by Cat Johnson
“Um, I don’t know.” That contribution to the discussion was no better than her prior effort. She hadn’t even known her father was looking to hire someone.
Bonnie glanced over her shoulder toward the kitchen. Her father was still out working, but her mother was here. She should invite him in rather than let him stand outside the front door. It seemed basic manners eluded her in the face of such hotness.
“Do you wanna come inside?”
“Sure.” He dipped his head.
Unlike at school, where he wore a baseball hat or nothing at all on his head, today he had on a straw cowboy hat. She liked it on him. Liked it a lot.
He stood there, eyebrows raised, and she realized he couldn’t come in with her blocking the doorway. She jumped back, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process. He didn’t comment or act like he’d noticed as he walked inside and looked around.
She’d never thought much about the house she lived in before, but with him inside she looked around herself trying to see it as he would. Trying to imagine what he was thinking.
It was small. But they were a small family. That didn’t prevent her from wishing that they had nicer furniture, and a grander living room.
The property was plenty big, but those were fields for growing crops. It didn’t count. Not like the sweeping, lush green lawns that stretched in front of the bigger houses on the fancy side of town.
She wondered where Rohn lived, and what kind of house he lived in.
He didn’t seem to be too disappointed in her home. Hopefully, that meant he wasn’t from a family with a big, fancy place. The kind with the sprinklers in the lawn and the garage big enough for three cars. Bonnie’s family had no garage at all. They had a couple of sheds for equipment, though.
“Um, let me get my mom. My dad’s still out working.” She flung her hand in the general direction of the kitchen and was just turning to go when she realized it was rude to leave him standing in the living room all alone. “You can sit if you want.”
“Nah, I’ll come with you.”
“Oh. Okay.”
All right. Now Rohn Lerner, the love of her life, was going to be in her kitchen. She might never be able to walk through this house again without remembering him there.
“Mom, is Dad looking to hire help?” Bonnie asked as she cleared the kitchen doorway, Rohn on her heels.
She knew her father’s back had been acting up a lot lately, making him extra cranky, but to actually hire someone meant he must be in a lot of pain. Possibly enough pain he couldn’t drive the tractor himself.
The doctor, once they’d finally convinced him to go to one, had said something about a disk in his spine or a pinched nerve. She wasn’t sure of the details, but when the doctor mentioned possible surgery, her father wouldn’t hear of it. He said it would heal on its own.
Maybe it would. Bonnie didn’t know, but she certainly hoped it did since he wasn’t pleasant to be around lately.
“Yes, he is.” Her mother turned from the stove where she’d been browning the meatballs for the sauce and smiled. “Hello.”
“Evening, ma’am. I’m Rohn Lerner.” Rohn swept his hat from his head, holding it in front of him with one hand while he ran the other through his dark hair. “I was hoping I could speak to your husband about a summer position here.”
“Sure. He hasn’t come in yet, but I expect him shortly. Why don’t you sit at the table and wait.”
Bonnie’s heart stuttered. Rohn was going to sit in her kitchen and wait. This was a good thing, but still her gut twisted with nerves. She’d have to be on her game, sound smart, and not make a fool of herself the whole time he was here.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” Rohn pulled out a chair and sat, while Bonnie wished she’d taken the time to glance in a mirror and see what she looked like before answering the door.
“Bonnie, pour the boy a sweet tea.” There was an amused reprimand in her mother’s tone.
“Okay.” She should have thought of that herself.
She took down two glasses from the cabinet and turned toward the pitcher of tea that was always on the counter. Her mother made a fresh batch of sweet tea every evening before she went to bed, and by morning it was room temperature. Her father would drink it all day. By the time dinner was over, the pitcher would be almost empty again and ready for another batch to be made.
Bonnie poured two glasses and then turned to Rohn. “Ice?”
“Nah, that’s fine.”
She handed him the glass and then reached into the freezer to grab an ice cube for herself.
“So Rohn, are you in Bonnie’s grade in school?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So you were at the prom last night.”
“I was.”
“Was it fun? Tell me about it. Bonnie here is a little stingy with her details.” Her mother sent her a look.
Bonnie stood with her glass in her hand and wanted to crawl under the table. The last thing she needed was her mother embarrassing her. She sat in a chair on the other side of the table from Rohn and took a sip of her tea for lack of anything better to do.
“Well, there’s not much to tell. The girls all looked nice in their fancy dresses. The girls had on corsages, much like Bonnie’s. There was music and dancing. Some guy got caught trying to smuggle some liquor inside and got thrown out. Not one of my friends, mind you. But I did know him.”
“See, Bonnie? I knew there were more stories you weren’t telling me.”
Bonnie’s face heated at the scrutiny. “I didn’t know about the liquor thing, Mom.”
“Nah, don’t worry, ma’am. Bonnie wouldn’t know this kid. He’s a troublemaker and a joker. He was in my classes, not in hers with the smart kids.”
And that in a nutshell was why Rohn would never like her, and would never have come here for anything more than a job. But he was here now and maybe that’s all that mattered.
If only she wasn’t behaving like such a dolt in front of him. She wished she could be cool and sexy like Lena the head cheerleader or Marie the prom queen. Instead, she answered the door in cutoffs and couldn’t string more than half a dozen words together when talking to him.
She stifled a sigh, but didn’t have long to wallow in her misery as the back door swung open.
“It’s hot as blazes out there.” Her father stopped dead in the doorway, his stare pinning Rohn where he sat at the kitchen table, before his focus moved to Bonnie, and then her mother at the counter.
“Honey, this is Rohn. He’s a classmate of Bonnie’s and heard you were looking to hire help.”
“You tell him that?” her father asked Bonnie.
“No, sir. I didn’t even know you were looking to hire anyone.”
Rohn pushed his chair back and stood. Bonnie knew he was tall, but it wasn’t until he moved to stand in front of her father that she realized how tall. He had about six inches over the older man.
Knowing her father, he’d really hate having a kid in high school dwarf him.
“Sir. My friend Brian lives not far from here. He told me you might be looking to hire and since I’m looking for a job myself, I thought I’d stop by and inquire.”
Her father’s gaze went from Rohn’s face to the hand he extended. Bonnie held her breath, thinking for a moment that he wouldn’t do Rohn the courtesy of shaking his hand. Finally, he reached out and pumped Rohn’s hand once.
Rohn continued, “I’ve got experience. I’ve worked with combines and harvesters. I’ve done plenty of haying. I’ve worked with livestock, too. Horses and cows, if you’ve got any. If you take a chance on hiring me, I can guarantee you won’t be sorry.”
“So you know Bonnie from school?”
“We’re in the same grade, but I’m sorry to say we’ve never been in any classes together.”
“Why sorry?”
Rohn smiled. “Well, you see she’s in the advanced classes and I’m sorry to tell you that I’m not. I hope you won’t hold that against me when consider
ing me for the job. I try keeping my grades up, but with football practice and chores, it’s hard to find time to study.”
The mention of football seemed to impress her father. He looked interested and less suspicious of Rohn for the first time since walking through the door. “You play football?”
“Yes, sir. I’m a linebacker. First string. I’m going to NEO in the fall to hopefully play on their team.”
“Linebacker. That makes sense, a boy your size.” Her father nodded. “I played a bit myself back in high school.”
“What position?”
“Quarterback.”
Rohn smiled. “That was going to be my guess. I bet you were real fast.”
Bonnie’s eyes widened as her father actually smiled, when she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him do that. At least, not in the house with just them. Usually his smiles were reserved for when he was talking to his male friends after church.
“Yup. No one could catch me. I held the record for touchdowns.” Her father tipped his head toward the table. “Let’s sit down and talk about this job. Bonnie, pour me some sweet tea.”
“Yes, sir.” She’d barely left the seat to do as he’d asked when her father sat in her chair and pushed her glass of tea aside.
She’d be fine with his dismissal if it meant he hired Rohn for the summer. Her heart sped at the thought as she moved to the cabinet and took down another glass. She shot her mother a sideways glance to see her reaction to this odd situation.
Her mom smiled. “Looks like we might have some help around here. Nice-looking help, too.”
Her mother had kept her voice low so only she could hear. Even so, Bonnie drew her brows low. “Mom. Shh.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. They’re too busy talking about football and crops to bother with us. Now go deliver that tea and then come back over here and help me make the salad for dinner.”
Bonnie moved to the table and put the glass down in front of her father. She turned away again, but not before noticing they’d moved on to talking about what hours and days Rohn would be working.
When she returned to stand at the counter, her mother asked, “Should we invite our new hired hand to dinner?”
Pulse racing at the thought, Bonnie considered that, and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
Just because her father was on his best behavior now didn’t mean it would last. Rohn seemed to be saying all the right things at the moment, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t say something to get her father mad later. Better to be safe than sorry. End things on a high note.
Bonnie didn’t want to tell her mother her fears, so she came up with what seemed like a plausible excuse. “His mother’s probably expecting him for dinner at home. And I’m sure he’ll want to tell them about his new job.”
His new job at her father’s farm. The realization hit her full force. Rohn Lerner would be working at her place nearly every day for a whole summer.
It was like a dream come true. She could only pray that things stayed just as good as they were right now.
Chapter Five
Summer, 2015 (Present Day)
“Hey, boss man.” Rod, owner of the lumberyard that had been in his family for two generations, shot Rohn a grin from behind the counter. “What’re you doing here? I don’t often see you in town running errands these days.”
“I need some eight-foot fence posts and some two-by-sixes.”
“Don’t you got no kids on the payroll to do this kinda menial shit for ya now that you’re a big successful rancher?” Rod had been around long enough to have seen Rohn go from a hired hand to a ranch owner in his own right.
Rohn smiled at the old man’s teasing. “Yup, but I’m smart enough to know my hired hands will take two hours to do an errand that should take twenty minutes. I’m better off leaving them working at my place while I handle things myself. That’s how I stay a successful rancher.”
The old-timer snorted out a short laugh. “Ain’t that the truth. With the kids I got working here, it’s easier to take care of things my own damn self.”
“I hear ya.” Rohn couldn’t agree more. Besides, he’d left the three clowns digging fence post holes. Given a choice between driving to town in his air-conditioned king cab pickup, and digging holes in this heat, there was no question which task Rohn was going to delegate and which he’d be more than willing to take on himself.
“So how many posts and two-bys do ya need, boss man?” Rod took the pen from behind his ear and stood waiting to write up the order on the pad in front of him.
This was the kind of place Rohn liked. A nice family-owned business that knew the customers’ names and used a good old pen and paper to take orders instead of some fancy computerized shit. Small-town living at its finest. It was a comfort knowing that even if he didn’t have a woman in his life, he still had plenty of good friends.
He also had a ranch to run. Time to get back to work. Rohn glanced at his handwritten list. He rattled off the lumber he needed while Rod wrote it all down in his usual chicken scratch. After the order was totaled, Rod turned the invoice around to face Rohn. “Put this on your account?”
“Yes, sir. That’d be great.” Rohn scribbled his signature at the bottom.
“All right. You’re all set. Just drive around back to the yard.” Rod tore off one of the two copies from the pad. “Give this to Jed and he’ll load it up for you.”
“Thank you much.” Rohn nodded. “Don’t work too hard.”
Rod let out another snort. “No chance of that. You, either.”
“I’ll try my best. Thanks.” Rohn nodded and turned toward the door and the yard where he’d parked the truck.
Errand complete, and in under a quarter of an hour, too. If he’d sent Tyler, who Rohn was pretty sure had been in school at the same time as Jed, this one stop at the lumberyard could have taken an hour if the two got to shooting the shit. Today’s youth—no work ethic. Not how it used to be in his day.
The thought gave Rohn pause. When had he become such an old stick in the mud? He was beginning to sound more and more like one of the old farmers he’d worked for when he’d been a much younger man and used to take whatever job he could find.
Rohn had spent four summers wrangling cattle for Mr. McMann before the old man had died. A stint in Vietnam hadn’t gotten the old rancher. Getting knocked down and trampled by a bull hadn’t killed him. Needing to walk with a cane in his last years didn’t defeat him. A microscopic blood clot in his brain had.
But even when the old man was nearing the end of his life, he wouldn’t have put up with half the shit Rohn’s ranch hands got away with. Rohn was nowhere near the end of his days—God willing—but his guys got away with more shit than he cared to think about.
Then again, this was a different time. Hired hands could be few and far between. Ranches were lucky to be in business at all nowadays, let alone turn a profit. Maybe Rohn should relax before he gave himself a stroke. He could cut the kids some slack and still get the job done.
Cut himself some slack, too, because playing the big boss all the time was exhausting. Especially when there was no feminine comfort for him at the end of the day. Hell, aside from his trips into town or the stock sales, the only other people he saw regularly were his hired hands.
With that thought in mind, he decided to go ahead and treat the boys to something they’d enjoy. Him, too. He’d pick them all up a good lunch. Not a bag full of greasy fast food, either. He knew exactly where to go to get what he needed.
After the lumber was loaded, he headed in the direction of Tyler’s favorite barbecue spot. When the shack and trailer came into view, Rohn swung the truck into the lot and parked.
The place looked like nothing. It basically amounted to a wooden lean-to that housed the smoker, a building the size of his office with a few picnic tables inside, a few more tables outside, and the trailer where the employees served up customer orders. It might not look
like a five-star restaurant, but damned if it wasn’t the best food he’d had in a good long time.
The smell of that day’s batch of meat in the smoker was enough to have Rohn’s mouth watering before he’d even cut the engine and climbed out of the truck’s cab.
Tyler could be an ass some days, but he hadn’t steered Rohn wrong when he’d brought him to this place and claimed Rohn would never eat barbecue anywhere else after tasting the food here. He didn’t like to give Tyler credit for being right too often— it might give the young cowboy a swelled head—but as he anticipated his first bite, he had to admit the kid knew his barbecue.
Rohn had just stepped out of the truck when a woman who looked too familiar to be a stranger caught his attention. He squinted through the midday glare, frowning, until recognition hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
A smile bowed Rohn’s lips. It had been a long time, but it was her. Yeah, she had changed a bit. She was older, a bit curvier, but he’d recognize her anywhere. From the blond curls that had tickled his cheek, to the curve of the hips he’d held on to tight in the bed of his truck where they’d first made love, he knew her. Even twenty-five years later.
In deference to the heat, she wore a tank top that showed enough of her creamy white skin he could see she was still as fair as ever. Her shoulders were pink on top, proving that she’d still freckle and burn rather than tan.
Back in the day she would have been wearing cutoff shorts. Daisy Dukes that showed off her legs to such advantage that Rohn had been able to think of nothing else but having her thighs wrapped around him. Today, she wore knee-length khaki shorts, but that didn’t stop him from picturing what lush curves were hidden underneath.
Gone were the cowboy boots she used to love to wear on the farm, even in the summer. In their place were sandals that let her toes peek out.
She stood with her back facing him as she held the door open for an older couple walking out. When they stopped to say thank you, she turned her head so he could see her face.