Midnight Wrangler

by Cat Johnson

  Rohn sighed and closed the browser window fast before Tyler decided to get nosy and look to see what he’d been working on.

  “So, you about ready to head over to Janie’s?” Tyler asked.

  “Is it that late already?” He glanced at the time in the corner of his computer.

  It was going on dinnertime.

  Damn. Time had slipped away while he’d been staring at all the women who wanted to meet him, and realizing that not a one piqued his interest. Not like Bonnie had during their five-minute conversation outside the barbecue joint.

  Tyler dipped his head. “Dinner’s in an hour. I thought you’d like to come and hang out for a bit first. You know. Have a beer. Shoot the shit.”

  Whether Rohn was up for socializing with the newly happy couple or not, it would be rude to just show up and eat. Besides, a cold beer sounded damn good right about now.

  He shut down the computer and stood. “A’ight. Let’s go.”

  Tyler frowned as his gaze took Rohn in from head to toe. “You wearing that?”

  Rohn glanced down at his T-shirt and jeans. These were the clothes he’d worn all day, but they weren’t dirty. He hadn’t done any real work today. Hell, he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

  “I was planning on it. Why? Is this a formal occasion?” He cocked a brow.

  “No. I mean I just thought since you don’t get out much that you’d dress up a bit. Maybe put on that nice pearl-snap shirt I’ve seen you wear.”

  “Thanks for reminding me I don’t get out much.” Beneath the insult, there was something else in Tyler’s tone that made Rohn suspicious. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on. Never mind about changing. Just come on. Janie’s waiting on us.” Tyler tipped his head toward the hall.

  “Fine. I was ready to go until you started talking about fashion.” Rohn scowled as he led the way down the hall and out the back door.

  Both his property and Janie’s were large, which meant neighbors or not, it was a hike to get from one house to the other on foot. It was doable, but Rohn had never made the trip without a horse or truck.

  Rohn paused with his hand on the door handle of his vehicle as Tyler strode to his own. “I’ll meet you over there.”

  Tyler lifted his hand in a wave and climbed into the driver’s seat.

  Rohn watched Tyler pull the old pickup out of the driveway ahead of him.

  The kid drove a truck as old as he was—on purpose. Meanwhile Rohn, almost twenty years older than Tyler, traded in his own vehicles every two years. Rohn made a decent living. He could afford a new truck.

  Besides, keeping a business running smooth so he could make a good living meant he was too busy to be tinkering under the hood the way Tyler always seemed to be.

  The kid lived to be covered in engine grease—or at least he used to before he had Janie to occupy his time. It would be interesting to see which won out if it ever came to a choice for Tyler—time with Janie or his old piece of crap.

  Rohn pulled into Janie’s driveway and parked behind Tyler’s truck.

  Getting out, he eyed the shiny coupe parked by the front door of his neighbor’s house. Friends and neighbors always parked by Janie’s back door, knowing she’d be more likely to be in that end of the house, in the kitchen. The front door led to the formal living room that she and her late husband rarely used.

  Maybe since Janie knew he’d be coming over she didn’t want her car to block the parking spot by the kitchen so she’d pulled it out of the way to allow him to park there. That still didn’t explain the new car. Last he’d seen, Janie had been driving her late husband’s truck.

  Rohn caught up to Tyler. “Did Janie buy a new car?”

  “Um, no.” Tyler’s hesitation had Rohn drawing in a steadying breath as what was really going on here became apparent.

  “Christ. This is a fix-up, isn’t it?” He ran a hand over his face.

  “Uh, maybe?” Tyler cringed. “Don’t be mad. It was Janie’s idea as much as mine.”

  Nice of Tyler to throw his girlfriend under the bus.

  “I don’t care whose idea it was. I told you, I don’t want to be set up on some pity date with God only knows who. I’ll find my own damn woman if and when I want one.” Rohn kept his voice down so anyone inside wouldn’t hear but he was sure as hell going to make sure that Tyler understood how pissed he was.

  “I know. Please, Rohn, she’s here now and expecting you. Just come inside for a little while. Please don’t embarrass Janie in front of her friend.”

  That might be the one thing Tyler could have said to get Rohn in that door. The kid wasn’t as dumb as he acted sometimes. “Fine. I won’t embarrass Janie. And make no mistake that I’m doing this for her, not for you. But the minute this dinner is over, I’m out of here.”

  “A’ight. That’s fair. Thank you.” Tyler seemed genuinely grateful and more than a bit relieved.

  As he followed the young cowboy to the back door, Rohn had to wonder if Tyler would still feel as grateful after all the shit jobs he was going to have to perform over the next week or so.

  Anything and everything that the boys bitched about doing at the ranch was going to be assigned to Tyler. Colt and Justin were going to have a very good week, coasting along with the easy jobs at the expense of their friend.

  Call him spiteful, but that thought lightened Rohn’s mood considerably. He was almost giddy over his plan for revenge against Tyler by the time they reached the kitchen door and the boy turned to shoot him a glance.

  “You sure you’re gonna be okay with this?” Tyler asked.

  “Are you asking if I’m going to humiliate a friend and neighbor I’ve known for years?” Rohn pressed his lips together unhappily. “Of course, I wouldn’t do that to Janie. I’m capable of being cordial even while I’m pissed off at you.”

  “A’ight.” Still looking a little concerned, Tyler opened the door and headed inside.

  Rohn drew in a bracing breath and followed. The problem with this scenario was that even if the woman was perfectly nice, he was already primed not to want to like her, thanks to Tyler’s underhanded deception.

  Oh, well. He’d do his best to act as he’d promised—be pleasant to the woman, even if he wasn’t on board with this whole setup. Maybe, hopefully, she’d surprise him. Who knew? She could be the perfect one for him.

  Pfft. Doubtful.

  He’d just have to consider this practice for the time, if ever, that he went on a date with one of those women who’d messaged him online. He could certainly use some experience in the dating arena.

  After all these years, he was more than rusty. Getting back on the horse would take guts.

  “We’re here.” Unnecessarily, Tyler announced their arrival as the screen door slammed behind Rohn.

  Janie was seated at the kitchen table with another female. It didn’t take a great leap for Rohn to draw the conclusion that Janie’s guest was his date for the evening.

  Janie was already beaming just at the sight of Tyler but she turned her smile toward Rohn. “Hi, Rohn. I’m glad you could make it.”

  “Sure. Thanks for the invite.”

  It took Tyler’s puppy, Daisy, all of two seconds to come skidding across the kitchen floor, tail wagging, to get to Rohn. He bent to pet the spotted cattle dog. She spun beneath his hand, not much more than a ball of fur and energy.

  “Hey there, girl. I miss seeing you at my place.”

  The dog was a good excuse to ignore the stranger in the room. But he knew he couldn’t ignore her for long, especially when Tyler stood between them and began making the introductions. “Rohn Lerner, this is Tilly Crowe.”

  Rohn drew in a breath and straightened up. He noticed all eyes were turned to him, including Tilly’s. Ignoring the puppy still scampering around his boots, even though he’d far rather play with her than meet his blind date, he pasted on a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  She smiled, her bright red lipstick drawing his attention to her mouth, but not
because he longed to kiss her. More because he was wondering what he’d look like if he did and all that red crap ended up smeared all over him.

  Probably like a clown.

  “And it’s very nice to meet you.” Tilly stood and took a step toward Rohn, arm extended.

  As he shook her offered hand, he noted that she wore her clothes just a bit too tight. Whether that was because she thought it looked good, or because she’d gained a few pounds since buying the skirt and blouse, he didn’t know.

  She was small compared to his six-feet. Even in shoes with heels so high he wasn’t sure how she was standing in them, she was still a good half head shorter than he was.

  He didn’t mind a petite woman. Hell, Lila had been tiny next to him. But he’d always loved how Lila didn’t give a crap even if she could walk beneath his outstretched arm without ducking. She’d run around the house in flip-flops or mucking boots and not worry about trying to appear taller. . . .

  And here he was comparing Tilly to his dead wife, just as he’d feared would happen if and when he ever tried dating again.

  His making the comparison wasn’t fair to Tilly. It still didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t feeling it with this woman. His pulse didn’t pick up speed. Parts lower hadn’t stood up and taken notice either, in spite of the cleavage she was showing.

  Funny, but he’d been plenty interested in Bonnie this afternoon outside the barbecue place while she was standing in the hot sun in shorts and a cotton shirt. She’d been wearing nothing all that notable. Nothing tight. Nothing showy, yet he’d imagined—and remembered intimately from their past together—what her body felt like beneath his.

  Apparently it was the woman wearing the clothes, not the clothing, that was important. All the money and shopping sprees in the world couldn’t change that.

  “Let’s all go sit down in the living room.” Janie smiled.

  Great. They were moving on to the socializing portion of the evening, which would last who knew how long.

  Tyler caught Rohn’s unhappy gaze and said, “Supper’ll be done shortly. I’m sure Janie will want us all out of her kitchen so she can work her magic.”

  Rohn had heard Tyler use the term shortly plenty of times a day at work and he knew it could mean anything from five minutes to five hours. But he didn’t argue as he followed Tilly’s wobbly gait through the winding path in Janie’s home that led to the living room.

  He’d sat in this room in this house exactly once, just over a year ago on the day of his friend’s—Janie’s husband’s—funeral. Hell of a depressing memory that was.

  On the bright side, just a few months ago Janie had been in the same boat Rohn was in. Unwillingly single because they’d both lost their spouses too soon and to the same disease.

  But Janie was younger than Rohn, still in her midthirties. It probably didn’t feel as daunting for her to start fresh in a new relationship. Not the way it felt for him at forty-three.

  Enough feeling sorry for himself. The immediate need was to get through tonight. He was going to have to rally a good mood to do it.

  Rohn sat on the sofa, which looked fairly new from the front, but showed its age on the back and arms where the sun had faded the deep rose-colored fabric to a paler hue. He supposed after all these years he wasn’t looking all that great from all angles anymore, either.

  In fact, he should probably get out and help the boys in the field more. He needed to keep in shape now that he was considering putting himself back out on the market. God help him . . .

  “So what do you do for a living, Rohn?” Tilly smiled sweetly, but the streak of lipstick on her front tooth was so distracting, he had to think twice to comprehend she’d asked him a question.

  “I own the stock ranch next door.” He tipped his head in the general direction of his place.

  “That’s nice. So what do you do there?”

  This was not a country girl, by any means. He regrouped and put himself in the mind-set he used when talking to city folk.

  Dumbing it down to the bare minimum so she’d understand, he said, “I buy and sell livestock.”

  “Oh. Good for you.” Tilly looked less than impressed.

  Rohn shot Tyler a glance that told him he’d swung and missed with this one. There was no way this woman would be comfortable being a rancher’s wife.

  That thought gave Rohn pause. Was he in the market for another wife?

  He hadn’t thought about it. He knew one thing. Wife, girlfriend, friend, whatever she turned out to be, he wanted a companion so he didn’t have to eat dinner by himself. He needed someone to settle in front of the television with at night. Someone in his life so he didn’t have to go to bed alone. Sleep alone. Wake up alone.

  Another glance at Tilly told Rohn that Tyler probably hadn’t been thinking of fixing him up with Mrs. Right. More like Ms. Right-for-One-Night.

  Where did he and Janie even find this woman? Tilly and Janie seemed like complete opposites.

  Rohn knew how to find out. “So, Tilly, how do you know Janie and Tyler?”

  “I cut Janie’s hair. At the salon in town.”

  That explained a lot. The perfectly coiffed head of hair, dyed dark blond with lighter blond streaks sporadically run through it. The long, polished nails. The perfectly applied makeup—except for that one wayward smear of lipstick still on her teeth.

  Tyler and Janie would have done better trying to find Rohn a date at church, or even better, at the stock auction, not at a beauty salon. He was lucky he remembered to clean the dirt from under his fingernails at night before bed. Never mind handling a high-maintenance female. He didn’t live the kind of life a woman like that would take to easily.

  He glanced up and found Janie and Tyler silently watching the interaction. Seeing Rohn looking at him, probably with a plea for help clear on his face, knocked Tyler into action.

  Tyler jumped up from where he’d been sitting on the love seat next to Janie. “Can I get anyone anything to drink? Beer. Wine. Sweet tea?”

  “Beer, please.” Rohn realized his response sounded a bit too enthusiastic, but damn, he needed something. It was going to be a long evening. “In fact, let me help you with the drinks.”

  “No, stay. I can—”

  Rohn interrupted Tyler’s protest. “Don’t be silly. You can’t carry all four yourself. Let me help.” He turned to the woman sitting right next to him on the sofa. “Tilly, what can we get for you?”

  “I’d love some red wine, if you have it. With a couple of ice cubes, please.”

  “A’ight. Red wine on the rocks, coming right up.” Rohn stood.

  He didn’t usually drink wine. Not if there was beer around instead. Even so, he was still pretty sure that wasn’t how most people drank red wine, but who was he to question Tilly’s preferences?

  The escape from his unwanted date in the living room accomplished, Rohn reached the kitchen and let out a breath.

  “It’s not that hard, you know.”

  Rohn looked up at Tyler’s comment. “What’s not?”

  “Talking to a woman.”

  Rohn drew his brows low at the insult. “I can talk to women just fine, thank you.”

  “Then why are you acting like I took a branding iron to you rather than just invited a good-looking woman over for dinner?” Tyler shook his head, his mouth set in an unhappy line. “You know, you might have a good time if you’d just let yourself.”

  “Ty, I’m just not—”

  “Ready?” Tyler suggested. “Rohn, it’s been a long time since Lila passed.”

  “I know and I wasn’t going to say that. I am ready, I’m just not interested in her.” Rohn had lowered his voice to a whisper but still glanced at the doorway to make sure no one had heard. Tilly wasn’t the one for him, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  Tyler considered that in silence for a moment, his eyes never wavering from Rohn. Finally, he dipped his head. “A’ight. I understand.”

  Rohn lifted his brows high. “Do
you?”

  “Hell, yeah. If there’s no chemistry, then it would never work out between you two in the long run. But you know, not every woman is looking for forever. Some of them, like the ones who just got divorced and dress up real fancy for a casual dinner, might be looking for just a little loving. Nothing more.”

  Tyler was suggesting a one-night stand. Rohn’s face heated. “I don’t want to talk about this with you.”

  The young cowboy shrugged. “Suit yourself. All I can do is bring the horse to the chute. It’s your choice whether you wanna climb on and ride.”

  The rodeo analogy made Rohn cringe. Things were only getting worse. “Let’s get those drinks and get back in there, please.”

  “I’m on it.” While Tyler turned toward the fridge, Rohn decided he’d stay for dinner and then make his excuses and get out, fast and clean.

  As Rohn waited for Tyler to find the corkscrew to open the wine, his mind drifted to Bonnie. She’d be spending her first night in the house tonight. All alone.

  Maybe he should stop by quick and just check on her. That’s what a friend would do.

  Yup. A friend, because that’s what they were now. Old friends.

  Even Rohn didn’t buy his own lie . . . but maybe that was okay.

  Chapter Nine

  Bonnie looked around her. After hours of work, the kitchen actually looked habitable.

  The trash bins outside were full to overflowing, but at least she’d be able to cook and eat in the kitchen now.

  It looked and smelled deep-down clean. She’d have to go to the store and pick up more cleaning products to get through the rest of the house. The heavy-duty, industrial kind since there was years of dirt and grime to get through.

  She needed a shopping list so she didn’t forget anything once she got inside the store, which was what always seemed to happen to her when she went shopping without a list.

  Bonnie pulled open the drawer that had always held pens and paper when she was a kid and sighed. It was packed full of crap, just like the rest of the house. She wasn’t going to be able to find what she needed easily, and she was too tired to look. She was about to slide it closed and save that chore for another day when something caught her eye.