Midnight Wrangler

by Cat Johnson

  Finally settled, everyone with barbecue and water, Rohn opened the lid of his lunch and inhaled the aroma that had been teasing him for the better part of the past half hour. He sniffed and appreciated it for a few seconds more before stabbing the first piece with the plastic fork. He should have gotten up and grabbed real cutlery from the drawer rather than try to eat with this inferior plastic stuff, but the meat had been smoked for so long it fell apart as he lifted it to his mouth.

  Good barbecue didn’t require a knife or a metal fork, but it did demand a man take his time enjoying the nuances of it. The taste on the tongue. The smoky flavor that seemed to hang on in the back of his throat even after he swallowed.

  These boys wolfing down their food like they hadn’t eaten in days couldn’t be appreciating it as it deserved. Then again, these boys were getting plenty of pleasures in their off hours that Rohn wasn’t, so they didn’t need to absorb every ounce of satisfaction they could from a plate of meat.

  Rohn had just moved on to the jalapeño macaroni and cheese, marveling at the smooth, creaminess of the cheese in contrast to the bite of the pepper flavor, when Tyler glanced his way and asked, “So, what are you doing tonight?”

  With the empty fork poised above the mound of orange macaroni, Rohn said, “The same as usual—nothing. Why?”

  “Janie called to tell me she’s making fajitas for dinner. She asked if I’d invite you over to eat with us.”

  Watching Tyler and Janie play the happy couple was probably the last thing Rohn could think of wanting to do at the end of a long day. But unless he cooked it himself, he wasn’t getting homemade fajitas.

  Home-cooked meals were hard to come by nowadays. He mostly got takeout and lived off the leftovers for a few days.

  Tyler waved a hand in front of Rohn’s face. “Um, hello? It’s not a hard question.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Glancing up, he saw all eyes on him. Caught without an excuse not to go, other than that he was a poor sport who wasn’t sure he wanted to see them happy when he wasn’t, Rohn said, “Yeah, sure. Sounds good. Thanks.”

  “We’re not invited?” Colton frowned.

  “No.” Tyler’s answer was short, but definitive.

  Colton drew his brows down lower. “Why not?”

  “Hell, I don’t know.” Tyler scowled at Colton’s questioning. “She didn’t tell me to invite anyone but Rohn.”

  “So you could invite us on your own. You’re living with her, right?” Colton apparently wasn’t letting it go.

  “No.” Tyler scowled. “I’m not living with her.”

  “Nope. He just sleeps—or doesn’t sleep—there every night.” Justin grinned. “You see, Colt. If Ty here wants to keep getting what he’s getting over there, he’s gotta do exactly as the little woman says. Otherwise”—Justin made a slicing motion across his neck—“He gets cut off. Comprende?”

  “Yup. Got his balls in a jar on the windowsill for safekeeping, she does.” Colton smirked.

  “Yeah, yeah.” Tyler rolled his eyes. “Joke all you want. I’ll be the one laughing all the way upstairs to the bedroom tonight.”

  Rohn had had just about enough of this kind of talk. It was interfering with his being able to concentrate on the enjoyment of his food.

  “Good God Almighty. Do y’all talk about anything other than sex?” Rohn’s age might be showing but, jeez, enough was enough.

  He knew the woman they were joking so disrespectfully about. He’d been her husband’s friend before he’d died. He didn’t need to hear all this about her ever, but especially not over lunch.

  Tyler raised a brow. “Sure, we do. We also like to talk about food. Good barbecue. Thanks for getting it.” He lifted his fork to Rohn in a salute.

  Food and women . . . that just about covered the scope of concerns for these boys working for him.

  Missing those carefree days of his youth a little himself, Rohn let out a sigh. “You’re welcome.”

  Summer, 1990

  Rohn was nervous as he stood waiting outside the movie theater for Bonnie. He’d parked his pickup truck and was standing on the curb so she’d see him. He would have liked to have picked her up and driven her here himself, but she’d said to meet her instead.

  He couldn’t count how many times he had imagined her riding shotgun in the passenger seat of his truck since the night he’d first talked to her at their prom. He dreamed of glancing over and seeing her there.

  More than that, he imagined pulling up to the river where all the guys parked with their girls. Cutting the engine, turning to her, and kissing those sweet lips of hers.

  Sometimes, often actually, he thought about doing more than kissing her. At night, alone in his bed, he imagined doing so much more with sweet Bonnie Blue.

  Working at her dad’s farm, seeing her all the time, only ramped up his need for her. Of course, he was an eighteen-year-old boy. It was no surprise that he obsessively thought about girls. But it wasn’t girls—plural—that he fantasized about. It was only one. Bonnie.

  For some reason, his thoughts turned to her cute little sunburned nose, covered in freckles. He remembered her today as she squinted against the glare of the sun and looked up at him in the tractor seat.

  That memory was cut short when he turned and saw Bonnie had arrived, but it was a welcome interruption.

  She was wearing a sundress that showed off her shoulders and arms. It ended just above her knees so her lean legs were displayed to perfection. She had on sandals with a little heel that lifted her higher and gave her hips a little bit of a sway as she walked toward him.

  He did love how she ran around the farm in cutoff shorts and cowboy boots, but the dress was a real nice change. One he could get used to. Especially if he could run his hands over that soft cotton, down her body, and all the way until he hit the heat of the bare skin of her legs.

  Rohn swallowed away the lump in his throat that image had caused and fought the urge to adjust the stiffening length in his jeans.

  Instead, he took a step forward and hoped she wouldn’t notice the bulge. “Hey. I’m glad you could make it.”

  “I said I would.”

  Yes, she had, but sometimes things came up, and he wasn’t sure she was as into this date as he was, given her hesitation when he’d asked her.

  “Ready to go inside?” he asked, anxious to get this night with her started.

  “Sure.” She nodded and gripped the strap of the small, backpack-shaped purse looped over her shoulder.

  “Okay. Let’s go.” He moved across the sidewalk to the window and asked for two tickets. As he pulled his wallet out of his jeans Bonnie stepped up next to him and dug inside her bag.

  She pulled out a ten-dollar bill and held it toward him. “Here. For my ticket.”

  He wrinkled his brow and pushed her hand and the money back toward her. “No, I’ve got this. I asked you out. I’m paying.”

  She reacted to that with a mix of what seemed to be awkwardness and embarrassment. He didn’t want her to feel anything but happy to be there with him, so he added, “I do appreciate your offer, though. I know some girls like to pay for themselves, but I guess I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, so I’d like to get it. Okay?”

  “Okay. I just wasn’t sure . . .”

  “You weren’t sure about what?” He glanced at her as he grabbed the tickets and his change, shoving the bills into his jeans pocket rather than taking the time to put them away in his wallet properly. He’d probably be buying popcorn inside, anyway.

  “If this was a date.” She said it so softly he’d had to listen extra hard to hear.

  That she hadn’t been sure this was a date was interesting information. She wasn’t anything like the other girls he knew, which was one of the things he liked about her.

  Bonnie wasn’t the type to assume anything. He liked that, but he should probably make himself more clear in future. That was easily solved. He’d just let her know things straight out, plain and simple. He could do that, starting right now.<
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  Rohn reached out and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “This is a date as far as I’m concerned. Is that okay with you?”

  Her cheeks grew pink as she nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good. Come on. Let’s go inside and find a good seat.”

  He handed the two small stubs to the ticket taker and led her by the hand into the dimly lit theater. He almost asked her where she liked to sit, but thought better of it. He needed to take charge of this date.

  From what he knew so far about Bonnie, he figured she wouldn’t like the pressure of making the decision. More importantly, she might very well choose the wrong seat. At least, the wrong place to sit in his opinion and for his goals for tonight.

  The movie that was playing looked all right, and he wouldn’t mind seeing it, but that was not the goal of this evening. Getting to know Bonnie better was. In all ways.

  He wanted to know what made her laugh. What she thought about. What her favorite food was. And yeah, he also wanted to discover what her mouth tasted like, what her skin felt like, what she’d do if he leaned over in the dark and kissed her.

  If he found out even one of those many things he’d wondered about over the week since he’d begun working for her father, he’d consider the night a success.

  If he was lucky enough to have all of that revealed to him, then hell, he’d be the luckiest guy on earth. He might never come down from the high of it.

  He chose the row against the back wall and when he led her to the seats all the way in the back corner and sat, she glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

  It was a good start. So far, so good.

  “You like action movies?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “For real or are you just saying that to make me happy?” He had a feeling that was totally something she would do.

  Rohn wanted something real with Bonnie, and even though he didn’t have all that many long-term relationships under his belt, he knew open honesty was a good start.

  She laughed. “Both. I do like action movies, but I figure you’ll be happy about it since that’s what you asked me to see.”

  “Bonnie, I want you to always tell me the truth. Okay? Even if you think it won’t make me happy.”

  “Okay.” She agreed too quickly for Rohn’s liking.

  “No, I’m serous. Promise me.”

  “Okay. I promise.” This time she sounded sincere and he hoped she meant what she said.

  He wanted this to work with her and the way to do that was to start off on the right foot. Honestly, about everything. That’s how his parents had been happily married for over twenty years and that’s how he intended his life and his future to be as well.

  Maybe Bonnie was the girl he’d end up with, and maybe she wasn’t. No matter how much he liked her, he was grounded enough to realize that.

  The lights dimmed and the screen lit up. Rohn had been hoping they’d have a few more minutes to talk, but apparently the theater started showing the previews before the movie start time.

  Being in the dark pressed close to Bonnie in the narrow theater seats was no hardship. He could talk to her later, after he convinced her to go out with him for ice cream.

  He liked that idea. Movie, ice cream, maybe a ride to the river to talk—or to kiss—either one. He would be good with either.

  The previews didn’t hold his attention. No surprise when he had her to look at. She’d left her hair down tonight. He tried to think whether he’d ever seen her blond waves not confined in a braid and he couldn’t come up with any time. He liked her hair loose and free.

  He knew well how the sun bounced off her halo of gold. He’d seen it often enough when he’d been watching her from the seat of the tractor. But he didn’t know how it felt. Seeing it down now made him want to reach out and see if it felt as silky between his fingers as he imagined.

  She was pretty all the time, but with her hair falling in soft waves around her face, she was more beautiful than her usual girl-next-door pretty.

  In the darkened theater, lit only by pale security lights and the big screen way down in front of them, he wished he could see her freckles and the sun-kissed glow of her cheeks more clearly.

  He couldn’t see her well in this light, but he could let her invade the rest of his senses.

  Slumping down in his seat, he leaned a bit closer and angled his face toward her head. She smelled incredible, an odd mix of light floral scent and fresh air, like girly-girl and outdoors all wrapped in one.

  They both moved to use the armrest at the same time and their elbows collided. The heat from the bare skin of her arm seared into his memory and elicited imaginings of what it would be like to be pressed against her, skin to skin.

  No clothes between them. No people around them. Just him and her.

  Damn. He had to stop thinking like that. Good thing it was so dark. His body was embarrassing him. He needed a distraction. Maybe a tub of popcorn would take his mind off her. It would at least cover his crotch, if nothing else.

  He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You want something? Popcorn? Soda?”

  She jumped, as if surprised he’d spoken so close to her. She turned her head so her mouth was closer to his ear. He angled his head and leaned in so she could whisper to him.

  “Don’t get up. You’ll miss the start of the movie.” The heat of her breath against his ear had him getting harder. So much for hoping for a distraction to get his mind off the growing situation inside his jeans.

  “I don’t care about that. If you want something, I’ll get it.”

  “No, thank you. I’m good.”

  He was starting to see how she was. Bonnie would go out of her way not to put anyone else out. From now on, he’d just get her what he thought she’d like and not ask, because he sensed that inevitably her answer would always be the same. No thank you. I’m fine.

  His prom date had had no problem ordering him around that night. Get me soda. My feet hurt. Bring the truck to the door. He’d been pretty sick of that when he’d dropped Lena off at her house that night. He hadn’t even tried to take her to the river to try and score some action.

  Bonnie was the exact opposite, but her inability, or maybe just reluctance, to express what she wanted was going to be a challenge. He was up for a good challenge, especially when it came wrapped in such a sweet, enticing package as Bonnie Blue.

  The long string of previews finally ended and the main event began. He’d never been less interested in what was happening on the screen in his life. His full attention was on the girl next to him, fidgeting in the seat, so close he could sense every breath she took and every move she made.

  Her foot tapped against the floor. She moved from clasping her hands in her lap, to putting them on the armrests, only to move them off again.

  She was nervous. He was, too. Or at least he had been until he saw how uncomfortable she was. That was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her to have a good time with him. To be completely comfortable with him.

  It was ridiculous for them to be uncomfortable. Thanks to the job he’d landed, the one he’d stolen from Brian by showing up first and accepting such low pay, Rohn had seen Bonnie six days in a row. They should be better alone together than this, yet she was clearly nervous.

  Resolved to change that, Rohn reached out and took her hand in his, holding it firmly, letting her know that she could fidget and tap her foot all she wanted, but that hand was his for as long as he chose to hold it.

  He glanced over and saw her gaze cut to him before she brought it back to the screen in front of them. She didn’t protest. She didn’t pull away. That was good enough for him.

  Smiling, he leaned back in the seat and slumped a little lower, wishing the theater gave him a few more inches as his knees hit the seat in front of him. But as long as Bonnie was next to him and he had her hand in his, he’d deal with the cramped conditions. He’d put up with a lot for her.

  He tried his best to keep up with the stor
y playing out on the screen. He really did. But he was far more interested in the real live girl next to him than the one larger than life on the big screen.

  Rohn leaned low again. “You enjoying the movie?”

  She angled her face to his. This time he didn’t turn his ear toward her. He stayed right there, facing her.

  They were so close he could feel the warmth of her breath when she said, “Yes.”

  She watched him from the small distance, moving her gaze from his eyes, to his lips, then back up again. He moved in a tiny bit farther. She didn’t pull back but he heard her draw in a sharp breath.

  He was breathing a little faster himself, his heart pounding as he leaned in a tiny bit more. He hovered just shy of her lips before braving the final space between them and pressing his mouth to hers. He knew immediately from the first taste of her that one tiny kiss wasn’t going to be enough.

  Chapter Eight

  Summer, 2015 (Present Day)

  “Hey.” Tyler leaned into the doorway of Rohn’s office.

  Rohn glanced up and frowned. “I thought you left for the day.”

  “I did. I ran home . . . uh, I mean to Janie’s. I showered and changed there.”

  “A’ight.” Rohn still didn’t know what Tyler was doing back here.

  “I came to get you.”

  Rohn frowned. “Why?” He knew he was expected for dinner. And Janie’s place was right next door. It wasn’t like he’d get lost.

  “Because I know how you are. You don’t come up for air once you get to working on that thing.” Tyler tipped his chin in the direction of the computer on Rohn’s desk.

  “You’re right about that.” Even with as much as Rohn hated paperwork, he did tend to lose himself in it for hours.

  Little did Tyler know that Rohn hadn’t been working just now. He’d been checking out the half a dozen private messages sent to his profile on the dating site that he still couldn’t believe he’d joined.