Romancing Redemption

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  The steady clip-clop of solid horseshoes echoed off the wrought iron fencing and fluttering tree leaves. Rosie spun at the intrusion.

  Jeans stacked high on worn brown cowboy boots. Michael sat astride a beautiful palomino whose straw colored mane glistened in the soft afternoon sunlight.

  Rosie didn’t hesitate, approaching the mare with hand outstretched at a cautious pace. “She’s amazing.” The caramel coloring enhanced the horse’s dark eyes as they watched each move Rosie made. “She’s so calm.” The presence of the animal helped Rosie with her normal shyness around the attractive man. She had so much on her mind, she didn’t even feel faint as she got near enough to reach out and touch his knee.

  “Hello, Rosie.” Michael’s blue eyes could glow at night they were so intense, like crystals. His gaze never wavered as he slid from the dark leather saddle. Standing beside his horse, he watched Rosie from beneath the brim of his dark hat.

  “Hi.” Rosie bit her inner cheek. The man stirred something inside her with his presence... a heat. Over the last few years, as she’d watched him, biding her time and wishing, she’d never gotten close enough to feel such an intense desire to be touched.

  She cleared her throat, embarrassed as the long silence stretched between them and the route her thoughts had taken. “What are you doing out here?” Oh, seriously, Rosie! Like the street and town belonged to her or something. He wasn’t the only other person out.

  He was just the only other person who’d captured her attention from the nervous waiting she’d locked herself in.

  “I’m just out for a ride. What’re you doin’?” He reached for the dangling reins hanging by either side of the mare’s neck and led the horse toward the bench Rosie had moments before abused with her boot.

  “Waiting for Sara Beth.” She pointed over her shoulder. “My sister. Um, that’s who I was with the other day, when I ran into... well, your truck. Again, I’m so sorry, about that. Did I do any permanent damage?”

  He shrugged, flashing her a smile that took the pre-autumn chill from the breeze. “It’s not my truck, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” He hooked his thumb in a belt hook. “I looked for you at the diner the other night, but they said I’d just missed you.”

  She’d wondered. He didn’t come across as persistent or creepy. The fact that he hadn’t shown up should have been reassuring, but instead it’d made her wonder if maybe she’d imagined any possible attraction between them. If anything, she downplayed her feelings. What if her desires colored her perceptions and made her think something extremely untrue.

  Biting her lower lip, she glanced toward the school and shifted on her feet.

  “You seem nervous. Is it me?” Michael failed to hide the firm line of his lips as they curved, revealing straight white teeth that resembled fine ivory.

  Rosie huffed. “Nervous? Around you? Please.” She grinned like she wasn’t dying with embarrassment. But inside she clamored to figure out how he’d guessed. Something bigger than butterflies swarmed in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t escape his piercing gaze that seemed to know she wanted him to hold her.

  She blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Yeah, so like I was saying, I’m waiting for my sister. She’s a senior this year and the last two years haven’t been easy.” Wringing her calloused hands, she glanced toward the unchanging school again. “I’ve been saving up to take her to dinner. Thought it would be nice tonight.”

  Saving had been hard when every nickel had its own predetermined destination. The new contract with Ronan gave her a sense of security – justifying the extravagance of dinner out instead of hoarding the money in her bag.

  “Wow. A senior? That’s exciting.” He tapped the slatted seat beside him, his horse quietly looking side to side over Michael’s shoulder. “I liked high school when I didn’t have homework or any rodeos or competitions. College was my favorite though.”

  “Oh.” What else would she say? She had no idea how to talk about something she’d never experienced.

  “You can’t be more than twenty. Where did you go to school?” He leaned back, resting his arm across the back of the bench.

  “I’m twenty-two.” Gingerly, Rosie claimed the edge of the seat. Unable to meet his eyes, she stared forward at the brick building. “And I didn’t.” Was that a rasp in her voice?

  “Homeschooled, huh? A lot of people around here do that.” Unfazed, he continued watching her like she was the most interesting person on earth. His attention warmed her.

  She didn’t correct his assumption, but relaxed enough to unfold her hands and grab the bench on either side of her legs. Unlike Phillip, Michael knew nothing about her, was actually interested in her and not just to throw demands and insults her way. She found herself curious about him. “What do you do?”

  His expression lit up. “You mean, you don’t know?”

  “No. That’s why I asked.” She smiled to soften her words.

  Grinning, he shrugged. “Around here, everyone knows your business before you do.” He tipped his hat her way. “Take you for example.”

  Oh, crap. What did he know? Rosie steeled herself against what was coming. She had been so hopeful that she might be able to have some kind of friendship or relationship with Michael without the bitter taste of her past interfering. He’d always been the one she’d think of, dream about, maybe one day, kiss.

  Instead, he sprang on that she was the topic of gossips. Ugh. She tried so hard to stay uninteresting and not worth speaking about. Prepared to see the side of him every man seemed to have, Rosie jumped from her seat and crossed her arms. “What about me?”

  He jerked back at her accusatory tone. Surprise and caution flitted across his face. He chuckled as if to sooth her with humor. “It’s nothing bad. Everyone’s talking about the contract you have with the bank and the contract with the museum.” He pulled his hands onto his lap. “You did that. I haven’t heard of anyone impressing either of those two men – let alone both of them at the same time.”

  Her work, her business. Not the facts on where she came from genetically or where she’d been partially raised. Palpable relief reduced the disgusting taste in her mouth. She swallowed. “Oh, yes, that.” Scrunching her eyebrows together, she lifted her hand, fingers splayed. “The museum? I only have a contract with the bank.”

  “According to Mrs. Beecham at the General Store, you have a contract from them both waiting for you in your mailbox.” The smooth skin of his lips spread in a genuinely happy smile.

  Transfixed, she stared at him while his announcement sank in. “Really? Oh my word, I don’t know what to say.” Excitement swelled within her. How had she not known? Why hadn’t anyone called her? Oh, wait. She wasn’t home and Sara Beth was at school. No voicemail. But that didn’t dim her buoyancy from the news. “Finally, hard work is paying off.” She spoke to herself, but the words floated between them.

  “So, what are your goals? It sounds like you’re heading toward whatever you have planned.” He crossed his ankle over his knee.

  She twisted her lips to the side and wrinkled her nose. “It’s nothing amazing or anything. Just, you know, dreams.” How did she tell him when she’d never even told Sara Beth? Like a wish on a star, if she told someone, then maybe her dreams wouldn’t come true.

  “What? Do you want to get married and have a houseful of kids?” His grin teased her.

  And flirting was so much fun! She’d never actually done it. But with Michael, she didn’t feel self-conscious or nervous, well, not worried that she’d make a complete fool of herself anyway. He still sent birds flapping through her stomach. Which she’d never openly admit to.

  Rosie laughed and shook her head. “No, I don’t dream of that stuff. No one wants the baggage I’d bring into a relationship.” It was a sobering thought that who she was might be enough to turn people – a man – away from her, let alone a community.

  “Psh. Nothing’s that bad.” Michael squinted up at her, sincerity
soft on his lips and clear in his eyes.

  She looked away from him.

  Sara Beth burst from the front doors of the school. Rosie stepped forward, raising her hand to wave. But Sara Beth’s sobs reached her before Rosie could call out her name. Her sister ran the opposite way from the park, even the opposite way down the street from home.

  Rosie’s mouth worked but nothing came out. Where was her little sister going and what had happened?

  The leather saddle creaked. Rosie turned in time to see Michael streak past her. The horse thundered down the road after Sara Beth, overtaking her in seconds. He called to her, thrusting the horse into her path and getting her to stop her headlong flight to... wherever she was going.

  Offering his hand, Michael pulled Sara Beth onto the saddle behind him and they trotted slowly back to Rosie in the park.

  Hands over her mouth, Rosie waited while Sara Beth dismounted after Michael and took a spot on the bench. Arms hugging her waist, Sara Beth rocked back and forth, tears dampening her cheeks and spotting the new shirt she and Rosie had picked out for her first day back at school.

  Squatting in front of her, Rosie rested a hand on her knee and looked into her face, waiting for eye contact. “What happened?”

  Sobbing, Sara Beth breathed in and out, trying to control her emotions. She finally gasped and reached for Rosie’s hand. “Those dumb kids told everyone we—” She pointed her finger at Rosie and then back to herself. “Are escaped whores from Madam’s Mare Ranch.” She glared at Rosie through her tears, jaw tight.

  Holy crap in a hand basket. Rosie bit her lip, the metallic taste of blood sharp on her tongue. She’d hoped Sara Beth wouldn’t have to face their past at school. Rosie racked her mind, where would any of them even come up with an idea that they’d come from there? Maybe one of the fathers had seen Rosie at the Ranch and recognized her at a school function? She couldn’t think of anything else.

  Something so debasing didn’t need to be brought to Michael’s attention.

  Tears threatened and she swallowed against the tightness climbing her throat. She pulled Sara Beth up from the bench. Head down, she offered a tight smile to Michael. “Thank you for your help. We need to get home. I’ll see you around.” She wrapped her arm around Sara Beth’s shoulders, protecting her as much as possible.

  The release bell peeled from across the street at the high school.

  Rosie quickened her pace. “Come on, let’s get home before anyone else can upset you.”

  Sara Beth nodded, sniffing. Neither of them looked around for Michael. But a small twinge in Rosie’s chest told her she’d see him again. She had to. But he might not want to see her.

  She clenched her jaw when considering what her sister had just endured. Rosie would have to stay away from Michael. He wouldn’t want anything to do with her, if he knew about her past... about her father.

  Why even hope? Look at what was happening to Sara Beth. The poor doll.

  Nope, she’d be better off just focusing on work and getting Sara Beth through school. There was no way she’d get anywhere in town if the rumors some kids told took hold in the community. The thought was enough to create a wave of nausea.

  She shook her head.

  Nothing was that bad, huh?

  ROSIE SIGHED. THE DISH water had lost its heat long ago, but she didn’t speed up the washing. She slowly, methodically, sponge bathed each of their cheap plates. Then rinsed them. Then washed the utensils. She couldn’t bring herself to call the set silverware. It wasn’t even close to the color silver.

  She stopped moving, staring at the edge of the faucet and going over and over the time in the park that afternoon. Sara Beth had been too upset to eat out. Rosie understood completely. They’d bought stuff for a pizza and eaten at home, pretending they weren’t both thinking about what had happened earlier that day.

  Sara Beth had gone to bed after helping clear the dishes.

  What did Rosie do? Make her go to school the next day? Rosie didn’t have a high school diploma. Not for the first time did she consider letting Sara Beth finish her academics on the internet – true, they didn’t have the money for a computer or internet access, but the program offered by the state covered the rudimentary costs. They could make an office area by the window.

  Water dripped from the sink, landing on her bare foot. But would that teach Sara Beth anything? Would she think that running was okay? Rosie hadn’t been able to protect her completely at Madam’s but she’d done a pretty good job for the most part.

  And Michael. He’d heard the rumor, probably heard it a dozen times since. Stupid town. Dropping the last plate back into the dirty water, Rosie hung her head, chin to her chest. She closed her eyes. She couldn’t catch a stupid break.

  For a fleeting moment, she considered the possibility that Ronan James had talked. But he’d known about it since she’d gotten there so long ago and he hadn’t said anything then. What would make him say something now when they’d just started doing business together? No, it wasn’t logical. She brushed him from her mind.

  Her dream of a business teased her as she slowly gathered clients. But a chance at romantic happiness? Could it be pushed further away? She didn’t know, but if there was one thing she could do, it was test the boundaries of possibility. If she could lose a potential man, it’d be with her past.

  And after the information Ronan had passed along, she’d do better to bury her time at the Ranch with a bulldozer. If no one could trace the Scott girls to the Ranch, then they’d never be able to find where they went after that. She hoped.

  Rosie flipped off the living room light and double-checked the locks on her door. Even a one-horse town had its sleaze balls.

  Padding through the dark toward her bed on the opposite side of the small bedroom from Sara Beth’s, Rosie couldn’t help wondering where Michael slept and what he was doing right then.

  Hopefully, she hadn’t scared him off completely.

  Michael

  Chapter 10

  CONCERN OVER ROSIE and Sara Beth held Michael in check as he watched them walk away. Hopefully it was nothing more than teenage angst, but judging by the way Rosie responded, the situation held more than just adolescent pain. He wished he could fix it for them.

  Rather than interrupt their time together as Rosie consoled her sister, he contemplated a way to lift their spirits.

  Flowers. What woman didn’t love getting flowers? He stood, pulling the reins to lead the horse toward the trail alongside the sidewalk. Swinging into the saddle, Michael settled in, giving the horse the bit and clucking with his tongue to move into an easy stroll. The more he thought about the gesture, the more he liked it.

  Miniscule, the flower shop connected to the general store which also acted as the town’s feed and hay store. Tying his horse off at the post, Michael glanced around at the vehicles parked and the few driving past.

  The sight of a dark blue Escalade gave him pause and he closed his eyes for the briefest moment. Of course he would see the older Rourke in town. Grandfather would of course assume Michael was skipping out on work and be scornful as they spoke. If they spoke.

  Something else would have to work for Rosie and her sister. Maybe he could just pick some flowers on the way over. He turned to the horse, untying the reins and grabbing the pommel to remount.

  “’Lo there, Michael. Not going to greet your grandfather in view of God and all the townspeople of Colby?” Rourke blue eyes pierced him from under thick silver eyebrows on his grandfather’s tan, weathered face. As if chiseled into his flesh, his lips thinned in displeasure – an expression Michael had become accustomed to and one he’d never grown fond of.

  Forcing a smile, Michael wrapped the reins around his hand and faced his grandfather. Removing his hat out of deference, he nodded. “Hello, Grandfather. I’m sorry. I saw your truck, but I didn’t see you immediately.”

  Arching an eyebrow, Donald settled his vintage “Boss of the Plains” bucket hat atop his high forehead. “You
were too busy with that young filly in the park. I drove by. You must have been too taken with her to notice then as well.”

  Michael had been. He glanced at his hands as he fiddled with the leather straps. “Yes, sir. I like her. A lot.” Full disclosure with Donald would get Michael a lot further than omission or lying. Plus, trying to earn back respect from his grandfather would only be setback by withholding information on anything.

  “What’s her full name and where does she come from? I want to know about her family.” Old-fashioned, Donald didn’t question his rights in demanding personal information about his grandson’s love interest.

  Michael didn’t question anything Donald did either. Many ranch families lived with the patriarch running the show and the Rourke family wasn’t any different. “Rosie Scott. I have no idea about her past or her family, except that she’s raising her little sister and she works at the diner.”

  “Nothing wrong with a working woman, Michael. However, unknown family isn’t exactly keeping with respectability and good standing in the community.” He patted Michael’s shoulder. “I’ll contact you later this week. Your sister and that husband of hers are coming out for dinner. You’re welcome to join us.” He glanced at the sun then at peered at Michael’s face. “It’s not like you’re working or anything.”

  And there it was. Michael smiled. “I have two days off, Grandfather. Rona – I mean, Mr. James scheduled a meeting with me when I return and he asked that I be well-rested. So I’m out for a ride.” He motioned toward the horse he’d borrowed from the Lacey Caverns Ranch.

  “Good, then you’re free for dinner tonight. I’ll expect you at six.” Donald turned without a goodbye and strode toward his truck.

  Looked like Michael was heading for a drama-riddled night with his family, when all he really wanted to do was see Rosie again and make sure she and Sara Beth were okay.

  JEFFREY NUDGED MICHAEL’S shoulder with his foot. “Hey, man, I’m headed out for my shift. How was last night?”