by Cat Johnson
“Sorry. I’m just a little out of sorts.” Meeting your mother for the first time did that to a person, Phoenix supposed.
“Everything okay? When I didn’t hear from you, I started to worry.”
“No need to worry. I’m kind of in a holding pattern, but I think I’m going to get to meet her today.”
“Your birth mother?” The excitement was evident in Kim’s question.
“Yeah, or at least the Bonnie Martin who I think is my birth mother. Remember, that has yet to be proven.”
“Yeah, I know.” Kim sighed. “I hate that you’re doing this all alone. I wish I was there with you.”
“I know. It’s okay. I understand.” Besides, until a few hours ago, Justin had been there to keep her company.
He’d kept her mind—as well as other things—occupied. But since he’d left, the waiting had been really getting to her.
Kim was right. Phoenix could use a friend right about now. But at the same time, she was so distracted, it was difficult to even keep up her half of the conversation.
“So what’s the plan? What are you waiting for? You got there yesterday, right? I figured you’d have met her by now.”
“I’m trying to catch her alone. Just in case I’m a secret or it’s not her. I don’t want to accuse her of giving me up at birth in front of her friends and family only to find out she’s the wrong Bonnie Martin.”
“Yeah, that is a tough situation. But how are you going to know when she’s alone? Oh my gosh, you’re not staking out her house, are you? Dammit, I always wanted to go on a stakeout.”
Phoenix laughed. “Don’t worry. You’re not missing any stakeout. I’m in the hotel room waiting. Justin’s going to text me when the coast is clear.”
“Justin, huh? And how is tall, dark, and cowboy?”
Phoenix rolled her eyes. “He’s not dark. His hair is so light brown it’s practically blond.”
“That’s all you have to say about him? To correct me on the color of his hair? How about some other information? Like how you and he worked out this plan together. How he has your cell phone number now so you can keep talking to him when you come home. How you’re in a hotel room in a town where no one knows you, which is the perfect setting for some wild sex.”
“You’ve been reading too many romance novels.”
“And maybe you need to read some, too, if you let a hot guy drop you off and drive away.”
“Who said I did?” Phoenix regretted it the moment she said it.
Kim reacted as expected, drawing in a huge breath and squealing. “Oh my God. You had sex with him? You tell me everything right now.”
“No.”
“No, you didn’t have sex, or no, you won’t tell me about it?”
Phoenix sighed. “No, I don’t want to tell you.”
“Oh my God. You tell me right now. I thought I was your best friend.”
“It’s just so not like me. Having sex with a man I’ve only known a couple of days. One I’m not even dating.” She whispered the words, even though there was no one there who could hear her.
“So what? He’s a nice guy. You probably spent more hours with him on that drive than you would have on half a dozen dates. I mean live a little. Once you get married and settle down there’ll be no more partaking of the single-man buffet, you know.”
Phoenix laughed. “I don’t see anyone asking me to marry him anytime soon, so I don’t think I have to worry.”
“We’ll see,” Kim said, sounding smug. “Maybe Justin is that guy.”
“Yeah, right.” Phoenix’s thoughts turned back to Justin, and his waking her up this morning in his creatively enticing way.
Truth be told, she’d be happy to turn in her all-you-can-eat man-buffet privileges to settle down with one guy. With him. But right now, she’d be happiest if he’d just text to tell her the coast was clear. After that she could think clearly about her future.
The phone pressed to her ear vibrated in her hand. She pulled it away to glance down at the readout. There was a new text. “Kim, I gotta go. He’s texting. It could be about Bonnie.”
“Let me know what’s going on—”
“I will. ’Bye.” She barely let Kim finish her sentence, let alone say good-bye back, before she’d disconnected the call and checked the text.
Not easy but I got Rohn away from the house. You don’t have long. Go now!
Her mind reeling with questions, Phoenix grabbed her purse and headed out the door. How long did she have? Half an hour? Less? She should have already driven over and parked the truck somewhere nearby so she’d be closer. Now she had to waste time driving to Bonnie’s house.
She did her best not to drive too fast. That was the last thing she needed, to put Justin’s truck in a ditch because she wasn’t being careful.
Even after memorizing the directions, the actual drive looked much different from behind the wheel of Justin’s big truck than it had on her cell-phone screen in the maps app.
She almost missed the road and had to flip on the directional signal and swing into the turn much too fast. Miraculously, she managed the maneuver without getting into an accident. It was only luck or good driving on the part of the guy in the car behind her that prevented a crash.
Heart pounding, she blew out a breath and slowed the truck now that she was off the highway and on the side road, the road that Bonnie’s house was on.
It wasn’t the near miss of the accident that had her pulse racing. It was how close she was to Bonnie’s house. She watched the numbers on the mailboxes count down the brief moments remaining until she met the woman who could be her mother.
The excitement inside her warred with the guilt she felt because she already had a mother. The one who’d raised her. Who loved her. Who had no idea she’d even left California because Phoenix had been ducking phone calls and lying to her parents for days. She should have been upfront with them to begin with, but she’d known what they’d say.
The very practical people who’d raised her would have talked some sense into her. Reminded her that Bonnie Martin had wanted her identity to remain a secret and she should respect that. Pointed out how many Martins there were in the world and how low the chances of finding the right one were.
How in the world was she going to admit all this to her parents?
She couldn’t deal with thinking about that. First, she had to get this meeting with Bonnie over with. Then she’d worry about her parents.
The Double L Ranch trailer parked in the driveway caught her eye first. She should be familiar with it after having been inside the truck that had towed it from Arizona to Oklahoma. After seeing that, she didn’t really need to check the address but she did anyway, confirming that the street number on the mailbox matched the one Justin had given her.
This was the place. No doubt about it. Especially when a blonde woman ducked out of the doorway of the trailer and glanced in the direction of the street, where Phoenix realized she’d just stopped in the middle of the road. Good thing there was no traffic.
It was now or never. Feeling light-headed with nerves, Phoenix pulled forward and parked Justin’s truck along the curb. She cut the engine, took a bracing breath, and opened the door.
In true Okie small-town fashion, Bonnie was already walking toward her, smiling. It had to be Bonnie. Phoenix recognized her from the photos she’d found online.
Bonnie shaded her eyes against the glare of the bright noonday sun as she wandered toward the end of the drive. “Hey. You lost? Can I help you find something?”
“Um, yeah. Actually, I’m looking for you. Are you Bonnie Martin?”
“I am.”
Phoenix took the final few steps to close the distance between them. That put her in the shadow of the trailer. Bonnie stepped into the shade as well and lowered the hand shielding her eyes.
“I’m Phoenix Montagno.” She watched for a reaction and realized she wouldn’t get one from Bonnie.
The closed adoption had worked both
ways. She wasn’t meant to know Bonnie’s name, just as Bonnie wasn’t meant to know the name eventually given to Female Martin by the adoptive parents.
An older woman came out of the house. “Bonnie, do you know where the box cutter got to?”
Bonnie turned and shook her head. “No. Sorry, Mom.”
Mom. If Bonnie was her mother, this woman was her grandmother. The older woman came closer and stopped dead at the sight of Phoenix.
Phoenix’s gaze cut between the two women opposite her before she said to Bonnie, “I was hoping I could speak with you for a moment. In private.”
Bonnie’s mother pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes pinned to Phoenix’s face. “Good Lord, Bonnie. She looks just like you at that age.” Her words were spoken to Bonnie so softly they were barely audible, but Phoenix caught them.
Emotions clouded Bonnie’s features as she reached back and grabbed her mother’s hand and then said to Phoenix, “Whatever you wanted to say, you can say it in front of my mother.”
Now that the opportunity had arisen, she didn’t have the words she needed. Coming right out was probably the best way. It felt as if her heart was lodged in her throat as she said, “I’m looking for the Bonnie Martin who gave me up for adoption twenty-five years ago in Phoenix, Arizona. Was it you?”
Bonnie glanced at her mother before nodding. Her eyes glistened with tears. “How did you ever find me?”
“I know it was a closed adoption and you didn’t want to be found.”
“No. That’s not true. I mean, at that time I needed it to be closed. But I’ve thought so much about you this year. I didn’t know how to find you. And now you’ve found me.” The tears spilled over onto Bonnie’s cheeks.
Bonnie’s mom was crying, too. “It’s a miracle.”
Phoenix wasn’t raised by people who believed in miracles. Just cold hard facts. “Actually, it seems like more of a clerical error. I lost the amended birth certificate my parents got at the adoption. When I applied for a duplicate, they sent me a copy of the original by mistake. The one with your name on it.”
Some overworked, probably underpaid clerk had made the mistake that had brought them together, but it didn’t matter how they’d been reunited. The point was that they had been.
“That sounds like a miracle to me.” Bonnie smiled through her tears. “Phoenix. I love what your parents named you.”
“Thanks.”
“Heck, if you’re not going to ask, I will. Can I hug you?” Bonnie’s mother stepped forward.
Phoenix laughed, her own tears making her vision fuzzy. “Sure.”
While in the older woman’s embrace, Phoenix heard her say, “I’m Tammy. I’m your grandmother.”
“I don’t have any living grandparents from my adopted parents.”
“Well, you have a grandmother now.” Tammy pulled back and reached for Bonnie. “Come and hug your daughter.”
Bonnie nodded, her tears streaming freely now. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Justin glanced down and checked his cell phone. No new text from Phoenix.
In fact, nothing at all since he’d texted her that it was safe to go over to Bonnie’s house. Not that it had been the optimum time, but he didn’t see a better one coming.
It hadn’t been easy, but he’d convinced Rohn that they should all grab lunch at the barbeque place before the guys headed over to the ranch to work and Rohn went back to help Bonnie and her mother at the house.
It was no problem to get Tyler and Colt to agree to sit down and eat some smoked brisket. But keeping Rohn from getting the order to go and bringing it back to Bonnie’s had been a challenge.
Rohn checked his own phone where it lay on top of the picnic table next to the remains of his lunch. “I guess we should get going.”
“Yup. I reckon we should, before all that food I ate makes me want to take a nap.” Tyler reached across the table to gather up the garbage while Colton stood to toss his empty pop can in the recycling bin.
Justin panicked. How long had they been gone? Was it long enough for Phoenix to have talked to Bonnie?
He glanced up at Rohn, who was now standing. “Sit and relax for another minute, Rohn. You know once you get back to the house Bonnie is only going to put you to work.”
“Yeah, I know, but I’ve been away too long already. Bonnie and her momma will be waiting for the lunch I promised to bring ’em. I said I’d be right back and that had to be over half an hour ago.”
Justin cocked a brow. “The term whipped comes to mind, but a’ight. I understand.”
Tyler and Colton chuckled as Rohn leveled his gaze on Justin, who was still seated, hoping everyone else would give in and do the same. “No, you don’t understand. But you will one day. Now if you’re done eating, I gotta get back, and you three have work to do at the ranch.”
He’d convinced Rohn to take them all to the restaurant in the ranch truck because it had the extended cab, figuring he’d have more control over Rohn’s movements if the man couldn’t go anywhere without the rest of them. But apparently, he couldn’t stall any longer. Or maybe he could.
“A’ight.” Justin stood. “Let me just hit the head here before we go.”
Rohn frowned. “You can’t wait until we get back to Bonnie’s?”
He pressed a hand to his gut. “You really don’t want me using Bonnie’s bathroom, Rohn. I’ll be right back.”
Rohn cringed. “A’ight. Just get done and be quick.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Justin grabbed his cell off the table and headed for the restroom. He didn’t have long, but long enough to text Phoenix a warning that they were on their way back.
Phoenix had no idea how many lies Justin had told in the name of her secret. He only hoped it wasn’t going to be a secret for much longer. The situation was starting to wear on him.
He texted her that they were on their way back and shoved the phone in his pocket, heading out to the truck before Rohn got annoyed and left him there. He could only hope he’d given her enough time.
“You ready?” Rohn leaned against the truck, arms folded.
“Yup.” Justin strode to the passenger side door and swung it open. He glanced over the hood at his boss. “Come on. What you waiting on?”
Rohn rolled his eyes at Justin. The best way to keep Rohn distracted was to annoy him. Tyler had demonstrated that often enough. Justin was happy to see it worked just as well for him.
Hiding his pleasure, he waited for Tyler and Colton to climb into the backseat before he slid into the passenger seat.
The barbecue joint wasn’t far from Bonnie’s house, but it felt like an eternity today as Justin waited for the house to come into sight. Justin saw immediately that the truck he’d loaned Phoenix was parked on the side of the road.
She was still there. And there was no way anyone was going to miss her connection to Justin. He shot a look at Rohn next to him.
Rohn looked at the truck and frowned. “How’d your truck get here? Is your momma driving it?”
Crap. “Uh, no. Momma has her own car.”
Colton leaned forward from the back. “Then how did your truck get here while you were with us?”
“I, uh, loaned it to someone.”
“You what?” Tyler grabbed the back of Justin’s seat and leaned forward, joining Colton in the inquisition. “I asked you to borrow it last year when I was waiting for that part and my truck was out of commission and you said no.”
“I know.”
“What the hell, Justin?” Tyler’s frown was deep.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t comfortable with driving Jeremy’s truck.”
“I’m thinking it’s more your lack of mile-long legs and C-cup boobs, Tyler.” Colton’s stare was pinned on Phoenix, who stood in the driveway with Bonnie and Tammy.
All three women looked toward the truck as Rohn pulled it slowly into the driveway. Rohn threw the truck in Park and cut the engine before he turned to Justin. “Who’s the girl?”<
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“She’s the one I told you about. The one who was looking for Bonnie at the house in Arizona.”
“The one I thought might be a student of hers?”
“Yeah.”
Rohn glanced back toward the driveway, taking a closer look this time. He reached blindly for the door, his eyes never leaving the women as he stepped down.
Justin scrambled to get his own door open. He ran around the truck and looked on as Rohn gazed at Phoenix, and his eyes widened. Rohn and Bonnie made eye contact. There was a question clear in his expression. Bonnie nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Justin let out a cuss under his breath. Things were coming to a head and fast.
Tyler and Colton didn’t take long to join him. “What the hell is going on? Why is Bonnie crying?” Colt asked.
“And who’s the girl driving your truck?” Tyler added, still obsessed with the stupid truck and totally missing the point.
Rohn braced one hand on the hood and the other on his hip as he blew out a big breath. Finally, he straightened and said, “She’s my daughter.”
Phoenix was Rohn’s daughter? Suddenly, it all started to click. Bonnie and Rohn had dated right before she left for Arizona for college. She’d given up the baby in Arizona.
The thoughts spiraled fast through Justin’s head at the revelation. He’d spent the night getting sweaty with his boss’s daughter. Shit.
Tyler frowned. “Wait. She’s your what?”
“Whoa.” Colton blew out a big breath. “Holy shit.”
Rohn didn’t seem to hear Tyler’s question or Colton’s exclamation. Instead, he strode to Bonnie and drew her into his arms. At least Rohn didn’t seem unhappy about it. Or angry. Just shocked.
That was understandable. Justin was pretty shocked himself.
Phoenix glanced in Justin’s direction. He saw the tears in her eyes and mouthed, “You okay?”
Smiling and crying at the same time, she bit her lip and nodded.
Relieved, Justin sagged against the truck. It had already been a hell of a day and it was only noon.
“I’m still confused.” Tyler folded his arms and turned to face Justin. “You wanna explain to me how Rohn suddenly has a daughter and what you’re doing with her?”