Radio Rose (Change of Heart Cowboys Book 1)

by Stephanie Berget

  The beauty of the two blond people standing so intimately close and then the sight of their kiss hit her with the physical force of a fist to her jaw.

  She’d known in her heart this day was coming, but it didn’t lessen the pain. She couldn’t fall apart at the restaurant. There were too many people. Brushing away the few tears that had escaped, she took her shock and heartache out on the dirty dishes then, as quickly as possible, she found a ride home with Jonas.

  Rose curled into a ball, hiding as best she could from Adam and from herself. She couldn’t talk to him now. She hurt too much. What a fool! She'd promised herself to never get close to anyone again and had lived by her rules for over four years. Pain rose from her heart like a Phoenix and burned through her body. This was no one’s fault but her own.

  She was the one who’d invited him into her home and helped him every way she could. In the process she'd fallen in love with him. All the while he’d had Lillian waiting in the wings.

  That part confused her. He had the blonde blow-up doll and the fancy house, and he chose to live here. There must be something she wasn’t seeing. It’s not like he’d coerced her, she let him have everything for free. She was easy, that's why, easy and stupid.

  “Okay, let's start over,” Adam was saying, the tone of his voice strained patience. “You spent the evening in the kitchen, and I spent it greeting and seating guests. The restaurant had the best night ever, and now you’re not talking to me. There’s a missing piece to this puzzle, and I'm not leaving until I know what’s going on with you.”

  Rose pushed herself to a sitting position, pulling a pillow across her body. When she spoke, her voice was tight with anger, shaking despite her effort to sound calm. "I helped you. I gave you a place to stay, and I even let you into my bed. Believe me, I don't do that for everybody. I don't do that for anybody. I thought you felt the same way. Tonight, let's just say I saw the light. You and Lillian make a very pretty couple."

  "What are you talking about? I didn’t have anything to do with that woman." Adam knelt on the rumpled quilt puddled beside the bed.

  She glared at him, trying for anger when her heart was breaking. "You've said that before, but every time I turn around, there she is, cuddled up next to you. Tonight you kissed her. I tried to tell you before, I don't share."

  He stared at her as if she had three eyes, but she stood her ground.

  His face flushed red. "I didn't kiss her, she kissed me.” When she tilted her head and squinted her eyes, he started again. “That sounded wrong. She was congratulating me on the success.”

  She watched him dig himself in deeper. "Bet that was hard to take,” she said, trying to hold on to her anger, but feeling it dissolve into a puddle of sad.

  "I didn’t do anything wrong. Why won’t you believe me?"

  "I believed you the last time and the time before that. I believed you when you kept letting her come to my house after I told you I didn’t trust her. I believed you enough to feel good about being in the kitchen working while you were out there, with Lillian looking like a million bucks.” Her shoulders slumped, defeat settling over her and dragging her down. “I believed until I found you kissing her, with her in that little black dress and fuck me heels."

  Rose flopped onto her side facing away from the dirty cheater.

  "What do I have to do to convince you she kissed me, and I told her to get out?"

  "You can't. I'm tired of being good old Rose. The one you come to when you have no place else to sleep. I'll help you finish this for Sonja and for the other people I've met, but then we're done. She can have you."

  For several minutes, the room was silent then Rose felt him climb off the bed. His slow footsteps echoed down the hall.

  Her eyes welled up for the first time tonight. How could she have any tears left? She thought she’d cried them dry after she’d buried her father. It seemed she’d found a way to replenish her supply. She cried all night for what she’d lost, and what she’d never had.

  She not only loved Adam, but he’d become her best friend, one of her few friends. They’d gotten closer these few months than she had been with any man. She’d thought she could trust him, but he blew the stuffing right out of that teddy bear.

  Rose jolted awake after a few hours of restless sleep. As she stared at the spider web crack in the corner of the ceiling, random thoughts raced through her head. Irwin was the only person she knew who’d proven to be trustworthy.

  Well, no, that wasn't right. As she’d always been proud of the fact that she was honest, especially with herself. So she told herself the truth. She'd made more friends through Adam and this inheritance fiasco than she’d ever known.

  Stevie and Mickie were fast becoming what she'd imagine sisters would be like, and Sonja and Gramma were the grandmothers she’d never known. Then there was Mara and Red, Jonas and Tyler. During the last six months, she’d found more of a family than she'd ever had in her life.

  She might not have Adam, but she had friends. That was something.

  The twins had been very vocal about how they felt when it came to Lillian. Black Widow was the pet name they’d christened her with even though no one knew if she’d been married. As the sun’s first rays broke over the horizon, Rose made a decision. Later today, she’d find the sisters.

  They’d tell her what a bitch Lillian was, and that would make her feel better. She even dredged up a short laugh at the thought. Lying here and having a pity party wasn’t doing anyone any good. She wasn’t going back to sleep so she might as well get up and get busy.

  Rose pulled a plain, white T-shirt from her drawer and grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet. With her hair pulled into a ponytail and a swipe of mascara, she was as ready as she’d ever be to face the world.

  She coaxed Miss Cool into starting and drove aimlessly, ending up in the employee’s parking lot at the restaurant. She was surprised to see both Mara and Henry’s cars already here.

  Walking into the dim dining room, she stopped and soaked up the atmosphere. Everyone working together had accomplished an amazing feat. This place was beautiful now, and the food was a hit.

  Mara hurried over and gave her a hug. "Can you believe how much we made last night? I couldn't sleep I was so excited.”

  Actually, Rose hadn't heard, but if she told Mara she'd have to explain things she wasn't even ready to think about yet. Instead she smiled and said, "We've got you and Gramma to thank for that. You've done a wonderful job."

  Mara grabbed her and held her tight, and Rose almost got teary eyed again. That wouldn’t do. She had to get hold of herself. She was going to have to face Adam soon, and she wouldn't fall apart in front of him.

  "Let's go see if we can help Henry with the kitchen,” she said, linking her arm with Mara’s and heading across the big dining room.

  -#-

  After tossing and turning most of the night, Adam awoke to full daylight. The clock said eleven a.m. He had that uneasy, queasy feeling something was wrong just before the memories of the night before hit him like a freight train. His lungs went on strike while his heart raced.

  He sucked in a lung full of air, held it and willed his emotions under control. Rolling out of bed, he pulled on his jeans and shirt. Striding the few steps down the hall, he opened Rose's bedroom door and saw the made bed, the empty room. The house was so quiet he could hear the clock tick. A glance out the window proved Miss Cool was gone, too.

  When he thought of their conversation the night before, his gut clenched. Rose had committed to staying until the inheritance work was finished. That gave him a little over two months to convince her he hadn't lied. He finished dressing and ate some cereal while he waited for the cab to arrive.

  After tossing some bills at the cabbie, Adam walked up the steps and into a beehive of activity at Gramma's House. They weren't open today so he hadn't expected anyone to be here.

  Mara spotted him first and hurried over.

  "What are you all doing here?” He looked aro
und and saw most of the crew was at the restaurant. “It's your day off.”

  "We didn’t get all the cleaning done last night, and we wanted to be ready for tomorrow,” Henry said. “Then we decided to celebrate. Mara called in an order for pizza. You got here just in time to pay, boss."

  "Did Mara tell you what our sales for the night totaled?"

  "I didn't think it was my place to give out any numbers. I told them we’d set a record," Mara said.

  Adam reached into his wallet for the deposit slip and read them the total. A cheer went up, fists were pumped in the air and voices shouted. “Yes.”

  "If we continue to pull in numbers like those, we can keep this place running,” he said. As he was talking, he looked around for Rose. She stood by the pass-through window beside Gramma, as far away from him as she could get. She wasn't doing any cheering.

  Adam heard knocking on the back door and opened it to the pizza delivery. As he paid, Henry took the boxes and passed them around. Everyone settled down to eating and talking, still in a celebratory mood.

  Rose and Gramma were hunched over a stack of index cards, going through some of the cook’s older cookbooks.

  Adam kept his distance from her and mingled with the rest of the staff. The only time he spoke to her was to ask for a ride home. He staged the question in front of Gramma and Mara so Rose was stuck. If she refused, they’d want to know what had happened.

  She took the easy way out and agreed. "Of course," she said, not meeting his gaze. He nodded and walked back to the rest of the employees.

  The afternoon went quickly, and he just happened to notice when Rose grabbed her purse from under the counter. Everyone except Mara and her grandmother had gone home for the day, and they were saying their goodbyes. Adam checked the front door and came back into the kitchen to find Rose already in the car. He locked the back door and started toward Miss Cool.

  “Once, just once you could start when I need you to, you red piece of crap,” Rose said, swearing under her breath and pumping the gas pedal. As she turned the key, he heard the engine grind but not turn over. He climbed into the passenger seat, leaned across and put his hand over Rose's and turned the key again.

  Miss Cool fired right up.

  Rose jerked her hand away from his. She shoved the stick into reverse, stopped and took a deep breath and then backed slowly out of the parking place.

  She was quiet all the way home, and Adam didn't push her. Angry that she would leap to the conclusion he would use her, that she wouldn't even listen to him, he sulked. As she parked in front of the house, he put his hand on her arm.

  "Do you want me to move out?"

  She took the keys out of the ignition. After staring at her hands for a moment, she raised her eyes to his then looked away. "You don't have anywhere else to go. You can stay here until we’re done." She climbed out of the car and started toward the house.

  Adam jumped out and hurried after her.

  He grabbed her arm and spun her around. "Don't you want to talk about this?"

  "We talked about it last night. There's nothing else to say."

  She shrugged off his hand and walked into the house.

  An hour later, Rose was still in her room. She had gone directly there and hadn't been out since they’d arrived home.

  And Adam had had enough!

  Packing what little he owned, he called for a cab then wrote a note to Rose and left it on the kitchen table. He couldn't live here like this, not without Rose’s trust. The restaurant had a couch in the office where he could sleep. It couldn't be as uncomfortable as life with Rose not speaking to him.

  -#-

  Breakfast finished, Sonja was sipping a last cup of coffee when the front door of the shop rattled with a knock. She smiled as she scurried to let Adam in. “Welcome, my friend,” she said as she gave him a hug. “How did your grand opening go last night?”

  “Fine,” Adam said. “Terrific.”

  Sonja stood back and looked at the handsome young man in front of her. “Ja, you don’t look fine.”

  “I stopped by to see if there is anything you need before I go in to the restaurant.” Adam turned away from her and wandered around the shop as he talked.

  Sonja settled into one of the rockers in the reading area and motioned for Adam to take the other. She picked up the large teddy bear from the floor and arranged it on her lap. Something was wrong with Adam and by the sad look on his face, it must be about Rose. “Tell me what your trouble is.”

  With his forearms resting on his thighs, Adam stared at the floor. He gave a loud sigh but didn’t speak for several minutes. When he did, his voice was little louder than a whisper. “Rose thinks I am fooling around with Lillian.” His head jerked up and he stared into Sonja’s eyes. “I’m not!”

  “Ja, this I know.” Sonja leaned forward and placed her hand on Adam’s knee. “You are for Rose.”

  “I tried not to hurt her, but I have. She’s so angry.” He stood and walked to the counter then turned, leaning against it and crossing his arms. “I can’t seem to stop messing up everyone’s lives.”

  She watched him. She could tell him everything would be all right, but he wouldn’t believe her. She stood and walked over to him. “Give her some time. Rose will forgive you.”

  “She can’t even stand to look at me. I’m moving into the office at the restaurant.”

  “She thinks you betrayed her?”

  “But I didn’t. I didn’t kiss Lillian, she kissed me.” Adam stared at the floor, unable to meet her eyes.

  “Pfftt. Men.” Sonja crossed the room and stood in front of Adam. “So there was a kiss? Ja.”

  Adam’s head jerked up, his gaze pleading. “You believe me, don’t you? Lillian surprised me, caught me off guard.” His arms flapped in frustration.

  “I believe you. There are two women trying to find a place in your life right now, Rose and Lillian. Which will you choose?”

  -#-

  After too many hours spent trying to get comfortable on the two-feet-too-short couch Adam decided maybe this wasn’t the greatest idea he’d ever come up with. A sleeper sofa was a necessity if he was going to stay here, and it looked like this was his new home.

  Not that he could sleep anyway. His thoughts kept returning to the conversation—okay, fight he’d had with Rose. Why was she so sure he was going to betray her? He hadn't given her any reason to think he was interested in Lillian. The time he’d spent with Rose was the happiest of his life, but he'd known he wasn't lucky enough for that to last.

  The office was small, but Rose had added her touch. Color photos of the sights around Tullyville graced the walls. The old oak desk she’d found at a garage sale was perfect. He was going to miss this place.

  A couple more months here to straighten out the technicalities and then he could be on his way. He'd give the businesses back to their rightful owners, and the big house would go to Lillian. He would have more money left than he could ever spend in his life. His heart gave a rapid stutter. Too bad he didn't have anyone to share it with.

  With the first light of morning filtering through the window, Adam figured he might as well get some work done. Maybe he could get Mara to pick out a sofa. If he couldn’t get the store to deliver it today, he’d have to learn to sleep twisted like a pretzel.

  Sleep was overrated anyway.

  Adam was going over invoices when he heard a knock on the front door. Ignoring it, he went back to work. The restaurant was closed until four o’clock, and he wasn't going to be disturbed before the first shift arrived.

  Just as he settled back into the figures, he heard knocking at the back door. Someone wanted in pretty bad. Hoping it might be Rose he hurried to the door. He flipped the lock and swung the door open, but it wasn’t Rose.

  Lillian smiled at him then breezed into the kitchen. The woman couldn’t take a hint.

  She faced him and held up her hand. "Before you throw me out, please hear me out. I came to apologize for the other night. I know
I overstepped the boundaries, and it won't happen again.” She paced across the room to the desk, picked up a pen, studied it then turned to face him. “I guess I just got caught up in all the excitement. To be honest, it's so much nicer working for you than your grandfather that sometimes I forget it's a job. I'll be more careful in the future if you'll give me another chance."

  Now what was he supposed to say? He understood how she would be grateful not to be working for his grandfather. That was the one thing she could say guaranteed to get under his skin. She’d put up with the rotten bastard for seven years. She should be dancing in the streets to be free of him.

  “Apology accepted. Now, I have work I need to get done before the crew arrives.”

  She nodded and followed him to the kitchen. “Do you mind if I ask how the night ended for the grand opening?”

  “We did well. I think if we keep it up we might be able the keep the restaurant open.”

  “And the other businesses? How are they doing?”

  “We’re working on them one at a time. Some are doing better than others. The garage is great, but the motel and flower shop have problems.” He stopped himself. He’d already said too much. Remembering Rose’s warning, he didn't mention the plans for working with the doctor.

  The phone rang, and Adam excused himself to answer. He moved into an isolated corner of the room. He was expecting a call from Fresh Stuff Produce and hoping for a call from Rose. It was the vender, arranging a time for delivery.

  -#-

  The events of the past few days hit Rose like a runaway Humvee, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep. Waking hours later, groggy and sad, she headed for caffeine, hoping she wouldn't run into Adam. She gave a sigh of relief as she moved through the darkened house. Adam must be asleep.

  Rose found some left over spaghetti in the refrigerator and grabbed a coke as she heated her meal. Sliding her plate onto the table, she noticed the note for the first time. As she read, she lost her appetite.