by Cat Johnson
“Nope. Not really.”
Colton pressed his lips together and moved from staring at the reunion in the driveway to Tyler and Justin’s standoff. “Do I need to go pick up a twelve-pack of cold ones for this?”
Justin could only think that a little alcohol right about now couldn’t hurt. But instead, he said, “Maybe we should give them some privacy and go back to the ranch.”
He didn’t want to leave, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be there either.
“Seriously?” Colton opened his eyes wide.
“Yeah. It’s none of our business.”
“I hate to say it, but I think I agree.” Tyler shook his head. “Look at Rohn. Now he’s crying right along with the women. I really don’t think he’s gonna want us here for this.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” Colton fished his keys out of his pocket. “We telling him we’re leaving?”
Justin watched Rohn wipe his eyes as he hugged Phoenix. “No. He’ll figure it out.”
If he noticed they’d left at all.
Chapter Thirty
In the whirlwind of the family reunion in the driveway, Phoenix hadn’t gotten to talk to Justin. He’d left, she assumed to go back to work at the ranch because he’d been with two other guys at the time.
She didn’t know, but she wished he was there with her now. There was so much to tell. So much had happened in so short a time.
Bonnie was her mother and Rohn was her father. She’d never expected that twist. To have them both there was overwhelming and amazing at the same time.
Though she didn’t know the events that had led to her birth or her adoption, her existence wasn’t a secret anymore. Justin had been worried that her being there would break up Rohn and Bonnie’s relationship. She’d worried that herself, once he’d mentioned it.
Thank goodness it hadn’t. In fact, the news seemed to make Rohn and Bonnie incredibly happy. She was pretty happy herself.
After the teary scene in the driveway, they’d all gone inside. The house was in shambles, but it didn’t matter as Tammy, Rohn, Bonnie, and Phoenix sat at the kitchen table. They’d tried to talk, but it turned out there was just a lot of crying—the joyful kind.
It was going to take everybody a bit of time to get over the surprise and process it all. Phoenix had had a week to get used to the idea that she’d found her birth mother, but Bonnie and Rohn had been blindsided.
They wanted her to stay at the ranch, but she’d already paid for the hotel room for the second night. Besides, she needed a bit of space to get her thoughts together. And of course the privacy would be nice should Justin come over again.
They wanted her to stay for longer, but that was impossible. Besides the fact that she was still avoiding telling her parents where she was, school was starting shortly. And she still had to get back to Arizona to retrieve her car from the service station. Short of flying to Phoenix, which would cost a small fortune on such short notice, that trip wasn’t going to be fast even by train or bus.
Then she still had to drive to California—not to mention decide how she was going to tell her parents she’d searched for and found her birth mother and father. She’d feel better doing that sooner rather than later. Lying didn’t sit well with her.
They’d all finally agreed she would go to the ranch for dinner with Rohn, Bonnie, and Tammy that evening. First, she wanted to go back to the hotel, shower, and change. A nap would be good, too, because she hadn’t gotten all that much sleep the night before.
Memories of why that was had her thinking of Justin. He’d be wondering what was happening, she was sure. She picked up the phone and punched in his number.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello.”
“Hi. It’s me.” She was still so overwhelmed by everything, it was nice to hear his now familiar voice.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Phoenix let out a breathy laugh. “A lot.”
“I can imagine. Did everything go okay?”
“Yes. Rohn’s my father.”
“Yeah, so I heard. He seemed shocked, but pretty happy about it when I left. Things good in that area?”
She knew what he was asking. Was Bonnie and Rohn’s relationship going to survive this revelation? She was pretty confident when she said, “I think things are pretty great. We spent like an hour sitting together, just catching up. When I left them, they were all hugs and smiles.”
The sight of Bonnie and Rohn holding hands at the kitchen table had warmed Phoenix’s heart.
Her adopted parents loved each other, but they weren’t the type to show their affection. Maybe they had been years ago, when they’d been dating. She didn’t know.
She had to remember that Rohn and Bonnie were newly engaged. That could explain the public displays of affection and why they were both practically bubbling over with love for each other.
It made her think things she shouldn’t—like how it would be to have that kind of relationship herself with Justin, who lived across the country from her.
Though maybe her dating a man in Oklahoma wasn’t such a stretch after all. Not now that it appeared as if Bonnie and Rohn wanted to be a part of her life, and she theirs.
She pictured herself visiting them a lot—and seeing Justin.
“So they invited me over to the ranch later for dinner.” It was a hint, but she wasn’t sure he’d pick up on it.
“That’s great.”
“Will you be there?”
“I’m actually driving home right now. Rohn called to tell us we could leave early because we helped Bonnie with the truck.”
“Oh.”
“Phoenix, from what I saw today, you’ll be fine without me at dinner.” He must have heard the disappointment in her voice.
“I’d be better with you there.”
He laughed. “Well, thanks. I’m honored you think so. I gotta get home and check on my mother. Spend some time with her.”
She wasn’t sure what to think of how dedicated he was to his mother. It was kind of sweet—a guy who loved his mother so much and spent so much time checking in on her.
On the other hand, it seemed kind of excessive. To the point that he couldn’t do anything until he checked in on her.
The last thing she would have thought of Justin—so tough and manly—was that he’d be a momma’s boy, but the evidence was there.
“Can I call you later, after dinner?” she asked.
“Of course you can. I wanna know how things go. Hell, I’m dying to know what was said today. He—uh—mention me?”
Realization began to creep up on Phoenix. “Oh, I get it. You’re worried my new daddy is going to guess you and I spent last night together.”
“Maybe. A little bit. So, did he?”
“They did want to know how I got to Oklahoma from Arizona. I told them you were a gentleman and offered me a ride. I did not tell them that if you were late for work this morning, it was partly my fault.”
He let out a snort. “Thank you for that. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.” She smiled. She’d love to make him late for work again tomorrow, too. “So, maybe I’ll see you later?”
“Maybe.” His hesitation, however slight, didn’t do anything for her ego. Neither did his lack of commitment.
“Oh, okay. I’ll let you know how dinner with the birth family goes.”
“Please do.”
“All right. Talk later.”
“Okay. ’Bye.” Justin disconnected the call and Phoenix was left confused.
She didn’t have much time left in town. She probably should leave tomorrow, though she hated to go so soon. She’d have to leave the following day at the latest.
Maybe Justin didn’t realize how short their time was. How soon she’d have to go back to California. If that was the case, she’d have to be sure to tell him.
Telling Justin she was leaving would be easy. It was telling her parents about this whole spur-of-the-moment Oklahoma trip and the reason for it that would
be the hard part.
She supposed she’d have plenty of time to think of what to say on her way back. For now, she had to call Kim.
Maybe Kim could help her brainstorm the best way to confess. She’d already passed one huge hurdle—approaching Bonnie—and that had gone better than she ever could have imagined. Kim would want to know about it.
Picking up the cell phone again, she dialed Kim. So much for that nap. That had been a pipe dream. Phoenix was much too wound up to sleep anyway. She’d never felt so exhilarated in her life—worried about all that lay ahead, but exhilarated nonetheless.
Her life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated, but it was a wonderful feeling.
Chapter Thirty-One
“You’re really a teacher?” Bonnie asked the question with amazement, leaning forward in her spot on the leather sofa next to Rohn in the living room.
It was a surprisingly nice room.
Phoenix felt bad even thinking that to herself, but she’d expected something totally different inside the house on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma.
What exactly she’d expected she didn’t know. It hadn’t been this beautiful room with a large flat-screen television hanging on the wall and a combination of modern leather furniture and weathered wooden antique tables.
The room was a mix of many things, giving it character, just like its owners.
Phoenix nodded in response to Bonnie’s question about her job. “I am.”
“What grade?” she asked.
“First.”
“I taught fifth in Arizona, but now I’m teaching sixth. Huge difference one year makes. I never thought it would, but it has.”
Phoenix nodded. “I can imagine. Lots of hormones flying around at that age. My friend Kim teaches third grade, and she swears even at that age the students are worlds different from those in first.”
Rohn watched the conversation between mother and daughter, smiling.
Phoenix looked enough like Bonnie that both Rohn and Tammy had seen the resemblance immediately. But now that she knew he was her father, Phoenix had started to see traits of Rohn in herself, too. The way his smile was just a little bit crooked, like hers. Her height, too. Phoenix assumed she’d gotten that from Rohn because she was a few inches taller than Bonnie.
Bonnie reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. She looked almost like a teenager when she gazed at Rohn and smiled. “I’m sorry. We must be boring you with all this school talk.”
“Nope. Not one bit. You two could talk about anything and I’d be happy simply being in the same room.”
There was one subject they hadn’t covered, and it was one she wanted to bring up. While Tammy was in the kitchen putting away the last of dinner, Phoenix decided to brave the topic. “Can I ask you both something?”
“Of course.” Bonnie nodded. “Anything.”
“I was just wondering how . . . why . . .” Phoenix couldn’t seem to get the words right.
Just the idea of asking how Bonnie could have given her up was enough to make her throat tight.
“Why did I give you up?” Bonnie supplied the words Phoenix hadn’t been able to get out.
“Yes. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. You deserve an answer.” Bonnie glanced at Rohn and then back to Phoenix. “Rohn and I were both young. Both about to leave for our first year of college. You were an accident.”
Phoenix nodded. It was as she’d suspected. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t. None of that would have mattered if things had been different at home. I was just so afraid.” She cleared her throat as Rohn wrapped an arm around her.
Phoenix waited until Bonnie finally continued. “My father was a hard man. I don’t want to speak badly about the dead, especially about the man who was your grandfather, but he could get . . . violent. When he found out I was pregnant, he beat me and threatened to kill the boy who’d done it. Rohn and I had been seeing each other secretly, so he didn’t know who the father was, and I didn’t tell him.”
Bonnie drew in a shaky breath while Rohn looked as if he felt every emotion right along with her.
Holding up one hand, Phoenix said, “You don’t have to go on.”
“I’m okay.” Bonnie swallowed hard and started again. “I was planning to leave for Phoenix for college shortly anyway. When my father went crazy, my mother put me on a bus the next day. I stayed with her mother in Arizona, your great-grandmother. I had the baby—had you—and then gave you up.”
Phoenix sat quietly, digesting all she’d learned. It was a lot to absorb.
“I want you to know that Rohn didn’t know I was pregnant. I couldn’t risk my father finding out he was the one. I was afraid of what he’d do to him. And I knew he would have given up college and his scholarship to support me and the baby. I didn’t want him to do that for me.”
Bonnie shook her head sadly as Rohn leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I loved you. I wanted to marry you even when we were eighteen. We would have figured something out.”
“I know that now. But I believed I was making the right decision back then.”
“You had good reasons for what you did, and I don’t know what I would have done in your place.” Phoenix felt the need to soothe Bonnie’s guilt. “And you don’t have to feel bad because I had a really good life.”
She realized that made it sound as if her life were over, which was far from the truth. It was as if a whole new world had opened up for her. Another family. Another state to call home, at least part-time. A new man . . .
Phoenix dragged her thoughts away from Justin and back to her birth parents. “My mother and father—uh, I mean the people who adopted me—”
Bonnie smiled. “Phoenix, you can call them your mother and father. That’s exactly what they are.”
“Okay. Anyway, they really are amazing people.”
“Tell us about them. What are they like?” Rohn asked.
“Well, my father is a very hard worker. It’s expensive to live in California and our house is in a really nice neighborhood, so I guess he has to work hard. They’re kind of traditional, so Dad worked and Mom stayed home to raise me. They value education, so I always had to keep up my grades. And they paid for me to go to college.”
What she didn’t tell them was how she’d never seen herself in either one of her parents. Not her father’s workaholic nature nor her mother’s happy-homemaker mold.
Strange that though she’d never seen a cow up close before today’s tour of the ranch, she could see herself in these people.
Even the quick tour they’d given her of the house had shown her how like them she was. How the paperwork in Rohn’s office was as messy and unorganized as hers was at home. How Bonnie seemed to favor a casual pitcher full of wildflowers, like Phoenix did, rather than the formal arrangement of roses her mother always had on the dining table when company was coming over.
“How did your parents feel about you coming to Oklahoma?” Rohn’s question had Phoenix cringing.
“I didn’t tell them. In fact, I kind of snuck away. They don’t even know I left California.”
Bonnie drew in a sharp breath. “Phoenix, you came all this way and didn’t tell your parents?”
“Um, yeah.”
Bonnie opened her eyes wider. “What if something had happened to you?”
“My friend knew where I was.” Phoenix realized there were now two more people in her life to reprimand her when she did something stupid. That was one side issue with having two sets of parents that she hadn’t anticipated.
Rohn raised one thick brow. “You really should have told them.”
They might not have been her parents for long, but Rohn and Bonnie sure had stepped into the role easily enough.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“How are you planning to get back to California?” Bonnie asked.
“I thought maybe I’d take the bus to Arizona so I can pick up my car. From there it isn’t t
oo long a drive home to California.”
Rohn drew his brows low. “You said you left your car in Arizona?”
“Yes. It kept overheating—” Phoenix saw Rohn react to that, his eyes going wide. She rushed to finish. “It’s fine. I took it to a shop and they fixed it.”
“You sure it’s fixed?” Rohn looked ready to call the shop himself.
“Yes. Justin talked to the mechanic on the phone. And they explained to me what was wrong and what they did to repair it, and Justin told me the price they quoted me was good.”
Finally, Rohn looked moderately satisfied. “A’ight. Tyler’s the one who has the most experience with car trouble, but Justin’s pretty good with engines. He should know what he’s talking about.”
Thank goodness Rohn thought so or Phoenix imagined Rohn would have been on the phone personally grilling the service station mechanic.
“Oh, Justin definitely does.” She made sure to agree with Rohn enthusiastically. “And he was kind enough to let me use his truck while I’m in town.”
“So I saw. That was nice of him. Surprising, though. He don’t usually let anyone borrow his truck.” Rohn eyed Phoenix.
Would Rohn guess that there was more going on between her and Justin than just their being road trip buddies? She tried to make light of the loan and shrugged. “Maybe because he’s got two trucks, he figured he could spare one for a couple of days.”
Rohn cocked a brow. “Maybe, but still, you can take one of the ranch trucks to use for the rest of the time while you’re here and give Justin his vehicle back.”
“When are you leaving?” Bonnie came to the rescue by changing the subject and Phoenix couldn’t have been more grateful.
As for when she’d be leaving, she had waffled before, but she was pretty sure now that she had to get home sooner rather than later.
Her guilt over lying to her parents had grown steadily as the night went on. That had made the decision for her. “I’m going to check the bus schedule, but I think I should probably leave tomorrow.”