding if he could trust him to indeed practice safe sex. As humiliating as this whole conversation was, Rohn held his composure until Tyler finally nodded. “See you in the morning.”

  “Yup.”

  “Don’t bother getting up early and making us coffee. I�
��ll tell Justin or Colton to pick some up on the way over.”

  “Now why would you say that?” Rohn’s annoyance with Tyler came through in his tone.

  Tyler cocked up one brow. “Look around you, boss. This is a damned nice setup you got here. Good chance you might get caught up and not get to sleep until real late. You know, like watching a movie or something.”

  Rohn didn’t miss Tyler’s smirk or his insinuation. He hated that Tyler was right, but there was a damn good chance—at least, he hoped there was—that Bonnie would still be here in the morning.

  She might not appreciate three cowboys being in the kitchen at the crack of dawn after her first overnight stay in his bed.

  Hopefully, the first of many nights.

  If everything worked out as he planned, he’d convince her it was crazy for her to sleep on her father’s old, uncomfortable couch.

  Once she’d agreed to stay at his place, he’d get her used to the lack of privacy. One hurdle at a time.

  Rohn watched the boys’ trucks pull out of the driveway and breathed in relief. At least Bonnie wouldn’t have to face their teasing and suggestive glances tonight. She might not handle the embarrassment as well as Rohn did.

  It turned out the boys had left just in the nick of time. Rohn had just gotten to the kitchen to work on dinner when he spotted Bonnie’s car in the drive.

  Even just the sight of her damn car put a smile on his face. He had it bad and damned if he didn’t love every minute of it. He felt like a teenager, reliving that feeling of falling for Bonnie all over again.

  Hopefully this time would end a little better than last time had.

  He was a different person than he’d been the first time she’d left him for Arizona. He wasn’t letting her get away from him this time.

  Unlike twenty-five years ago, he wouldn’t hesitate to go after her and convince her, with any means possible, to come back to him.

  He strode to the screen door off the back of the kitchen, opened it, and stepped outside into the glare of the sun riding low in the sky as evening fell.

  When she got out of the car and saw him, she donned a small, tentative, almost nervous smile and lifted one hand in a wave. She moved closer and cringed. “I didn’t have time to stop and pick up anything—”