Radio Rose (Change of Heart Cowboys Book 1)

by Stephanie Berget

  Without missing a beat, Stevie added. “She's booked all the way through the summer. She's even had to turn some people down because she doesn't have time. Our cousin, Amber, comes by to run the flower shop while Sonja’s away doing performances.”

  Stevie moved to the couch to sit on one side of David with Mickie snuggled under his arm on the other. Beautiful bookends. Lucky guy.

  A millisecond after she sat down, Stevie popped to her feet again. “I have another idea. I recommended the flower shop to some of our guests.” She glanced at Laurie. “I also told them about the story hour on KTLY so they might have something to listen to, and one of them asked if he could be a reader. He's been to the flower shop almost every day looking for books and music. Laurie overheard him, and she’s interested, too. What do you think?”

  What an idea. If they expanded their story hour and specialized in a variety of books, they might have something. “The morning could be dedicated to children’s books with romance in the afternoon, and maybe mysteries in the evening. It just might work.” He turned to Miss Lipton. “Are you really interested in doing this?”

  “I sit here day after day with nothing to do but read. To think I'd be helping Stevie and Mickie, that would be icing on the cake. They’ve become like daughters to me. They invite me in and treat me like one of the family. You can’t know how good that feels at this time in my life.”

  “Stevie, talk it over with Miss Lipton and ask your other guest what kind of stories he'd like to read, and what would be the best time of day for him to be at the station. Ask around and see if any of the others would want to do this, too. You just might have a winner here.”

  Adam stepped out of the motel into the warm spring air and headed toward Sonja's shop. When he entered the cozy little store he felt the weight of his worries melt away. The scent of lavender and roses and the sound of Norwegian folk music created an atmosphere that was strangely familiar. And then there was Sonja herself. So different from Grandmama, and yet, so much alike.

  Unlike the diminutive Sonja, Adam’s grandmother had been tall and dark, regal. He stopped for a moment and tried to remember her face but only had a blurry vision of her brown hair smoothed into a chignon.

  He’d only been two and a half when Mama died and had very few memories of her. The bigger blow had come at six years of age when he lost his grandma. With her death, the safe and happy world he inhabited disappeared, and confusion reigned. Confusion over why she’d gone away without saying goodbye and why Grandfather hated him.

  He knew now that Grandmama had a heart attack, but as a small boy, he’d only had two people who cared about him, and he’d lost both of them far too soon.

  As Sonja entered the room, just the sight of this joyful woman drove his melancholy memories back where they came from. Maybe this tiny force to be reckoned with was fate’s way of making up for his grandmother’s early death.

  Sonja hurried across the room to him then hugged him around his waist. Her smile warmed him all the way to the center of his heart.

  “I heard you were doing a land slide business over here, you little devil,” he said, with a smile in his eyes.

  “Come with me, meg ven, my friend.”

  Adam followed Sonja into her home behind the flower shop. When she had him seated in her favorite rocking chair, she handed him a cup of peppermint tea. Placing a plate of the Norwegian Krumkake cookies on the table, she sat down and beamed at him. “Eat many. They are good for you.”

  Adam helped himself to the light, crumbly cookies. They melted in his mouth. When he could talk again, he told Sonja about Stevie's idea for the guest’s story hour.

  Sonja put her fingers to her lips and stared at Adam. “This is good with me as long as I get to keep telling my stories, ja?”

  Adam laughed. A couple of weeks ago, Rose had been encouraging Sonja, begging her to give the stories a chance. When they had first started, Sonja didn’t think she could talk in public. She’d had a massive case of stage fright. Now she was afraid someone was going to take her reading hour away from her.

  “You’re our star. You’ll always have a place to tell your stories as long as I own the radio station. And since you know so much, would you consider teaching our new readers about working in the broadcasting studio?”

  Sonja's eyes lit up like Macy’s store windows at Christmas. “Ja, ja,” she said while nodding her head.

  Adam didn’t even try to stop the warm, fuzzy feelings that ran through him, though he and Rose and the others were a long way from success. He'd looked over Sonja's books, and with all of her private appearances she’d actually made a small profit this month. Now, although he only had one business to get into the black, they were running out of time.

  Their clientele was growing every day but the food and fresh staples were a lot more expensive than the frozen, fried garbage the restaurant had served before. Fresh meat, seafood and vegetables cost an arm and a leg but if they billed themselves as a first class restaurant, they had to serve first class food.

  Adam arrived in front of Rose's house about the time she should be waking up for the day. He sat in Miss Cool and thought about all that had happened the last five months. There was a time he never could have imagined coming back to Tullyville. Staying was beginning to seem like a viable option.

  Life was full of surprises. In the last few months, he’d met Rose and made friends, and found out Tullyville wasn't a bad little town. For once in his life he felt like he belonged. If he couldn’t make this work, his new hometown would become a ghost town.

  -#-

  It was late Saturday afternoon, the best day of the week as far as Irwin was concerned. He was all set for his favorite activity, watching some of the truly great masterpieces of movie making. A shiver of delight ran down his back at the thought of watching the original Planet of the Apes. Charleton Hesston and Roddy McDowell had given stellar performances in Irwin’s opinion.

  The constant battle between differing species for control of their environment was an ongoing theme in most Sci-Fi movies and in real life. Irwin recalled the Rodney King quote, Why can’t we all just get along? He wasn’t sure Rodney was a person worthy of quoting, but the sentiment was good.

  A mustard yellow Fiesta serving bowl was full of Smarties, and his glass was filled to the brim with Grape Nehi. He was branching out in his appetizers and liked what he’d found to eat while watching his movies.

  Life was a carousel filled with candy and film.

  Just as the opening credits rolled, the doorbell rang. Irwin hit the mute button then froze where he sat, staring at the door. Maybe if he didn’t move, the intruder would think he was away from home. He lifted his index finger to his lips and said, “Shhh,” to Darwin. The huge, black cat in his lap raised his head, blinked once and went back to sleep.

  Knuckles rapped on the wood of his door and someone leaned on the doorbell. When he heard the doorknob rattle, he gave in and rose to answer his persistent caller.

  Thank the Blessed Being Above he’d had the foresight to flip the lock or whoever was outside would be in his living room right now.

  Flap Doodle!

  Irwin really wasn’t in the mood for more women tonight, but what was a man to do? He carefully put Darwin aside and walked to the door. With the security chain in place, he unlocked the knob. As he eased the door open the two inches that the chain allowed, he looked up and up and up.

  The woman was easily six feet, four inches tall. Her hair was peroxide white, boy-cut short with gelled spikes standing out at every possible angle. Her lips were blood red as were her shoes. Her dress, however, was black leather.

  “Why hello there, little man. I’m here to see Dr. Randall Cunningham. I hate to disturb him at home, but I really would like to have a word.” Her voice was gravelly but soft, and as she looked down at Irwin, a tentative smile graced her strong face.

  Irwin tilted his head to look her in the eye. “Mr. Cunningham is not at home right now, and I don’t expect h
im tonight, I’m afraid. You are more than welcome to come in and share the movie and refreshments I am enjoying.”

  She watched him for a long moment, closed her eyes and sighed. When she spoke again, her voice was several octaves lower. “What the hell. I don’t have anything better to do tonight. What are we watching?”

  She followed him into the small living room. Folding herself onto his couch, she kicked off her spike heels then wiggled around in her dress until she got comfortable. “Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Lola—just Lola.”

  “How nice to meet you, Lola. My name is Irwin. I think you are going to enjoy our movie tonight. Have you ever seen Planet of the Apes?” When she shook her head, he continued. “It’s one of Roddy McDowell’s better roles, I think.”

  “I haven’t seen this one, but I love Smarties,” she said, picking up a roll of the candy and untwisting the ends.

  Irwin sat down beside his guest and looked her over from head to heels. This had the makings of a wonderful friendship. Darwin was of the same mind as he jumped into Lola’s lap and curled up for a nap.

  Chapter Eighteen

  How had it gotten to be June twenty-eighth? Where had the months gone? Driving to work, Rose fought a gnawing ache in her stomach or maybe it was in her heart.

  The closer to the will’s deadline they got, the higher the tension level rose.

  Adam was working himself into a state trying to get each business to show a decent profit margin by July fifteenth, but Rose was more worried about what was going to happen after they reached the deadline. When all of the rushing around and remodeling was done, when everyone was in their place and all was right with their world, what would he do? She didn’t want to think about going back to her old lonely life. She’d grown used to having him around.

  The grass at the base of the pine trees lining the road was a deep rich green, amid dapples of sunlight filtering through the branches, but Rose didn’t notice. Her thoughts all focused on Adam.

  He’d made it clear in the beginning he hated Tullyville and couldn’t wait to get out of town. What if he still felt that way? He could easily live anywhere in the world.

  If he did leave, he might want company, but he hadn’t said anything about the future. Then again, he’d never said much about his past either.

  As each thought scurried over the last, her breath caught in her throat. Everything had been in such an uproar since she’d met Adam. They’d never had a chance to just talk and get to know each other. They’d run from one crisis to another putting out fires. What would happen if there were ever a time when the two of them could just talk? Would they even like each other?

  Now was not the time to worry about it. She’d reached the station. It was time to go on the air.

  Her topic tonight was Alien like me? Do looks matter? What did her callers see when they encountered their spacemen? Everyone knew the stereotype of an alien with the big, bald head, bulging eyes and small skinny body, but was that what all of her callers saw? She was about to find out.

  By the end of the evening, she had descriptions all across a broad spectrum. Jane had described a scaly monster, but Craig saw a blond woman with girl-next-door good looks and a sweet personality. Some claimed they had been taken into space ships and kept prisoners while others lived in peace with aliens as neighbors.

  Rose truly didn’t know what to make of it all. She was tempted to ask to meet one of the nicer aliens and see for herself, but she knew better than to get personally involved with any of her callers. That was how stalkers got started, and the last thing she needed in her life was more stress.

  She ended the show on a pleasant note with a conversation with Katy, a regular caller. “One of my best friends, Alana, is an alien. She can shape shift.”

  “Have you seen her shift?” Rose asked.

  “Only once, but once was enough,” Katy said with a giggle. Katy didn’t give their hometown to protect Alana, but she described her alien as a nice middle-aged woman who held down a job and was a good neighbor. They went shopping and had barbecues. According to Katy, there was quite a community of aliens in her area. They were content to live out their lives quietly among the humans.

  Rose couldn’t have found a better place to end the show and signed off with a sigh of relief. She was tired to the bone. A nap wasn’t going to do the trick; she needed to sleep for a week. She couldn’t wait to get home.

  As she cued up the commercials, she heard Irwin behind her. To her utter amazement, when she turned around he wasn’t alone. Standing behind Irwin was . . . well, Rose wasn’t sure who the woman was.

  When Rose realized her mouth was hanging open, she shut it with a snap. With an effort, she pulled her gaze back to Irwin, and when she met his eyes, he was patiently waiting.

  “Hi Rose, how are you?” Even with an Amazon standing behind him, Irwin was business as usual. With a flourish, he squirted antiseptic on the desktop and began cleaning.

  Rose couldn’t stand it. She had to ask.

  “Who’s your friend?” She was just the tiniest bit jealous. Until now, she had been Irwin’s only friend. But then, until this spring, Irwin had been her only friend, and now she had Adam, along with all the others. It was only fair Irwin found someone, and boy, was this a lot of someone.

  “I’m Lola.” Her voice had the gravelly quality of a chain smoker, but there was no aroma of cigarettes.

  Rose realized she was staring and remembered her manners. “I’m Rose. It’s nice to meet you.” She grabbed at her candy wrappers and soda cans and dropped them into the wastebasket. “Is Lola going to stay with you for the duration of your show?”

  Irwin looked at Lola, his eyebrows raised in question.

  “I could meet you back at the apartment if Rose would give me a ride home.” She turned to Rose. “That is if you wouldn’t mind being seen with someone like me.”

  Rose’s head whipped back and forth from Irwin to Lola like the gaze of a tennis fan. “I don’t understand. Why would I mind giving you a ride home? You aren’t a serial killer are you?” At this point she wasn’t sure of anything.

  “No, Lola is an actress. She does two shows a night at the Candy Dance Club.” Turning to his microphone, Irwin immersed himself in his character. His voice dropped to deep, and he started his show. The voice that went out over the airwaves was a perfect match for the tall blond woman who stood behind him in the studio.

  With a shake of her head, Rose led Lola to the parking lot. She slid into the driver’s side, but the passenger seat was a tight fit for Irwin’s friend. Miss Cool was a mini, and Lola wasn’t. As they cruised down the road, Rose wondered about the tall woman next to her. Not only was she unusual looking, she knew Irwin. Not many people did.

  A super-sized sigh slipped out of Lola. “Okay, ask away. I know your curiosity is killing you.”

  “It’s none of my business,” Rose said, embarrassed that her interest showed so plainly.

  “I don’t have many friends, and Irwin came as a pleasant surprise. He seems to think highly of you, so what would you like to know about me? Better yet, I’ll tell you, that way you won’t feel like you’re prying.”

  “You really don’t have to tell me anything. It’s enough that Irwin likes you.” It was the polite thing to say, although she found it was the truth. Anyone Irwin liked was okay with her.

  “I went to Irwin’s house trying to find Randall Cunningham, but I found someone better. I found a friend.”

  “You’re lucky. Irwin doesn’t become friends with many people.” Rose pulled out of the parking lot and turned toward home.

  “That’s not the interesting part. My real name is Ronald Ridgeway. If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a cross dresser and female impersonator.” When Rose didn’t reply, Lola said, “You can let me out now. I can see I make you uncomfortable.”

  Rose wanted to answer, but not a word seemed willing to come out of her mouth. So far, she’d thought she’d seen an alien, met sex-change patients
and found she liked them, and now she was playing chauffeur to a cross dresser. At this point she’d say she’d seen it all, but she knew better than to tempt fate.

  When she ended up in Tullyville, she thought she’d gotten away from everyone and everything that could create problems in her life. She wanted to live a solitary life with no more big surprises. Just when you thought you had everything figured out, life had a way of ripping the rug out from under your feet, and at this point, she was standing on bare floor.

  “I told you before, if you’re Irwin's friend, that's good enough for me. I just have one question. What is a cross dresser?” Awkward wasn’t Rose’s best look, and she didn’t wear it well. “Never mind, I’ll Google it.”

  Lola burst out laughing. “No need, honey. I’m a man, but I like to dress up as a woman. At the Candy Dance Club, I impersonate the sex kittens of the fifties and sixties. I do a great Marilyn.” Lola shifted to her right, slipped off her size twelve heels and struggled to move her knees to a more comfortable position. “And no, I’m not gay, and I don't want a sex change. Geez, everyone asks that just because I live in Trinidad.”

  When had life passed her by? Had she not been paying attention or had it sneaked by while she was busy putting out fires? She didn't care what anyone did with his or her life as long as they didn't hurt someone else, but lately she’d lost score. There were too many players, and she didn’t recognize the teams.

  “How about if I just think of you as Irwin's friend, and we don't worry about the rest?”

  Lola let out a raspy laugh. “You got it, girlfriend. Thanks for taking me home. Irwin is letting me stay there for a while until I find another apartment.”

  Well, another surprise. Rose hadn't seen anyone other than herself in Irwin's apartment the whole time she'd known him, and she’d only visited for a few hours at a time. Lola must be someone special indeed.

  The route to Irwin's apartment passed Red’s Garage. As they drove by, Rose glanced into the dark interior of the mechanic's bay. A light flickered on and then off.